West Virginia Brownfields

News

01/21/2012

The stats on Staats

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Call it the ultimate fixer-upper: 47,000 square feet, more or less, on four floors -- not counting the morgue in the basement.

That's the former Staats Hospital, the plum of the Elk City Historic District.

Larry Kopelman and his Genesis Capital partner, Charles F. Schoen, probably would give you a good deal on the building. They hold a deed of trust on the property, which is tied up in bankruptcy court after the previous owner, Dr. Adla Adi of St. Francis West Properties, defaulted on his loan from Genesis, Kopelman said.

There's a catch, though -- probably several of them.

11/30/2011

Redevelopment "dream teams" launced to tackle "Extreme Makeover: Brownfields Edition"

"Dream teams" featuring expertise from West Virginia University and other mountain state institutions of higher education will be taking aim at improving abandoned or underutilized blighted properties as part of a new initiative called the WV Redevelopment Collaborative. The effort begins with a kick-off event that sponsors are calling "Extreme Makeover: Brownfields Edition."

Brownfields are properties that sit undeveloped because of a variety of real or perceived environmental barriers. Examples of brownfields are former gas stations, glass factories, machine shops, manufacturing and processing facilities, dry cleaners and mine scarred lands that pepper communities across the state.

11/28/2011

TS&T cleanup grant awaiting approval

CHESTER - The grant application from the Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle for cleanup of the former Taylor Smith and Taylor pottery site is one of the strongest applications the staff of the Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center has ever seen, said Patrick Ford, BDC executive director.

Ford said Sunday the BDC staff sent out the grant application to the Environmental Protection Agency by express mail on Wednesday, well in advance of today's deadline.

"We do have a very strong application," said Ford. "What made it such a strong application are the many people who invested a lot of time and effort into preparing it."

11/17/2011

Clean-up Continues at TS&T Site

CHESTER - The former Taylor Smith & Taylor pottery site and other locations in Hancock and Brooke counties are attracting the attention of developers nationwide, said Marvin Six, assistant director of the Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle (BDC).

Six gave an update on the BDC's efforts at the former pottery during the meeting Wednesday of the Rock Springs Riverfront Redevelopment Committee.

There is a lot of interest from developers at all levels for possible sites in Hancock and Brooke counties, Six said. Developers have expressed a wide range of potential uses for the 9-acre Chester site and other sites in the Northern Panhandle, from warehouses to office space, he said.

11/15/2011

Sustainable Energy Parks in Appalachia Request for Applications

Applications are due January 31, 2012. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Completed applications may be sent through U.S. Postal Service, commercial delivery service, or electronically.

Download the Application Package

9/14/2011

Effective Branding Helps Communities Shape Their Images

MORGANTOWN -- Communities, just like products and corporations, can benefit from effective branding.

That was the message from North Star Destination Strategies CEO Don McEachern Sept. 14 at the 2011 West Virginia Brownfields Conference in Morgantown.

Every community has a reputation, said McEachern, who worked for two decades branding big-name retail products and since, for more than a decade, has helped people "identify the essence of the places they call home."

That reputation is a community's brand, he said, and it might not be what the community wants it to be; it might not even be accurate.

Branding, he said, is what a community can do about it.