Huntington Building to Become Home to Appalachian Artists

A vacant garment factory in Huntington’s Westmoreland neighborhood will be converted into apartments and a work area for artists.
Executive director Brandon Dennison of the nonprofit Coalfield Development Corp. says the group bought the former Corbin property from the Wayne County Economic Development Authority.

Coalfield provides workforce and life skills training for high school graduates from low-income areas of Wayne County. The trainees learn the construction trade by redeveloping old properties to provide affordable housing.

 
Dennison tells The Herald-Dispatch the nonprofit also has received a $350,000 grant from Brooklyn, N.Y.-based ArtPlace America and a $150,000 loan from Charleston-based Community Works.

 
The nearly 100,000-square-foot building would include allow Appalachian artists to live and work there.