Economic Development Project Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Hal Greer Boulevard Project To Reshape Huntington’s Interstate Access Corridor

Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday morning a $13.5 million comprehensive upgrade of Huntington’s Hal Greer Boulevard, also known as 16th Street, all the way from Washington Boulevard to Third Avenue.

Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston said the project would be fast tracked, with a field office going up in January, building demolition in February and road work beginning in the spring of 2023.

“This one’s comprehensive,” Wriston said. “It has all the bells and whistles, pedestrian, bike path, new lighting, landscaping, you name it, this project’s got it.”

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said the project was more than a decade in the making, with stakeholders from the Fairfield neighborhood to hospital and university presidents joining in a planning alliance.

Designs will highlight safety, accessibility, beauty and economic development for the main corridor that leads people from I-64, to Cabell-Huntington Hospital and to the downtown area and Marshall University.

“With all of the business development that is planned on Hal Greer Boulevard, in five years, anybody who’s coming through here right now will not recognize Hal Greer Boulevard,” Williams said. “It will be absolutely transformed.”

The project will also highlight a partnership with the Thundercloud “First Dig” Initiative, laying underground broadband fiber along the corridor, providing internet speeds that partners say will be 1000 times faster than what locals are experiencing now.

Funding Delivered For Gas Line Project In Mercer County

Gov. Jim Justice announced nearly $2 million on Tuesday in Mercer County to help bring natural gas to the Cumberland Industrial Park. The natural gas line will run under and along John Nash Boulevard.

Mercer County Commissioner Bill Archer says it’s another feature meant to attract businesses off of Interstate 77 at exit one.

“Those people who were out in the industrial park to be able to use natural gas out there,” Archer said, “It’s a very good selling point to bring in new businesses and other developments.”

Other facilities off of the exit include the New River Soccer Complex and the headquarters for the Bluefield Area Transit system.

Archer says the county will use $1 million from American Rescue Plan funds in addition to another $2 million from federal funds.

Funding Secures Postsecondary Education And Entertainment For Downtown Bluefield

The Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation has big plans for a portion of a Bluefield building that’s been vacant for decades. The space on Raleigh Street that previously housed a tire and auto center will soon be used for entertainment and education.

The Granada Theater was renovated and reopened in 2021. The new project will renovate a former auto center which is located on the lower level of the Granada and accessible in the rear of the historical theater. The level will be remodeled to host New River Community and Technical College teaching labs.

“New River welcomes the opportunity to make its affordable and high-quality workforce training programs accessible to people in the Bluefield area,” said Dr. Bonnie Copenhaven, President of New River Community and Technical College.

The project will also provide two more theaters, each with fifty seats and new amenities. The space will also be available for community events, film festivals, and more.

“The project’s creative use of underutilized space will create opportunities for entertainment, employment, and education in downtown Bluefield, benefiting residents throughout the city and across the region,” Executive Director of the Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation Brian Tracey, said.

Raleigh Street space before construction.

The project comes with a $1.65 million price tag. The Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation secured a portion of the funds through a program called New Markets tax credits and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

“The use of New Markets tax credits to finance this project will act as a catalyst for economic development in Bluefield, contributing to the positive momentum already present downtown and demonstrating the value of tax credit programs for the revitalization of the city,” said Ron Martin, Mayor of Bluefield.

The Bluefield Economic Development Authority, Community Ventures, and Hugh I. Shott, Jr. Foundation, are also financial supporters of the project.

W.Va. Electric School Bus Pilot Project Announced

A new pilot project will help equip West Virginia school districts with low or no cost electric buses.

In his regular briefing on Thursday, Gov. Jim Justice announced that the Department of Economic Development will begin working with West Virginia school districts and the GreenPower company to help provide electric school buses at no or low cost.

Mark Nestlen with GreenPower joined Justice in explaining the first $500 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is now available.

He said those funds are federally designated to replace diesel burning school buses with zero-emission electric buses.

Nestlen said state school districts can almost get those buses for free.

“The large school buses will have a $375,000 rebate from the federal government, the smaller school buses $285,000,” Nestlen said. “And then they get an additional $20,000 per bus after that to work on charging infrastructure.”

Nestlen said GreenPower will take possession of its South Charleston facility in August, and have buses rolling out by September.

Abandoned Mines to Be Sites for Economic Development Projects

Federal funds are available for economic development projects in the state. The money is meant to help communities left with mining impacts from activity before 1977.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation is accepting applications for a portion of $25 million in grant funding available for economic development projects.

To qualify, the projects need to be located on or adjacent to mine sites that ended operations prior to the signing of the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act in 1977.

A committee of representatives from the West Virginia DEP, Department of Commerce, and Division of Highways will review the applications.

Applications are due by September 1, and the committee will announce who will receive grant funding as early as mid-September.