MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Instead of the typical golden shovels that are synonymous with groundbreaking ceremonies, officials in Morgantown swung golden sledgehammers to mark the start of demolition on a project to revitalize a section of town near the West Virginia University campus.
Officials from Morgantown, Monongalia County, Monongalia County Development Authority and West Virginia University were joined by developers and business leaders Thursday to celebrate a major step forward for the project that has been several years in the making.
Now called the East End Village Development, the concept is to redevelop the area along Richwood Avene, adjacent to downtown Morgantown and the WVU campus by constructing a mixed-use development. The concept calls for multiple housing options and retail opportunities. Plans for the project began in 2020 when the Monongalia County Development Authority purchased 10 contiguous acres from the Giuliani family for $11.8 million.
“It really is the only spot to redevelop that needs it because it wasn’t really kept up. Woodburn is right behind it, a beautiful little neighborhood, South Park’s across the river, and it was just a, just a perfect kind of storm in time,” said developer Dave Biafora.
The city of Morgantown has entered into a $548,000 contract with Reclaim Co. to demolish the old houses and student apartments on the 57 properties. The agreement is part of a collaboration between the city, county, WVU and development authority. Getting all parties to the table, let alone working together on a project has not always been easy. However, everyone agrees the project provides huge potential for everyone involved.
“I think that everyone recognized that this is really our first opportunity in a number of years to show what collaboration can do to really improve the community as a whole,” said Morgantown City Councilor Danielle Trumble, who represents the ward in which the development is located.
“What’s good for the city of Morgantown is good for the county is good for the entire area. So working together on a project like this to make sure that everybody has a stake and everybody benefits equally is a really great thing to see.”
Earlier this week, the Morgantown City Council and Monongalia County Commission each approved $500,000 to be placed in a cash reserve as a requirement for a refinancing package.
Demolition is expected to be completed in early 2025 with construction starting immediately.