FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – “It’s phenomenal what’s going on all across our state but it is really phenomenal what’s going on in this county, right here, right now.”
Gov. Justice and Baby Dog were joined by senators, commissioners, and other dignitaries from across the state for an announcement of plans that will be transforming Fayetteville.
Led by Mountain Shore Properties and Fayetteville-native Charlie Wendell, three old, beloved schoolhouses will soon be undergoing renovations. The former Fayetteville High School, Middle School, and Elementary School are set to become a boutique hotel, modern apartments and townhomes.
“We all want to be home, and it’s just really meaningful to see people like Charlie and those people who decide, not only do they want to be home, but they are willing to put money where their mouth is and really come home,” Justice says.
The company will convert the former high school and adjacent middle school into a 45-50-room boutique hotel. The elementary school building will become 20-24 apartment units.
The former gym will now become a community center for Fayetteville residents.
The plan will also include townhome development.
It’s an effort that will combat the area’s current housing shortage, along with further strengthening Fayette County’s growing tourism economy.
“We have more and more folks coming here so I think it’s important that we continue to build the infrastructure, to build more parking, to build more trails, to build more hotels, and to make sure that we keep up with it, but that we do it in a way that stays true to Fayetteville,” West Virginia Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby says.
The coming of the New River Gorge National Park and the increase in tourism has helped get the idea for the project off the ground. The addition of historic, residential and tourism tax credits has further gone into making the dream of the project a reality.
Many like Wendell, who went to school in the old buildings, gathered in the gym for the announcement Monday. The feelings behind the initiative were bittersweet.
“When the schools consolidated and moved out my worry was, what’s going to happen to those buildings?”
The $15 million project is expected to be completed sometime next year.