MONTGOMERY, WV (WOAY) – “Montgomery didn’t get in this shape overnight and it takes a long time to rebuild it.”
Montgomery Mayor Greg Ingram has been waiting for this week for more than three years. Three run-down, dilapidated buildings, right near the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Ferry Street, are finally being demolished.
“It’s been a rebuilding process,” Ingram said. Here we are now. We’re ready to go and let’s get these buildings down.”
One of the buildings used to be the Top Hat Nightclub. Once it’s demolished in a couple of weeks, it will eventually turn in to a parking lot, adding space for when Montgomery has events downtown. And the other two buildings, which used to be the Odd Fellows Club and a taxi stand, will eventually become a pavilion, giving Montgomery’s downtown look a facelift.
“That’s the plan right now,” Ingram said. “A parking lot in one and a pavilion in the other.”
Ingram says demolishing the buildings is important for Montgomery’s long-term growth. It won’t happen all at once, but the vision for the future gets brighter with each new project.
“Nothing happens overnight,” Ingram said. “We didn’t get here overnight and it’s going to take a while to rebuild the city.
“But, we’re working on it a little bit at a time.”
