Downtown Redevelopment InitiativeNorth Central West Virginia

Downtown Redevelopment Initiative

Lots of vacant spaces, and limited resources available…

Downtown Redevelopment Working Group- WV Rural Development Office- Private foundation- Brownsfields Assistance Center- West Virginia University- Other NGOs

Loans & Mini-Grants to Private Building Owners

How to bring vacant space back into service?

• Up to $5,000 in grant funding• Combined with a loan for

building rehab • $1.24 M loaned and leveraged

through CDFI to date

Priority Projects in Seven Communities

• Working with local Main Street/volunteer groups to ID priority projects;• Cobbling together pre-

development funding to assess structures & design reuse options; • Putting together ownership

& financing structures specific to each project.

• What partnership structure would best benefit both Woodlands and private investors?

• What are the pros/cons of condo-izing a building?• How does a non-profit/for-profit partnership impact

potential development subsidies that may be brought to bear?

• How can Woodlands best capitalize a local demolition/land-banking fund?

• How can a meaningful market study be conducted that will reflect local opportunities and economics?