MORGANTOWN — The city of Morgantown, the Monongalia County Development Authority, the Monongalia County Commission, WVU and various stakeholders have spent three-plus years laying the groundwork for the 10-acre Richwood redevelopment.
The time has finally come to clear the ground.
Prior to Morgantown City Council’s most-recent committee of the whole session, the body held a brief special meeting to award a $548,500 contract to Reclaim Company for the asbestos abatement and demolition of 58 structures along Richwood Avenue.
Reclaim turned in the lowest of five bids, which ranged up to just over $2.7 million.
The city spent $41,720 in March for asbestos sampling and testing in the structures.
Funds for the work are coming from the Willey, Spruce, Brockway TIF district as well as a demolition grant from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
“There were four zones. Three as the base bid and one alternate, zone four. There were sufficient funds to do all four zones at this time,” Morgantown Development Services Director Rickie Yeager told members of council.
Yeager said the contractor will have 180 days to complete the work.
The Monongalia County Development Authority purchased the land — roughly 10 contiguous acres on the doorstep of downtown Morgantown — for $11.8 million in 2020.
Once demolition is complete, MCDA will work with the executive developer, Biafora Holdings, to begin site preparation for future development.
In January, Morgantown City Council approved rezoning most of the property from R-1 (single family) and R-2 (single and two-family residential) to B-1 (neighborhood business).
A portion of the property was left out of the rezoning to serve as a buffer between the developing mixed-use area and the adjacent single-family Woodburn neighborhood.
A representative of project architect Omni Associates previously said the goal is to create a walkable area adjacent to the city’s downtown that will focus on a mix of housing and neighborhood-friendly businesses.
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