MORGANTOWN — Reading between the lines, you get the impression that members of the Monongalia County Commission had a number of questions when they met in closed session with representatives of developer WestRidge last week.
Commission President Sean Sikora said the executive session was more than two hours long. It touched on a number of topics, including the payment of delinquent taxes dating back to 2022, the halted Academy Sports project and deadline extensions the commission ultimately approved on Wednesday – with conditions.
“By my count, we had about eight different things we wanted to be addressed. The tax issue, we wanted it addressed by last Friday. It was addressed by last Friday with a plan to move forward,” Sikora said. “ … We also talked about a number of other commitments from the developer to the county and to the district. We got an update on all of those. Though not everything is moving forward as we would like, there are reasonable explanations as to why.”
The large building that’s been under construction since early last year at 54 Crosscut Drive, just below Menards, is to be an Academy Sports + Outdoors.
A representative from the city of Westover told The Dominion Post the city issued a stop work order for the site weeks ago because WestRidge was essentially acting as the project’s general contractor without a contractor’s license.
It was explained Wednesday that a contractor is being brought in to be responsible for the construction while WestRidge works on attaining the proper permitting.
As for Wednesday’s agenda item, the commission approved extending the deadlines tied to the release of project funds for use within the TIF district. Those dollars are to be released in portions, known as tranches.
“Both of the ‘23 property tax bonds and excise tax bonds had tranche mechanisms embedded within those so that certain conditions had to be met in order for the full amount of the project funds to be released and be made available for the project,” county bond counsel Tom Aman explained, adding, “Those were tied, mostly, to certain developments occurring, businesses opening, or replacement businesses, within a certain time frame.”
The deadline to trigger the first tranche release was Nov. 15.
“So, for tranche one, basically it was Dave & Buster’s was the identified business for that. So that, I understand from the developer, is still a possibility of something that is occurring, although it’s not quite ready yet to release the tranche,” Aman said.
The commission voted to extend the initial deadline from Nov. 15 to May 15, 2025 and the deadline for the second tranche from May 15, 2025 to Nov. 15, 2025.
In order for that to happen, however, a number of things must occur.
One, the extension must receive the unanimous consent of all bond holders. The developer must also place money in an escrow fund to cover the interest generated during the extended deadlines.
The commission also added its own stipulations, including the presentation of required information needed for annual reporting, which was due Oct. 1, as well as a budget sheet that was to be turned over when the bonds were issued last year.
All of that must be in place by Monday if the extensions are to be implemented.
“The county commission’s approval today ensures that certain businesses and development which are in negotiation, due diligence, design, or pre-development can proceed without delay. Extending the bonds’ tranche mechanism’s date mitigates risk to bondholders until those businesses are fully committed or under construction,” WestRidge President Ryan Lynch said. “We appreciate the commission and the transaction team’s careful and deliberate work on this matter, which will pave the way for several exciting new retailers breaking ground in 2025.”
The commissioners were adamant that the district has been and continues to be successful. They want to make sure it remains successful.
“I don’t want to be the individual or the commission be the ones to stop this. I think we’re trying to do everything possible to move forward and be accountable for the citizens and the taxpayers,” Commissioner Tom Bloom said.
Sikora said he believes the commission has made its feelings known.
“Development is a tough business, and things don’t always go as you expect. There can always be a lot more communication than there has been, but I think we’ve made our point in addressing that,” he said.
