MORGANTOWN — While work on the Richwood redevelopment project has been largely behind the scenes to this point, that could change starting this summer.
Morgantown Area Partnership President and CEO Russ Rogerson said the goal is to present a planned unit development application for Phase I of the project to Morgantown’s office of development services in the next couple months.
That would start the clock on what Rogerson anticipates being a six-month process that would require review of the application by the development services staff, the city’s planning commission and, ultimately, Morgantown City Council.
The Richwood redevelopment effort encompasses approximately 10 acres of property in the Woodburn area of the city.
That property was acquired from the Giuliani family for $11.8 million in 2020 through an agreement that included the city, the Monongalia County Commission, WVU and, primarily, the Monongalia County Development Authority — one of the agencies under The Partnership umbrella.
Rogerson said Phase I would encompass approximately half the development area and include construction of various housing types as well as small, neighborhood-related commercial space.
But first, some of the existing 53 structures have to go. The plan is to eventually bring them all down, according to Rogerson.
So, while The Partnership is working through the PUD process with the city, it will be looking to free up funds to that end.
“We also are working diligently to be able to refinance the project and allow us to tear down structures this year. So those are the three next steps that we have to be able to move forward with the development,” Rogerson said.
There is also optimism that West Virginia Auditor J.B. McCusky’s office could allocate funds raised through unpaid tax property auctions to aid with the demolition process.
Mononglaia County Commissioner Sean Sikora said he recently met with McCusky and members of the MCDA executive team.
“So we’re looking to access some of those funds to help decrease the carrying cost to the development authority for all those buildings that are uninhabited and need to be torn down and will be torn down as part of that project,” Sikora said.
Primarily student rentals, The Partnership worked through a third party to rent space in some of the homes the last two years. Rogerson said it doesn’t intend to do so when WVU students return in the fall.
The vision, he continued, is to turn acres of aging homes used as student rentals into a diverse mix of housing options sitting next to heart the of both the city and WVU.
“We really believe this development can repurpose a large track of land that could be more beneficial to our residence, our businesses, the university, its students and our community at large,” Rogerson said.
“It is one of the main gateways into the downtown and part of this project will be about improving connectivity from the surrounding neighborhoods, like Woodburn, into downtown and into campus, both by vehicle or by foot or bike.”
