MORGANTOWN — If you travel to Preston County and find the intersection of North Mountaineer Highway and Dogtown Road, near the confluence of Stacks Run and Stony Run, and take a good look around … you’ll probably see a house, maybe a gas station and a whole lot of nature.
But that spot defines a Build WV Act district potentially worth a different kind of green for developers looking to construct housing anywhere within a 20-mile radius of that location.
“This was a program that was actually approved a couple years ago by the state to incentive home construction. They don’t differentiate between single family homes, condos, townhomes, apartments. It’s really intended to drive additional house construction in the state,” Morgantown Area Partnership President and CEO Russ Rogerson explained during a work session with the Monongalia County Commission.
There were three test districts approved the first year. It was opened up to the rest of the state in 2023. That’s when Monongalia County jumped on board.
“We felt, given our population here in Mon County and the fact that we expect that to continue to grow; and how housing and, obviously, affordable housing are all being discussed, that it was very worthwhile for us to put in for that district,” he said.
Rogerson said the aforementioned spot in Preston County was selected as the local district’s central point in order to get as much of Monongalia County, Preston County and West Virginia in the district as possible while not spilling too far into neighboring states. It also includes a portion of Marion County, including Fairmont.
As for incentives, developers of approved projects receive sales tax exemptions for building materials; personal property, and services by contractors and subcontractors directly used in the project; a property value adjustment credit taken against corporate income tax beginning the tax year in which the project is completed and ending in the 10th taxable year thereafter (up to $100,000 per project). It also allows municipalities to exempt approved projects from B&O taxes by ordinance.
In order to be eligible, the housing project must be in a certified district and generate approved costs in excess of $3 million or include at least six residential units or houses. There are also more nebulous requirements that speak to improving opportunities in the project area and creating positive economic impact.
With a $5,000 application fee, developers can present their projects directly to the West Virginia Department of Economic Development to be considered for the program.
During his discussion with the commission, Rogerson pitched an idea that would see the county further incentivize builders of approved Build WV Act projects to include adequate infrastructure for their developments.
“What I would suggest is a look at potentially increased property value break for a period of up to five years. That would generate additional funds, indirectly, on the improved value. Kind of like a TIF on a small, focused area for a short period of time,” he said.
He explained further, “What I’m suggesting is maybe we look at property tax where you could say, ‘OK, we’ll give you 80% of that value back for a period of five years if you take that savings in real money and put that towards minor road improvements, turn lanes, water and sewer extensions, infrastructure.”
The commission said it was interested and asked Rogerson to explore the concept, which is still very preliminary and needs vetting at both the county and state levels.
As for overall Build WV Act, the state reports 16 districts were approved in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
During that time, one 46-unit project (The Doris on Main) was completed in Wheeling and eight more, totaling 550 units, were approved in another six districts.
Additional information is available at westvirginia.gov/build-wv-act/ as well as morgantownareapartnership.com.
