Dec. 21—SMITHERS — A parcel of riverfront land that was home to coal camp houses during the mining heyday is now owned by the City of Smithers.
Smithers recently acquired two tracts in Fayette County from Kanawha-Gauley Coal and Coke Company, formerly DBA W.R. Johnson Coal Company. Deeds for the surface-only purchase were finalized in the Fayette County clerk's office on Friday, Dec. 15.
According to Smithers Mayor Dr. Anne Cavalier, Kanawha-Gauley Coal and Coke Co. owns about 7,000 acres within Smithers city limits, mostly mountainside property.
"They did own, until Friday, that piece of property that we grew up knowing as Longacre Bottom," Cavalier said. The Longacre Bottom property involved in the purchase covers around 24 acres, while an adjacent tract beside Dollar General Store and adjacent to U.S. 60 was also included in the purchase. That area is referred to as the Longacre Triangle. All told, the acreage of the purchase exceeds 26 acres.
Ward Law Office in Beckley notified Cavalier Friday evening that the deed was recorded. She advised the city council and let other interested parties know before making a public announcement on social media.
The property is the former location of more than 100 coal camp houses, Cavalier said. The site was cleared of houses in the late 1970s, she's been told. Some of the property has been used by subcontractors via temporary leases as a "lay-down yard," the mayor said.
In the past, K-GCC won the right to erect a railroad crossing to the west side of the triangle, and that street is included in the sale. "Through that court order, we have the right to re-establish a crossing there," Cavalier said.
A congressionally directed spending allocation in fiscal year 2022 provided funds to make the purchase, the mayor said. "Because Sen. (Joe) Manchin was able to get us an earmark ($4.688 million), of that $1.5 million (will be used) to buy the Longacre property, as well as pay for re-establishing the railroad crossing," said Cavalier. "It has to be a safe, fully-signaled crossing." About $1 million went to buy the land, while the crossing is estimated to cost in the $350,000 to $450,000 range.
"It is absolutely critical to develop that property," Cavalier stressed. To that end, she has been involved in discussions with two hotel developers (one in-state and one out-of-state) who are looking at the property as an option. "The hotel developers I've been talking with hire between 45 and 60 employees, and that would be a tremendous boon to this area," Cavalier said. The developers also represent potential related businesses, such as restaurants, gift shops and the like.
"In order to get people to visit here, to stay here multiple days, you have to have a place for them to stay," said Cavalier. "We have some wonderful entrepreneurs in the area that have some bed-and-breakfasts, some Airbnbs, but we'd like to see a place with 60 rooms or more." That type of development, in turn, should generate interest in other businesses possibly migrating to the area, she said.
"We've been at this for a year," Cavalier said. Right after the sale last week, she said she reached out to both developers. "They're going to come and look at the property again. So we're going to get very serious here again, very soon."
Of course, a big consideration will be the need to supply water and sewer infrastructure to the site, the mayor noted. "It will be three years before we can possibly see a hotel on that site," Cavalier said. "We've got to get the water and sewer in there." Another request for federal funds has been submitted for $2.5 million for water, sewer and road infrastructure on the property. That request has made it into the congressional budget, Cavalier said, although it hasn't been approved.
Two plans were developed to potentially guide development on the property, Cavalier said. One — the Upper Kanawha Valley Outdoor Recreation Plan — called for a big RV park, and the Fulcrum Project, featuring WVU students under the supervision of Peter Butler, director of School of Design and Community Development for WVU's Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, also developed ideas for the property involving a variety of disciplines. "Frankly, for the utility of the property, a blend of what the students came up with is probably the most exciting," Cavalier said. That included outdoor recreation areas and riverfront projects, in addition to potential retail projects, she said.
While pursuing development of the property, the mayor said city residents will be a focus, too, as the aim is "make sure it's also a better place for our residents, not just new businesses."
The site will preserve the name Longacre Bottom as long as she's involved, she says. "This name means a lot to people. That is Longacre, and that holds our heart."
"This is exciting," Cavalier said. "I really think that we've turned the corner now. Is it going to happen overnight? No. We're looking at the long haul here, not the short haul."
"Mayor (Montgomery's Greg) Ingram and I have been working together to bring the kind of amenities to the area that will draw people here," she added. She also mentioned a USEDA grant that is paving the way for the development of Oakland Riverfront Park, adding, "Mayor Ingram is updating and improving the (Montgomery) marina, and we'll have a trail between the two."
Smithers is also developing a storefront in town via grant money, expected to be complete by mid-2024.
"A lot of people need to remember we didn't get into this economic hole overnight," Cavalier said, beginning with a downturn in the coal industry in the 1970s and 1980s. Other factors included the decision to divert the planned Interstate 64 route away from the area, as well as the construction of the Charleston Town Center Mall drawing many local residents who used to shop more locally in the Upper Kanawha Valley. Two later negatives were the loss of WVU Tech, which relocated to Beckley and affected businesses in Montgomery and nearby that catered to Tech students and staff, and Valley High School, which was closed and transformed into Valley PK-8. All of that led to "the loss of jobs, the loss of residents, the loss of interest in investing in this area," said Cavalier, whose town's population stood at 1,050 residents in the most recent Census report. "What we are bringing back is that interest in investing, that interest in creating jobs, that interest in living here."
