Fayetteville was searching for the perfect partner to spur some significant redevelopment in town, and it turned to a prominent family which has made significant contributions for years.
Gov. Jim Justice joined Mountain Shore Properties LLC Monday in announcing a historic redevelopment of former Fayetteville school houses in the seat of Fayette County government. The three former schools, located in the heart of Fayetteville, will be transformed into a boutique hotel, modern apartments and townhomes. The $15 million project is being led by Fayetteville native Charlie Wendell, a national real estate developer who got his start in Fayette County.
"We're about to embark on something that is truly amazing for this area," Justice said. "Tourism is exploding all across West Virginia. We have waves and waves of people that are visiting our great state, and you can bet that the addition of a classy boutique hotel like this, within a rock’s throw of America’s newest national park, will draw them in droves.
"It’s great to see a West Virginia native son like Charlie coming back home to invest in our communities. There’s nothing better than taking these local gems and repurposing them as something new and exciting."
Mountain Shore Properties plans to convert the former high school and the adjacent middle school building into a 45- to 50-room boutique hotel. The neighboring elementary school building will be turned into 20 to 24 apartment units, while retaining the former gymnasium as a community facility for the citizens of Fayetteville. The plan also includes townhome development, officials said.
The project is expected to create 30 construction jobs and 25 permanent jobs once the construction phase is complete.
Wendell, the Mountain Shore Properties founder and chairman, has also pledged to celebrate the town’s rich history by maintaining photographs and memorabilia throughout the properties.
"Since my family has been a part of the Fayette County and Fayetteville area since its founding, I am humbled by the opportunity to continue that association through this development," he said.
"Since receiving our schools from the Fayette County Board of Education, it has been the focus of several town councils to find the perfect partnership in our preservation of these historic schools, a partnership that would serve our community and help it grow," said Fayetteville Mayor Sharon Cruikshank. "They say anything worth having is worth waiting for, and to say we waited for the perfect partnership (with the Wendells) is an understatement."
Wendell and his wife, Kay, reside in Charleston, S.C., but they still keep an apartment in Fayetteville. They both attended grades 1-12 in Fayetteville. Both of their sons, Preston and Stephen, attended Fayetteville Elementary before graduating from Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, S.C. Preston is an ER doctor, and Stephen is an attorney who has been with his father's company for nearly 10 years.
"We're all products of this town, and this area, and I consider the town part of the bigger area, and I'm humbled and excited to be able to take buildings that would would deteriorate ... and become eyesores, and turn them (into a positive)," Wendell said.
At the start of his remarks Monday, he said, "I welcome you all to the Fayetteville Grade School gymnasium."
He said he "1,000 percent acknowledges that this day would not be possible were it not for the incredible insight and forethought of our local, state and national leaders who enacted historic tax credits" and also "made the New River Gorge Preserve our 63rd national park."
"Two words that come to my mind when I think about the project; one is excited, two is humbled," he said. "I'm extremely excited to rejuvenate a place that has provided so many wonderful memories throughout my life, far too many to recount," New River Gorge Preserve said, mentioning a former elementary school basketball teammate and his father, Houston, and his 1939 Fayetteville High School basketball team. "I'm humbled thinking of Italian stonebuilders (who) built the high school on the hill ... and built timeless stone walls and other buildings we see throughout our town today."
"I'm humbled," he continued, "thinking of my family's long history in Fayette County and Fayetteville, that dates back to the very beginning of both. I'm especially thinking of my mother (Pat), who truly loved Fayetteville and was instrumental in the establishment of the Fayetteville Historic District."
The company's aim is to "try to transform these old schools into a welcoming home for our citizens and for our guests."
"Fayetteville West Virginia is my home and, although we have developed 27 hotels in 10 different states, I'm extremely humbled to have the opportunity to honor all of those who have come before me by making this project the best one we've ever attempted to complete," he said. "I give you my solemn oath I'll do my best to not let anyone down."
Wendell said he anticipates getting the project started in May. "Hopefully, the grade school apartments will be done by the first part of '23 and the hotel will open in late '23," said Wendell, who opened the Holiday Inn (now Holiday Lodge) in Oak Hill in August 1983.
"This is a really exciting day, not just for Fayetteville and the region, but for the entire state," said Chelsea Ruby, West Virginia tourism secretary. Charlie Wendell "is someone who really loves Fayetteville."
"There’s no place like home," said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who was in attendance.
"The memories that are here, the people that everybody grew up with, and community love is still very, very vibrant in Fayetteville and in Fayette County," Capito said.
"I want to thank Charlie for investing in our state, for investing in our people. I think this will be a good footprint for lots of other growth.”
Capito also discussed the positive impact that the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve’s designation as America’s newest national park is having on drawing development projects to the region such as the one announced Monday.
"I love seeing projects like this happen in our county," Fayette County Commission President Allison Taylor said. "I’m one of the kids who had to go away, and then come home. I yearned for West Virginia and now I’m back. We have a great quality of life in this county, and this project is only going to help make it even better."
Taylor also briefed those present on other local development projects that are in the pipeline, as well as discussing infrastructure in the county.
Earlier this month, Mountain Shore Properties LLC began negotiations to acquire the former Fayetteville schools for the project to help fuel the growing tourism economy, as well as address some of the current housing shortages in the area, officials noted
Mountain Shore Properties is a national real estate development company with $400-plus million in development projects across the East Coast.