2016 Progress by Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Hope Horizon on the

Construction continues... Despite the recent winter weather, progress continues during the winter months on the Courthouse Square project in Princeton. The structure is expected to house office and retail space. Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

Promising prospects Future looks bright with job-creating projects underway in area By CHARLES OWENS Bluefield Daily Telegraph

RINCETON — Despite the loss of many good-paying jobs in the coal industry in recent months, there is hope on the horizon — and several potential job-creating projects in the works — for the region. While some of the projects are not public at this point, discussions are continuing in Mercer County on a number of potential developments, including new retail establishments, restaurants and companies that are looking to bring potential manufacturing jobs to the region, according to Mercer County Development Authority Executive Director Janet Bailey. “The future does look very promising,” Bailey said. “The coal industry has been hit very hard recently, but there are a lot of new businesses and projects that will help to alleviate some of this and create jobs. And the future does look promising.” Bailey said one developer, who remains unidentified at this point, is looking at a couple of pieces of property along Oakvale Road in Princeton for a potential mini mall or strip mall concept that would include restaurants and stores. One site being looked at for the proposed development is near the Chick-Fil-A construction site, also on

Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

Downtown... The Bluefield Preservation Society has worked tirelessly to breath life into Commerce Street — also known as the Depot District — in downtown Bluefield. Oakvale Road. The new stand-alone Chick-Fil-A is expected to be open for business in either April or early May. Bailey said a couple of unidentified restaurants also are currently in negotiations for property near the new Bojangles restaurant in Princeton. One is looking at a site beside of Bojangles, and the other at a location behind Bojangles, all on the old Kmart property also on Oakvale Road. “It looks very promising,” Bailey said of the unidentified restaurants. “I know

that one may locate there. I can tell you one for sure is coming. The other one I don’t know.” Bailey said dirt also is now being moved along 12 acres of property located near the existing Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse in Princeton. Bailey said the property was recently acquired by Happy Tails Veterinarian Clinic of Princeton. Although plans for the property have not yet been made public, Bailey said the project looks promising. “They have moved a lot of

dirt back,” Bailey said. “It may be a drainage issue. They do have an engineer. I know what they have proposed to do. You will be very pleased with what they have proposed to do. It will be a multi-million dollar project.” Bailey said the company will make an announcement about the project in the future. In other developments, Bailey said a couple of unidentified manufacturing companies also are looking at property in the Princeton and Bluefield areas “These are manufacturing

companies looking at the Bluefield Cumberland Road Industrial Park and another one is looking at Princeton,” Bailey said. “Then we have a company that is looking at the Turnpike Industrial Park as well, and that will be manufacturing. And that is what we need. Actually, manufacturing is the lifeblood of any community. We have been hit so hard by the coal industry, and this is a diversification of that.” Bailey said two of the proposed companies “look very promising.” “Hopefully something will be signed and sealed,” she said of the proposed developments. “I know they want to work with the state and state money may be involved.” In another unrelated development, construction is continuing on the new Courthouse Square project in Princeton. “They have been taking applications for various types of businesses,” Bailey said of the Courthouse Square project. “It will be office space and retail. When that is completed, they will probably review the applications and go from there. I know there has been some applications.” Bailey said her office also is helping to market the Mercer Mall, and is still talking to representatives of two national big box chains. One of the two unidentified big box chains is still inter-

ested in Mercer County. “We do have (available) sites in the county for a big box,” Bailey said. “I think it is something we will see coming in the future.” Bailey said another prospective company is interested in building cabins near the new HatfieldMcCoy Trailhead site in Mercer County. “The proposal we are working on now is talking about building up to 30 cabins for two to 10 people,” Bailey said. “It would be up to 30 cabins. Hopefully the 30 would come in the next year and a half.” Economic development efforts also are continuing in the city of Bluefield where a priority focus is on supporting and strengthening existing businesses in the city. “Every community is looking to attract that new industry to come in and all too often your existing businesses are ignored,” Jim Spencer, director of business and community development for the city of Bluefield, said. Spencer points to an earlier study that looked at Mercer, McDowell and Tazewell counties. It concluded that 70 to 80 percent of future growth would come from existing businesses. “That is why one of our first goals is to work with our existing businesses,”

Projects, 9

2 Monday, February 29, 2016

Officials hope to see economic boost from...

‘Project Jonah’ By CHARLES OWENS Bluefield Daily Telegraph RICHLANDS, Va. — In the Bible, the prophet Jonah is thrown overboard during a huge storm, and is swallowed by a large whale or fish where he spends three days and three nights in the creature’s stomach. This well-known biblical story has become a code name over the past two years for a proposed economic development project in Tazewell County with ties to the nation of Israel. Although area officials have been tight-lipped about the project — with most “Project Jonah” discussions occurring behind closed-doors executive sessions — the county Board of Supervisors did recently pass a resolution during an open session of the board allocating tentative funding for an access road to the site of the proposed development. The project is proposed for the Western District of the county. The motion passed by the supervisors on Jan. 6 stated that the board’s commitment to fund the Tazewell County Industrial Development Authority’s improvement of the access road to the Project Jonah site was contingent upon the developer of the proposed project commencing with the construction and the investment of a new facility at the site. The resolution further stated that the county’s support was contingent upon Project Jonah’s compliance with the terms of grant agreements with all local, state and regional agencies, including, but not limited to, the county’s Industrial Development Authority, the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and the Virginia Tobacco Commission. The resolution further authorized County Administrator Patricia Green to apply for a grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation for industrial

access road improvements in an amount of up to $800,000, and if necessary, to seek financing for the remaining cost of the improvements. The proposed fish-farming project with ties to the nation of Israel could create 436 jobs for Tazewell County if the development as currently proposed comes to fruition. Mike Thompson, who works as the director of business development and support services for Tazewell County, said officials are unable to make detailed comments regarding the proposed project at this time. “All I can say is that we are hopeful that Project Jonah will proceed,” Thompson said. “That is basically all I can say about it.” Thompson said the proposed project is contingent upon a number of factors, including funding. “We are just limited in what we can say,” Thompson added. “I hope in the not too-distant future we can say more about it.” Thompon said the project has exciting potential. He said a lot of people are actively involved in the proposed development. Two years ago, Delegate James W. “Will” Morefield, RTazewell, met with officials in Israel regarding the project while he was in the country as part of a delegation selected by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “In the spring of 2013, I was selected by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as part of a delegation of elected officials and business leaders to represent the U.S. in Israel,” Morefield said. “The delegation spent roughly a week touring the country and meeting with elected officials. The purpose of the trip was for the delegation to learn more about Israel to build a stronger relationship between the U.S. and Israel. After the delegation returned to the

U.S., I decided to take advantage of the opportunity being in Israel and decided to stay for several days. I asked the director of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board to introduce me to Israeli companies who may be willing to locate in the U.S.” Morefield said he subsequently met with several different business officials in Israel. “After meeting with several different companies, I was able to attract the interest of an Aqua Culture company that builds industrial fish farms and processing facilities around the world,” Morefield said. “Upon my return, I introduced the company to representatives at Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center. Over the following six months the company and Virginia Tech designed a plan for what will be the largest indoor Tilapia farm and processing facility in the world.” Morefield said the company is currently in the final stages of its capital fundraising campaign. He said officials are hoping to make an official announcement in the coming months ahead. “We are grateful to all of the state and local agencies who were willing to put politics aside and focus on creating much needed jobs for our region,” Morefield said. According to Morefield, the total project is expected to create nearly 436 long-term jobs after all phases are completed. “If the project is successful, the company hopes to bring on other species of seafood and build similar types of facilities around the coalfields making this a truly transformational project for our regional economy,” Morefield said. “This is a long-term project and is going to take an extreme amount of patience for all parties involved, but we are committed to seeing it become a reality. Our region simply cannot afford to lose anymore.

Monday, February 29, 2016 3

Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

Press box... George Aiello, vice president of the East River Soccer Association Board stands in front of the new press box. The structure, equipped with showers in both the home and away locker rooms, cost a little more than $240,000 to build.

East River Soccer Complex

Facility continues to evolve By TOM BONE Bluefield Daily Telegraph EAST RIVER — The pride of the community has been the driving force for the conversion of an uninhabited mountainside into a showcase for soccer since the mid-1990s — and it’s still evolving. The most recent upgrade at East River Soccer Complex (ERSC) is a new, two-story press box and dressing-room building at midfield of Field 1. The structure cost “a little over $240,000,” said George Aiello. Aiello has been on the East River board for about five years, and has been its president for the past three. The 84-acre complex spreads across a forested expanse off Exit 1 of Interstate 77, just before the West Virginia-side entrance to the East River Mountain Tunnel. “I think we’ve got the best facilities and complex throughout the region,” Aiello said. “(We’ve got) six fields. There’s not a prettier place in Bluefield to see the foliage on the trees. Just to be out here, it’s very peaceful.” The complex is a “community asset,” Aiello said. “Not only do we have youth soccer out here — and we’ve got all the other ages that play — we’ve got an adult league, that plays in the summertime. So we’ve got a little bit of everything for everyone.” The field is the home for the men’s and women’s soccer teams of Bluefield College, the boys and girls soccer programs of Bluefield and Graham high schools, and also hosts matches of Mercer Christian Academy and several middle schools in the Bluefields and surrounding area. The youth leagues run by East River Soccer includes “about 800 in the fall, if you include all users,” said Hank Fu rry, whose full-time job is to keep the facility maintained and scheduled properly. In the spring, the number is “probably close to 1,100, if you include all users.” “We really try to make sure

we leave a lasting, positive impression on the people who come through our gates.” “We, our leadership, take a lot of pride in trying to be the best youth activity in the area,” Fu rry said. “We really talk, every season, about what we can do better, what we want to do better. We try to spend our money on things that give the users the best r e t u rn on their investment of money.” Furry, who was once the ERSC executive director, said about its board of directors, “We’ve really tried to be a board that’s never self- s e rving. We’re always thinking about making sure the kids have a good time, making sure that the parents have a good time, making sure the grandparents have a good time, making sure that we’re good ambassadors in the community.” “We have a great relationship, I think, with the other athletic entities in the community. A long time ago, before the current group was in (charge), it was kind of established to get our spring league kind of, almost, out of the way before baseball really got cranked up. So the numbers would be small.” “We also try to finish up early enough on Saturday that it doesn’t interfere with the kids that want to play baseball in the afternoon.” “You want to do what’s best for the community. We really think that, for little kids, soccer is such a great base, foundational sport, because it teaches lateral mobility. “We start with 4-year-olds now. They understand the concept of kicking the ball to the goal. ... They understand having ‘goals,’ and getting a goal. “The parents get excited. It’s a great place for grandparents. We’re very, very (conscious) of trying to put a really, really good product together (and to) be highly organized.” Furry added, “Of course, we still have camps we run all summer. We had a very successful King’s Warriors camp. They had, I think, three or four

camps out here this summer. Then Virginia Tech did a camp out here.” “We have about five or six teams that play travel soccer out of our club, that have been v e ry, very successful.” He said the complex has helped with a tournament that raised money for the cancerfighting efforts of the Jonathan Powell Hope Foundation. East River is also the site for an annual invitational tournament run by the Princeton-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce. “The only time we’re shut down is from Thanksgiving ’til (the second or third week of) Febru a ry,” he said. “Whenever the weather breaks, and I can start getting the fields ready for the spring.” Aiello said about Furry, “Hank does a wonderful job. He pours his heart and soul into it.” In 2014, the facility became the home of the Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors. That club plays in the Premier Development League (PDL), a training ground for professional soccer that draws from the college ranks as well as overseas. The Nehemiah Group, which owns the King’s Warriors, donated $100,000 of the cost of the new press box building. “We needed a new press box, to have the Warriors play here,” Aiello said. ”One of the (league) requirements was that they have changing rooms and a place to shower.” “Then we got a matching grant from the Shott (Hugh I. Shott, Jr.) Foundation, (which) has been very kind to us as well. We’ve raised some money from other things as well.” “If the King’s Warriors hadn’t come and used us as their home field, and helped us out with the money that they (paid) to use the facility, there’s no way that we would have been able to build a press box like this.” Aiello said he has had “a long relationship” with Dr. James Blume, head of The Nehemiah

Group. “It was probably the mid-’90s when I first met Dr. Blume,” Aiello said. “I played on one of his adult teams. ... We both have a love and passion for soccer, and it’s just continued to grow our relationship.” “As my son got older, he started playing in the fall with Dr. Blume’s King’s Warriors (prep-level team), so our relationship just built.” “When he first bought the franchise for the King’s Warriors, I was just trying to get him to play a couple of games here in Bluefield. Eventually, it came to fruition, where he said, ‘Why don’t we just bring the King’s Warriors to Bluefield?’ “It was a great thing to happen for our complex, because it brings a higher level of soccer for the community to see.” Aiello noted that Field 2 is the Craig Armbrister Field, named in memory of a deceased Bluefield High School student. The newest playing surface, Field 6, was dedicated to Mercer County businessman and current Bluefield mayor Tom Cole “for all he’s done for us,” Aiello said. “Cole Chevrolet and Tommy Cole have been huge supporters for the past 11 or 12 years. He’s been our biggest corporate sponsor.” A rock fountain memorial for the late Chris Malamisura, who was on the first team that Aiello coached at Bluefield High School. Aiello would like to see more permanent recognition of those who helped create the complex more than 20 years ago. Aiello said that Dr. Randy Le s t e r, his wife Kim and Bill Howell were “instrumental” in its launch. “When I was the (Bluefield) High School coach, Randy was out here, mowing the grass, all the time,” said Aiello, who’s now head coach of Graham High boys soccer. The property is technically owned by the Bluefield State College Foundation, and is leased for 99 years to the East River Soccer Association. “It is a unique arrangement,”

Aiello said. “That happened long before I came on board.” “We’re blessed to have a complex like this. They’ve entrusted us to run it, and to date, I think we’ve made some great improvements that everybody’s pleased with.” He said the annual operating budget for the East River Soccer Association is $115,000. “That’s a shoestring budget when you’ve got two employees,” Aiello said. “When you think of all the seed, all the paint and all the mowing that has to be done, and the cost of gasoline, and what it takes to water the fields, it’s pretty crazy how we’re able to make it stretch.” Furry said that before East River opened, youth soccer in Mercer County had to play matches “anywhere there was a piece of dirt,” he said. “There are some fields in Princeton that you can see behind the machine shop (off Rogers Street). They played at Graham Rec Park, they played at Lotito Park, they played anywhere there was a piece of dirt, from what I understand.” These days, he can point out where he cleared the forest away for Field 6, and he talks about greeting former competitors, coaches or spectators at the complex. “We get a lot of people that drive through, a lot of times, that just want to see how far it’s come,” he said. About the six fields, Furry said, “I have two, now, of every size field. That gives me so much versatility.” The press box is the most visible marker of Phase I of new plans for the complex. Phase II would be installation of artificial turf on the primary field. Aiello said, “We’ll definitely need community help to get it turfed.” Aiello said that Furry has done a remarkable job to keep the natural-grass Field 1 in shape despite 128 games being played on it in a oneyear span. Furry said, “Between high school, college, middle school, both West Virginia and Virginia, and last season, the

PDL — it’s just tremendous wear and tear on a grass surface.” Aiello said, “Our vision is, hopefully, to get turf, and to get a new lighting package as well. I think if we do that, our seasons can be lengthened. “We’ll have the opportunity to bid for more sectional and final games and the state tournament, because we’ll have surfaces that can be played on, no matter what the weather conditions are.” “It definitely depends on funding. We depend a lot on a lot of people in the community for funding.” Revenue from corporate sponsors, and from advertising and banner sales at the complex “has helped us maintain the facility,” he said, “but we’re going to need some big donations and help from the community if we want to move forward with Phase II and Phase III and to get a new lighting package and new turf. “We’ve had a couple of companies come out and give us different quotes, and we realize we’re going to need to raise close to a million dollars for that to come true.” “It’s going to pay off for the kids and the people who play out here. It’s only going to make them better, because we’re going to be able to play year ’round.” Aiello said that future possibilities could include developing a walking track winding through the complex, and perhaps “a challenging course” for area cross-country teams. The soccer currently being played brings money into the local economy. An event like the Chamber of Commerce tournament draws as many as 26 teams, many from out of state, and their families for a weekend stay, he said. That means more business for gas stations, hotels and restaurants. “If we got turf out here, the possibilities would be endless,” Aiello said. — Contact Tom Bone at tbone@bdtonline.com; Twitter @BDTBone

4 Monday, February 29, 2016

Staff photo by Jon Bolt

Stalled... Work on the Christine West Bridges in Bluefield has remained stalled since 2007

Fast lane to possibilities... Roadways supporters hope work will begin again soon By CHARLES OWENS Bluefield Daily Telegraph BLUEFIELD — Now that Congress has passed a new long-term federal highway bill, construction could soon be resuming on both the King Coal Highway and the Coalfields Expressway. But don’t expect the work to begin overnight. In fact, the current timeline in West Virginia’s six-year highway plan for a resumption of construction on the King Coal Highway in Mercer County is still 2019. But local supporters of the project are hoping to expedite that schedule. “Right now we are working to try to get it (started) sooner,” King Coal Highway Authority Executive Director Mike Mitchem said. “We would like to get it (started) in 2016 if possible.” Construction on the King Coal Highway near Bluefield has been stalled since the completion of the twin Christine West bridges back in 2007. But some work has continued on the Coalfields Expressway near the border of Raleigh and Wyoming counties, and dirt should be moving again later this year on a public-private partnership that will create another two miles of the Coalfields Expressway in Wyoming County. Mitchem said U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., has written a letter to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin encouraging a resumption of construction on both the King Coal Highway and the Coalfields Expressway. “I just got a letter from Congressman Jenkins,” Mitchem said. “He is asking the governor to work on the King Coal Highway and the Coalfields Expressway.” Members of the King Coal Highway Authority also will be returning to Washington this spring to meet with lawmakers regarding the local corridor of the future Interstate 73/74/75 project. “The authority is going to DC to ask for funding in April,” Mitchem said. “We will be meeting in February to plan our trip. We are happy that we received the six-year funding and we are trying to get more projects in the sixyear plan all the way from Mingo to Wayne.” Although there is no construction ongoing at the moment on either the King Coal or Tolsia highways,

Construction on the King Coal Highway near Bluefield has been stalled since the completion of the twin Christine West bridges back in 2007. But some work has continued on the Coalfields Expressway near the border of Raleigh and Wyoming counties, and dirt should be moving again later this year on a public-private partnership that will create another two miles of the Coalfields Expressway in Wyoming County. Mitchem said a four-and-half mile section of the roadway extending from Horsepen Mountain toward Gilbert in Mingo County is finished to grade. He said the new intermodal center at Pritchard in Wayne County also is directly linked to the King Coal Highway corridor. Mitchem said another 18 miles of the Tolsia Highway has been designed, including right-ofway designations. Mitchem said officials are exploring a similar partnership with the city of Bluefield on its envisioned intermodal project, dubbed “Project Game Changer” by city officials. The King Coal Highway is proposed to extend some 95 miles through Mingo, Wayne, Wyoming, McDowell and Mercer counties with the Tolsia segment from Williamson to Huntington extending another 55 miles. While it could still be a long wait before construction resumes on the King Coal Highway, work should be underway soon on a new section of the Coalfields Expressway. Although a contract on the next section of the Coalfields Expressway has been released, a routing change has delayed the actual start of construction. The contract in question would take the four-lane corridor into Mullens. The target completion date for the Mullens segment of the expressway is 2018. The project will be the first public-private contract in the state of West Virginia, according to Coalfields Expressway Authority Executive Director Richard Browning. “We just let the contract on Route 54 to Mullens,” Browning said. “That was a public-private contract. That gave the contractor the ability to change the route to make it better for his purposes and

still maintain the perimeters of the Division of Highways.” Once the Coalfields Expressway reaches Mullens, the next target would be Pineville in Wyoming County. And once the Coalfields Expressway reaches Pineville, it would then be only about 22 miles away from McDowell County, according to Browning. “That is what I’m working on right now is trying to get it past Mullens,” Browning said. “According to federal highway commission, they want you to build usable sections (of the highway). What they want you to do is to keep marching to the town of Pineville.” But the Mullens segment of the Coalfields Expressway must be complete first, and then funding has to be found for the Pineville segment of the expressway. Browning said the new federal highway bill passed by Congress late last year, also known as the FAST Act, will largely fund only those projects that are currently in the state’s sixyear plan. “We won’t see anything for our highway until the third year (of the six-year plan) or 2017,” Browning said. “But that doesn’t preclude us from knocking on doors and trying to get other projects in the can. I’ve spoken to Secretary (Paul) Mattox about that and right now the new bill — the Fast ACT — although it is a little bit more money it is still only 15 percent more over what we had been receiving. And basically what it does is just cover what the state already has planned out for the six-year plan.” The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation, or FAST Act, will provide more than $2.6 billion in federal transportation dollars to West Virginia over a five-year period. In neighboring Virginia,

another $6.2 billion in federal transportation funding will be allocated to the Commonwealth over the next five years. “Congressman Jenkins is doing his very best, and we appreciate his efforts on behalf of our highway, and we will continue to work with him on a daily basis,” Browning said. “He is very interested in our highway and has gone to bat for us.” Browning said a public-private plan for a section of the Coalfields Expressway in McDowell County is still on the table. “The project in McDowell

County — it’s where it is,” Browning said. “We left the meeting that day with the idea that the contractor would get his necessary permits in order to do the coal mining. We are ready to go. He’s got to go outside of the state’s permitted area which he is permitted to do.” A one-mile section of the Coalfields Expressways was completed in McDowell County in 2002, but it is currently unusable and nonpaved. Browning said two additional design contracts have been completed that would extend the expressway toward the federal prison in Welch — creating a potentially usable segment of the fourlane corridor in the process. However, no funding is currently allocated for this segment of the Coalfields Expressway. “We have two contracts that are finished and ready to go that brings it off the mountain and Route 19 to the prison,” Browning said. “I would argue that it would be used because employees to the prison will use it to get there.” About six miles of the Coalfields Expressway have been completed to date in West Virginia, along with

another two miles in Virginia. The West Virginia segment of the Coalfields Expressway will extend through Raleigh, Wyoming and McDowell counties. In Virginia the Coalfields Expressway will extend another 51 miles from Pound in Wise County through Dickenson and Buchanan counties. The roadway also is known as U.S. Route 121 in Virginia. A third southern West Virginia highway project — the Shawnee Parkway — also remains stalled. The scenic two-lane roadway is proposed to extend 22 miles from Ghent in Raleigh County to the mountaintop ridges of Mercer County before it ultimately connects with the King Coal Highway near Crumpler in McDowell County. So far only 1.22 miles of the Shawnee Parkway have been constructed in the Ghent area of Raleigh County, bringing the roadway within striking distance of the Mercer County line. But without additional state or federal funding, the project has remained inactive.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him at @bdtowens

Monday, February 29, 2016 5

Officials hope for great results from...

‘Project Game Changer’ By CHARLES OWENS Bluefield Daily Telegraph BLUEFIELD — City officials are still working on a longt e rm, multi-faceted economic development vision for Bluefield called “Project Game Changer.” The economic development initiative is planned as a longterm project for Bluefield, according to city Community and Economic Development Coordinator Jim Spencer. “I came to work for the city in April (of 2015) and Dane (Rideout) and Josh (Cline) were already involved in about a third of Project Game Changer,” Spencer said. “Project Game Changer includes three main parts. They were already working on one. The second one I brought to the table and the third one I sort of brainstormed on and we brought it all together.” City officials have been careful not to release many details about the proposed economic development project. As originally envisioned, the project would be indirectly connected with the King Coal Highway in Mercer County. City officials have met with various officials, including Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., to discuss both Project Game Changer and the King Coal Highway. “Because economic development is very competitive by nature we have been very careful in getting the information out because we don’t want to compete with our neighbors,” Spencer said. For example, Spencer said a city resident recently came up to him and told him that what Bluefield needs is a Nissan plant. For the record, Nissan is not currently looking for a site in Bluefield. But if the company were looking for a

site in West Virginia, and this was public knowledge, every locality in the Mountain State would be competing for the company, Spencer said. That’s why officials like to keep proposed economic development projects as low key as possible. But the Bluefield Board of Directors did recently vote to fund an economic impact study on the proposed project. That study was requested by Tomblin, Jenkins and other lawmakers who are hoping to help with the effort. The study will look at everything from the number of jobs the project could create to the potential tax revenue it could generate for the city and state. “We are doing an economic impact study on Project Game Changer as a whole,” Spencer said. “The study is not completed, but it is close.” The project as currently proposed also would incorporate a component along Interstate 77 Exit 1. “Part of Project Game Changer encompasses a development at Exit 1,” Spencer said. “So we are fully aware that it (Exit 1) is an asset and we are looking at ways to best utilize it.” The city also is working with the Mercer County Development Authority office on the project. “The only thing I can tell you is it’s a wonderful project,” Mercer County Development Authority Executive Director Janet Bailey said. “And we are working very closely with the state on those projects. There just aren’t as many grants available for businesses through the state of West Virginia. I wish we had a Virginia Tobacco Commission.” Although the project is proposed to have an intermodal component, it is not to be confused with the earlier Colonial

I n t e rmodal Center — which was later rebranded as the Roundhouse Square — by the previously elected city board. But all of the previous board members were defeated in their re-election bids. Spencer said all older studies — including the Colonial I n t e rmodal Center study — will be utilized as part of future planning, including the Roundhouse Square study. “As the city moves forward with its comprehensive plan, one of the things we tried to do is make sure the previous plans are incorporated into it,” Spencer said. “In 2002, the city participated in a first impressions study where you had m y s t e ry shoppers coming into the town. So some of the Hill Studio plans that were done for the city, and some of the other planning documents the previous board had done, we are pulling information from them to get into the new comprehensive plan. There was some good planning done for the city in the past.” Spencer said city residents shouldn’t expect to see Project Game Changer happen overnight. “All three of these projects are more long-term projects,” Spencer said. “The hard part about economic development is very few things happen o v e rnight and it is hard to be patient, and each of these projects is going to take patience. The city is very aggressive and is trying to make good things happen. Mayor Tom Cole in a board meeting when I was first hired said we didn’t get into this predicament over night and we aren’t going to get out of it overnight. The projects we are working on can have a game changing effect on the city of Bluefield and the region, thus the reason we are calling it Project Game Changer.”

6 Monday, February 29, 2016

Full speed ahead Hatfield McCoy Trail system: One of the fastest-growing tourist attractions in the Mountain State

On the trail... An ATV rider makes tracks on the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System near Bramwell. Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

By GEORGE THWAITES Bluefield Daily Telegraph RAMWELL — Since its first trails opened in 2000, the Hatfield McCoy ATV Trail system remains one of the fastestgrowing tourist attractions in West Virginia. It's the largest publicly-managed trail system of its type in the Eastern United States. According Hatfield-McCoy Trail Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk, of the more than 36,000 trail permits that were sold last year, 81 percent of them were sold to out-o f-state residents. The Authority builds and maintains more than 500 miles of trail over six trail systems in five West Virginia counties. Even with the recent loss of 200 miles of trail in Boone County, there are no recreational opportunities of this scale for ATV and UTV enthusiasts anywhere else in the Eastern U.S. There is little doubt that ATV tourism is obviously a growing industry. Local communities and regional agencies acknowledge that the Hatfield-McCoy ATV trail system is a terrific opportunity for economic development. There is not necessarily perfect agreement as to the fastest way to get those muddy wheels of opportunity rolling. For Lusk, the top priority is providing lodging to accommodate the increasing flow of out-of-state visitors — and to keep them com-

ing back. "With 81 percent of our permits being sold to non-residents, that means eight out of every 10 of our riders needs a place to stay," he said. "We need more lodging on our

for more. Lusk said trail permit sales have grown every year for the last 16 years. According to a Marshall University economic impact study, the Hatfield-McCoy system attracted $22 million in direct spending in 2014.

‘We need more lodging on our trails. That's core and critical for our expan sion. That's the biggest challenge to us as a growing trail system. We've got to have entrepreneurs. We've got to have businesses step up and make those investments’ trails. That's core and critical for our expansion. That's the biggest challenge to us as a growing trail system. We've got to have entrepreneurs. We've got to have businesses step up and make those investments." He said over 40 entrepreneurs have opened new lodging facilities around the trails since they first opened and there's plenty of room

There are as-yet unexploited opportunities for other trail-related entrepreneurial ventures, particularly in the areas of merchandising, food and entertainment. But lodging comes first. "Of all those things, lodging is by far the bigger thing," Lusk said. Lusk said it was important that his organization and all the other economic development authori-

ties, visitors bureaus, counties, cities and towns along the trail to help alleviate any barriers to getting new trail-related businesses open. This especially applies to the entrepreneurs who already have skin in the game. "The low-hanging fruit is to help the guys expand ... who are already here," Lusk said. "We need to be looking to anyone who's made an investment, saying, 'What can we do to help you expand? You're already here. You're already in business. You know you can make money. What do you need to put up the next cabin?'" The Pocahontas Trail in Mercer County, which opened in 2012, is one of the newest additions to the Hatfield-McCoy trail system. With a trailhead in historic Bramwell, the Pocahontas Trail is the section most readily accessible from the I-77 and I-81 interstate corr idors via Route 460. Bramwell is now unquestionably a destination for ATV tourism. Mayor Louise Stoker suggests the best way to obtain new lodging units in Bramwell is for the town's existing units to get consistently booked. So far, they haven't been. "Entrepreneurs stepped up to the plate and they opened up housing. We have them all around

Trail, 9

Monday, February 29, 2016 7

Staff photo by Jon Bolt

Ready for tenants... Tazewell County officials are still actively searching for an anchor tenant to occupy the still vacant Bluestone Regional Business and Technology Park.

Bluestone Regional Business and Technology Park

Site actively seeking tenants By CHARLES OWENS Bluefield Daily Telegraph BLUEFIELD, Va. — Tazewell County officials are still actively searching for an anchor tenant to occupy the still vacant Bluestone Regional Business and Technology Park. The business and technology park was completed several years ago, and currently has four sites that are available for occupancy. The original plan was for a regional dental school to serve as the anchor tenant at the park, but plans for the dental school were scrapped in late 2014 due to a lack of funding for the project. Since that time, the technology park has been shown to a number of prospective companies and tenants, but no deals have been finalized to date. “We haven’t set a timetable, and to put somebody in the park doesn’t happen o v e rnight,” Mike Thompson, director of business development and support services for Tazewell County, said. “Since the end of the previous year, we were not really able to start marketing the park because the infrastructure was not in.” However, electricity at the park was turned on in late 2014, and now all of the necessary infrastructure for a prospective business or indust ry, including water, sewer and broadband, is in place. “Right now we have four sites that are ready to go,” Thompson said of the technology park. “It gives us an area we can offer to companies who want to expand in Southwest Virginia and Tazewell County.” Thompson said the technology park is being marketed as an environment where com-

The business and technology park was completed several years ago, and currently has four sites that are available for occupancy. The original plan was for a regional dental school to serve as the anchor tenant at the park, but plans for the dental school were scrapped in late 2014 due to a lack of funding for the project. panies and their employees can “live, learn, work and play.” The Bluestone is located near Bluefield, Va., just off of U.S. Route 19-460, near Camp Joy. “But we are not excluding anyone from the park,” Thompson said. “We are looking at every opportunity we can for the park. Our main goal and objective is to create jobs and opportunities for our citizens here.” Still the challenge officials are facing is finding that first tenant for the technology park. Once the first business is there, the hope is that additional companies will follow. “I think once the first one comes in there and goes in hopefully that will snowball,” Thompson said. ‘”But we have to get that first company in there.” The county is still talking to prospective industries about the technology park. “We do have people or companies or prospects that are looking at that,” Thompson said. “I can’t tell you how close we are at that. But we would like to make something happen sooner than later. We continue to show the park to companies.” While the technology park

remains vacant, the old Idea Park is still seeing a lot of activity. It was recently renamed the Bluestone Workforce Center of Excellence. The site is located in close proximity to the technology park. The area also serves as an incubator site, most recently housing the Blue Wolf manufacturing company. Blue Wolf expanded late last year to the site of the old Bluefield Beverage plant in Bluefield, Va. The expansion created 15 new manufacturing jobs. The Bluestone Technology Park also meets four of the five guidelines recommended by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe as part of his “Virginia’s New Economy” initiative. Those guidelines include infrastructure ready sites, broadband availability and the availability of a local workforce. Plans for the technology park date all the way back to 2005. That’s when the county Board of Supervisors obtained more than 680 acres of land located near Camp Joy in Bluefield, Va., for the development. — Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him at @bdtowens

8 Monday, February 29, 2016

Gallery of progress

Classic...

Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

A classic car is parked outside of the historic Lavon Theare in Princeton during the annual Creepy Cruise in October. The event raises money for the Princeton Renaissance Project.

Future site...

A closed down gas station in Bastion marks the location of future progress. Loves truck stop will soon build on the location just off of I-77.

In Tazewell...

Nearly completed...

Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

In recent years, the Blue Spoon Cafe, the CAT Call Center, and the Railyard, shown here, have located on Commerce Street in downtown Bluefield. There were 15 new businesses that opened for business in Bluefield in 2015, including O’Reilly Auto Parts, Meineke Car Care, the Bluefield Yarn Company, Tudors Biscuit World, Patty Joe’s Restaurant, the Blue Spoon Cafe, Only One Look, High Falootin Uniforms, Hall and Associates, Blue Mountain Mercantile, the Bluestone Health Center, the Corner Coffee Expresso Bar and Bistro, Autonomous Radio Controlled Equipment, A&J Sportstown and the Big Whiskey Barbecue.

Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

Virginia Rt. 16 — known as the Back of the Dragon — snakes its way through scenic Thompson Valley. The 32 miles of highway that stretches between Tazewell and Marion is described as exciting and technical.

Workers lay block on the new Chick-Fil-A in Princeton recently. The new restaurant is very near to completion and will soon be ready to serve customers.

Bluefield business...

Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

Monday, February 29, 2016 9

Trail... Continued from 3 here and they would like for people to fill these lodging places," Stoker said. Riders are ubiquitous in Bramwell. Stoker noted that even during some of the colder, icier weekends this winter there have been trucks and trailers at the town's Park & Ride. Challenging trail conditions are, after all, part of the fun for ATV and UTV enthusiasts. Most of those folks are daytrippers, she said. This is frequently the case even during the warmer months since the trail opened. Stoker noted that the old Bramwell High School on Bluestone Avenue has been converted into a 17-bed ATV lodge. The Pocahontas ATV Resort, which was built just outside the town limits near the Virginia State line, is adding new cabins for the upcoming season. Individuals have also invested in historic local residences with the intention of providing lodging for visiting riders. Bramwell, which is seething with interesting architecture and small-town charm, boasts an old-fashioned corner soda fountain and at least two other dining establishments. Meanwhile, the town has other tourism infrastructure needs that are far more pressing than lodging, she said.

Projects... Continued from 1 Spencer said. One upcoming plan is a city-sponsored marketing seminar that will work with businesses on new ways to promote their goods and services online and through social media sources. “The majority of the businesses said if the city hosts a marketing seminar to help them help themselves they will participate,” Spencer said. “Yes, the hospitals and some of the bigger places have marketing departments but most of these smaller businesses have to do it all. That is where I think there is a niche. I think the city can help the businesses with websites, social media and marketing.” Spencer said work also is continuing on a new longterm comprehensive plan for Bluefield. The plan will look at everything from economic development, tourism and recreation. Spencer said the study will set goals for the city over the next two or three years while also looking at where Bluefield should be in the next 10 years. “It goes back a lot of times to tourism and visitors who are looking for a unique experience,” Spencer said. “We have some of that in our area and we need to do a better job of marketing that. When people, especially tourists are coming in, they are looking for a unique experience. Tourism and economic development and recreation all go hand-inhand. The Hatfield-McCoy Trail is a tourism-related venue. We are looking for ways we can capitalize on that.” A number of new businesses have opened in the city of Bluefield in recent months, including O’Reilly Auto Parts, Meineke Car Care, the Bluefield Yarn Company, Tudors Biscuit World, Patty Joe’s Restaurant, the Blue Spoon Cafe, Only One Look, High Falootin Uniforms, Hall and Associates, Blue Mountain Mercantile, the Bluestone Health Center, the Corner Coffee Expresso Bar and Bistro, Autonomous Radio Controlled Equipment, A&J Sportstown and the Big Whiskey Barbecue. Spencer said some of the new small businesses are exploring creative ways to get customers in their doors. For example, he said Beth Christopher with the Blue Mountain Mercantile is offering various artisan and pottery classes inside of the store. “She is using her business to help draw more people in the downtown,” Spencer said. “The Railyard is doing the same thing.” Spencer said efforts to market and promote growth along Interstate 77 Exit 1 in Bluefield are continuing. “Geographically, it does not lay as well as Exit 9 (in Princeton), and we know that,” Spencer said. “I was actually turned down by the Love’s Truck Stop prior to them making the announce-

Outdoor fun...

Staff photo by Eric DiNovo

ATV riders, above, travel the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System. According Hatfield-McCoy Trail Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk, of the more than 36,000 trail permits that were sold last year, 81 percent of them were sold to out-of-state residents. "We need a car wash to clean the ATVs. We need a laundromat so riders can wash their muddy clothing. We need another gas station. All of those are businesses that can serve the ATV market," she said. "We'd also like to have a business that services ATVs, but fortunately we already have one, Miller's in Bluewell, that's only three miles away." Tazewell County Tourism Director David Woodard has more than a passing interest in Bramwell's foray into ATV tourism. He is the Tazewell County board representative to Spearhead Trails, which builds and maintains four ATV trails in Tazewell, Buchanan, Wise and Lee Counties in Virginia. In the town of Pocahontas,

just a few miles down the road from Bramwell, the "Original Pocahontas Trail" opened a year and a half ago. It has roughly 42 miles of ATV trail with another 15 on the way. Woodard said the Original Pocahontas is constructed differently from the Pocahontas Trail across the state line. "It's like riding a two-lane highway versus an interstate. Both are good ways to get places, but they're different experiences," he said. While it may part of a competing ATV system in an different state, the best chance for Tazewell County's attraction to succeed is probably to coexist in some kind of economic symbiosis with neighboring Bramwell. The unspoken sense of things on both

ment in Bland County. So the city has been trying to market it. One thing that is hurting Exit 1 is the differential on the taxing of gas and fuel between the two states.” Spencer said a new city website that will incorporate an economic development, marketing and recreational component also will be launching in March. “Our new webpage will be able to list properties and buildings in the city,” Spencer said. “We are not trying to replace a realtor. We are just doing a marketing of the buildings. The new site will have a virtual map.” A number of new businesses — including several in the manufacturing field — were opened in neighboring Tazewell County in 2015, according to Mike Thompson, director of business development and support services for Tazewell County. Among the economic development announcements was a $2.5 million expansion project by the Tadano Mantis Corporation in Richlands. The company is now hiring and preparing to increase production, according to Thompson. Simmons Equipment Company, a manufacturer of world-class battery-powered mining equipment, also announced an expansion project in 2015,. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Tazewell County, the Tazewell County Industrial Development Authority, and the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority to secure the expansion project for the region. Governor Terry McAuliffe also announced the expansion of the Blue Wolf plant in Bluefield, Va., last October. The manufacturing plant expansion created 15 new jobs for Tazewell County. “I feel like we can brag about that because we spent a lot of hard work trying to make those things happen, and a lot of partners were involved with that,” Thompson said of the manufacturing jobs recently created in Tazewel County. “Our main focus is trying to keep our existing businesses in the county and provide them a place to expand, and provide a workforce in the future that will allow them to expand.” Thompson said expanding and growing manufacturing jobs is considered a priority in Tazewell County. “I think manufacturing is probably the backbone of our county,” Thompson said. “We probably have more manufacturing in our county than a significant number of other Southwest Virginia counties. And we are happy about that. Unfortunately, the coal industry has taken a toll on it. Those that service, or provide service to the mining industry, have suffered. We are trying to work with those companies anyway we can. One of the announcements from Gov. (Terry) McAuliffe was to help companies move their products international-

ly. That allows companies to go global, and especially coal companies to go to global.” Despite the downturn in the coal industry, Thompson said officials are still hoping to attract additional manufacturing jobs to the county. The hope is to diversify an economy that was once based largely on coal. “Everyone is connected to the coal industry,” Thompson said. “That is why I think manufacturing plays a larger role in the future. Manufacturing is an area where we can put other people to work.” Another priority for Tazewell County officials is finding a tenant for the still vacant Bluestone Regional Business and Technology Park, and the continuing work on Project Jonah — a proposed economic development project that could potentially create upwards of 400 jobs. Tourism is another large growth area for Tazewell County. Two of the newest tourism-related projects in the county are the Spearhead Trail and the Back of the Dragon,. “I know entrepreneurship and economic development with tourism is a huge part of our strategic planning we are working with now,” Thompson said. “And we feel like from an economic development point tourism goes hand-in-hand because we have amenities that are very special to our area.” Thompson said out-of-town visitors are looking for unique and exciting attractions. The Spearhead Trail provides an off-road adventure for ATV riders while the Back of the Dragon provides a unique route for motorcyclists. A new Back of the Dragon welcome center has been proposed for the Tazewell area. It is estimated that more than 550 motorcycle riders tackle the Back of the Dragon on a weekly basis. The proposed welcome center would serve those riders with various accommodations, including a Back of the Dragon store, a microbrewery, motorcycle sports car paraphernalia, big screen televisions and a restaurant capable of serving 150 to 200 people. Thompson said the goal is to keep the out-of-town motorcycle riders — and the revenue they plan on spending — in Tazewell County. In terms of the Spearhead Trail, Thompson said officials are still working to develop additional ATV lodging near Pocahontas. “Everything we are trying to do now is to promote the ATV trails and to help that end of the county grow,” Thompson said. The county did suffer a setback last month with the announcement of the looming closure of the Big Kmart at the Claypool Hill Mall. “We hate to lose Kmart,” Thompson said. “It’s been there a long time. We are hoping that something (new) will go in there that will benefit the area. We will help every way that we can do.”

sides of the state line is that mutual growth ought to prove to their mutual benefit. The town of Pocahontas already has one longstanding tourist attraction: the Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine. It has an ancient opera house that needs to be renovated. The town has lodging up and running that was funded by Ninth District Financing, a program set up by former Rep. Rick Boucher when he was in congress. There is also an $800,000 cabin project under construction at the trailhead in Boissevain. "We're in a prime location, as is Bramwell," said Woodard. "You can ride two totally different types of trail systems and stay in one place or the other." Tazewell County's ATV trail is younger than Mercer County's and while rider numbers are lower than on the Hatfield-McCoy, they have been reliably growing. The county is also exploring other recreational attractions. Woodard echoes Stoker in observing that the town of Pocahontas has needs that are more urgent than additional lodging units. "Our greatest needs are restaurants and gas stations, just your everyday tourism infrastructure," he said. The obstacles facing Woodard and Stoker’s ATV tourism dreams may seem daunting, but neither community leader has to look very far for inspiration. Three miles over the moun-

tain from Bramwell on Lorton Lick Road, Buffalo Trail Resort owner Seth Peters could be Southern West Virginia's most visionary entrepreneur associated with the Hatfield-McCoy Trail. His resort not only provides RV camping hookups, it boasts a lodge, a "hillbilly hotel," multiple cottages and cabins and even recentlyadded treehouse units. And then there are the bells and whistles. "There are certainly resorts (on the HatfieldMcCoy system) that have lots of cabins, RV sites and tent sites. But I think we're probably the only one that has a full-service restaurant and bar and a microbrewery on-site as well," said Peters, who considers his cabins to be "Gatlinburg quality” lodging. Let's not even talk about his impressive captive buffalo herd. From the outset, the entire business was predicated on the ATV tourism trade. He said 80 percent of his cabin occupants are riders, as are 80 percent of all his nightly rentals and 50 percent of his restaurant patrons. Now approaching the two-year mark since opening, he said his business is up 500 percent from last year. He has four new cabins coming online in the next 60 days. He intends to keep adding cabins as long as increasing demand justifies construction. Buffalo Trail Resort looks like an overnight success,

but is actually project that was nine years in the making. Peters owned a mechanical contracting business that built and renovated national chain restaurants. He had the background and the means to get his “semiretirement job” under way. He began work on Buffalo Trail Resort seven years before he opened the doors. “It's a big investment to put together a project like this. You're talking several million dollars before you even open,” said Peters, who noted that access to public water and sewer through the Bluewell Public Service District was a huge advantage. “We see a lot of people trying to convert old houses and existing properties (into lodging). But we're not seeing a lot of new construction like we have here at Buffalo Trail,” he said. The Big Buffalo at the ATV Welcome Center Peters opened on Route 52 has become the most recognizable landmark in Bluewell. The facility gives away free ice and trail maps to incoming riders, but those riders also spend money in Bluewell. “I think they're certainly patronizing all the surrounding businesses,” Peters said. “They're buying gas here. They're buying groceries. They're going to restaurants for breakfast and even dinner on the nights our restaurant isn't open. We're definitely seeing an impact on all sorts of businesses.”

Officials in neighboring McDowell County also are working on a plan to acquire the recently closed Walmart building in Kimball. The hope is to partition off the building for several smaller businesses, according to county Economic Development Director Stephanie Addair. An incubator concept also is possible for the structure. The loss of Walmart, and the downturn in the coal industry, has created challenges for McDowel County. “We have to keep optimistic,” Addair said. “We are resilient people. We come back.” While the county is still working on plans for the old Walmart building, other projects are continuing as well. For example, Addair said offi-

cials are still working to acquire funding to finish the renovations to the old Houston Company Store. The structure, which is located along U.S. Route 52 in Kimball, is being converted into a new museum. Negotiations also are continuing on a proposed housing project proposed for Tom’s Mountain near Welch. The project was proposed to help meet the housing needs of employees of the FCI McDowell federal prison in Welch. Addair said both FCI McDowell at the Indian Ridge Industrial Park, and the Stevens Correctional Center, also located in Welch, are still going strong. The two prisons also continue to provide a steady flow of job

opportunities for residents of McDowell County. “There is continually positions becoming available as people come and leave,” Addair said of the two prisons. And despite the downturn in the coal industry, Addair said some coal is still be mined in McDowell County. Addair said planning also continues on a proposed public-private partnership with a local coal company that is hoping to create the road bed for a new section of the Coalfields Expressway near Welch through the extraction

of coal.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him at @bdtowens

10 Monday, February 29, 2016

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