Submitted photo Rotary Program Chair Scott Goddard, left, and President Phillips Kolsun, right, welcomed Augusta Heritage Center Chief Executive Officer Seth Young to the club’s recent meeting.

ELKINS — Augusta Heritage Center Chief Executive Officer Seth Young addressed the Rotary Club of Elkins, giving the group an update regarding the on-going renovations of the Wilt Building and the plans for the future of the Augusta Heritage Center.

The Wilt Building was purchased by the Augusta Heritage Center in 2023 and the renovation of that facility is on-going. Most of the work that has been completed to date has consisted of behind-the-scenes updates that included refurbishing the boiler system and plumbing; approximately $150,000 of private gifts have funded these renovations. “Nobody would walk by and see that happening, but it’s essential to a historic property,” said Young. Augusta has also received a State of West Virginia Cultural Facilities Grant and a $750,000 congressional earmark for safety systems and rewiring of the top two floors of the building. It has taken approximately two years to work through that entire process, but Augusta is now able to begin drawing down that funding and start the designated work.

The work on the first floor of the building is also an on-going process with planning and designing in the works. More complete information relating to this phase of the renovation will be released in the near future. The second floor of the building will be developed into five classrooms as well as the Augusta office suite.

The top two floors of the building contain twelve residential units. Ten of the units will be reserved for mission drive artists and AmeriCorp members. Rent of these units will be kept within a threshold that emerging artists and AmeriCorp members can afford. “We want to create a downtown brain trust of people who are actively engaged in the town they serve,” stated Young. “A good example of that is Maddie Bowers. Maddie is heavily involved in the Old Brick Playhouse. She signed-on to do a forward-facing project to create a pathway for all Randolph County students to see the recent play High Mountain Harmony for free. That’s the kind of value we want the folks who live there to bring to our community.”

The remaining two units are efficiency apartments that are ideal for short-term living. Those units will be made available for artists who travel to the area for Augusta related events and programs.

When completed, the Wilt Building will be a four-story mixed-use building of approximately 20,000 square feet. “The entire footprint will add to the vibrancy of the community we call home,” stated Young.

Augusta is currently engaged in a capital campaign to complete the funding of the renovation of the Wilt Building. Completion of the first floor of the building will cost approximately $250,000; the majority of which has been secured. Another $75,000 is needed to close the funding gap for that area. The final component of the current campaign is the complete funding for the second-floor classrooms. Each classroom will require $25,000 to renovate and equip with naming-rights being assigned to donors who fully fund a classroom.

Beginning in 2026, Augusta will move its base of operations from the Davis & Elkins College campus to the downtown area with the Wilt Building serving as the hub for classes and presentations. Going forward, Augusta will pursue a model of five weeks programming, as opposed to the current three weeks. Based on participant surveys and market research, it has been determined that a Wednesday to Sunday event is most attractive to participants. “People who come to our Wednesday to Sunday events that we’ve had at Cass and Blackwater Falls, identified that time as the best for learning and also the best for customer experience,” said Young. “It also helps us hit a mark that we haven’t hit for a little while, which is family-aged individuals between 25 and 45. Right now, Augusta serves creative aging projects since about 60% of our clients are aged 55 and older. The rest is a portfolio is our scholarship students and fellowship students, 22 and below. We think that those family individuals in this age where time is so compressed and it’s such a hot commodity that creating a long weekend feel instead of a week with two weekends attached to it will actually make our programming more accessible to more walks of life.”

Augusta is working with the Tygart Hotel and Holiday Inn Express to provide room blocks for participants. They are also working with downtown restaurants to create pathways for Augusta students to patronize their establishments. “The value is in creating these events where it’s filling our restaurants and it’s filling our hotels,” commented Young. The enrollment targets for the various events are in the range of 65 to 80 participants so that value is added without overwhelming the town.

As part of the continued partnership with Davis & Elkins College, Augusta is working with the Morrison-Novakovic Center to create pathways for internships, for study of civic engagement and economic drivers and economic revitalization. D&E education majors shadow Young and Emily Miller as they provide in-school services in Randolph County and the D&E campus will continue to serve as a venue for select Augusta events.

“We see that we can be a year-round drive of tourism in Elkins, West Virginia. There’s a portfolio of partners we can work with including the train station, the playhouse, Big Timber Brewery, the arts center, the CVBs to raise the tide, raise all boats,” concluded Young.

To make a gift or for more information about the Augusta Heritage Center, visit its website, www.augustaartsandculture.org or call 304-637-1209.

Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in their communities, and in themselves. Visit www.Rotary.org to learn more about Rotary International, visit the club’s Facebook page — Rotary Club of Elkins — or contact 2025-2026 club president Phillips Kolsun at phillipskolsun@gmail.com for more information about the Rotary Club of Elkins.