Tygart Hotel partners Pendleton Community Bank, Davis Trust Company and Freedom Bank gathered recently to celebrate the commencement of construction and to survey progress that has been made so far.

The three local banks supported the project by investing in Historic Tax Credits to fund the redevelopment of the historic hotel.

Woodlands Development Group Executive Director Dave Clark told the bank executives, “I can’t stress enough how critical this investment by the local banks has been to this project. We have over 14 investors in this project now from Maine to Richmond and they came on board because they saw the buy-in from our local institutions. Seeing what our community banks were willing to do made all the difference.”

Hugh Hitchcock, President and CEO of the Davis Trust Company, said the project “will be a game changer not just for the city but for the whole region.”

The Tygart Hotel restoration project is deeply embedded in the downtown community, project officials said.

The Tygart Hotel, constructed in 1906, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is now considered an anchor for Elkins’ Downtown Historic District.

Woodlands paid $700,000 for the Tygart Hotel property on Davis Avenue in 2017, announcing at the time plans to spend $11 million in redevelopment.

“Rehabilitation projects can be much more complicated than new-build projects but they also have the potential to amplify their impact by saving, restoring and revitalizing buildings and neighborhoods, as well as providing the new amenities, services, and jobs,” a Woodlands press release states.

The federal Historic Tax Credit program is administered by the National Park Service and the IRS. It offers building owners an income tax credit equal to 20% of the qualifying costs required to rehabilitate their certified historic structure. West Virginia also has a state HTC which covers an additional 25% of costs. These tax credits can provide a low-cost source of gap capital to drive a community development and historic preservation project towards viability.

As a tax-exempt, non-profit community developer, Woodlands is unable to make use of tax credit programs directly, making these partnerships with local institutions crucial to the success of the project.

Submitted photo From left are Woodlands’ CFO Christy Tribble, Project Architect Michael Mills, PCB Neil Hayslett, Freedom Bank’s Tom Nesselroade, Woodlands Executive Director Dave Clark, PCB Bill Loving, Davis Trust Company’s Hoy Ferguson and Director Michael Price, Freedom Bank’s Terri Kittle, Davis Trust Company’s Hugh Hitchcock and CFO Rachel Hayes, gather in the Tygart lobby currently in the middle of restoration work.

“Freedom, Davis Trust, and PCB invested direct equity into the project and sign on as project partners,” the press release states. “In return they receive income tax credits over the next five years and the community boasts improved amenities, job growth, and economic development.”

Woodlands Development and Lending is an Elkins-based Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) and Financial Institution (CDFI) that serves Randolph, Barbour, and Tucker counties.