The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley The Thrasher Group’s Sam Rich, above left, and Kenton Blackwood gave a presentation during a special public meeting conducted by the Randolph County Development Authority at the West Virginia Wood Technology Center.

The public was invited to take a look at the design plans for the proposed Railyard Event Center during the Randolph County Development Authority’s special meeting.

ELKINS — The Randolph County Development Authority held a special public meeting for stakeholders and members of the community at the West Virginia Wood Technology Center.

The event was held Tuesday evening for officials to receive feedback on the design plans for the proposed Railyard Event Center.

The 28,000-square-foot, $11.6 million facility will be constructed in proximity to the Elkins Railyard Depot, behind the Rotary Amphitheater.

Randolph County Development Authority director Robbie Morris was joined during the event by two employees from the Thrasher Group, the architecture and engineering firm hired for the project. The trio addressed those in attendance and answered questions about the new structure, which will serve as a conference and events center, as well as a workforce development facility.

“This project started out during our strategic planning session in the first week of March 2020,” Morris said. “We had it incorporated into our plan, we were all excited and the first phase was to look for preliminary funding. And then the next week COVID hit. So we shelled those plans for a little bit, but out of any tough situation can come a silver lining.

“Because tourism took such a hit during COVID, a lot of the traditional programs for funding were expanded to include tourism. It was kind of one-time money. If we were to apply for this project today, it would not be eligible. So we put all of our eggs in one basket and did what we could to secure funding for this facility.”

In order to begin applying for grants, Morris said the RCDA immediately hired the Thrasher Group to come up with the preliminary design for the facility.

“We were successful with that,” Morris said of getting the grants. “We have United State Economic Development Administration funding from a federal level; we have the Water Development Authority funding from a state level; we have the City of Elkins, Randolph County Commission, and then the Development Authority also put funding in. We have a couple other applications out, because this project has grown from our initial plans.”

Morris said the new facility will provide something to the area that it currently does not have.

“We didn’t want to duplicate anything we already had, but we wanted to fill a gap,” he said. “Over the years we’ve had different groups who have wanted to come in and have conferences, conventions or events here. Then when they would see on their spec sheet what was available, we did not have the kind of space they needed.

“We have the Myles Center at D&E, but nine months out of the year it’s an active college campus, and it’s one large room where it can’t be split up and broken into different pieces.”

Morris added that in order for the tourism industry to grow, attractions like the proposed facility are needed.

“When you go to a larger area that has a lot of attractions, they have multiple theaters, multiple bars, multiple restaurants, multiple hotels and multiple other attractions,” he said. “So we wanted to help build on the theater and the performing arts section of our economy as it relates to what Augusta does, the train, and all the outdoor recreation opportunities we have.

“We have the Harper-McNeeley Auditorium, but once again, it is on a college campus where a lot of other things are going on — that makes the scheduling for events difficult.”

Morris, along with Thrasher’s Kenton Blackwood and Sam Rich, reviewed where the project currently is and discussed the overall plans for the facility, which will include art and renderings that reflects the history of the Elkins Railyard.

During a video presentation, Blackwell provided detailed information about the facility’s performance theatre, conference center, common areas and the general exterior.

“This is a great project. It’s important to the Elkins area and we are glad to be a part of it,” said Rich. “I have been working on the site design and Kenton has been working on the building design… When we first started working on this project, it was a 16,000-square-foot building, now it’s 28,000. So we have grown the building significantly in size since we first started this.” 

Those who were unable to attend the public meeting are encouraged to stop by the RCDA offices, review the plans and submit comments during the comment period. The RCDA will have a display set up at its 11th Street location through the close of business on Friday, July 21.

“If anyone couldn’t make it to the meeting, I suggest they come down to the RCDA and take a look at the display boards we have set up,” Morris said. “We will have them set up during normal business hours and Kris (Wilmoth) or myself will walk anyone through the project and answer any questions someone may have.”

The RCDA plans on putting the project out to bid during the fourth quarter of 2023, and to begin construction in the first quarter of 2024. The RCDA is hoping for a grand opening in the second quarter of 2025.

“It’s been a long time coming for this project, but we are far enough along now that we wanted to get feedback from interested stakeholders, not only within businesses that could benefit from a facility like this, but also from just general members of the public who have an interest in the development of Elkins,” Morris said.

“We think that we are about 90 percent there, so we felt it was the time to bring everyone together for feedback.”