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ELKINS -- The renovation work on the historic Tygart Hotel is continuing and officials are hoping to have guests visiting the hotel this winter -- but the work will not be completed by the beginning of the Mountain State Forest Festival in October, as had been previously announced.
"We will not be done by the Forest Festival," Woodlands Development and Lending Executive Director Dave Clark told The Inter-Mountain this week. "We never expected to be done by then."
Clark said there was a communication error in a press release from Taylor Enterprises, the company that will run the hotel and restaurant at the Tygart Hotel. The May press release from Taylor Enterprises said the hotel was "set to open in September 2023." The Mountain State Forest Festival will run this year from Sept. 30 through Oct. 8.
"The plan is to open the hotel this winter and the restaurant in spring," Clark said this week. "Taylor Hospitality will be running both."
Clark said the most visible work taking place on the building is the brick work being done by Past Respects. Clark said the large boom lift that has been blocking both lanes of Davis Avenue was much larger than expected. He said the company is nearing completion of the upper floors of the building and will be able to go to a smaller lift that will only block one lane of traffic.
"We are still in the throes of construction with a lot of work being done on the outside," he said. "They have been repointing the bricks."
Clark said the interior work on the 56-room hotel, which will feature a restaurant and conference room, is seeing progress.
"The rooms have part of the flooring finished and the bathrooms are nearing completion," he said.
A new elevator shaft is not yet complete but the installation of the elevator should happen soon, Clark noted.
"The workers are excited to have the elevator," he said. "Right now they are having to climb the stairs every day."
When the hotel is complete it will feature 56 rooms that will be a mix of single rooms, double rooms and king suites. Clark said the second floor will feature a small conference room and a balcony.
"Historically, there was always a full balcony," he said.
Clark said he is excited to see some of the artwork set for the building once construction is completed. He explained each floor of the hotel will feature art that focuses on different "lost towns" of the region. He said five local artists will be creating the artwork.
The Woodlands Development Group purchased the Tygart Hotel for $700,000 in 2017. Woodlands hired The Mills Group, which is the renovation project's architect. Four non-traditional lending sources -- Partner Community Capital, Davis Trust, Freedom Bank, and Pendleton Community Bank -- helped fund the project.