The Inter-Mountain photos by Taylor McKinnie Taking part in the groundbreaking for the Railyard Event and Conference Center Friday morning are, from left, Executive Director of Region VII Planning Development Council Shaen Whitehair; Todd Gunter, Senior Field Representative for Senator Shelley Moore Capito; CEO of The Thrasher Group Chad Riley; Randolph County Development Authority Board President Mark Haddix; Jessica Sutton of Ascend WV; Randolph County Development Authority Executive Director and state Senator Robbie Morris; Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco; Rhett Dusenbury, Representative for Congressman Riley Moore; Sean Taylor, owner of Taylor Hospitality; and Executive Director of the West Virginia Water Development Authority Marie Prezioso.

ELKINS — The official groundbreaking for Elkins’ planned Railyard Event and Conference Center took place behind the current Rotary Amphitheater at the Elkins Railyard Depot Friday morning.

Supporters, officials and community members came out to witness the groundbreaking for the 28,000-square-foot, $11.6 million facility. Government officials in attendance included Pam Krushansky with Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office, Delegate Jonathan Kyle, R-District 66, and Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco.

“We know that in order for our tourism economy to succeed, it must grow,” Randolph County Development Authority Executive Director and state Senator Robbie Morris said during the ceremony. “We know that people love Elkins, they love Randolph County, and we know that many groups and organizations would like to have conferences, conventions and other events in Elkins. We just haven’t had the exact venue to meet their needs. The Railyard Event and Conference Center will solve that issue.”

Once complete, the facility will include a performance theater, a conference center and a working space for the Ascend Greater Elkins program.

The invocation for the groundbreaking was given by Randolph County Development Authority Board President Mark Haddix.

“I want to go on the record and thank all our local partners, our state partners and our federal partners, and I am very excited that Ascend is going to have a home here,” Marco said during the event. “This is an opportunity for our citizens and our visitors to make great memories in the City of Elkins.”

Rhett Dusenbury, a representative for Congressman Riley Moore, also spoke during the ceremony on the congressman’s behalf, noting the benefits of the center and extending a thank you to all those involved.

“This is a wonderful day for Elkins,” Dusenbury said. “This is going to be a destination changer for us, which will also create jobs… It’s going to be a wonderful addition.”

A statement from U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito was read on her behalf by her Senior Field Representative Todd Gunter during the ceremony. In the statement, Capito spoke highly of Elkins and detailed what the city will be able to offer residents and guests once the center is complete.

“We can never lose sight of the fact that we live in a special place, particularly those of you lucky enough to call Elkins home,” Capito’s statement read. “Folks around the country and the world now know what has been a well-kept secret; Elkins has something for everyone…

“Now with the addition of the Railyard Events Center, Elkins will have the ability to draw even more visitors to the area by hosting meetings and conventions, concerts and shows and, of course, welcome new residents with the Ascend West Virginia program.”

On behalf of the Ascend Greater Elkins program, Jessica Sutton, with Ascend Greater Elkins Program Coordinator Chris Lee by her side, spoke on what the addition of the Ascend working space in the center will mean for the area and what Ascend does for the community as a whole.

“This facility is a longstanding need, revitalizing a key area of our downtown, boosting our local economy and providing a vibrant space for community gathering,” Sutton said. “The addition of the Ascend West Virginia co-working space further enhances (the center’s) potential, creating a hub for entrepreneurship, talent, attraction and development and community collaboration.”

Construction on the site behind the current Rotary Amphitheater at the Elkins Railyard Depot began in January. Morris told The Inter-Mountain that removing the old railroad roundhouse foundation will be a major effort for the construction crews in preparation to build the Event Center.

“Getting the roundhouse foundation out of the ground is going to be a task by itself,” Morris said in January. “After that is removed, they will start filling in the whole back end of the property with compactable material… My guess is that we won’t see anything really going vertical until early summer, because there’s a lot of site work, utility infrastructure work, and that type of stuff that has to happen first.”

During Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony, Morris said the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Railyard Event and Conference Center is expected to take place in spring 2026.

Randolph County Development Authority Executive Director and state Senator Robbie Morris speaks before the official groundbreaking Friday morning in Elkins.