MORGANTOWN — Montgomery Ward could only dream of such deals.
The parties entered into a lease-purchase agreement in December of 2016, but the Monongalia County Commission has yet to receive a payment from the Monongalia County Development Authority for use of the former Montgomery Ward department store building located a stone’s throw from the county courthouse, at 238 High Street.
The agreement gave MCDA a five-year grace period to begin making $2,780 monthly payments to the commission toward a $500,000 purchase price for the first three floors of the building. The appraised price of the space at that time was $1.5 million.
The county kept the basement and fourth floor for storage.
Fast forward a little over eight years – some three years after payment was to begin – and the county commission has approved $500,000 to MCDA to replace the building’s elevator, address a water line issue and cover the authority’s $130,000 annual dues to the Morgantown Area Partnership for 2025.
This is where things become somewhat confusing.
MCDA is one of the organizations for which The Partnership provides administrative and office support – thus the dues. Whereas MCDA has paid an executive director in the past — Holly Childs most recently – Partnership President and CEO Russ Rogerson has filled that role since his hiring in March of 2019.
Other agencies under The Partnership umbrella include Main Street Morgantown, the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce and Campus Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation (Sunnyside Up).
While the taxpayers are, at least temporarily, covering the dues this year, MCDA has dues outstanding for the three years prior, according to information obtained by The Dominion Post.
All the while, The Partnership is to pay MCDA $33,000 annually for use of the building’s second floor space. The 17th Judicial Circuit Court Public Defender Corporation pays about twice that amount to rent the building’s third floor, according to Monongalia County Commissioner Sean Sikora.
Sikora explained there were a number of stipulations that came with the $500,000 approved by the commission on Wednesday.
One – MCDA has 20 years, starting July 1, to pay the county $1 million. Two – MCDA can’t recoup funds by raising the rent paid by The Partnership, even if the development authority ends up purchasing the building outright. Three – if MCDA wants to sell the building, The Partnership has the right of first refusal. Four – if MCDA goes into default, the rent being paid by existing tenants goes directly to the county.
“I want people to understand how successful that building has been,” Rogerson said, explaining MCDA put between $500,000 and $700,000 into the building following the 2016 agreement with the county.
“It is fully leased. And so, overall, I think that building’s been a huge success, and in large part that’s thanks to you all. The original agreement made that possible and we really appreciate the fact that you’re willing to step up and continue to be the strong partners to development and provide a solution and a scenario that I hope you believe is fair to all, because we still have that great asset. A functional elevator is critical to a five-story building, basically.”
In explaining the situation, Sikora referred to MCDA as being “cash-strapped” due to its efforts to transform 10 acres of dilapidated houses along Richwood Avenue into East End Village – a walkable mix of housing and retail on the doorstep of downtown Morgantown.
MCDA purchased the land for $11.8 million in 2020.
In August, Rogerson told the commission, “The development authority has expended all its cash assets on this project over the last three and a half years …”
At that time, both the county and city of Morgantown put up $500,000 to be held in a mandatory cash reserve as a requirement of the refinancing package sought by MCDA.
That cash reserve, Rogerson explained, won’t be needed unless MCDA doesn’t sell any of the East End property for development within a year of refinancing.
As collateral for the city and county’s backing, MCDA put up the 90-acre site near the Morgantown Municipal Airport currently used as a borrow site for the city’s runway extension project, but identified as the future home of a 54-acre commerce park.
The East End Village development is expected to draw between $100 million and $200 million in investments into the city of Morgantown over the next five years or so.
