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MORGANTOWN - In November 2023, dozens of parcels that make up the East End Village development area were consolidated into a single parcel at the request of the property owner, the Monongalia County Development Authority.
Currently, a process is underway to finalize that consolidation by annulling public rights of way internal to the development area.
At the MCDA's request, Morgantown City Council has, on first reading, approved the annulment of portions of Cass, Allen, East Prospect, Pine and Gem streets, and Marion Avenue.
According to information provided in council's agenda packet, the annulled portions include:
— Pine Street to the intersection with Gem Street
— Gem Street from Locust Avenue to Richwood Avenue
— Marion Avenue from Richwood Avenue to Gem Street
— East Prospect Street from Pearl Avenue to Richwood Avenue
— Allen Street from East Prospect Street to Snider Street
— Cass Street from Pearl Street to Allen Avenue
"The annulment request is the final step in the pre-development process for MCDA," Morgantown Area Partnership President and CEO Russ Rogerson said. "Once completed, the property can be sold as one parcel, if needed."
To ensure that the annulments do not damage any private interests or any adjoining property owner, and to ensure that continued public access and public utility access are provided until redevelopment of the area is completed to the point that access is no longer needed, the city's annulment is contingent on a number of factors.
Chief among those is that MCDA will have provided for the relocation of all public utilities in the annulment area. The relocation must be verified by a written certification by each of the various utilities.
Attorney Ryan Simonton said the utilities present within these rights-of-way include electric, telecommunications, gas, water and sewer.
"There are utilities in place, and the request to annul the streets does not include a request to leave underground and overhead utility easements as is sometimes done," Simonton said. "So the development authority's proposal is to consolidate this property, relocate the utilities and the streets, and allow for development of its then-joined property."
Simonton added, "The annulment, if approved, would only become effective upon the relocation of all of those public utilities.
Simonton went on to say that the city also owns property that adjoins one of the annulled streets, but those parcels have additional frontage on Forest Avenue.
The East End Village project, initially known as the Richwood Project due to the property's proximity to Richwood Avenue, has been in the works since the MCDA purchased some 10 contiguous acres adjacent to downtown Morgantown and WVU's downtown campus for $11.8 million in 2020.
The vision for the redevelopment consists of turning a hillside of old homes once used as student rentals into a vibrant mix of new market-rate housing options sitting atop, and alongside, new retail space.
According to Rogerson, the MCDA believes the project could draw as much as $120 million in private investment, making it one of, if not the, largest development project ever undertaken within the city of Morgantown.
But it's been a long and difficult lift to this point.
To date, in terms of visible progress, 58 structures have been cleared from the land.
Morgantown City Council finalized a rezoning of the property from R-1 (single family) and R-2 (single and two-family residential) to B-1 (neighborhood business) in January 2024. Earlier this year, the new 73-acre East End Village TIF district created by the city in support of the development became active.
In September, the Monongalia County Commission approved an additional $150,000 in support of the project, bringing the county's investment to just under $1 million to this point.