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May 27, 2015

In West Virginia coal country, anti-blight program finds new use for ‘BAD' buildings

  • The BAD Buildings project helps towns deal with brownfield, abandoned or dilapidated properties, with the goal of preservation rather than demolition.
    • By JONATHAN DREW
    Associated Press

    WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Inside a 1920s-era warehouse in the heart of a once-bustling coalfields hub, Brandon Blankenship saws through 8-foot boards pulled up from the building's floor, looking each one up and down for “a face that's not splintered — smooth with no breaks — and an intact tongue and groove.” Portions that pass muster wind up in neat stacks for reuse by the crew remodeling the warehouse into office space, or for sale to builders looking to add a rustic touch to homes and restaurants.

    The building crew from the nonprofit Coalfield Development Corp. is part of a broad effort to tackle a legacy of the coal industry's boom-and-bust nature in many Appalachian communities: empty or unkempt buildings. They have become eyesores in otherwise scenic towns and reminders that coal's best days are long gone, and leaders know that these structures need to find new life or be gone as well before the communities can attract new employers and residents.


     
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