Beckley City Council will vote next month to transfer 146 acres of property in the Pinecrest Industrial Park from the non-profit Pinecrest Development Corporation to the town of Beckley.

The property is valued at $ 6.74 million, according to members of the Beckley Common Council.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pinecrest Development will hand over the property to the city, and the city will use municipal resources to expand infrastructure in the park and market the property for business development and job creation, under the terms of the agreement. ‘commitments that Pinecrest had established.

Pinecrest did not have immediate funding available to build infrastructure, Pinecrest board members Bill Baker and Nancy Kissinger reported to Mayor Rob Rappold, Beckley City Council members and others at the time. of a council workshop meeting at Black Knight Historic City Park on Thursday.

The acreage includes 133.45 acres on Pinecrest Drive and a 4.63 acre parcel at Gray Flats.

The Raleigh County commission is currently building a new sheriff’s office on part of the area.

Kissinger and Belcher said Thursday that the technology park is to be used for business offices and technology offices, not retail or hospitality businesses.

The city must also obtain approval from the Pinecrest Development Corporation before authorizing any construction projects and will create signage approved by the Pinecrest Board of Directors.

“If we transfer the deed to the city, there is a stipulation in that deed that must be accepted,” Kissinger said. “It’s a business park. And it has to remain a business park. We have construction commitments.”

The existing leases of the Pinecrest Plaza South complex will be transferred to the city, and Pinecrest has asked the city to attempt to renew and extend the contracts of the current tenants, namely Rescare, the Department of Veterans Affairs and State University. from West Virginia. The city will collect the annual rent of $ 281,156.

Of the rental income collected, the city will pay $ 18,000 per year, or $ 1,500 per month, to Forward Southern West Virginia to lease space at the Attar Center for the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority. Payments will continue as long as NRGRDA retains space at the Attar Center.

The city will indemnify Pinecrest Development and the members of the board of directors from any unpaid tax claims by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and bear the legal costs of transferring the deed.

Baker said that since the completion of the “ring road” or the Clarence Watson Meadows Memorial Boulevard, the industrial park is “a real asset”.

“It’s the number one asset in southern West Virginia, possibly in the state of West Virginia,” Baker told council members and other city officials over the lunch. “Since the Z-Way (bypass) was completed, it’s now a park, sitting right there between two, three, really, four-lane freeways in all directions.

“It’s in a great position.

Pinecrest Development had contracted a line of credit of $ 500,000 to pave a road leading to the ring road. According to Baker, there is still an open line of credit of $ 345,000 with the City National Bank, which the city will assume with the deed.

“We have half a million dollars. We use it from top to bottom, ”he explained.

NRGRDA executive director Jina Belcher told the group that the industrial park, under the city’s auspices with additional infrastructure, is an important asset in attracting new manufacturing companies.

“We see the business and technology park as an asset and a complement to manufacturing companies,” she said, adding that this would facilitate recruitment. “It really gives us the opportunity to leverage the city’s ownership of this asset, to get funds there to build your water and sewer roads.”

Belcher said NRGRDA has two active development prospects at the airport, which will benefit if additional infrastructure is laid at Pinecrest and more office space is available.

One of the projects is a $ 17 million substation that American Electric Power (AEP) is building. Initially it was set for 2025, but the AEP sped it up, Belcher said.

The second is a $ 680,000 project to wrap Raleigh County Memorial Airport with fiber optic cable, which will deliver a direct fiber optic line to Pinecrest businesses, she said. declared.

“This will allow us to cross the finish line so that we can actively recruit companies,” Belcher said.

City attorney Bill File said at Thursday’s workshop that council must vote at least twice, at regular council meetings Jan. 4 and 18, and must hold at least one public hearing.

File added, council may need to vote three times.

“This is historic for the town of Beckley,” said Mayor Rappold. “We are encouraged by the continued partnership with Pinecrest Development Corporation and excited about the potential this brings to Beckley to attract new businesses.

“What a privilege to be entrusted with this phenomenal asset. “