Published: July 14, 2008 04:04 pm            

Building on success — Housing development spurs ‘New Hope’

xIt was only a few decades ago when news reports continued to headline the mass exodus of residents from McDowell County, a problem due in part to a dwindling of jobs in the coal industry as well as a rash of other financial woes.

But times have changed. And the county once stereotyped for economic hardships is now experiencing more optimistic headlines — including one this weekend reporting on a new housing village planned on Tom’s Mountain in Welch.

Interestingly, the site of the new subdivision was once home to hundreds of county residents displaced by the July 2001 floods that devastated southern West Virginia. The New Hope Village was once dotted with FEMA trailers that provided temporary housing assistance to flood victims who lost their homes and possessions in the mid-summer tragedy.

Now, the West Virginia Housing Development Fund is hoping to work with area contractors to develop the New Hope Subdivision at the site.

“There is a growing need (for housing), and we are getting a lot of calls,” Joe Hatfield, executive director of the state Housing Development Fund, said. “The mayor (of Welch) is getting a lot of calls as well. The county officials are anxious to see something on the hill.”

The need for new housing in the county has been spurred by ongoing construction of the $232 million federal prison project and a recent upswing in the coal mining industry.

According to Hatfield, the New Hope Subdivision, which will house about 30 building lots, will be one of the largest housing developments in McDowell County since the creation of the Starland Heights project several years ago at the site of a former drive-in theater.

Infrastructure problems that have also plagued McDowell County for years — notably the lack of public water and sewage facilities — are not an issue at the Tom’s Mountain site thanks to the efforts of officials in the city of Welch.

At the time the flood village was being utilized, temporary infrastructure was in place at the site. However, since that time, public utilities have been extended to the New Hope location.

“It is the same site, but now it has the city water and sewer rather than the temporary facilities that were put in at the time that the mobile homes were moved in,” Hatfield explained.

County officials held a meeting with local builders Monday to provide specific details about the site, including the availability and cost of the lots and requirements for purchase. The agency hopes to begin construction on the subdivision in the near future.

A demand for new housing is a sign of economic progress — and one that is certainly welcome by the people of McDowell County who are steadfastly devoted to improving the economic climate in the region despite the hardships of the past.

We are certainly proud of the turn-around in the county, and expect more positive headlines in the weeks, months and years to come.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.