Community Banks Provide Key Investments to Push Tygart Hotel Project Forward
Historic Tax Credit investments close financing gaps on Elkins’ big hotel project
Tygart Hotel partners Pendleton Community Bank, Davis Trust Company, and Freedom Bank gathered on Friday, April 29th to celebrate the commencement of construction and to survey progress that has been made so far. These local banks have demonstrated their deep commitment to serving the needs of their communities by investing in Historic Tax Credits to fund the redevelopment of the historic hotel.
- Representatives from Woodlands, Freedom Bank, Pendleton Community Bank, and Davis Trust Company gather in the lobby of the Tygart Hotel which is currently undergoing renovation.
- The Tygart Hotel restoration project is deeply embedded in the downtown community.
- Project Architect Michael Mills discusses plans with Pendleton Community Bank’s Bill Loving
Woodlands’ Executive Director Dave Clark told the bank executives, “I can’t stress enough how critical this investment by the local banks has been to this project. We have over 14 investors in this project now from Maine to Richmond and they came on board because they saw the buy-in from our local institutions. Seeing what our community banks were willing to do made all the difference.”
Hugh Hitchcock, President and CEO of the Davis Trust Company said that this project, “Will be a game changer not just for the city but for the whole region.” He was proud that this contingent of community banks is leading the way to bring the Tygart Hotel project to fruition.
The Tygart Hotel, constructed in 1906, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an anchor for Elkins’ Downtown Historic District. Rehabilitation projects can be much more complicated than new-build projects but they also have the potential to amplify their impact by saving, restoring, and revitalizing buildings and neighborhoods, as well as providing the new amenities, services, and jobs.
The federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) program is administered by the National Park Service and the IRS. It offers building owners an income tax credit equal to 20% of the qualifying costs required to rehabilitate their certified historic structure. West Virginia also has a state HTC which covers an additional 25% of costs. These tax credits can provide a low-cost source of gap capital to drive a community development and historic preservation project towards viability.
As a tax-exempt, non-profit community developer, Woodlands is unable to make use of tax credit programs directly, making these partnerships with local institutions crucial to the success of the project. Freedom, Davis Trust, and PCB invested direct equity into the project and sign on as project partners. In return they receive income tax credits over the next five years and the community boasts improved amenities, job growth, and economic development.

Tygart Hotel Project on Track to Begin Reconstruction in Early 2022
Key partners and investors meet at Tygart property to discuss plans for the iconic and historic Elkins property. [09.29.2021] A group of local business owners, nonprofit organization leaders, and ...
Read More
The Slow Rescue of the Opera-less Opera House of Thomas, WV
feature image courtesy Alpine Heritage Preservation Imagine you are an enterprising settler in the highest and wildest part of the WV wilderness in the early 1890s. The booming coal ...
Read More
2022 Lenders Annual Report & Audit
Click here or image above to view/download full annual report (.pdf)
Read More
Paint it Black 1: Galleries, Pricing, & Framing
Cecil Ybanez, Bloomfield Gallery, Richwood, WV Talbott’s Frame shop, Elkins, WV Karen Jacobson, Woodlands Community Lenders April 28th, Tygart Hotel, Elkins, WV Register here Cecil Ybanez and David Ward ...
Read More
Resurrecting the Golden Rule’s Water Powered Elevator
We invite you to watch a bit of the story of the marvelous water powered elevator in the Golden Rule Building in Belington, WV. This innovative piece of machinery ...
Read More
Small Business Solutions for Barbour County
Woodlands is excited to be taking part in a new group created to support existing and encourage new small businesses in Barbour County. While the group’s objectives will be ...
Read More
The Land Kept Us: The Story of the Lost Towns & the Tygart Hotel
Donate here to support the Tygart Community Investment Fund — providing ongoing arts, housing, and downtown enhancement project funding in Elkins, WV. Click here to watch full screen. Nestled ...
Read More
Rupert Housing Application & Info
Thank you for your interest in the Rupert School Apartments. Once you have completed filling out the application and additional forms, or if you have questions about filling them ...
Read More
Addressing Senior Housing Shortages
In 2016, West Virginia was officially the second oldest state in the country. At that time Woodlands and the Randolph County Housing Authority conducted a needs assessment in Randolph ...
Read More
A Trail Worth Following: Zach Adams and Appalachian Dirt
When most of us lace up our hiking boots and head into the mountains, we rarely stop to wonder how the trail beneath our feet came to be. But ...
Read More




