Manos Theater Project

We have the opportunity to develop a challenging keystone property in the heart of the downtown Elkins business district. Even as major institutional projects like the Tygart Hotel and the Railyard Conference Center have spurred downtown investment, ongoing development is needed to enhance economic stability, lower risk, and drive long term growth in property values.

Directly across the street from the Tygart Hotel, the historic Manos Theater has become an underutilized storage building occupying a prime downtown location. Closed to the public for decades, and shuttered for over a year, this building is a high-visibility blemish on what could be the busiest block in Elkins. Investment in this keystone property will stimulate downtown commercial activity that will sustain many small businesses and property owners.

Why Woodlands?

As a non-profit community development organization Woodlands understands that our role includes taking on projects that are not viable investments for commercial developers to drive economic growth and create conditions that enable conventional commercial investment. The community is looking to us to move this project forward because of our experience and success developing other similar community assets.

The positive impact of this project will be felt across the city and the region that Elkins supports as an economic and cultural hub. The successful reuse of this building is meaningful as a key to the greater, more critical aims of this project: to create the conditions necessary for the City of Elkins to grow and sustain its downtown economy, to reverse decades of population decline, to attract and retain workforce for a range of industries, and to retain its character as a vibrant mountain town destination. The stabilizing effect this project will have on the downtown economic landscape will make Elkins more attractive to small business owners and invite a greater range of investments.

These taxpayer funds leverage a challenging project, that would otherwise languish for many years, with a huge potential public impact.

Why You?

Accomplishing this project with a minimal amount of debt will allow the community the greatest amount of flexibility to adapt this building to the greatest need and allow all project income to be reinvested in jobs and positions that will support productive use of the Manos Theater Building.

The funding stack for this project includes the use of both federal and state Historic Tax Credits, an Economic Development Initiative award through the department of Housing and Urban Development, and fundraising from invested community members like yourself.

Woodlands is committed to creating a space designed around the needs of the community, that is useful and utilized by our partners and that supports business development and stability in the downtown historic business district and throughout the Mon Forest Region.