Community Development Snapshot: November 2026
At this time in the fall of 2026 we are actively working on community-driven development projects in four cities, encompassing all three counties of our development service area. Beyond geographical parity, today’s active projects describe the broad spectrum of building projects Woodlands uses to meet the needs of our communities. These projects all grew out of conversations at council meetings, on street corners, and/or through more formal planning meetings with a wide range of community members. Thanks to those who were able to engage in the process and to the very many funders and financial partners, architects, engineers, and partners who stepped in to offer assistance along the way. It is only with their help that these complicated projects become Real.
First up, Five Rivers in Parsons, Tucker County is a new-build that will provide mixed use commercial and residential. The building replaces a similarly sized but dangerously dilapidated structure. The City of Parsons requested that the new building serve a similar purpose to the original structure. The Fiver Rivers will provide eight residential units and two commercial spaces in the heart of downtown Parsons. The Tucker County Family Resource Network anticipates occupying the commercial spaces and providing services and programming for the community. We hope to install a collaborative public artwork along the front retaining wall.
Belington’s Bradshaw House is a new 3BR, 2BA single family home on a large lot in a quiet residential neighborhood. It replaces a similar home that had been lost to neglect and deferred maintenance. This energy-efficient home is under contract for affordable sale to a buyer looking to relocate to Belington and finally own their own home.
After 14 years in pre-development construction of the TAProom on Spruce Street in Thomas, Tucker County is finally underway. The name comes from the colloquial title of the historic structure on this lot, which was dilapidated beyond repair and demolished in 2016. By community request the project will provide 10 units of affordable workforce housing, one small artist studio, and a large commercial space designed to support a co-working and business incubation environment.
The size, scope, and complicated site and topography made this a challenging project from start to groundbreaking. It continues to push the Woodlands’ project team and our development partners to find creative solutions to challenges in order to preserve the needed affordability on the final units.
The location is critical to developing a community-serving Main Street for residents of Thomas and Tucker County.
We are in initial stages of a historic rehab on the Wilt Building, a mainstay in the heart of downtown Elkins, Randolph County. With two floors of commercial and two floors of residential this project has the potential to bring more life to Elkins’ already thriving downtown scene. This is another complicated project — from building stabilization and code compliance to determining best, likely, and preferred final use, but one in which investments will pay enormous dividends in terms of community development potential.
Every project at Woodlands begins with a community conversation. So let’s keep the conversation going!
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 ...
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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 ...
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Golden Rule Saved
Many of our housing and development projects are quiet, neighborhood projects that don’t demand much coverage in the press but the Golden Rule project in Belington, WV caught the ...
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Northview Apartments Impress Local Residents and US Senators
When we completed work on our Northview Senior Apartments in 2016 the project was lauded by everyone from our US Senator Shelly Moore Capito to the new tenants of ...
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Shades of Green
Since our inception Woodlands has been driving sustainable and energy efficient building practices in our region. We use sustainable construction practices in all our building projects. Our units are ...
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Invest Appalachia Announces $19M in New Funding
Invest Appalachia (IA) has announced $19M of new investment in a fund to provide capital to community economic development projects. Focused on increasing investment in Appalachia overall, 90% of ...
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Tygart Hotel Artwork to Honor Lost Towns of the Monongahela National Forest
We are excited to announce “Lost Towns/Lost Communities” a collaboration with West Virginia artists to create artwork for the Tygart Hotel exploring five ghost towns in the Monongahela National ...
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TipTop Of The Iceberg: Leveraging Funding into Large Local Investment
TipTop no longer needs us. The business now has the resources and collateral to qualify for conventional financing. But back in 2012, when Cade and Carrie Archuleta were purchasing ...
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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 ...
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Firefly Commons Apartments Completed
Our new Firefly Commons project in Elkins is complete and fully leased. The 16-unit development is made up of six duplexes and a 4-unit townhome. After many years of ...
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Paint it Black 5: Branding & Sales Strategies
Robert Villamagna, mixed-media artist, WV Tinman Karen Jacobson, Woodlands Community Lenders August 18th, Tygart Hotel, Elkins, WV Register here Branding and Sales Strategies make your travel worth it, connect ...
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New Artist Business Development Seminar Series Coming Soon: Paint it Black
We are excited to announce the second phase of our Lost Towns project: a seminar series designed to encourage and support artists in turning their craft into successful businesses. ...
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Golden Rule Hosts Barbour County America 250 Mural
Friday, June 19th, brought the community of Belington together to celebrate a festival honoring West Virginia Day and the nation’s 250th anniversary with live music, vendors and activities. As ...
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Call for Artists: Lost Towns of the Mon RFQ
Woodlands Development Group (Woodlands), is seeking professional artists to design and create original artwork for a Lost Towns of the Mon permanent art collection in the newly-rehabilitated Tygart Hotel ...
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