HUD recently funded HRDE's application for $1,062,800 to renovate the fourth and fifth floors of the McCreery-HRDE Unity Center into 14 one-bedroom apartments to accommodate persons with disabilities and one two-bedroom apartment for the Resident Manager.
The McCreery Hotel was constructed in 1908 at Second Avenue and Ballangee Street in downtown Hinton, West Virginia. The Hinton Community had one of the largest railroad maintenance and stockyards in West Virginia and surrounding states. The McCreery Hotel was the center for housing railroad workers for over 50 years. Following the hotel closure, a clothing store and local nonprofit charity group (Loaves and Fishes) occupied the ground floor of the building. HRDE acquired the property on March 23, 2001. Since its acquisition, HRDE has renovated the first floor as commercial space. The ground floor has been renovated to accommodate a community center, soup kitchen, maintenance shop, and office. The McCreery Hotel is listed by the Hinton Historic District and is in the National Register of Historical Landmarks. Due to the McCreery's historic significance, all renovations have been approved to date by the Summers County Historic Landmarks Commission. A Memorandum of Understanding with the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office has assured HRDE the renovations can economically be made without compromising the historic significance of this structure.
The McCreery-HRDE Unity Center also houses a computer classroom for occupational training. Full time computer employment is available in the community through ManTech, which is located on the first floor. Also, Computer Science Corporation (CSC) is located within the city limits and would offer another opportunity for employment in the computer field. The Adult Learning Center is one block from the McCreery-HRDE Unity Center which would offer GED preparation and special education skills training for employers’ specific needs; i.e., math.
The second floor renovation will require HRDE to secure a grant to restore the dining hall and kitchen as a tenant/community Dining, Recreation, and Activities Hall. The design of the second floor will preserve the historic significance of this dining hall and kitchen where disabled tenants will have access for dinner, special occasions (birthday parties), speakers, health clinics, Job Readiness and Job Search sessions, and educational classes, if necessary.
In addition, HRDE plans to construct apartments on the second and third floors. Two exit stairwells will be constructed from the ground floor to the second floor which will provide a connection to the third, fourth and fifth floors. An elevator will be constructed to accommodate the second, third, fourth and fifth floors. The stairwell from the first to the second floor, which is in addition to the exterior exit stairwells, will be renovated to accommodate walk-up patrons utilizing the dining hall and meeting room.
In conjunction with the renovation of the second and third floors, as previously described, the City of Hinton received Title to the Ewart-Miller building adjacent to the McCreery-HRDE Unity Center which has been donated to HRDE for the purpose of providing much needed additional apartments and tenant parking.
The Ewart-Miller building renovation will have two objectives. First, to construct six two-bedroom apartments utilizing West Virginia Tax Credit financing; and, second, to renovate the basement into office and warehouse space to accommodate the Loaves and Fishes food commodity program. The vacant commercial area, at the McCreery-HRDE Unity Center, will be developed by HRDE for leasing to other companies; i.e., ManTech, Practice Link and Technical Science Management.
