Marion Co., West Virginia, officials excited about upcoming economic development opportunities

He explained that infrastructure work for the main building, the parking lot and the new entrance into the commercial area are all finished, and the company is now setting its sights on building a new structure to house even more businesses, as well as a multimillion dollar development on the opposite end of the area behind Goodwill.

He explained this new development, which stretches for about 5 miles, will be home to new housing, a car dealership and other businesses. Biafora explained that General Acquisitions purchased this area long before it was interested in the mall, and he noted that housing is just as big of a need in the area as retail, with the company already investing $11 million developing the area.

“It really is going to fit in with the (Commons) with the shopping and convenience of having everything right there,” Biafora said. “(Be it) banking, living, working, hospital, food or retail, you name it, we got it, and that’s pretty darn cool. ...

“This is very important. TJ Contracting will be building approximately 98 to 100 homes, and our sons are going to build 48 apartments right before the gates of Canterbury. You’ve got to have rentals, patio homes, single homes and (homes) for families, and we’ll have every part of the mix.”

Just down the road from the Middletown Commons is the I-79 High Technology Park, which is currently home to more than 30 company tenants and an estimated workforce of over 1,200, according to West Virginia High Technology Foundation President and CEO Jim Estep.

Estep said organizations like NASA and Mon Health are instrumental in bringing development to the park, as is NOAA, which is set to build a $300 million supercomputing “farm” as soon as the foundation readies the plot of land for the project.

NASA’s Katherine Johnson Independent Validation and Verification Facility is in the park, too, and has an impressive output, with organization officials saying the facility estimated its labor income to be $47.8 million and its total economic output to be $139.2 million in 2023 alone.

Also in the White Hall area, the Marion Regional Development Corporation is working with Hog Lick Aggregates to develop a hydrogen hub in the county, a project that, while still in its early stages, is exciting for officials like Marion County Administrator Kris Cinalli and Marion County Chamber of Commerce President Pat Snively.

In February, the Marion County Commission heard an update on the Marion Regional Development Corporation from organization Executive President Bruce McDaniel. McDaniel said the Regional Development Corporation has several projects in the pipeline, although he said he could not divulge much information about them at this time.

He did note, however, that the corporation purchased roughly 22 acres of property at the I-79 Technology Park, and is collaborating with a local developer to construct two buildings to “complement and support the park,” according to a paper update handed out to the commission members.

McDaniel said the organization also has “developed a strategic relationship” with a local developer for a project that would bring around 200 jobs to the I-79 Technology Park. When pressed for more information by the commission, however, he said he couldn’t say anything more.

Officials say another, albeit smaller, area prime for development is downtown Fairmont, which stretches across the Monongahela River to include both the “traditional” area of downtown surrounding the Marion County Courthouse and the area along Merchant Street above Palatine Park on the east side.

Cinalli, who oversees the events at Palatine Park, has been excited by new businesses near the park like Stumptown Ales, LumberjAxe and Arcade-O-Mania, all of which opened in 2023. He hopes to see more of this growth in 2024.

“If things keep going the way they’re going now, I see growth,” Cinalli said. “I see developers getting new spots ready for tenants, and I think it’ll keep picking up. I’m just excited to ... see what else we can come up with. Everybody in that area seems to do well, so hopefully, we can capitalize on that growth and really bring Merchant Street to its potential.”

Cinalli noted, however, that they’re aware of certain challenges facing the county’s development needs, with Cinalli highlighting a lack of space as his main concern.

“I grew up here, and I remember driving up and down the interstate and not seeing anything on the side of the road, and now there’s very little along the I-79 corridor, north or south, that’s not completely grown up,” Cinalli said. “That’s a little bit of a challenge, but if we can get some stuff opened up in the Hoglick area, there is a lot of area out there that can be used for industrial and commercial development. ...

“Hopefully over these next few years, we start to see that a little bit more. ... We don’t have a lot of shovel-ready land, and what we do have is mostly tied up or is a little bit restricted by what’s around it or beside it. The space is an issue.”

However, Cinalli said that he’s overall confident with Marion County’s economic development prospects. And with everything the county has cooking right now, he’s looking forward to what’s coming next.

“It’s a really good time for Marion County in terms of development,” Cinalli said. “There is a good bit going on. Some of it is the naturally Morgantown (developers) moving south and Bridgeport (developers) moving north, and with us in the middle, we catch a lot, but it’s better to guide that development, and we’ve got a lot of people doing that. We’ve got big things on the horizon.”