BECKLEY, W.V. (LOOTPRESS) – The Beckley Common Council will be purchasing the Zen’s Café building in Uptown Beckley after approving the second and final reading during a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 27, 2021.
According to Beckley City Attorney Bill File, the city will purchase the Neville Street building for $850,000 and the parking lot across the street for $260,000 for a total of $1,110,000.
City Treasurer Billie Trump stated that the city currently has eyes on a vendor that can utilize all three stories of the building for a restaurant-type business and plans to lease the building from the city.
This business is Fruits of Labor out of Greenbrier County, a culinary and agricultural training center, bakery and café. The business also has a non-profit element- a recovery-to-work program designed to spur small business development and employ West Virginians healing from addiction.
Mayor Rob Rappold cast the deciding vote during the ordinance’s first reading on July 13.
Ward III Councilman Robert Dunlap did not vote on the issue after stating his involvement would be a conflict of interest.
At the first reading, At-large Councilman Cody Reedy, Ward I Councilman Tom Sopher and Ward V Councilwoman Janine Bullock voted against the building’s purchase, while At-Large Councilwoman Sherrie Hunter, Ward II Councilman Bob Canter and Ward IV Councilman Kevin Price voted in favor.
Council held a public meeting prior to Tuesday night’s vote where several Beckley residents chose to speak.
Dr. Kristi Dumas called the building’s purchase “unfathomable,” stating the actions of the council do not line up with the will of the people. Dumas, like many others who have voiced their discontentment for the purchase, believes the funds could be better used elsewhere in the city. Tuesday, she specifically addressed the recent flood victims who are in need of relief.
Another citizen called the building’s purchase “repugnant,” saying it threatens the economic prosperity of Beckley’s uptown existing small businesses.
Danielle Stewart, who has long voiced a distaste for the purchase, expressed that while the city says the building’s purchase is economic development, it is only “blatant favoritism.”
Others joined in opinion Tuesday, pleading for the city not to purchase the Zen’s Café building, while others championed for the purchase. One local business owner, who owns a building next to Zen’s, said when clients come to his office, he currently has nowhere to take them for coffee or lunch. He stated his hope is that the purchase will be the first endeavor for many to follow by bringing business into the area and get the ball rolling.
Jenna Belcher, Executive Director of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA), also addressed council saying that personal frustrations, lack of information and an unwillingness to collaborate and strategize has presented a defensive, unwelcoming face to Beckley, which she says has swayed the city’s business opportunities.
In her experience in community and economic development, Belcher revealed that the purchase of the Zen’s building represents “the most holistic and innovative approach to downtown revitalization” that she has been part of in her career. Belcher highlighted all the possibilities that could come to the city from the purchase, casting her favor.
Prior to the vote, At-Large Councilman Cody Reedy addressed council, sharing several issues he has with the purchase. He began by asking why the city is looking to buy this particular building when a dilapidated building in need of repair on Price Street sits untouched.
Reedy also stated that the city shouldn’t be purchasing a building for someone that already has a profitable business. After doing some simple calculations, Reedy disclosed that the City of Beckley will be saving the Fruits of Labor owner $165,000 on a down payment plus a minimum of $4,000 a month in mortgage payments, ultimately saving the owner $1.1 million over 20 years.
Finally, Reedy addressed the city’s current issues with drugs and homelessness, noting that he believed the city shouldn’t be placing a drug rehabilitation program at Zen’s when so many citizens are struggling with those very issues.
When it came time to vote on the building’s purchase, council members stayed to their original decisions. Mayor Rappold once again cast the deciding vote, solidifying the building’s purchase.
Mayor Rappold did not disclose when the transaction will take place.
