HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The Huntington Municipal Development Authority (HMDA) is now actively recruiting tenants and marketing the former ACF Industries site built nearly 150 years ago.
Demolition to begin on former ACF site by Thanksgiving
The former rail car manufacturing facility, which is 42 acres, includes the property between 3rd Avenue and the Ohio River along 24th Street. It also encompasses the parking lot on the south side of 3rd Avenue.
During the West Virginia Brownfields Conference Wednesday morning, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams announced the WV Department of Environmental Protection has confirmed that the ACF remediation work has been completed and that the site will receive its certificate of completion imminently.
Marshall University and (HMDA) will join to issue a request for proposals from development firms and businesses for the use of the 13 acres of land between 3rd Avenue and 5th Avenue, says Mayor Williams.
This includes the area where the Marshall baseball stadium was originally going to go before MU decided to switch locations.
Marshall University announces site of new baseball stadium
“The Huntington Municipal Development Authority will manage this process of seeing this land developed for the best economic development proposals — technology firms, advanced manufacturing, green economy firms, commercial businesses, hospitality and entertainment businesses, R&D institutions,” said Mayor Williams.
Sen. Capito has secured $1.45 million in congressional resources in the pending FY 2023 federal budget bill, which HMDA will use to upgrade the historic factory building that remains on site to prepare that structure for technology firms, Mayor Williams says.
Sen. Capito and Sen. Joe Manchin have joined forces to secure an additional $6 million in the federal budget to address stormwater flooding in the vicinity of the ACF site.
The Brownfields Conference is taking place at the Mountain Health Arena Conference Center, marking the first time the conference has been held in Huntington since 2014.
The ACF property is part of more than 75 acres of former industrial property in Highlawn that is planned for transformation into mixed-use development space known as the “Huntington Brownfields Innovation Zone” or H-BIZ.
Huntington won the America’s Best Communities Prize of $3M in 2017. The goal of the competition was to stimulate growth and revitalize cities.
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