First step taken in revitalizing two historic Bramwell buildings

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - Discussions about the future of two historic Bramwell buildings happened in two separate meetings Wednesday.

Wednesday afternoon, representatives from the Bramwell Foundation, Bramwell Theater Corporation, and Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation (BARC) met with an architect to discuss ideas to repurpose the historic Pence Hotel and Bramwell Theater buildings.

The buildings that have been unused for years, are located at the beginning of the downtown historic district.

Bill Huber, of Huber Architects of Marion Va., says he was contacted by BARC to work on the project. Huber has a history of working on the historic buildings in Mercer County like the Granada Theater and currently the Hotel Thelma and Travelers Hotel in Bluefield.

Huber led the public meeting this evening, to gather ideas from residents. Community members suggest parts of the building could become a brewery, gift shop, yoga studio, preforming arts center, or medical center.

Plans for the former hotel would include the creation of ten apartments. Federal low income housing tax credits would pay for 70% of the construction cost for those apartments.

For the theater portion of the project historic tax credits, federal grants, and state grants would help fund the restoration of the theater space.

Huber and the organizations working on the planning development phase of this project want to preserve as much historic architecture giving Bramwell spaces that would be utilized to benefit the community.

“Pence Hotel would probably be a little easier than the theater because we already have an idea that it’s gonna be housing for the most part,” said Huber. “The theater, it may not end up being a theater, it could be something else and still preserve a lot of the feel of the original space, but function in a much different way.”

Huber says both building do need structural repairs due to roof leaks and other factors.