HUNTINGTON — Coalfield Development will give new purpose to a former industrial site in Westmoreland that has sat vacant for years.
The Black Diamond Factory at 2923 Park Ave. was once a factory where airplanes were made during World War I, then Jeeps during World War II. After that, until the 1980s, it refurbished coal trains.
Now, the site will be redeveloped into a mixed-use hub for incubation of employment-based social enterprises, flexible manufacturing, and renewable energy initiatives, said Coalfield Development CEO Jacob Hannah.
“Our mission is really measured in three different ways: people, place and prosperity. Bind all three of those things together to make something better happen in communities that normally don’t get served,” Hannah said.
The Black Diamond redevelopment is one of several Coalfield projects using the same format, Hannah said. One of those projects, the nearby West Edge Factory, was formerly the Corbin factory.
“Old abandoned coal mine sites, dilapidated downtown buildings in abandoned coal regions — those are the areas where the for-profit model isn’t really going to go to, so how can we step in with our model and breathe new life into buildings like this?” Hannah said.
The Black Diamond site closed in 2013, and the old warehouse was vacant for several years until Coalfield Development acquired the property in 2019.
The first phase of the project included community outreach and a grant application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to its website. Coalfield received funding through the EPA Brownfields Program to plan and remediate the property. It then partnered with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Office of Environmental Remediation to clean it up, Hannah said.
About 400 tons of contaminated materials were removed from the site, which now has a clean bill of health from WVDEP, he said.
Hannah said the renovation project is special for the community. Many neighbors have personal ties to the building, whether they worked there or had a family member who did.
“It’s got a lot of community love and a community context and identity around this building,” Hannah said. “It’s got a legacy of employment for decades, so we want to honor that heritage to this region.”
Hannah said the building has good bones.
“It’s built with quality American-made materials, and so we want to lean into the good bones of the property. There is no reason to start from scratch because you have a great structure here already to play with, and that’s really how we have been doing our work,” Hannah said.
Coalfield Development is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Huntington that strives to rebuild the Appalachian economy through social enterprise development, nonprofit capacity building, training for those with barriers to employment, and community-based real estate development.
The Black Diamond site spans about 4.89 acres. The structures onsite total approximately 70,800 square feet, said Jess Toon, manager of strategic communications for Coalfield Development.
The Black Diamond site has three connected buildings, with the layout divided into thirds.
The first third of the building will include a maker’s space for upcycling wood, metal, and e-waste. Coalfield currently does that work at the West Edge Factory, Hannah said. This area will allow residents to drop off or pick up materials.
The second third of the building will incubate flexible manufacturing entrepreneurs who want to start their own businesses.
The final third will house Coalfield Development’s largest social enterprise, Solar Holler, which will move from the West Edge Factory to the Black Diamond site to gain more space.
Hannah said the first and last thirds of the building will be operational by October 2026. Coalfield is currently fundraising for the renovation of the middle section.
Work on the building will begin from the end and progress inward. Approximately 85% of the building is usable, he said. A new office building connected to the last structure will be constructed to serve as offices for Solar Holler.
“I feel very, very excited because there is actually boots on the ground, there is equipment in the space — more activity than this building has seen in almost half a century,” Hannah said. “We have the funding in place to move it forward.”
In addition to Solar Holler, the site will provide space for 10 different flexible manufacturing tenants and include a reuse corridor for a tenant in the front portion of the building.
“This town has a deep and rich history of manufacturing, so what we want to do is lean into that strength while also providing a space that is adaptable and nimble as markets change and the economy shifts,” Hannah said.
The Black Diamond site will also offer on-site workforce training using Coalfield Development’s model, preparing people for skilled, local jobs.
General abatement and stabilization were completed by Swope Construction Co., and the site was remediated by Thrasher Engineering. For the internal build-out, Coalfield will lean into its workforce development model, offering paid on-the-job training in construction, Hannah said.
Coalfield held a groundbreaking for the project in October, and redevelopment is now in the early stages of construction. Equipment is on site, and light demolition has begun.
A small office on the site was demolished to create an easement along the train tracks, allowing shipping and deliveries to be diverted away from the residential street, Hannah said.
Contractors are currently in the deconstruction phase. Workers have removed old shacks and windows to prepare the building for renovations.
Hannah said it is difficult to predict the final cost, as the project will be completed in phases. Coalfield has committed approximately $10 million to the first phase through a combination of federal and non-federal grants and loan investment structures, Toon said. The organization will continue fundraising for later phases.
Donald Villalobos, supervisor of Swope Construction, said saving historic buildings like the Black Diamond site is rewarding.
“Definitely going to improve the neighborhood, I’m sure, as far as how it looks and being able to use this lot instead of it being vacant,” Villalobos said.
