subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Fri, Nov 20 2009 

Published: October 28, 2009 06:42 am    print this story  

Boy Scouts close land deal for $100 million scouting center

By Jessica Farrish
Register-Herald Reporter

An 11,000-acre local property marked as the future site of a new high-adventure base for Boy Scouts of America was purchased Tuesday by BSA, spokesman David Lavalle announced Tuesday.

Some 8,000 acres of the property, formerly owned by Meadow Creek Coal Co., is located around the Glen Jean area of Fayette County, while the remainder is located in Raleigh County.

Groundbreaking on a $100 million National Scouting Center that includes a high-adventure base is expected on the property in the spring, according to Lavalle.

“It’s coming, it’s real, it’s here,” Lavalle. “We’re going to get our preliminary planning done.”

The high-adventure base is expected to be built on “the bowl,” a site located on a part of the property known as “Garden Ground” in Fayette County.

Garden Ground is located on the west side of the New River and is bordered by the communities of McCreery, Thurmond/Stone Cliff and Mount Hope.

“There’s a whole bunch of planning, in terms of just people crawling all over that property to determine the scope of the project, how we’ll make this all come together,” Lavalle said. “Probably in the spring, we’ll have some kind of formal ribbon-cutting and turn dirt.”

Thirteen miles of the property is “next-door” to properties owned by the National Park Service.

NPS is partnering with BSA on the project, which is endorsed by Gov. Joe Manchin.

BSA purchased the property through Arrow WV, a non-profit BSA entity.

A private celebration is scheduled Nov. 18 at the Glen Jean Armed Services Reserve Center.

A model of the National Scouting Center will be unveiled at the event, and BSA officials will also recognize the support of BSA by Steve Betchel of the S.D. Betchel Jr. Foundation.

- - -

The base will be built by qualified local contractors through an open bid process and will include sewer and water facilities.

It is expected to employ 80 full-time staff and 1,200 seasonal staff.

If all goes according to plan, the high adventure base will open in 2012, BSA officials had announced in June.

Fayette Commission President Ken Eskew said Tuesday that the BSA presence will be important to “the whole region” and will provide customers to small businesses, hotels and restaurants in the area.

“I think this is a huge opportunity for Fayette County, particularly, and surrounding counties,” said Eskew. “I can see the economic footprint over the upcoming years.

“We couldn’t ask for a better neighbor to the National Park,” he added. “It will be a low-density imprint there.”

— E-mail: jfarrish@register-herald.com

print this story  



autoconx

Premier Guide
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Premium Jobs

PREP PLANT CONTROL ROOM OPERATOR, PLANT ATTENDANT, ELECTRICIAN, MOBILE EQUIPMENT OPERATOR, LOAD OUT OPERATOR
Local coal processing company has immediate openings for Preparation Plant Control Room Operator, Plant Attendant, Elect...>MORE

RN CIRCULATOR
RN CIRCULATOR. The OR team at GVMC is searching for a qualified Registered Nurse to join their growing operation in the ...>MORE

JOB FAIR - NOVEMBER 20TH
Job FAIR. Massey Energy is accepting experienced underground applicants. Our expanding operations are located in Raleig...>MORE

ELECTRICAL DIVISION POSITIONS
Taggart Global, LLC is an international design, engineering and construction company with expertise in turnkey design, s...>MORE

CASEWORKER
Caseworker. A part-time with possible full-time potential position managing the monthly income of mentally and physicall...>MORE

LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE - MONTGOMERY GENERAL ELDERLY CARE
MONTGOMERY GENERAL ELDERLY CARE is accepting applications / resumes for Licensed Practical Nurses. Qualified candidates ...>MORE

NURSE PRACTITIONER - GREENBRIER CO.
Nurse Practitioner for busy medical office in western Greenbrier County. Must be able to work evenings and weekends. Ful...>MORE

ACCOUNTANT, CPA OR CPA CANDIDATE
CPA office looking for accountant, CPA or CPA candidate, southern WV, very busy practice. Ability to become an owner. Be...>MORE

LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES
Make a difference in the life of a veteran. Are you interested in working in a state-of-the-art, one-of-a-kind organizat...>MORE

UNDERGROUND COAL MINING FOREMAN / COORDINATOR
GMS Mine Repair and Maintenance is seeking a Virginia certified Underground Coal Mining Foreman / Coordinator for work i...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Jobs

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index