by Trish Rudder
Since the Old Bath School Building on Green Street has remained empty and unimproved for several years, and the owner is in arrears in back taxes, a local historic preservationist is seeking a way to protect the structure.
Town of Bath’s Historic Landmarks Commission member Zachary Salman said he is nominating the Green Street building to be included on the WV Endangered Properties List by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV).
photo by Kate Shunney
Salman asked the town council for a letter of support for his effort last month. He said he also asked for support letters from other community organizations including the local Chamber of Commerce and Travel Berkeley Springs.
Salman said the Preservation Alliance extended the due date for the nomination paperwork to January 16.
Through a motion of common consent, the Bath Council agreed to email Salman a letter of support.
Hopes were high for many when the building at 187 South Green Street was purchased in May 2021 by Lotus Real Estate Investments for Lotus Recovery Centers, a subsidiary of Lotus Healthcare Group, to renovate it for an inpatient drug rehabilitation facility.
Plans were made according to Lotus representatives for a mid-2022 opening date, but by November 2022, no renovations had taken place and Lotus told the Morgan County EDA they planned to sell the building to a real estate development company to renovate the building and Lotus would rent the building for its recovery operation.
No sale has taken place and the property is delinquent on its 2023 taxes and is set to be auctioned off by the State Auditor’s Office this year.
At the Town of Bath Council meeting on Tuesday, January 7, Salman read a quote from the PAWV executive director Danielle Parker about the endangered property designation. He shared Parker’s statement that the “Endangered Properties List is a public statement that these places matter, not only to the communities where they are located but to us all because of our shared heritage. The list is an opportunity for communities to come to us and request assistance to preserve places that are important to them.”
Salman said the building is in very poor shape with a lot of water damage. He said the building “is very important for the history of the town.”
He said that the list is an “awareness list” because people look for properties like this to rehabilitate.
He notified Lotus that he was nominating the property to be included on the Endangered Properties List. Inclusion on the list could bring awareness about its historic value and hopefully attract interest in redevelopment, if possible.
Besides operating as a local public school, the building was home to several Morgan County public service agencies for years, including the Berkeley Springs Senior Center, Starting Points Family Resource Center, the Boys & Girls Club and the Morgan County Health Department.
