by Trish Rudder
Saving the old Bath schoolhouse building at 187 South Green Street has been has been a topic of discussion since the building has fallen into disrepair and has been boarded up with no activity. The building is owned by Lotus Real Estate Investments, LLC.
photo by Kate Shunney
In January, the Green Street building was nominated by Zachary Salman of the Historic Landmarks Commission for placement on the West Virginia Endangered Properties List by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV).
Salman said last week that he was notified by PAWV director Danielle Parker that the Preservation Alliance “has set aside, but not rejected, the nomination of the Bath District High School building.”
She wrote that the Preservation Alliance wants to talk with Lotus before listing the property on the endangered properties list.
“We’re planning to advocate for this building and explore options for how it can get back into public hands, but we are not prepared to make a formal announcement yet,” Parker wrote.
She said the preservation alliance will continue looking into the building, and “we might decide to list it later on this year.”
EDA executive director Lyn Goodwin said on Monday that the owners are aware of the building’s nomination and she was given two new individuals to work with at Lotus. Goodwin said the EDA offered to help Lotus on how to market the property.
The Morgan County Tax Office confirmed on Monday that the property taxes for 2023 were paid. They had been listed as delinquent and the building was to be auctioned off by the state this year.
Goodwin said problems began when the renovations on the building were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and costs increased too much for the owner to continue.
Company representatives had made several public presentations about their plans to create the Lotus Recovery Center as an inpatient facility to combat opioid drug use. Efforts to reach the company for updated plans have been unsuccessful.
