The Davis BAD Buildings Team, an ad-hoc group of local volunteers, elected officials, and business and property owners, are conducting a city-wide survey to find potentially abandoned, dilapidated, and vacant properties. The survey will be completed throughout September and October. The survey and the work of the Team is supported by assistance through the Brownfields Assistance Center at WVU, WV Community Development Hub, Land Use & Sustainable Development Law Clinic at WVU, and Woodlands Development Group. The BAD (Brownfields, Abandoned, Dilapidated) Buildings Program is designed to help communities address barriers to the reuse and redevelopment of abandoned and dilapidated buildings in Davis.
The ultimate goal of the volunteers is work with property owners to return abandoned and underutilized properties to productive, positive uses that will benefit the entire town. These uses can include a variety of possibilities, such as new families moving into renovated homes, new businesses occupying underutilized commercial spaces, or new parks and gardens in residential neighborhoods
Luke Elser, BAD Buildings Program Manager says, “The first step to helping property owners get their properties back to productive uses must be a community survey. Without knowing basic, crucial information, such as where these properties are, how many of them there are, or who owns them, we don’t know what steps need to be taken in Davis. Once we’ve done the up front legwork, we’ll know which direction to go. Once we’ve done the survey and have the data, the volunteers will be armed with the information they need to start solving the real challenges facing Davis and its citizens.”
“The town council, first and foremost is concerned about the health and safety for our citizens with regard to these buildings. Second, we look forward to their potential use for housing the people in our town since that is known to be a critical shortage,” comments Al Tomson, Davis Town Councilperson
Information about the BAD Buildings Program can be found at www.wvbrownfields.org. The Northern WV Brownfields Assistance Center is a program of the West Virginia Water Research Institute, located at WVU’s National Research Center for Coal & Energy.
