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The Pride of We s tVi r g i n i a
Mountaineer Country
ANNA MOORE
Coopers Rock . Photo by West Virginia Department of Tourism .
The home of the West Virginia University ( WVU ) Mountaineers and the growing cities of Fairmont , Clarksburg , Morgantown and Bridgeport , Mountaineer Country offers a sense of spirit and pride for West Virginia . Stretching across the counties of Doddridge , Barbour , Preston , Taylor , Monongalia , Marion and Harrison , this region offers Coopers Rock , Tygart Lake , Hovatter ’ s Wildlife Zoo , the Barrackville Covered Bridge and the Anna Jarvis Museum . This piece of Almost Heaven holds significance as a cultural and economic hub in the state , boasting rich history , educational institutions and a range of industries that contribute to the state ’ s vitality .
Development & Infrastructure
The Morgantown Area Partnership is a public-private alliance supporting economic , business and community growth efforts . The Partnership is working on getting the Chaplin Hill Road exit north of WVU expanded , attracting retail stores to the WestRidge area , expanding Mountaintop Beverage Company and executing many other expansion and development projects .
At Mountaintop Beverage , a third-party contract beverage manufacturer in the Westover community , the goal is to hire more employees to bring its staff up to 225 this year and up to 500 in the next five years .
“ Our building size right now is 330,000 square feet , and our intent is to potentially double the size of this based on demand . We have customers who are waiting to come to our facility , and we ’ re just securing all the capital ,” says Beth Pratt , chief people officer at Mountaintop Beverage .
In Marion County , a nearly $ 70 million investment has been made at Middletown Commons in Fairmont to redesign it so more retail , offices and services can move in .
In Harrison County , Berkshire Hathaway Energy ’ s BHE GT & S is looking to expand and continue working in communities with its charitable giving program .
“ We ’ re looking to build out our infrastructure and natural gas pipelines in the states of West Virginia and Ohio ,” says Jason Harshbarger , BHE GT & S state policy director in both states . “ Those are the two key states that we have a focus on right now .”
Revitalizing property that already exists , the Preston County Economic Development Authority ( EDA ) received an Abandoned Mine Land pilot grant to repair and upgrade the 44,000-square-foot former Kinney Shoe Factory building to create a six-acre pad site behind the building with a road and utilities .
“ The EDA wants to bring in a new manufacturing company to lease or purchase the building ,” says Robbie Baylor , Preston County EDA director . “ The EDA hopes to get grant
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE