The need for housing is another challenge unfortunately shared by many cities in the Mountain State , but Huntington constantly works to find solutions , one of them being the transformation of the old Pritchard Hotel building . This $ 50 million project will create 108 affordable apartments for seniors , as well as two full floors of health care and community services for the residents . These services will be maintained by Marshall Health Network .
Tricia Ball , president and CEO of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce , touches on a regional housing study that Advantage Valley recently unveiled which was completed on Boone , Cabell , Clay , Jackson , Kanawha , Lincoln , Putnam , Roane , Mason and Wayne counties . The purpose of this study was to analyze the region ’ s ever-evolving housing market and encourage residential development to meet current and future housing needs .
“ It ’ s interesting because in a healthy economy , the rental vacancy rate is 4 to 6 %, and ours is less than 1 %,” she shares . “ To me , this is one of our biggest economic development challenges . We don ’ t have enough rental units or housing stock on the market . It ’ s hard for a middle-class or lower-class family to afford the housing that is available . Residential housing development for our area is going to be the main focus .”
Mountwest Community and Technical College prioritizes workforce development , which is why it continuously introduces new programs to better serve its students .
“ The college built a two-year program with St . Mary ’ s
Photo by Huntington Area CVB .
School of Respiratory Care ,” says Karen Horner , director of communication and outreach for Mountwest . “ The students can take their general education courses here and finish the program-related content at St . Mary ’ s Center for Education . The degree will be awarded through Mountwest .”
Horner also shares that the college ’ s alcohol and drug counseling program that was launched in fall 2023 has seen great success . Students can obtain a two-year degree in alcohol and drug counseling or a one-year certificate in addiction studies .
Mountwest is in the process of launching a tech marketing program for fall 2024 . It ’ s being created in response to feedback from local businesses that feel there is a high demand for the skills that will be taught in this program .
“ One of the courses we ’ re currently offering is an introduction to social media marketing . It ’ s a free five-week course ,” Horner explains . “ We ’ re also offering another free class on
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