PENDLETON COUNTY, W.Va. — Potential buyers of the former U.S. Sugar Grove Naval Station property in Pendleton County will tour the site during a Wednesday open house from the General Services Administration.
Sealed bids and ten percent deposits for the property, the second attempt to sell its 123 acres at auction, are due on Dec. 1.
Members of the Pendleton County Board of Education, though, are still seeking help from West Virginia’s Congressional delegation and at least one member of the Legislature in getting that date pushed back until after new officeholders take their seats in the New Year.
When it comes to possible reuse options, “Let a new administration look at it and see,” argued J.D. Wilkins, president of the Pendleton County Board of Education.
Earlier this month, he and the other members of the Pendleton County Board of Education sent letters with the delay request to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), 2nd District Congressman Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) and state Delegate Isaac Sponaugle (D-Pendleton, 55).
“There was the discussion of the jail. There is a potential for a lot of other things to happen,” Wilkins said. “I don’t know what’s available. I don’t know what’s needed, but I’d like for the governmental agencies to have another look at it under the new administrations.”
“Obviously, the governor had a hard time making the decision last time because he didn’t make the decision until the very last day,” Wilkins told MetroNews.
That unnamed bidder could not “complete the transaction” for undisclosed reasons, prompting the second offering that’s underway using a more traditional bidding process.
On Dec. 1, the bids will be read aloud and the high bidder announced, according to the GSA schedule.
Built in the 1950s, the Sugar Grove site served as a Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) base until Sept. 30, 2015.
At one time, it was Pendleton County’s 2nd largest employer behind only the Pendleton County school system.
“It was a significant loss to the economy,” Wilkins said of the U.S. Navy departure from a county with 7,500 people. Many people, he said, have been leaving the county each day to work.
“Having the right kind of employer there would be a significant benefit to the county.”
The property is set up as a self-contained small town with 105 buildings including residential space for up to 80 families, office space, dormitory-style housing, food service and recreational facilities along with a fire station and police station.
Despite the delay request from the Pendleton County Board of Education, the GSA has said the sale will proceed as planned.
“We would hope that those who are elected by the public — our governor, our legislators — would come in and ask them to postpone it,” Wilkins said.
The GSA open house is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
More information on the Sugar Grove Station is available HERE.