PENDLETON COUNTY, W.Va. — Despite the finalization of the sale of the former U.S. Sugar Grove Naval Station property in Pendleton County earlier this week, the future of the 123-acre site that was sold at auction in December remains unclear.
“They do not have any concrete reuse plans,” reported Delegate Isaac Sponaugle (D-Pendleton, 55) during an appearance on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
On Tuesday evening, U.S. General Services completed the transfer of the property to what is now Sugar Grove LLC.
It sold at auction in December for roughly $4 million or $1.95 per square foot, according to Sponaugle’s calculations.
Originally, the federal agency reported the highest bidder, Robert Pike who works with Mellivora Partners out of Birmingham, Alabama, planned to turn the property into a healthcare campus focused on the needs of active duty military personnel and state residents.
Sponaugle said the developers, though, have not committed to that.
“They have various groups, they’ve been going around for the last couple of months attempting to find how to best use of the facility,” Sponaugle said. “I think pretty much everything is on the table.”
The property includes remote forest and open land, residential space, office space, dorm-style housing, food facilities and recreational facilities along with a fire station and police station.
Potential future uses for the site could include drug rehabilitation, mental health treatment or veterans assistance facilities. Sponaugle also mentioned the possibility of a gun manufacturer on site.
“Given the size and the scope of that base, I would anticipate that there will be several of those groups that go in over there eventually,” he said.
At this point, nothing has been announced.
A filing with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office lists Thomas Dreshsler of Miami Beach as manager of Sugar Grove LLC and Timothy Segers of Birmingham, Ala., as organizer.
U.S. General Services has been maintaining the property since the Navy Information Operations Command Base there closed in Sept. 2015.
“This property has been basically stuck in neutral since Oct. 1, 2015, so roughly 16 months have passed that it’s been sitting there,” Sponaugle said.
“Everybody wants to see the property, something be done to it rather just grow up and fall apart over there.”