Nitro land‑reuse director describes demolition‑led redevelopment, financing and sales strategy

Kim Reed, planner for the City of Nitro and executive director of the Nitro Land Reuse Agency, told the City of Morgantown Land Reuse Agency that Nitro’s program uses targeted acquisition and demolition to assemble developable parcels and attract private investment.

Reed said Nitro began the effort with about $1,000,000 set aside from the city’s 1% sales tax to acquire and clear blighted commercial and residential properties. She described an early, high‑profile conversion in Nitro’s downtown footprint: the agency acquired an abandoned thrift store property, demolished it and sold the assembled block to a private developer that built a high‑performing Taco Bell and other private development.

Nitro’s work, Reed said, combines publicly funded acquisition and demolition with requirements for future buyers on commercial lots. She said the agency has used ARPA and state program reimbursements to underwrite demolition and that the first phase of a state program provided $350,000, enabling four commercial and 15 residential demolitions (19 properties in phase 1 total). Reed said a second phase award of $234,000 was under way with additional demolitions scheduled to finish in coming weeks, weather permitting.

Why it matters: Reed argued that selective demolition and parcel assembly can change a downtown retail footprint and prompt private reinvestment — and she presented early outcome measures the Nitro agency has used to make that case to state funders. She told the Morgantown board that a deputy operations official for Metro 911 reported a 74% decrease in law‑enforcement calls on one block after a series of clearances, and that new developments produced immediate sales‑tax receipts and construction‑related business‑and‑occupations (B&O) revenue.

Reed described protocols the Nitro agency uses when it sells property. Residential lots acquired by tax sale are offered first to adjacent owners at the price the agency paid, she said; some small lots were sold for nominal fees (examples cited: lots sold for $100 to neighbors). For commercial parcels the agency requires development plans, proof of funding and deed restrictions that currently include a planned “clawback” if buyers do not begin development within about 12–18 months. Reed said the agency refused a Dollar Tree proposal for a newly assembled downtown acre because that use did not fit the city’s plan.

She described outcomes from specific sales: two new homes built on a cleared lot sold for about $199,000 each; another single‑family lot sold to a private builder who later sold the completed house for about $224,000; and one very small lot sold for $1,000 to a private contractor who built and sold a home within a year. Reed also said the Taco Bell location became “one of the highest‑grossing Taco Bells in the valley,” producing early B&O tax and 1% sales tax revenue for the city.

Reed cautioned that reimbursements can lag. She said the agency typically submits demolition invoices to the state program for reimbursement after required steps — asbestos reports, condemnation letters and SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office) clearances — and that a phase‑2 reimbursement had taken more than six weeks at the time of her remarks, delaying the agency’s cash flow.

On financing: Nitro started with local sales‑tax set‑aside funding rather than debt, Reed said; the agency has not yet issued loans or bonds but retains the option. She said initial acquisitions and demolition were often paid up front and then submitted for state reimbursement. Reed also said the agency has received some ARPA funding and has sought mechanisms to capture a share of future construction B&O receipts or sales tax generated by parcels assembled by the land‑reuse agency (efforts described as “TBD”).

Questions and technical details from Morgantown officials focused on marketing cleared lots, deed restrictions and enforcement, revenue returns, and whether Nitro had used housing‑specific state programs. Reed said marketing has included yard signs, an online listing of available properties, occasional realtor use (which sometimes proved too costly for small residential lots) and direct outreach to build a pipeline of buyers. She said commercial lots use larger signage and development covenants; residential lots sold in a strong market have not historically required deed restrictions in Nitro.

Reed recommended state contacts and resources — John Butterworth in Charleston for housing approaches, Taylor Bennett (state land‑bank director), and national technical assistance such as the Center for Community Progress — and offered to share contacts and case‑study material with the Morgantown agency.

Reed’s presentation offered concrete operational examples for Morgantown: targeted block‑level demolition to save contractor mobilization costs; offering adjacent owners first refusal on tax‑sale lots; using deed restrictions and short development timelines for commercial assemblages; and tracking police and emergency‑response data as an outcome measure for funders.

Ending: Board members thanked Reed and asked staff to circulate her contact recommendations and materials for the agency’s use in planning and grant development.