BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – The historic Hotel Thelma in Bluefield, West Virginia has been selected to receive a $1.5 million grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.
The funding will be used to help transform the hotel into ten studio apartments. There are also plans to create a restaurant inside the building.
The hotel’s owner says the grant was sponsored by MCNB Banks and wouldn’t have been possible without help from the Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation.
“I was totally ecstatic, very excited. knowing that it was possible and seeing it happen puts it on another level. It shows the necessity of having it done and seeing that necessity,” said Rev. James Mitchell.
Mitchell says the estimated cost to repair the building is around two million dollars but he says he’s hoping to secure future grants for the project. He’s hoping to begin work on the building by the spring.
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