The State Journal
16 June 2006
By Pam Kasey - pkasey@statejournal.com
MORGANTOWN - Developers at Platinum Properties have a backlog of requests for office space in Morgantown's Wharf District.
That backlog soon will be met by the coming Marina Tower, and the surrounding improvements could make it well worth the wait.
Marina Tower contributes to the larger redevelopment of the formerly blighted riverside neighborhood that now is graced with the well-used Caperton rail-trail, a riverfront amphitheater, restaurants, parking garages, class A office space and the former Radisson hotel, newly renamed the Waterfront Place Hotel.
The Mon River Center marina already is under development, according to Platinum Development Director Rich Lane, a project supported by a $3.6 million economic development grant from the state and expected to be managed in part by the City of Morgantown.
"They're digging the footers, the steel's going to go up in a few weeks, and everything's on schedule," Lane said.
The marina will offer 25 slips for private rental. It also will be the home of the West Virginia University women's crew team and the local Monongahela Rowing Association. An excursion boat also is under discussion, Lane said.
Upstairs, a 5,000-square foot restaurant with seasonal outdoor dining and a casual theme is being built.
"We're talking about wood-fired pizza, steak sandwiches, cold draft beer," Platinum Partner Parry Petroplus said. Petroplus is also president of Petroplus & Associates, which manages Platinum's properties.
A theme under discussion for the interior is framed historical photos of the area, he continued.
"And we're going to add to it a comedy club."
About half of the marina's slips are already reserved for boats up to 35 feet, according to Lane; permitting for slips beyond the original 25 is under consideration now by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Mon River Center should be complete in October, Lane said.
Getting well under construction just across the rail-trail about that time will be the eight-story Marina Tower: 100,000 square feet of office and commercial space, with retail and an upscale restaurant on the first floor.
The office space is a much-needed addition to the area, Petroplus said.
"Fifty percent of the building right now is probably committed," he said.
Negotiations with a major law firm to anchor the property are under way.
The style, Lane said, will complement the adjacent Jackson Kelly office building, also a Petroplus project: brick, maintaining the area's historical architectural style.
Construction is expected to begin in late summer.
Soon to follow these two projects are a third parking garage and an events center to house the West Virginia Public Theater and other uses.
In another public-private partnership, Petroplus is working to acquire additional properties within the Wharf District for complementary uses.
"A farmers' market or a Strip District like in Pittsburgh or the market in Charleston," he explained.
"The city has plans to put some additional recreational facilities down there - from bicycles, to boats, to putt putts. We're coordinating that now."
He expects the development to ramp up quickly and be complete in less than three years.
"What we're trying to create here, and I think we're getting there, is a destination-oriented place," Petroplus said. "If the wife is at the conference, or the husband, then the spouse can take a boat ride or go to the district or go to the events center where that evening there's a play or an entertainer."
Marina Tower is expected to be ready for occupancy in early 2008.