Off the US-19 expressway at Glen Jean, this level, two-acre commercial property boasts easy access, high visibility, and a steel and metal building of more than 9,500 square feet. The property is convenient to major area tourist attractions, including the Bechtel National Scout Reserve and the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

HIGHLIGHTS

• More than two level acres
• Steel building of more than 9,500 square feet
• More than 225 feet of frontage on highways WV-16, WV-61
• The average daily traffic on US-19 is 18,700 vehicles
• Fewer than 400 feet from US-19 expressway exit at Glen Jean
• One mile from the entrance to the National Scout Reserve
• Two miles from the New River Gorge National Park

Central to the property, a general-purpose warehouse building of steel and insulated metal panels built in 2004 includes more than 9,500 square feet of interior space in addition to a two-stall concrete block garage. The building and garage sit on a six-inch-thick slab of poured concrete. Built for use as an auto body and towing shop, the property has been managed carefully since it was established.

The building consists principally of an ample single open plan space of more than 7,300 square feet and an entrance lobby and office area of more than 1,000 square feet. A covered front porch more than 30 feet wide and 11 feet deep is located at the front entrance. An eat-in kitchen and two bathrooms are convenient for customers and employees.

Mechanical improvements include a residential heating and air conditioning system, suspended forced-air blowers in the garage areas, and a supplemental wood-burning heat plant.

Other property highlights include two outbuildings, a detached two-vehicle carport, and more than half an acre of graveled parking lot. Much of the parking lot at the rear of the building is enclosed in a privacy fence.

LOCATION

Google Coordinates: 37.922058, -81.159459
Address: 4654 Legends Highway, Glen Jean, WV 25846
Elevation Range: 1,630 to 1,645 feet +/-

MINERAL RESOURCES

West Virginia law provides for separate ownership titles for surface rights and mineral rights. This property is being conveyed as surface only.

BOUNDARIES AND SURVEY

There is a metes-and-bounds description of the property in the owners’ deed. The southern boundary runs with the northern side of the road. The property is being sold by the boundary and not by the acre.

UTILITIES

Water: West Virginia Water Co.
Electricity: American Electric Power
Natural Gas: Mountaineer Gas Co.
Internet: High-speed service available
Fire Service: Mount Hope and Oak Hill Fire Department
Cell: 5G coverage supplied by several carriers
Sewer: White Oak Public Service District

ACCESS/FRONTAGE

The property includes more than 225 feet of frontage on Legends Highway (WV-16 and WV-61), fewer than 400 feet from US-19 expressway exit at Glen Jean.

ZONING

Fayette County is subject to zoning and subdivision regulations. All prospective buyers should consult the county commission and county health department for details regarding zoning, building codes, and installation of septic systems.

PROPERTY TYPE/USE SUMMARY

The property is commercial. It is mostly in open lawns with fencing.

DEED AND TAX INFORMATION

Deed Information: Deed book WB82, Page 580
Fayette County, West Virginia
Acreage: 2.04 acres +/-

Real Estate Tax ID/Acreage/Taxes:
Fayette County (10), West Virginia
Plateau District (2)
Tax Map 45D Parcel 11, 13, 15

2023 Real Estate Taxes: $3354.18

PUBLIC & PRIVATE SCHOOLS

The property is located within the Fayette County School District. Public school students attend the multi-use campus at Oak Hill where primary, intermediate, and high schools and the county’s vocational school are located. Several private schools within the Fayette County School District operate in the region, and homeschool programs are supported.

HIGHER EDUCATION

West Virginia University and New River Community & Technical College maintain campuses at Beckley, 15 miles to the south, and courses by Concord University and Bluefield State College are offered at the Irma Byrd Higher Education Center nearby. Appalachian Bible College is a drive of approximately 10 minutes south at Bradley.

HEALTHCARE

The nearest hospital to the property, Plateau Medical Center at Oak Hill, is a four-mile drive with 25 beds and an emergency care unit. Nearby at Beckley, Raleigh General Hospital, with 300 beds, and Appalachian Regional Hospital, with 173 beds, also include emergency rooms and are both approximately 20 minutes away. A Veterans Administration Medical Center is also located at Beckley. Major state medical centers are located in Charleston and Morgantown, an hour and 2.5 hours from Glen Jean.

ABOUT GLEN JEAN

Glen Jean is one of the principal focal points for access to the region at the central entrance to the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The National Park Service maintains its headquarters for the New River Gorge here, and the north entrance to the Summit Bechtel Family National Scouting Reserve is located here. The Army National Guard opened the Glen Jean Armed Forces Center here in 2005, a 105,000-square-foot facility that provides armory housing for four West Virginia National Guard units, the Southern West Virginia Military Entrance Processing Station, and a maintenance center for over-the-road and tracked military vehicles.

Glen Jean was first developed in the 1890s following the completion of the Loup Creek Branch of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. It was chartered in 1898 and named in honor of Jean McKell, the wife of Thomas Gaylord McKell, president of the McKell Coal and Coke Co. In 1910, it was the second-largest incorporated town in Fayette County, with a population of 722. Its corporate limits extended as far east as Thurmond and as far south as Mount Hope. With the decline of the coal industry after World War II, the town began to decline, and its population in 2000 was 246.

Several historic properties of note are located in Glen Jean, including the former Glen Jean National Bank, now owned by the National Park Service, the former Glen Jean Presbyterian Church, and the former Glen Jean School, now a base camp for a Christian youth recreational ministry. The bank building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

SURROUNDING AREA

The property is located in the heart of the New River Gorge Region, one of the state’s chief tourism and outdoor recreation destinations. Its economy is now centered chiefly around the national park and other outdoor recreation areas. The US-19 expressway runs north to south through the region, linking a string of municipalities that include Beckley, Oak Hill, Mount Hope, and Fayetteville. An estimated 100,000 residents live here in the central part of the New River Gorge region.

NEW RIVER GORGE NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE

The nation’s newest national park, the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, attracts more than three million visitors annually to the region. Two park visitor centers, at Thurmond (seasonal) and Canyon Rim, are 10 and 15 minutes from Glen Jean, respectively. The park’s best-known attraction, the New River Gorge Bridge, is a drive of approximately 15 minutes at Fayetteville. Hiking, biking, angling, hunting, kayaking, and camping are popular throughout the park. However, it may best be known as a destination for rock climbing and whitewater rafting. The park is among the nation’s top destinations for both.

The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve

Less than a mile from the property, the 14,000-acre Summit Bechtel Reserve is a world-class outdoor recreation park that also hosts the quadrennial Boy Scout Jamboree and one of five high-adventure bases for the scouts in the U.S. The 24th World Scout Jamboree welcomed more than 45,000 visitors in 2019. The 17th Interamerican Scout Jamboree was celebrated in 2023. The reserve is the home of the organization’s Paul R. Christen National High Adventure Base, the James C. Justice National Scout Camp, and the John D. Tickle National Training and Leadership Center.

Hunting Preserves

Two public hunting and fishing areas with a combined 10,000 acres of woodland are located within five miles of the property. Deer, turkey, and squirrel are the principal game taken. The Plum Orchard Lake Wildlife Management Area includes 202-acre Plum Orchard Lake, a popular destination for flatwater kayaking and fishing. The Beury Mountain Wildlife Management area conserves some of the most remote highland forests in the region. In addition to the two preserves, hunting is also permitted in season on more than 65,165 acres in the national park.

Outdoor Recreation Resorts

Seven outdoor adventure resorts near the property are located in the New River Gorge Region. All offer guided whitewater rafting tours on the New and Gauley rivers, and most include basecamps that accommodate cabins and camping and coordinate outdoor recreation adventures. Several offer canopy tours and zip line, and adventure courses.

Historic Thurmond

Deep in the New River Gorge, tiny Thurmond is among the most visited locales in the national park. A quintessential ghost town with a population of five permanent residents, it includes a collection of historic buildings and a restored passenger station, which houses a seasonal park visitor center and is a functional Amtrak flag-stop on a Chicago-Washington-New York City line.