News & Events

Follansbee Revitalization
Monday, April 26, 2010

Photo by Ian Hicks Valley Ventures Inc. Executive Director Lou Stein, left, and Follansbee Mayor Anthony Paesano review an aerial photo of property at the north end of town targeted for economic development

FOLLANSBEE - Lou Stein and Follansbee city officials have a shared vision. Within 18 months, they want to see a new business inside each and every vacant building along a 12-block stretch of Main Street.

The target area for the Main Street Revitalization plan includes W.Va. 2 from W.Va. 27 to Duquesne Street. Of the 107 structures in that stretch, 15 currently are without tenants.

Filling all those vacancies in such a short time period may be a lofty goal, but it's one that Stein, executive director of Valley Ventures Inc., is ready to sink his teeth into.

"I'm an optimist, but I'm also a realist," said Stein, who was contracted by Follansbee City Council last year to develop a revitalization plan at a cost of about $7,900. "Everything is impossible until someone does it. I firmly believe that."

The role of Valley Ventures, which Stein said has brought about 200 jobs to its coverage area of Hancock, Brooke, Ohio and Jefferson counties in its two-plus years of existence, is to act as a liaison between prospective entrepreneurs and building owners.

"Whatever they need, I help them get," said Stein. "There are literally hundreds of people in this valley who would love to own their own business and take control of their own destiny, but they don't know how to do it."

According to Stein, small businesses - those that employ 50 people or fewer - are the "engine that drives development," and he pledged to community leaders that he will work to bring in businesses that are a good fit for Follansbee.

"It's not just filling buildings, it's putting tenants in where they really belong," said Stein.

New businesses that soon plan to open their doors, he added, include a clothing consignment shop called Yours, Mine and Ours, which will offer garments for both men and women; two sports apparel shops, one of which also deals in skateboard equipment; and a restaurant called Ariana's that will occupy the former Eagles Lodge and will offer catering and space for wedding receptions and other parties in addition to opening daily for breakfast and lunch.

The upper floor of that building, Stein noted, will eventually be dedicated to an "entertainment center" for high school-age youth, providing a "secure and protected" environment for events like dances and lock-ins.

Also part of the city's vision for the future is an 11-acre plot in the north end of town, near Brooke Plaza, divided into seven parcels. Stein said he will be targeting various commercial and service enterprises to occupy those slots.

Mayor Anthony Paesano said he's excited to have a concrete plan for Follansbee's economic future.

"It's a very ambitious plan that we're going to undertake," he said.