Hotel Thelma benefits from FHL Bank’s affordable housing grant
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - Brick-by-brick, life continues to return to a landmark establishment right here in Bluefield West Virginia.
“You’re giving a rebirth, like the phoenix coming up out of the fire, to a historical building that has meaning within the community,” said Reverend James J. Mitchell Sr., CEO of the Hotel Thelma Apartment Project.
Hotel Thelma is a piece of the City of Bluefield’s storied history, dating back to segregation when the hotel was listed in the Green Book, a list of hotels and restaurants deemed safe for black people to lodge and dine.
After a $1.5 million dollar grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, state and federal historic tax credits, and 20 other sources of funding, Hotel Thelma will see new life as an apartment building.
“Clearly Bluefield needs not just affordable housing but quality-built affordable housing. That’s the first thing the Hotel Thelma apartments will bring to the community. In Bluefield’s historically black east end and really throughout the city there’s a shortage of that type of housing,” said Brian Tracey with the Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Corporation (BARC) who is working with the apartment project.
In it’s prime, Hotel Thelma boarded several notable celebrities who contributed to the cultural fabric of American history. Now, this landmark gets a new chapter.
“I feel a part of something special, not only the fact of giving back to the community but giving back to the history of the community and keeping history alive, because if we think about all the individuals that have (come) through here, just to name a few, Ike and Tine Turner, James Brown, Etta James, Little Richard, and today, they’re history in their own making,” Mitchell explained.
On top of 10 senior apartments, the Hotel Thelma Café will be reopening on the first floor, a full-service, sit-down restaurant Tracey says Bluefield’s east end hasn’t seen for over forty years.
The hope is to keep as much physical history of the hotel preserved as possible.
“We’re going to save much of the original footprint of the building as we can…but construction is very much underway,” Tracey said.
“It’s going to be like a drawing card. People want to come and see out of interest for one thing. The second thing, for the history and the third thing is making a mark in the community and the city itself. So, it’s going to be a blessing in so many ways for the uplifting and building of the city itself,” Mitchell continued.
WVVA will continue to follow renovations and construction updates as they become available. Learn more about Hotel Thelma and its history right here:
Previous Coverage of Hotel Thelma
Taking a look inside the historic Hotel Thelma
For the first time, we get a look at the inside of the once thriving hotel, as the current owner gives city officials a tour of the building.
Hotel Thelma project receives grant
The development of the historic Hotel Thelma in Bluefield has received a boost from the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons).
City of Bluefield approves zoning change for Hotel Thelma reopening
Hotel Thelma is a historic part of Bluefield, West Virginia’s East End, hosting some famous guests like James Brown, Little Richard, and Tina Turner.
Hotel Thelma and Travelers Inn placed on National Register of Historic Places
Two Greenbook locations in the city of Bluefield, West Virginia now make up a newly established district among the National Register of Historic Places.
Additional Coverage
City of Bluefield outlines plans for $3M in grant funding
On January 21, the City of Bluefield was awarded $6 million in grant funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh to increase affordable housing in the mountain state.
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