By Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON, W.Va. — A program bringing incentives for builders creating new housing and renovating older housing to an area 20-square-miles around the city of Princeton is coming to Mercer County.
The city of Princeton announced Monday that the Mercer County area has been designated a BUILD West Virginia District, according to Chris Mabe, marketing and public relations coordinator for the Princeton Economic Development Authority. The cities of Princeton and Bluefield applied for the BUILD WV Housing Development Tax Credit program and were recently notified that a BUILD WV District was designated in the area.
Sam Lusk, the city of Princeton’s economic development director, said the BUILD WV District is based on legislation designed to help address the need for housing throughout West Virginia. Mercer County’s district surrounds Princeton.
“They authorized one for Princeton and it extends from the Princeton city limits and extends 20 square miles in each direction,” Lusk said Monday. “It encompasses all of Mercer County and some surrounding areas as well.”
In order to qualify for the new district’s benefits, a housing project needs to meet qualifications designated in the legislation, Lusk said.
