Last week, I touched upon the housing shortages in our area and how it is further exacerbated by the growth in outdoor recreation. Workforce housing is a common issue heard throughout and not just in tourism. However, with current and planned recreation-based economic development projects in the county and tourism growth increasing year after year, the tourism growth in Pocahontas County is driving the housing demand. The recreation economy is driving demand for three more USFS positions. In addition, our state parks are facing housing issues in attracting qualified applicants for open positions. These new employees will be looking for living quarters that are virtually impossible to find.
Snowshoe Mountain Resort is the largest employer in Pocahontas County. Employee housing needs are currently strained to support the broad seasonal fluctuation. The rise in remote work, transition of existing long-term rentals to short term rentals such as Airbnb, and second home sales, all of which are good, except it has resulted in more unintended circumstances.
So now what?
The challenge must be to create sufficient housing to meet the increased demand.
The Greenbrier Valley Ec-onomic Development Corporation has contracted with WVU Extension to complete a Jobs and Housing Assessment for its three-county region, including Pocahontas County. Hopefully, this assessment will be completed by the end of 2023. The Pocahontas County Task Force will continue to identify strategies to find housing for seniors as well as low-income housing.
The Pocahontas County Task Force sees the Build WV Act as an opportunity for developers. The application for a Certified Build District for Pocahontas County, as submitted by the GVEDC, held some interesting facts. According to ESRI Census Data, Pocahontas County has 8,847 units of housing, 48 percent of which (5,089), are classified as “vacant.” Of the “vacant” properties, more than 82 percent are considered “seasonal or recreational.” This huge amount of seasonal and second homes is seriously impeding housing availability for residents of the county.
The groups representing the Pocahontas County Task Force, including GVEDC, are well positioned to facilitate housing projects. Outside investment partnering with developers will ultimately provide opportun- ities to solve this current housing shortage – but time is of the essence. With improved housing options will come improved economic conditions. These focused efforts will further drive positive development for the region.