A West Virginia developer was the winning bidder in an online auction for the historic WoodrumsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ Building in downtown Charleston.
Of the six bidders, AB Holding LLC, of Point Pleasant, Mason County, made the winning bid of $852,500, according to Edward Durnil, broker and auctioneer with Kentucky-based , which facilitated the auction.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œEverything went swimmingly well,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Durnil said Wednesday. The auction ended Tuesday afternoon. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œAll parties are under contract and the deposits have been made. Hopefully this is the end of a difficult process.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The WoodrumsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ Building, 600-602 Virginia St. E., has been auctioned three times in nine months.
A $2.5 million sale fell through following a November auction of the former furniture store. That prospective buyer was sued over the aborted sale. In the second auction in January, an anonymous online buyer was the high bidder, at $1.37 million. That sale was never finalized, either.
The property was owned by WoodrumÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Building Limited Partnership, a company owned and operated by William ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œBillÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ and Debra Board. WBLP defaulted on a loan to WesBanco bank, according to Kanawha County records.
The six-story, 93,000- square-foot structure ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” built in 1916 on the northeast corner of Virginia Street East and Laidley Street ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” was the longtime home of the WoodrumÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s furniture store.
In 1996, it was added to the .
More on the winning bidder
AB Holding LLC is listed on the with the same address as , which developed the 304 at Valley Pointe luxury apartment complex in Hurricane and the 900 on Lee luxury apartment project in the former Huntington Bank building, also in downtown Charleston.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think this is going to be a group that will turn the property into a jewel,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Durnil said.
At the moment, details about AB ConstructionÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s plans for the property are unclear.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThere is no timeline, and there are no immediate plans for the building,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Brittany Allen, director of marketing for AB Construction, said on Wednesday. A message left for Bill Board was not returned.
