YWCA to sell house across from Clay Center

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A building the YWCA has owned for 10 years that’s located across the street from the Clay Center is up for sale.

On Monday, Martha Pettit, the secretary on the YWCA’s board of directors and the listing agent, listed the two-story house at 1111 Lee St. E. for $200,000. The organization originally purchased the property to offer a Lee Street entrance to its 1114 Quarrier St. parking lot when the Clay Center opened, she said. The entrance leads to a building on Quarrier Street that houses the YWCA’s health promotions, she said.

The group considered building a parking garage on the site but that plan never progressed, Pettit said. The house — which also has a basement — is a commercial property, she said.

“We just wanted to sell it because it’s no longer something we’re considering. We offered it to the Alzheimer’s Association and they were not interested in it,” Pettit said. “We want to go ahead and get rid of that front space since we didn’t use it for what we intended to.”

The Alzheimer’s Association has rented the Lee Street building — which has nearly 2,000 square feet of space — for 10 years and has used it for office space. The West Virginia chapter has used the space for its headquarters.

The Alzheimer’s Association plans to lease a building on the West Side, said Laurel Kirksey, development director of the Alzheimer’s Association’s West Virginia chapter.

“The owner is ready to get out of the landlord business, but we were able to find some fantastic space otherwise,” Kirksey said.

The Lee Street location next to the Clay Center is a prime location because of the view from the house, Pettit said, which includes the arts center itself and Washington Street. It is also a good location for businesses that rely on passing traffic, she said.

The house has eight rooms and is in fair condition, Pettit said.

The YWCA plans to keep the garage at the rear of the building for storage, she said.

Reach Megan Workman at megan.work…@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5113.