On Virginia Street East in downtown Charleston, a recovery home that's been helping men for close to 60 years is about to get loud.
The Kanawha Valley Fellowship Home says construction work on its expansion begins Monday, Oct. 19. The organization bought the building next door, in the 1100 block of Virginia Street East, and is turning it into 12 new sober-living apartments. The project carries a $2.3 million price tag, according to WCHS Radio's report.
"On Monday, we're going to start hammering nails, putting holes in the walls and all kinds of stuff," KVFH Executive Director Dick Daugherty told the station.
From demolition to build-out
The Oct. 19 start isn't the first work on the building. WV MetroNews reported Aug. 30 that KVFH began work on the "Phase II" apartments in February. That report said the project is aided by opioid settlement funds granted through the City of Charleston and is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2027.
Some of the early work came from inside the program. Jeremiah Meadows, who graduated in July, helped with demolition, MetroNews reported.
"I demoed that whole upstairs. We tore everything out of there, and that's part of my story too," Meadows said. "I carry that with me, and like I said, that's my home."
With the gutting done, the next stage is the work contractors know best: framing, rough-ins, drywall and finishes that turn a stripped building into a dozen livable units. Neither report named a general contractor or listed the trades on the job, and we won't guess.
Why 12 apartments matter to the program
The apartments are designed as a next step for men who finish KVFH's initial program. They'll provide affordable housing while residents work their way back into everyday life.
"Time in structured life is important for people that are getting better from opiate addiction, and the more time we provide for them in those spaces, and we believe a year is the essential time," Daugherty said at an event in late August. Residents can stay 12 months on the Virginia Street sobriety campus and then six months in the affordable apartments next door, he explained.
Daugherty said the rate of long-term sobriety jumps from one in three at six months of treatment to 70 percent at 12 months.
MetroNews reported that an average of 82 men go through the KVFH program each year. The new apartments are expected to raise that number to around 110.
"We want them to be prepared with education. We want to get their teeth fixed. We want them to get good jobs. We want them to get their cases adjudicated in court. They're sick people getting well, not bad people getting good," Daugherty said.
Money is still part of the story. Speaking on "580 Live with Dave Allen" on Friday, Oct. 16, Daugherty said the organization is just over $256,000 away from paying off the note on the project, WCHS reported. He said he hopes fundraising can close that gap.
"When we're done with the project we want to be debt free so we can give the best opportunity for men to recovery," Daugherty said. "It will help our community when families get better, men get better, they go back to work and pay taxes."
Meadows, for his part, credits the program with turning his life around. "I've got my life back together. I have a house. I have a good job. I'm very blessed," he told MetroNews.
Why it matters for Contractors
This is a small project by commercial standards, but it's a familiar type: a nonprofit converting an older downtown building into apartments with a mix of settlement money, fundraising and debt. Jobs like this often run on tight budgets with little room for change orders, and the owner is paying close attention to every dollar it borrows.
For Kanawha Valley contractors, adaptive reuse of older commercial buildings into small apartment projects is steady work worth watching. These buildings come with surprises behind the plaster, and a 12-unit job with a target finish in early 2027 will need its schedule managed tightly. Recovery housing is also a growing building type across West Virginia as settlement money reaches local organizations. Firms that can work in occupied neighborhoods, next door to an operating residential program, and keep a nonprofit owner informed are well placed for the next one.