Charleston Land Reuse Agency to Host Public Input Session

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Charleston Land Reuse Agency (CLRA) will host a Public Input Session on Thursday, October 1, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the former St. Anthony Catholic School (1027 6th Street). The session will provide updates on CLRA’s work to return vacant, abandoned, and dilapidated properties to productive use and provide an opportunity to hear from community members.

The meeting will include a brief presentation on the CLRA’s redevelopment work, followed by an opportunity for community members to speak directly with CLRA Board members and staff. Light refreshments will be provided.

“The CLRA is working to implement solutions for problematic properties,” said John Butterworth, Senior Planner for the CLRA. “These conversations help us better understand community concerns and identify practical solutions. We carry that community input into the partnerships, policies and programs we develop to return properties to productive use and strengthen neighborhoods.”

The CLRA has hosted 10 community conversations and outreach efforts since 2020, giving residents an opportunity to raise neighborhood concerns and ideas directly with City officials and CLRA leaders. That input has helped shape both redevelopment projects and CLRA programs, including Riverview Park, where feedback from Wertz Avenue residents helped guide the transformation of the former Riverview School property into a neighborhood park, and the CLRA's Side Lot Program, which sells formerly abandoned vacant lots to existing property owners.

Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin spearheaded the creation of the Charleston Land Reuse Agency in 2019 as part of the City’s broader effort to address vacant, abandoned and dilapidated properties. The CLRA develops policies and programs to return tax-delinquent and vacant properties to productive use, strengthening Charleston neighborhoods. 

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