RenewAll’s Village Mercantile Project Moves Forward Through Opportunity Appalachia Support

Meaningful transformation is taking shape West Huntington, and it’s been in the making for a while. 

RenewAll, the nonprofit developer leading the transformation of the West Huntington Neighborhood, has spent years building momentum in an area that has been historically underinvested. Now, with the completion of a major technical assistance scope through Opportunity Appalachia, the Village Mercantile redevelopment project has moved from vision to viable plan, and the community is invited along for what comes next.

Introducing Village Mercantile

In the heart of the Central City Business District sits a building most West Huntington residents already know well. Village Antiques & Art has been a neighborhood fixture for years, home to more than 45 vendors selling antiques, collectibles, vintage clothing, artwork, and repurposed goods. When RenewAll assumed ownership in 2020, they inherited a piece of the community's identity.

But love for a place and the ability to sustain it are two different things. Despite its cultural value, Village Antiques faced mounting infrastructure challenges and a business model that wasn't built to last. RenewAll recognized early on that preserving what makes the space special would require reimagining it entirely.

Village Mercantile is that reimagining. The vision, created in partnership with Huntington residents, is to transform the existing property into a vibrant, multi-use indoor/outdoor destination that blends food and beverage, retail, arts, local history, and community gathering space under one roof. It's not a replacement, but an evolution of what already exists. 

Based in the same spirit of local pride and community connection that has defined Central City for generations, Village Mercantile will create a community-rooted marketplace and gathering place that uplifts local artisans, small businesses, and Central City’s cultural heritage through comprehensive economic development. Upon completion it is set to:

• Empower Huntington’s local entrepreneurs

• Fill vacant storefronts along 14STW

• Create annual economic impact of $1.5MM locally + $130MM regionally

• Introduce a new tourism gateway into West Huntington via I-64

• Create a model for economic development to be replicated throughout Huntington

What We Saw

Through Central City Days events, digital surveys targeting Marshall University students, and social media outreach, RenewAll and Tipping Point gathered input from residents, business owners, visitors, and young professionals. The results were clear and consistent:

• Small businesses and local shopping
• Fresh food options
• Walkable public space
• Places that celebrate Huntington's history and culture
• A space that serves young professionals and families
• A destination that feels rooted in the neighborhood 

Across every question, one idea kept surfacing: a vibrant, multi-use "third space" — somewhere between home and work where people can gather, shop, eat, and connect. That insight became the foundation for everything that followed.

What Is Opportunity Appalachia?

Opportunity Appalachia (OA) is a nationally recognized technical assistance program administered by Appalachian Community Capital that connects high-potential community development projects across Central Appalachia with the expertise, planning resources, and investor networks they need to move forward. Since 2020, the program has supported 86 projects seeking to raise $700 million in financing and create nearly 5,000 quality jobs across Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Projects are selected for their ability to drive real economic change in historically underinvested communities, and Village Mercantile was identified as exactly that kind of project.

Assembling the Project Team

Through OA’s technical assistance program, RenewAll was matched with two experienced partners to guide the redevelopment effort.

Tipping Point Management Co., a Wheeling-based real estate development consultant, served as the project’s Owner's Representative. Tipping Point’s core focus is to create high-impact, community-driven places. To achieve this, every project begins with the community. Rather than starting with a financial formula, Tipping Point specializes in a bottom-up approach to development — listening first, learning what matters most, and building a development plan around that vision. Then, they find the right capital to bring it to life. Guided by four core values — Teach, Truth, Transparency, and Transform — Tipping Point’s methodology has earned the trust of stakeholders across a wide range of commercial real estate development projects.

Edward Tucker Architects (ETA), a firm based in Huntington for over 50 years, brought the project vision to life spatially. ETA developed multiple floor plan concepts and ultimately produced the schematic design that forms the foundation of the project today.

Together, these partnerships gave RenewAll access to expertise that would otherwise be out of reach for a community-based nonprofit, which is exactly the kind of support Opportunity Appalachia was designed to provide.

Why RenewAll and Central City?

RenewAll was founded in 2020 with a clear purpose: to catalyze Central City's economic future by connecting residents and entrepreneurs with the neighborhood's creative and industrial heritage. And they've been doing exactly that, even before the Village Mercantile project had a name.

Today, the organization operates Village Antiques 360 days a year, hosts programming and events that draw an estimated 7,950 visitors annually, and supports over 45 small business vendors working out of the space. That kind of consistent, community-oriented activity is rare, and it signals something real: people want to be here.

And the location? It's hard to beat. Nearly 16 million vehicles pass through the I-64 Exit 8 corridor annually, making Central City the only Huntington neighborhood with direct interstate access. It's 1.5 miles from downtown, 3 miles from Marshall University, and 1 mile from Coalfield Development. Surrounded by small-businesses and organizations who have invested in growing their operations along 14STW, the bones of a thriving district are already here.

Stay tuned for the next post in this series, where we'll share more about the design process and what comes next for Village Mercantile.