Ravenswood Awarded a Grant for Downtown Revitalization

By Abbey Lord

Published: May 23, 2025 at 10:00 PM EDT

RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. (WSAZ)— When Ravenswood Mayor Josh Miller found out that the city had been awarded a $500,000 grant, it was like Christmas morning.

Miller said the grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Assessment Grant Program will be used to assess downtown revitalization by looking at older buildings and give suggestions about how to proceed with them.

“This grant will, again, help downtown, give us a blueprint for the future, and also lead to other funding sources,” the mayor said.

Miller said that with the economic growth in the region, the grant gives them the chance to tackle issues like traffic flow and parking to prepare for future development throughout the community.

“This place is growing, we get a lot of truck traffic, folks wanting to come to restaurants, so I couldn’t think of a better time to get this grant to lead to future investment,” Miller said.

He said the assessment will help business owners understand the needs of other older buildings and identify funding sources for them.

“Just a business owner that potentially needs help revitalizing their buildings, and if they find great funds that don’t have to come out of their pocket right now, or a matching grant,” Miller said. “So, it’s going to identify problems so we can come up with solutions, and that’s what I have tried to do since day one, everything from instruction, and we will continue to do that.”

Miller hopes this assessment will help lead his home to become a true river town. Officials said they hope to start the assessment by the end of the month.