ELKINS — The Randolph County Development Authority received a grant for $1.25 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development on Wednesday that will go toward the construction of the new Event and Conference Center in downtown Elkins.

The 28,000 square foot, $11.6 million facility will be constructed in the proximity to the Elkins Railyard Depot behind the Rotary Amphitheatre. Work is expected to begin at the facility sometime in January.

“That (grant) is part of our congressionally directed spending that we received from Senators Capito and Manchin through the USDA for the Event Center Project,” said RCDA Director Robbie Morris. “That money adds on to our capital stack that we are using to construct the Event Center. It’s a significant portion of our funding and we are very appreciative of that money.”

Morris said that representatives from the USDA visited his office on Monday to present a check to the RCDA.

“They (USDA) came up on Monday and presented us with the check,” Morris said. “We knew that it was coming and were glad to receive it. There was a lot of paperwork, a lot of hoops, and other things we had to jump through to get the actual allocations. We completed all of those steps, so now it’s an official part of our capital stack.”

Morris said that Paramount Builders out of Saint Albans was awarded the construction contract back on Dec. 4.

“We’ve signed the construction contracts and been working on getting all the documents in place to issue a notice to proceed on the project,” said Morris. “There’s bonds, some other insurance stuff, and permits we have to get lined up, which we have been doing, but the plan is for construction and activity to begin right after the first of the year.”

Morris said construction will likely begin before an official groundbreaking ceremony is held for the Event Center.

 “Just because of the time of the year and the weather, some sort of event to commemorate the start of the project won’t happen immediately,” she said. “But people will begin to see activity shortly after the first of the year … All the ducks are in a row and we are cleared for take off, so to speak. The project will be happening and we are really, really excited about that.”

Half of the Event Center will be dedicated to a theater style seating setup, and the other half will be flexible open space for exhibition space and events. It will also house a commercial kitchen, heritage exhibition space, and administrative space.

Four other projects in West Virginia also received grants from USDA Rural Development on Wednesday as part of its $12 million investment to strengthen infrastructure.

The Flatwoods Canoe Run Public Service District in Braxton County was awarded $4,975,000 to help complete a Sewer System Evaluation Study and construct approximelty 19,260 feet of gravity sewer pipe and other necessary fixtures.

The City of Petersburg received $5,508,000 to construct various improvements to its water treatment, storage, and distribution systems, while the town of Paw Paw received $41,900 to purchase an all-wheel drive police vehicle. The Worthington Volunteer Fire Department received $214,000 to purchase a 2,100-gallon fire tanker to service Harrison and Marion counties.