14-05-2025
New economic opportunity district approved for Mercer County
princeton – When July 1 arrives, a new district for economic opportunities and development will materialize in Mercer County and create a way to bring youth sports tournaments and other events to the region.
During its Tuesday meeting, the Mercer County Commission unanimously approved an order creating The Ridges Economic Opportunities District. The goal of this project, also known as The Ridges, is to create a youth sports complex between Halls Ridge Road and Turnpike Industrial Road close to Exit 9 near Princeton.
The travel ball sports complex will host baseball and softball games for traveling youth teams and host tournaments. The plan includes multiple athletic fields as well as lodging, shopping, restaurants and other features.
Public hearings about the project were conducted in July 2023 and the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 1020 that same month authorizing the Mercer County Commission to levy a special district excise tax for the complex.
Attorney Carrie Cecil, who has been working with the Mercer County Economic Development Authority, told the commission that there was only action left to create the new economic development district.
'What you have before you for consideration this morning is an order that is the last step in creating The Ridges Economic Opportunity Development District,' Cecil said. 'As you know, back in 2023, we started this process during a public hearing and we submitted the initial application to the state for approval; and the Legislature approve it initially, so we got through the initial steps and it became apparent that the Legislature was willing to add some additional acreage to the proposed district.'
In March, the county received the final approval of a supplemental application from the West Virginia Department of Economic Development, so the order presented Tuesday to the county commission would create the new development district, Cecil said.
'You are authorized to impose a special district excise tax on the new businesses that would locate within the district that is equivalent to the state sales tax and it would be imposed starting on July 1 after we work with the state to get a special fund created for your revenues to be segregated,' she said.
This excise tax is for new businesses coming into the district. The Ridges district will have 420 acres, Cecil said.
Jordan Maynor, executive director of the Mercer County Economic Development Authority, said work on The Ridges could start this year.
'That's the hope. Before the year is out, we hope to see some progress being made,' he said after the meeting. 'Obviously, today was a big day – the official district established. We got the approval from the state. Now the final icing on the cake was getting the final approval from the Mercer County Commission to move on. This will start July 1 of this year and the district will be officially established.'
'All the other moving parts are subject to the developer that's on board and the tenants they get and the progress of the entire project, so I'd be hesitant to give you exact dates right now, Maynor said. 'My best guess is before the year is out you're going to start seeing some movement at Exit 9.'
People living near The Ridges district can reach out to the Mercer County Economic Development Authority if they have any questions about the project.
'Absolutely. They can give us a call at our office,' Maynor said. 'It's all publicly posted. The website's available. The email and the phone number is available. They can reach out to us anytime and we would be happy to respond.'
The Mercer County Economic Development Authority is located at 241 Mercer Springs Road near Princeton. The email address is mercereda@ and the phone number is 304-431-8521.
Contact Greg Jordan at
gjordan@
