By Crystal Mersh
In a year from now we will be enjoying the amenities of our new community center. Let me be the first to welcome you to Avalon!
Yes, we are branding the campus as Avalon which literally means “isle of apples” and in the tale of King Arthur and the knights of the round table symbolizes vital power and profound change. In order to be able to easily promote the site and its facilities, an overall name that relates to our mission of progressive change seems to be well suited. We want the name to become known across the state and beyond much like Tamarack is.
While we have constantly provided updates and shared the concept of the different aspects, I will summarize here as many people have joined us midways and may not have the full picture of the facility yet.
The campus will consist of 5 main buildings each with specific areas of focus as summarized below.
The “old school”
The 3 floor history and modern design will come together and will consist of 3 two bedroom/two bath apartments, 3 one bedroom/one bath apartments, 2 studio AirBnB units, and the library suite which can be rented for parties, weddings, meeting etc. Off the library suite will be a grand terrace built on top of the restaurant and will provide for outdoor events in a beautiful setting.
The 2nd floor will host our non-profit K-12 private school Koios Academy which will focus on STEAM education in a Christian environment. There will be 7 classrooms and an administrative office.
The 1st floor will house the Entrepreneur Zone which will consist of the community kitchen for canning and any cooperatives that which to use it. This kitchen will be well equipped with high volume commercial appliances including equipment for processing dairy products. The teaching kitchen will also be on this level and will be a beautiful kitchen that features two chef stations that will be able to host classes and competitions, as well as our spice events.
The Varsity Chop House will also be on the first floor. The restaurant will feature American fare of burgers, steaks, ribs, chops and seafood, as well as a nano brewery for our own home brews/meads. There will be a separate kitchen for the restaurant which will be best equipped of all our kitchens.
There will also be stairs that lead to a 2nd floor mezzanine within The Varsity to allow for additional seating and private parties. We hope to host live music of our many local musical talents.
The EZ will also host a collaborative that will feature the products of local artisans, antiques, handcrafted materials such as soaps, lotions, and of course foods. The farmers’ market will also move to the area between the two buildings and have their own space so that we can continue to grow our current farmers’ and provide even more local produce, eggs, etc.
In addition The EZ will also house the business incubator, The BEI Zone, which is operated by Little Kanawha Area Development Corp. The BEI Zone supports the start up, scale up and continued growth of local businesses. This support will be critical as we bring the facility into operation, as we hope to see many people forming their own small business or working with other to form cooperatives.
The New Construction
A new building will be added onto the gym. This building will house gym, another commercial kitchen, and a child care center named Appleseed. Appleseed will consist of 3 classrooms for 16 children, 1 infant nursery for 8 babies, a staff room, conference room and reception. The gym can be used for sports events, musical events, weddings, parties, reunions, etc.
The Historic Coal Fork One Room School
The old driver’s education building will become the Elva T. Lamont Agricultural Center and Goat Stable. A variety of services can be provided and will be based on community interest. Gardening clubs, beekeepers, dairy producers, etc are all welcome as are children’s ventures.
The Bus Garage
The old bus garage will house two separate operations. The Recovery Zone will be located on the left side of the building and will have access to the beautiful outside deck. The RZ is intended to provide a safe place for people in recovery to assemble and enjoy fellowship and other productive and supportive activities. The plan for the right side of the building will house an ourfitters/recreational cooperative specializing in river, trail and other outdoor activities.
The Pool
The Saundra Johnson Aquatic Facility will consist of a sizable pool with diving, a Baja shelf and a zero entry. A bath house and pump house support the operations. We also plan to have a small cafe called The Tiki Hut (timing yet to be confirmed). Surrounding the pool will be a black aluminum fencing and on the outside of the fence the walking track will be restored with black asphalt.
The 1982 Foundation will continue to host our events on the campus and we hope that many other groups will find the campus and facility useful for their needs. We will be welcoming in our surrounding counties so that these 7 counties can come together and continue to show that we are all @strongertogether.
So it is my pleasure to announce our new name – Avalon. And we look forward to the completion of the project and a magnificent grand opening!
I hope this helps to answer a lot of your questions about what will be in the facility. Please share with others. By mid year we will begin securing interested parties for the Entrepreneur Zone, day care, employees, K-12, etc. Stay tuned for details.
