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BUSINESS
Longtime Huntington structure is part of revitalization effort
John Pickens is pictured on the roof of the St. James Building on June 24 in Huntington. Pickens, a Realtor with Prudential, has been selling the St. James condos.
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HUNTINGTON -- Gretchen Bias' job is more than just a job for her. It makes her feel like she's part of history.
Bias goes to work each morning at Fifth Third Bank. Just stepping inside the Fifth Third Bank/St. James Building is like stepping into history -- a time when Huntington was growing into a booming river and rail town, when developers built with marble, brass and grandeur.
On top of that, it's the place where her grandparents, Lloyd and Olive Johnson, worked when it was Huntington National Bank. Olive started out as an elevator operator, moving up to secretary for the building manager. Her grandfather later became the building manager, Bias said.
"It's a good feeling to know that I have history here, and that I'm working someplace that my grandparents worked," said Bias, community development officer for Fifth Third Bank. "It makes me feel good to be part of the Huntington community."
The Herald-Dispatch will be taking a look back at historic buildings in upcoming months, featuring stories about the background on the structures and an update on what they house today in 2009.
The 12-story St. James, located on the southwest corner of 4th Avenue and 10th Street, is one that not only has a rich history, but is on the forefront of Huntington's revitalization effort. The upper seven floors are residential, with 53 newly remodeled condos and more to come. In between the bank and the residential part of the building are floors filled with businesses such as law firms and ESPN Disney's regional office.
"It's a great example of what they can do, and it's a beautiful building, too," said Phoebe Patton Randolph, an architect with Edward Tucker Architects in Huntington.
The renovations are "part of the whole downtown process," Bias said. "I think all the buildings are trying to reinvent themselves and bring Huntington back to the forefront in the state of West Virginia.
"I think it's great people who live and work here are trying to invest in Huntington and revitalize it and make it what it used to be."
Looking back
According to a report submitted to the Cabell County Landmarks Commission in 1985, what is now home to Fifth Third Bank, condos and a handful of other businesses started out as the Huntington National Bank building.
The First Huntington National Bank evolved from seven banks that consolidated over Huntington's earliest years. It was originally chartered in 1884, and Peter Cline Buffington, the first mayor of Huntington, was elected president.
In 1888, the name was changed from the Bank of Huntington to the First National Bank when a new charter was signed. The list of original stockholders and directors included several prominent names of the time: V.L. Caldwell, George F. Miller, Erastus Egerton, Bradley W. Foster, W. H. Hagen, Judge Thomas H. Harvey, J.L. Thornburg, D.W. Emmons and M.C. Dimmick. Caldwell was elected president of the new bank and remained in the position until his death in 1923, the report said.
The building was completed in 1914, with a rear portion added in 1925. The building was designed by Versus Ritter in the Roman Revival architecture, according to the report, intertwined with other styles.
The flat roof of the building has overhanging eaves with a decorative cornice, which features a row of Baroquian motifs made of green stone, the report said. It rests on a row of decorative moulded stone.
The 12th story is set apart from the other floors with a belt cornice of moulded marble, the report says.
And the top of the first story is a belt cornice with Roman styling and pillars of Renaissance styling.
"I've always thought it was a beautiful building," said Bias, a Huntington native and Marshall graduate who has worked in the building seven years. "We've tried at Fifth Third to maintain the beauty of it by maintaining the marble and brass. I can see the brass of the old teller cages."
It had a Dayton coal-fired, ornately cast, metal furnace system in the basement, which was later converted to a natural gas system.
The building eventually became known as the Old Huntington National Bank building.
The St. James today
Today, the St. James has led a revitalization effort that centers on getting more people to live downtown. It's now owned in part by Swiss Capital Group of Florida and by those who have purchased condos. Swiss Capital Group purchased the building from Huntington lawyer and downtown property owner John Hankins for $6.5 million in 2005.
It has 53 luxury apartments, or condos, on the upper floors and nearly all have been sold. The 2,100-square-foot penthouse is still for sale at about $819,000.
"Activity has been strong, even in light of the economic conditions," said John Pickens, a Realtor with Prudential who has been selling the St. James condos. "We're kind of going against the grain."
Buying a downtown condo has "been a very popular option because of the amenity package with it -- health club, private parking garage, rooftop garden and the conveniences downtown," Pickens said. "They're close to restaurants, movies, all denominations of churches, the Keith-Albee, the university."
The security at the building, along with a number of upgrades, have probably attracted buyers as well, he said.
"There have been a lot of upgrades -- an elevator programmed to go to residential area only if you have a card or are escorted. That gives people peace of mind. ... And there is a state-of-the-art fire suppression system."
Now the second phase of the project is under way, Pickens said.
"Since there is an overabundance of commercial space in the downtown area, we are going to convert one of (the lower) floors to residential space," he said. "They will be bigger units than the upper floors. They'll be custom-designed. ... What a buyer can do now is say, 'I want 1,800 square feet and we'll build a wall right there.' It's like building a house except the outside is already done."
There's a new model on the fourth floor, he said. There's about 8,500 square feet on that floor, and anybody who wants to customize up to 8,500 square feet can do so, he said.
"We'll sell it on a per-square-foot basis, and let you get with providers, like Creative Kitchens, and let you work with them on designing the interior," he said. As commercial clients come and go, there could be additional residential space as well, he said.
Those purchasing the condos seem to be predominantly professionals -- physicians and doctors in training and others tied to the medical profession, as well as retirees and others near retirement who don't want to deal with yard work.
"You have the university and hospitals growing by leaps and bounds. These are professional people who don't have time to mow grass, rake leaves, shovel snow," Pickens said. "They want to do their jobs and live out their private lives without worrying about home maintenance."
A grocery store would wrap up the need. It's the one missing ingredient, he said.
It's a pioneering effort at the St. James.
"That's always exciting when you're on the leading edge, so to speak," Pickens said. "Of course there is an awful lot of commercial development downtown to complement it."
Fifth Third Bank / St. James Building
YEAR BUILT: 1914, with an addition in 1925
ARCHITECT: Versus Ritter. He would later have an office in the building, and he also designed Huntington City Hall.
STYLE: Roman Revival is dominant, and minor elements of Renaissance elements.
SIZE: 12 stories.
HISTORY: Formerly known as the Old Huntington National Bank building. During the 1920s, its offices were occupied by coal companies, brokers, hair dressers, architects, lawyers and doctor's offices -- including an operating room.
CURRENTLY: Home to Fifth Third Bank, a handful of business offices and 53 newly remodeled condominium apartments. As of last month, all but two were sold.
SOURCE: "A Survey of Downtown Huntington," a report by the Cabell County Landmarks Commission, 1985.
