By Charles Owens
For Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Bluefield — A major funding award has been announced for the historic Hotel Thelma project in Bluefield.
The $100,000 funding award from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund will support the rehabilitation of the commercial space that was formerly occupied by Thelma’s Cafe, allowing for the creation of a new restaurant at the site.
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, announced the $100,000 funding award Tuesday for the Hotel Thelma project.
“We are grateful to the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund for its support of the redevelopment of the Hotel Thelma,” Brian Tracey, a director of the Bluefield Arts and Revitalization Commission, said. “BARC and its development partner, the Hotel Thelma Project Corporation, are dedicated to restoring not just the Hotel Thelma building but also the legacy of African American achievement and resilience in Bluefield. This award recognizes the significant contributions of African Americans to the history of southern West Virginia.”
“Historic places help us understand who we are as a nation,” Brent Leggs, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and founder of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, added in a statement. “These grants are investments in communities that are preserving the full American story — from the struggles for freedom and civil rights to the achievements of Black educators, architects, entrepreneurs, faith leaders, and culture bearers. By supporting local stewards and communities, we are helping ensure these stories endure for generations to come.”
Work to renovate the former Hotel Thelma in Bluefield is ongoing. The project seeks to convert the former hotel into 10 new affordable apartments for Bluefield’s East End, as well as the creation of space for a new restaurant at the former Thelma’s Cafe location.
“The strength of the National Grant Program and Conserving Black Modernism Initiative is their ability to meet communities where they are and provide support that responds to their unique preservation needs,” Tiffany Tolbert, Co-Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, said in a statement. “This year’s grantees represent every corner of the country and demonstrate that preserving Black history requires sustained investment, local leadership, and strong partnerships. We are honored to stand alongside these organizations as they protect places that continue to shape our nation’s cultural landscape.”
With more than $200 million raised, the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is the largest U.S. resource dedicated to the preservation of African American historic places, an agency press release said. The Hotel Thelma project is one of 27 sites selected this year, and the only such site in West Virginia, to receive a total of $3 million in funding to advance preservation activities for historic sites, buildings, and landscapes that represent Black cultural heritage, the news release said.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in February for Hotel Thelma, and work on the project is continuing.
The old Hotel Thelma is a historic landmark in the city that served Black travelers during the days of segregation. Multiple funding sources are helping to make the project a reality.
BARC hopes to begin leasing apartments in the structure by the end of this year with the first residents moving into the apartments in 2027, according to Tracey.
The Hotel Thelma project is one of several housing projects BARC is partnering on. The commission also is involved with the Duhring Street Housing Project in Bluefield, the Traveler’s Hotel project in Bluefield, thee Easley Clark McConnell Apartments project in Princeton, and the Pence Hotel project in Bramwell.
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