By Lewis Loflin
The Wise Inn, originally the Colonial Hotel built in 1910, stood vacant for decades on Main Street in Wise, Virginia, a region marked by economic challenges. Wise County, part of the LENOWISCO service area, struggles with poverty, as evidenced by Remote Area Medical (RAM) events serving 3,000 residents in 2013, primarily for dental care and other basic services.
In the late 2000s, the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) and Wise County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) proposed renovating the Wise Inn into a boutique hotel to stimulate tourism. Modeled after the Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon, it aimed to attract visitors to regional sites like the Ralph Stanley Museum, Carter Family Fold, and Natural Tunnel State Park. The initial budget was $8 million, with a projected completion around 2010-2012.
A Bristol Herald Courier report (December 19, 2012) noted costs had risen to $12 million by 2012, raising concerns about the project's viability.
The Wise Inn renovation relied heavily on public funding. VCEDA awarded a $1.2 million grant to the Wise County IDA, contingent on a completed business plan. The funding package was expected to include $6 million in private investment and $2 million in public funds. However, by 2012, no private funding had been secured, and the project lacked a finalized plan, prompting questions about its feasibility.
Carl Snodgrass, Wise County IDA Executive Director, acknowledged these challenges in 2012, stating:
It became increasingly obvious that if the project was to succeed, the [IDA] must deal with the reality of accepting a design that would create a viable and sustainable project.
The project included plans for new accommodations, a parking garage along Lake Street, and a courtyard. Despite delays, the Inn at Wise opened after a 2014 renovation, managed by Newport Hospitality Group since 2018. However, limited public disclosure about funding resolution or final costs has left questions unanswered.
The Inn at Wise, listed on the National Historic Register, now operates as a 49-room boutique hotel with dining options (Corner Diner, Colonial Room, Pub and Tap Room) and conference facilities. Renovated in 2014, it has been praised for cleanliness and historic charm, earning a 9.2/10 rating from guests in 2025. However, no data confirms job creation or broader economic benefits for Wise County.
Similar tourism projects have struggled to deliver economic impact. The Ralph Stanley Museum in Clintwood, Virginia, defaulted on a $120,000 VCEDA loan (2005), leading to a takeover by the Town of Clintwood. Initially funded with a $645,000 VCEDA grant (2003), a $200,000 grant (2004), and additional contributions totaling nearly $2 million from VCEDA and the Virginia Tobacco Commission, the museum attracted only 2,000 visitors annually--far below the projected 75,000. In 2011, Clintwood held a "note-shredding celebration," converting $71,000 of the defaulted loan into a grant (BHC, January 6, 2011). A 2015 update noted continued economic decline in Clintwood, with coal job losses and population decline.
The Carter Family Fold received $1-$2 million in Tobacco Commission grants but has not significantly driven job growth. The $17 million Heartwood cultural tourism center in Abingdon, intended to support regional attractions like the Ralph Stanley Museum as part of he Crooked Road, a 333-mile heritage music trail, also failed to achieve economic sustainability. Opened in 2011, Heartwood relied on local taxpayer funding for its employees and struggled financially from the start (BHC, January 6, 2011). These examples highlight the challenges of tourism-driven economic development in the region.
While the Inn at Wise operates successfully as a hotel, the lack of verified job creation or economic impact data mirrors the failures of the Ralph Stanley Museum and Heartwood.
Economic development agencies like VCEDA and the Tobacco Commission often lack comprehensive public records, as seen in the Ralph Stanley Museum's funding discrepancies and the Wise Inn's sparse post-2012 updates. Virginia's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) mandates public access, but barriers like incomplete records and high request costs (e.g., a $20,000 deposit for a 2022NAACP request) hinder accountability. Local press, such as the Coalfield Progress and Bristol Herald Courier, often reports initial announcements but rarely follows up, limiting oversight.
FOIA has uncovered issues elsewhere (e.g., Richmond Police Chief's talking points, 2022), but Southwest Virginia's media constraints leave projects underreported. Virginia's FOIA Council and digital archives like the Library of Virginia aim to improve access, but gaps persist, leaving residents uninformed about taxpayer-funded initiatives like the Wise Inn, Ralph Stanley Museum, and Heartwood.
The absence of detailed records and consistent press coverage complicates evaluating these projects, undermining public trust.
Wise County's economic development efforts reflect broader challenges in Southwest Virginia. The Virginia Tobacco Commission's 2008 Blue Ribbon Commission reported that over $700 million in regional investments by 2010 failed to reverse population decline, high unemployment, or low educational attainment. Projects like the $7 million Appalachia America Energy Research Center (see NanoChemonics Failure) and a $30 million convocation center at UVA-Wise have faced similar criticism.
VCEDA continues to fund initiatives, such as a $232,500 grant for Starlink internet expansion (2022) and a $1.2 million loan for a Lonesome Pine Technology Park building (2022), but these are unrelated to the Wise Inn. Critics argue such projects prioritize infrastructure over direct job creation or poverty alleviation.
Related articles on regional economic issues include:
The Wise Inn renovation, initially budgeted at $8 million, aimed to boost Wise County's economy but faced cost overruns to $12 million and transparency challenges. Now operational as the Inn at Wise, it lacks verified data on job creation or economic impact. The failures of the Ralph Stanley Museum and Heartwood, with millions in public funds lost, underscore similar issues. Enhanced transparency, rigorous planning, and sustainable funding are critical to address Southwest Virginia's economic challenges.
| Sector | SWVA (% Decline) | USA (% Change) |
|---|---|---|
| Arts, Ent., & Rec. | -20% | 6% |
| Wholesale | -25% | 3% |
| Construction | -35% | 24% |
| Information | -45% | 2% |
| Mining | -50% | -11% |
Notes: Excluding mining, SWVA experienced the greatest declines in sectors that grew nationally. The region's mining sector decline exceeded the national average. A total of 10,451 jobs were eliminated across these five sectors, with 16,774 jobs lost when including national mining sector declines between 2010-2020. The 45% decline in the information sector persists despite an estimated $200 million in public investment, likely exceeding $300-$400 million, with significant data withheld.
Ref: Zach Jackson, Virginia Tech
Acknowledgment: I'd like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for assisting in drafting and refining this article. The final content and perspective are my own.
