HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. — 17 years after they originally began, the developers of the Hilltop House project were in the Panhandle to give an update.   SWaN & Legend Venture Partners’ Fred and Karen Schaufeld  outlined plans for the $150 million Harpers Ferry project at a recent presentation in Martinsburg.

The price tag for the renovation has gone up considerably:

Even though the existing structure was badly damaged and had to be dismantled, Karen Schaufeld says they are honoring its history:

As much as could be saved was preserved from the hotel site, which Karen Schaufeld says will be used in the new structure:

The couple has big plans for making the Hilltop House a tourist destination as well as a place for think tanks and leaders to gather.

The Hilltop House could open as early as Spring of 2024, although Mr. Schaufeld cautions this far out, you have a backup plan if you are booking a wedding.   The new Hilltop Hotel promises many amenities, including dining overseen by James Beard Foundation Winner, Head Chef José Andrés who plans to bring a cooking school to the hotel site.

During their presentation before the Martinsburg Rotary Thursday, Fred Schaufeld cited what they believe would be huge benefits to the economy both locally and statewide.

They estimate the construction project will employ 239 people and when the hotel is operational, 135 full-time employees.

The developers say the project will bring  $27 million to the state’s economy annually and $14 million in property taxes.

The project got a big assist from House Bill Senate Bill 657, which was passed in 2020 and allowed the state to create tourism development districts in small towns like Harpers Ferry.  MetroNews statewide correspondent Brad McElhinny said at the time, “The bill would apply to Class IV municipalities of fewer than 2,000 residents. And it would apply to projects with investments of more than $25 million, in historic districts and qualifying for state tourism tax credits, which have their own requirements.”

The bill limited the power of town leaders to prevent such development and aimed to “authorize the Department of Commerce to assist qualifying tourism development projects and tourism development expansion projects in the creation of tourism development districts by approved companies; prohibiting certain municipalities from restricting tourism development projects and tourism development expansion projects in a tourism development district and from imposing or enforcing ordinances concerning such districts and tourism development projects and tourism development expansion projects therein; limiting certain rights of a municipality’s home rule powers”
The Hill Top House Hotel in Harpers Ferry has a storied history. The African-American Lovett family built the hotel overlooking the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in the late 19th Century.

The hotel site hosted visitors such as  President Woodrow Wilson, Mark Twain, Alexander Graham Bell and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Town leaders and the developers did not always agree on how to move the project forward.  Among the disputes were public rights of way and how much traffic the new development would bring to the tiny town.

The Washington Post summarized the disputes that have caused a bitter divide in the community.

“For the past 13 years, the town has been riven by disputes over the new hotel’s size and its design; its parking and sewage needs; and the effects of an influx of clientele for its $500-a-night rooms, underground golf simulator and restaurant overseen by celebrity chef José Andrés. Project consultants have quit in disgust. The owners, Fred and Karen Schaufeld, who live in Northern Virginia, have left the table and come back to it, only to leave again,” the Post reported.

More information at http://www.hilltophousehotel.com/harpersferry/

 

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