EDA enters into Option Agreement on Afton Inn sale

Could our long national; WAIT, I mean – Could our long, local nightmare be over?

No, NO – not the Election results (whatever they are) – I’m talking about positive movement on the giant, looming eyesore standing at the head of Front Royal’s Historic Downtown Business District (not to mention within spitting distance of the new Town Hall).  That’s right, the once regal Afton Inn, constructed in 1867, and long a cultural and social centerpiece of downtown Front Royal, might be poised for a facelift.

The Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority has entered into an Option Agreement to sell the long-derelict, 14,146 square-foot building to local buyers.  The Agreement dated October 18^th is with local developer Mike Silek and Shelley Cook, owner of the Loving Arms retirement home.

Despite the Afton Inn’s proximity, not only to the new Town Hall at right, but also at the head of Front Royal’s Historic Downtown Business District, it has remained a vacant, boarded-up eyesore for nearly a decade. But could the years of frustration be coming to an end?

Their plan is to put reasonably upscale, one and two-bedroom apartments, perhaps for 55 and over adults, on the upper floors, and an English Pub-style restaurant or office space on the ground floor.  At this point Silek’s Maverick LLC partnership with local builder Donnie Poe, which was involved in a similar restoration of the Frank’s Building about three blocks down East Main Street is not involved, though that could eventually change, Silek said.

The potential buyers put up a thousand dollars that would be applied to an as-yet-determined sale price, to have first option on the historic structure.  The Agreement mandates that an architectural plan be submitted within 90 days; and that Closing occur within 150 days of the mid-October date of the Agreement.

EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald said if the project moves forward, the EDA will apply for an Industrial Revitalization Grant to help cover what will be a large renovation expense.  Such grants go up to $600,000, though getting that full amount is rare, she said.  McDonald noted that to receive whatever amount of Industrial Revitalization Grant money, the building must remain owned by the EDA initially.

The Afton Inn, constructed in 1867, pictured in the 1920s during its heyday as a cultural centerpiece of downtown Front Royal. Potential buyer Mike Silek says he hopes to see the building renovated, including porches, taking it “back to its hey-day.”

Sitting on a quarter acre at the midtown intersection of Royal Avenue and Main Street, the Afton Inn has been a re-development priority of both the Town and the EDA due to its location at the Town’s main central intersection at Royal Avenue and Main Street, directly across Main Street from another historic structure, the Warren County Courthouse.

“I think the Afton Inn is a window to Main Street; and it is historically significant,” Silek says.  He envisions what he calls “a period restoration that would take it back to its heyday.”  That restoration would include removal of the ancillary building added on to the original structure, likely for parking; and the addition of porches, as shown in the 1920s photo accompanying this article.