Charleston West Virginia

My observation from the eyes of an older construction engineer, the city has economic problems. First, let me say…..it appears that there has been a major effort to make the city thrive. Several high rise hotels and banks downtown. Narrow streets, but someone has done an excellent job of designing an efficient traffic flow. There are more parking garages here than in most cities 3 times this size. Large well built and beautiful shopping center downtown. The parking garages are only 20 percent full during a work day. In the mall, approximately 20% of the store fronts are vacant. In the older section of downtown, there are actual locally owned department stores. Again, there is a noticeable amount of vacant store fronts. Let me say, the city does not look abandoned. Empty store fronts are decorated in a way to make them look good. The bus system seems to work well. Lots of buses moving and a central passenger exchange point in the middle of downtown. …….I do not know about the tech hub…………My observation is that the City of Charleston it’s fighting for its place.