When eastern Kentucky was hit with catastrophic flooding in 2022.

One of the major casualties was Apple Shop.

The Apple Shop Building in Whitesburg, the center of Appalachian culture and history in Letcher County for decades was heavily damaged in the flood.

Now, the nonprofit organization has announced it has purchased an 11,500 square foot building above the floodplain in Jenkins.

But Apple Shops operation director Roger May said that doesn't mean they're saying goodbye to their Whitesburg home.

On Friday, we closed on a piece of property in Jenkins, which is the former Jenkins hospital, and it passed hands a few times since it opened in 1915.

But we we secured the property and our board will determine whether or not we'll actually move to Jenkins or stay in Whitesburg.

Right now, we have some temporary offices in in Jenkins, but that is yet to be determined whether or not, you know, we'll we'll actually renovate the hospital and move in or if we'll try to renovate the Apple Shop building in Whitesburg and try to try to move in.

You know, it's it's certainly a conversation and discussion that we're paying close attention to.

You know, that it's really important for our staff that we stay in Letcher County.

That was clear from from the jump.

And so we've we've made a concerted effort to to do just that.

And but as you know, anybody in eastern Kentucky or southern West Virginia knows, you know, it's it's few and far between to be able to find property that's out of the floodplain or well out of the flood plain.

And so when this opportunity presented itself, our board thought that it was a smart move to try to acquire the property and and, you know, see see what makes the most sense for us long term.

Of course, like so many other families and businesses and organizations that were impacted by the flood, we're partnering with FEMA to, you know, figure out what that could possibly look like.

But that's a it's not a fast process.

And because of that, we had to be thinking, you know, strategically about what it what it might mean to to be able to stay in Letcher County and be out of the floodplain.

But I think, you know, overall, it's clear that, you know, folks want us to stay and we want to stay.

And we just have to think about how we can do that safely and how we can do that for the for the long term preservation of the organization.

May said Apple Shop plans to hold public listening sessions in Jenkins and Whitesburg before deciding on a permanent location.

He estimates it will take at least three years before Apple Shop moves into a new home.