(Publisher’s Note: This is the first article of a series that examines the interior of the buildings resting on the campus of the former Ohio Valley Medical Center and the revitalization of those properties.)
Not only is Kurt Zende the manager of the very successful Centre Market district, he also serves as the city of Wheeling’s economic development strategist and now has his biggest challenge before him.
The OVMC campus.
Zende has moved his office from the northern market house to the former Education & Administration Building on the campus, and he is now charged with attracting private sector businesses to one of several structures. City Council voted 6-0 in June to acquire the properties from MPT-Wheeling LLC after much due diligence on the part of the members and City Bob Herron.
“When the city acquired this property, Bob came to me and asked me to come here and work my magic,” Zende said with a smile. “So, hopefully, that’s what we will be able to do and we have made progress since moving here about two months ago.
“The pandemic has made some of the businesses struggle at Centre Market, and that’s one of the reasons I was happy to take on this campus because I know how important having people in this buildings is to those businesses,” he explained. “It is in the city’s best interest to do what we can do to get people back on this campus.”
One of biggest challenges involves the aged infrastructure involving utilities of all kids.
“There is a lot of plumbing and electrical in these buildings, of course, but it has all been examined and the list of projects have been made,” Zende said. “Some of the work has been performed, but there’s more, too, but when you take on something like this, it can’t be all done all at once. It has to be a process.”
Centre Market Impact
While Zende is now based on the OVMC campus, so are other city employees with the Parks and Recreation Department and the Operations Department.
But that is not enough to make up for the decreased foot traffic realized by most of the businesses in Centre Market when the hospital was shuttered by Alecto Inc. in September 2019.
“I still do have a lot of responsibilities connected to Centre Market, but because of COVID-19, our summer there was much different this year because we weren’t able to have all of the events that we usually have,” Zende said. “So, right now, one of my major concentrations is to get as many people as possible back on this campus to benefit those Centre Market businesses but also so the entire city benefits, as well.
“I have had a lot of different conversations with a lot of different people, and there is interest,” he reported. “There is work that needs done, that’s for sure, because when I first walked into here, it was strange because on some of the desks, there were half eaten sandwiches like someone walked in and told them to get out.”
The utility infrastructure is on the east side of the campus near the original Ohio Valley General Hospital, but the heating and cooling systems are connected to each of the structure on the campus. With the winter months approaching, Zende is making sure the boilers are in working order while recruiting potential tenants.
“We have had conversations with some educational institutions, we have spoken with some non-profits, and we have talked with a lot of individuals in the medical community,” Zende said. “Once we can be sure that everything can be heated and cooled, we’ll be able to go back to some of those people, specifically doctors.
“There’s been some work on those heating and cooling systems so far and there will be some more soon before winter,” he said. “The work is not cheap, I can tell you that, but acquiring this campus, I believe, was in the best interest of the city of Wheeling.”
No Easy Task
After Zende was graduated from Winterville High School, he earned economics and business degrees from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Soon after his commencement, he was hired as the economic development director for Jefferson County, Ohio.
He then came to the Friendly City to work for the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce but resigned to become the owner and operator of five Subway shops in the Upper Ohio Valley. In 2005, however, Zende sold the eateries to become the economic development strategist for Wheeling city government in 2005 and was charged with the revitalization of Centre Market, a district that fell in difficult times because of crime, and vacant storefronts.
But the OVMC campus?
“This is absolutely the biggest challenge of my career,” Zende admitted. “There is 800,000 square feet in all of these buildings, and at least 26 elevators. Some of the structures could be demolished, but those decisions have yet to be made.
“It’s not the same thing as just taking over a big building because it’s a hospital. What do you put in these buildings that is not medically related? That’s what makes it a very big challenge,” he explained. “Now, some of the buildings would lend themselves as office space, but everything else was a hospital and still could be a hospital again.”
