It has been an eyesore for many, many years after nearly a century as an industrial property that at one time employed more than 400 workers. This property rests at a “gateway” to the city of Wheeling, and such scenes allow for the formation of opinion.
What those exiting W.Va. Route 2 for downtown Wheeling still see, though, is the continuation of the corrosion that has taken place in Rust Belt of America.
The former owner of the three acres, Frank Calabrese, bought the land 17 years ago and made updates as dictated by the city’s raze and repair orders. Only small portions of the property’s blighted buildings were demolished, but finally it will be erased now that the city of Wheeling has purchased the parcels for $150,000.
Calabrese, the current chair of the Wheeling Human Rights Commission, told Wheeling media members he would place the funds from the sale with his foundation, Imagine Just Peace, a non-profit organization registered with state Secretary of State’s office in December 2018 and is based at River Park in McMechen.
The dilapidated buildings housed manufacturing companies dating back to the early 1900s, but spring demolitions are expected to clear the land for future development. That wasn’t, however, the reason for the city’s initial interest.
Combined and Shared
It was time for Plan B after Wheeling voters rejected a property tax increase to fund the construction of a three-story, $20 million public safety building for the police and fire departments on the corner of 10th and Markets streets. The city needed 60 percent approval for the tax increase, but the proposal collected just 53.8 percent.
That’s when the idea of a $2-per-week User Fee for all employees with the city of Wheeling came into play, and once approved by council and implemented, residents heard of a plan to erect a one-story, $14.5 million structure for the first responders on three acres in East Wheeling. There were concerns about soil contamination because of the history of the property, but the environmental testing came back clean.
But then a phone call was made to MPT (Medical Properties Trust), the owners of the former Ohio Valley Medical Center campus, about the Valley Professional Center located along Chapline Street. The three-story structure offers 36,000 square feet, far more than the 4,600 square feet used inside the Ohio County Courthouse for decades, and it is adjacent to the Center Wheeling Parking Garage.
MPT, though, countered the city’s curiosity with an all-or-nothing offer that included the entire OVMC campus except for the Robert C. Byrd Juvenile Center. Following two months of due diligence, council approved the acquisition with a 6-0 vote in June and the police departments Traffic Division is expected to operate from the location in early 2021. Renovations to all three floors will follow with a price tag of $4.5 million.
Zoned to Make Stuff
“It’s three acres of flat land in the city, and that’s pretty rare,” explained Wheeling City Manager Bob Herron. “Now that we know the land is environmentally safe, the plan is to clear the property and make it available for future development.”
But what could it become?
“I have heard a number of ideas from residents,” said Ward 2 Councilman Ben Seidler. “There’s a lot of potential, but I think once the dilapidated buildings are demolished, we’ll really get an idea of how much space there is. It’s a big property.
“There are successful businesses in that area, and access to (W.Va. Route 2) is really close, so I’m confident that there will be interest once it’s cleaned up,” the council member said. “It will definitely look better than it has in a long time; that’s for sure, so I hope we can get that accomplished in the near future.”
