The corner of Market and 11th streets in Downtown Wheeling will be transformed with the construction of a new fully automated 6-story parking structure that will be complete with 10,000 square feet of street level retail and commercial space, charging stations for electrical vehicles and bicycle parking. A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Market Street Garage was held Wednesday at the site.
“We are very pleased to see construction for the new Market Street Garage moving forward. Obviously, the primary purpose for this new structure is to provide additional parking capacity not only for future tenants of the Wheeling-Pitt Lofts, but also to accommodate future growth and overflow from the 10th Street Garage. But equally important, from a developmental perspective, is how this new structure will help pave the way for enhanced retail capacity between the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Market Street and build on the considerable improvements that the new Health Plan headquarters brought to this portion of Downtown in 2016,” said Mayor Glenn Elliott.
The 290-space parking structure was designed with the historic architecture of the adjacent McFadden Building in mind and will be able to interface with other City parking facilities. The street level retail space, if leased by a restaurant, can accommodate outdoor dining.
“It is an exciting time in the Friendly City. There are many major projects taking place in Wheeling right now. Significant investments have been made that will help to shape the City’s future and the construction of this parking structure is just one of those projects,” said City Manager Robert Herron, noting that it helped facilitate a $30 million private investment in the nearby Wheeling-Pitt Lofts. Both the McFadden and former Subway buildings near the parking structure are also expected to be repurposed in the future.
The Mills Group is the project architect; Walter P. Moore, parking consultant; CMTA, MEP; Hays Landscaping Architecture Studio, civil engineer; Carl Walker Construction, contractor; Western Alliance Bank, financing.