(Publisher’s Note: We have decided to re-publish this feature because this stretch of National Road remains quiet after decades of busy commercial traffic along National Road. We know local investors have a plan for the property once home to the Spic n’ Span Cleaners operations, but the future of the three parcels once home to Hardee’s remains a mystery.)
The busiest commercial strip in Wheeling now is receiving the most extensive at-once makeover most memories can recall.
Sure, Howard Johnson’s is now the No. 1 Hampton hotel in the world, Long John Silvers was erased for a Taco Bell, Augusto’s is now the 19th Hole, Kentucky Friend Chicken is a beer drive-thru, Baskin Robbins is a Sheetz, and the former Rax Roast Beef is the home of Tim Horton’s.
But now? All at once, the three parcels surrounding the former Hardee’s are silent, the large structure that housed the Spic & Span Dry Cleaner has been slowly demolished, the former China Buffet/Boots BBQ/Eagle II property is up for lease, and Minit Car Wash? What Minit Car Wash?
There was a Minit Car Wash?
Lee C. Paull IV, president and broker for Paull Associates, currently is marketing one of the pieces of property surrounding the former Hardee’s. The parcel rests west where the long-time fast food eatery’s drive-thru window was situated and is owned, according to Paull, by the Wilson family.
The two other “Hardees” parcels are owned, he reported, by the Beneke family, and according to February 8th story in The Intelligencer, the Heartland Restaurant Group LLC plans to construct a 2,000-square-foot building for a new Dunkin Donuts location.
“That strip of National Road has the highest traffic count in Wheeling, and that’s a big deal,” Paull explained. “Those parcels probably are the most attractive real estate in the city of Wheeling for that reason, and I have to believe they are the most attractive in this entire tri-state region.
“That’s because there are not many areas that see that many cars in it, and it’s that number that developers are always looking at because the numbers define potential,” he said. “It’s going to remain that way, too, because of where that stretch of National Road leads to, and that’s Woodsdale, the biggest neighborhood in Wheeling, and to Oglebay, the region’s number one attraction.”
Paull still does not know if and when a new company will contact him about the Wilson parcel, and he is not positive about the plans for the former dry cleaner property, the land next to the CVS Pharmacy, or for the car wash parcel.
“I know most people want to see movement the moment a building comes down, and it does work that way sometimes, but I think it will take a little time for these pieces of land. With that said, I’m positive new businesses will be coming in the near future,” he said. “The strip of National Road is going to be very different very soon.”
Market Value?
There is Zane Highway on Wheeling Island, and there is the long business strip in Elm Grove that has everything from Arby’s to a barber shop. Those are busy areas, sure, but the Woodsdale area, Paull insisted, is the top of the crop.
“Most likely, along that stretch of road, an acre-sized parcel will get you a million dollars. If it’s two acres, then the price goes up, of course,” Paull speculated. “And even with the models changing, with these franchises, you have to have space for parking. If you do not have that space, you will not get top dollars, that’s for sure.
Paull has zero affiliation with the dry cleaner property and its pair of parcels owned by the Gompers family, or with the land on which the buffet and car wash did business for decades. What he does know is that there is money to be made.
“When Hardee’s was in operation, they operated on all three parcels, but now those three are separate and we’ll see what happens,” Paull explained. “The parcel to the right of the Wilson lot has been owned by the Gompers family for a lot of years. From what I have been told, Dunkin’ Donuts will be constructed on the two lots closer to the Community Bank, and I’m told they will not need the lot to the west, the one I’m marketing.
“I was surprised by that news, but the buildings for fast food these days are smaller and that’s the case with the Dunkin’ Donuts down in Moundsville,” he said. “Most people do use the drive-thrus these days rather than going inside, and I know that’s been the case with us, too, especially on those early mornings when we have taken baseball trips to watch our son, Collin, play for this Linsly this past spring.”
It’s a mere matter of time, the broker prognosticated.
“I do believe the Wilson lot will be leased in the future because it’s right there in the middle of everything, and it’s in the middle of parcels that are now going to feature some new businesses in the future,” Paull said. “My entire life there has been a fast food place where Hardee’s was, and the Spin n’ Span Dry Cleaner business has been in that big brick building the whole time. It’s going to be interesting to see what comes to that property next.
“As for the Wilson lot, we get a lot of phone calls from people with food trucks and others with interesting ideas for that land,” he said. “I believe if we’re patient, we’ll attract a long-term lease from a new company that wants to move in there.”
