Councilors:

Thank you all for preserving the incentive programs for current and potential business owners in downtown Wheeling. The Façade Improvement and Upper Floor Development Incentive programs have been very popular, and so have the B&O Tax abatement initiatives for investors between 10th and 16th streets.

Each of the programs is listed on the city’s website under “Economic and Community Development,” but we wonder if this valuable information is as visible as should be at a time when our downtown is dug up and inundated with those dreaded orange barrels. That’s why we would like to pose a few questions about increasing the exposure of the programs:

  • Could the home page video be updated to show off the success of the development programs?
  • Can a very public recruiting campaign be launched by the City of Wheeling in an effort to attract more business owners for the vacant properties in downtown Wheeling?
  • Can current property owners of vacant downtown parcels be directly addressed in an effort to provoke them to make capital improvements to their properties while utilizing the City’s assistance?
  • Could some kind of attention-getting icon be created for rack cards for regional welcome centers resting along interstates within our country’s Mid-Atlantic Region? Ya know, something flashy, noticeable, even if it’s something out of a used car lot?
A line of ads.
The website icon and the advertising campaign need to be as noticeable as possible to as many potential investors.

Councilors, our suggestions are based on two well-known facts:

  • The future of downtown Wheeling depends on investors like Dean Connors, Jessica Barclay, Vanessa Craig, Toni DiCarlo, Dan Milleson, and Mike and Doug Carl, local entrepreneurs who have recognized the priced-right potential of properties. They’ve taken chances while partnering with the City and its incentive programs, and they have been unconditional ambassadors ever since.
  • We – as a city as a whole – need to forget the delays and the complaints concerning the current condition of Main and Market streets in downtown Wheeling, recognize the fact the state of West Virginia has stoked the downtown district with this $30 million streetscape project, and get ready for its completion. The best way to accomplish that is to begin now.

We need to take advantage of this chance in every way, shape, and form, and we must promote the incentive programs already in place. If we do not, as a municipal government and as a people, we all will fail the future.

Sincerely,

Friendly City Residents

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