It’s more than just The Highlands. Much more.
And there is potential, too. At least that is exactly what Ohio County Commissioner Zach Abraham believes. But there is, of course, a “But,” and in this case, more than just a few.
The vast majority of riverfront properties in Ohio County already are owned and occupied. But the condition of most of the county’s secondary roads is are sketchy at best. But the county is riddled with vacant and dilapidated structures. But big-box retailers have wiped away many Ma-and-Pa businesses and chain restaurants have swiped patrons from local eateries. But the demand for more housing developments doesn’t exist because the same number of living-wage jobs don’t exist.
There is, however, another set of “Buts.”
But two interstates flow through Ohio County and Interstate 70 is nearly back to new. But Oglebay is a park to locals but is a full-blown resort to thousands of tourists every year. But the McLure House currently is under renovation and additional redevelopment projects have taken place or are ongoing right now in several areas of the city. But there are three excellent options in the county for grades K-12 and several local institutions offering higher education. But there is an old-school entrepreneurial spirit that has been resurrected for the first time in decades.
That’s why Abraham believes for the county and its residents to erase the deficiencies and reach the potential, the effort will need more puzzle builders to handle all of the pieces.
“There is a lot of opportunity that exists and that’s why we talk about getting the right people around the table so we can focus on some marketing objectives,” Abraham said. “If we really want to grow in terms of people and businesses, and if we want to improve the quality of life here in Ohio County, that’s a conversation that everyone in the county should be involved in. I believe there are ways to tie in The Highlands and the city at the same time.
“I see a lot of opportunities to attract more people and more businesses, and I believe we just have to look at what the folks with Roxby Development have been doing during the past year with the amount of investment the company has made in the city of Wheeling,” he said. “Roxby is doing a lot of great things here, and some things are known, and some others are not known yet. Hypothetically, what if we went out and found another five Roxby companies, it would change the game for sure.”
Dollars and Sense
Along with the McLure House, Roxby also is in the process of renovating the Mount Carmel Monastery and the Scottish Rite Cathedral. The Monastery will become a boutique hotel, and the Scottish Rite a full-service event center.
Plus, the former Posin’s Jewelry store is under renovation, and so is the old home of the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel headquarters. Ye Olde Alpha on Carmel Road was purchased at auction early in 2020, was completely gutted and remodeled, and then reopened as the Alpha Tavern last year.
Those redevelopment projects, Abraham believes, show a belief in the city of Wheeling and Ohio County.
“If we can recruit a capital infusion into Wheeling and into Ohio County, our area would really get developed more and that would change the dynamic,” Abraham explained. “We have to look at this as the bigger picture while recognizing that it’s not the city of Wheeling against The Highlands. What we need to figure out is how do we do that collectively.
“I think that’s the best way to go about it and that’s because we have so many opportunities right now,” he said. “But, in a lot of cases at this time, we don’t know what all of those opportunities are just yet. We know what some of them are, but not all of them and that’s why we all need to get on the same page.”
Private Sector and People
For the past 80 years, population loss has been a reality in every corner of the Upper Ohio Valley because thousands of living-wage jobs have been eliminated by plant and mill closures, technological advancements, and business relocations.
Downtown districts on both sides of the Ohio River, once meccas of commercial activity, fell silent and have slowly decayed. Local governments have worked with limited budgets for decades but still have made efforts to attract new jobs to their communities.
In Ohio County, nearly 1,000 people are working at Williams Lea Tag and the Orrick operations center, and at The Highlands nearly 2,000 folks are employed at the stores, restaurants, and light industry operations.
“And just think about the gem that we have in Oglebay. Talk about opportunity, there are a ton of them with Oglebay,” Abraham insisted. “And the good folks with Oglebay and the Wheeling Park Commission have to be a part of that conversation and we have communicated with Bob Pechenpaugh and Eriks Janelsin already and they are more than willing to be a part of the overall effort.
“It’s my belief we have a lot of people in Ohio County who are very motivated to figure out how we can do this together,” the commissioner added. “It is baby steps that we have to take, but we have to make sure we are consistent with making the baby steps over time. I know most people want it all to happen overnight, but that’s just how it works when we’re talking about economic development that leads to population growth.”
