Although it has remained mostly empty since it was closed in the early 1990s, Wheeling’s city manager does not expect the structure that housed Clay School to vanish anytime soon.
The three-story structure, which spans a half of a city block along 15th Street in East Wheeling, rests across the roadway from the J.B. Chambers Recreation Park. The school was closed more than 25 years ago and has sat silent since. Educator Darryl Baynes purchased the large building in early 2003 from Ohio County Schools for $65,000 with the intent of gaining grant funding to start a science and community center, but he failed to make that happen.
With plans for a senior housing development in place, the city of Wheeling purchased the building for less than $50,000 in in 2016. What was supposed to become the Clay Elderly Housing Project with 42 two-bedroom units for senior citizens living on low income, however, has not come to fruition.
“A few years back, we had a developer who went through the site plan approval process to demolish the building and put senior housing there,” explained City Manager Bob Herron. “That didn’t work out because of some property issues and the hillside in that area and the demolition of the school.
“I can’t say right now that there will be any progress with Clay School in 2021,” he said. “But we do stand ready to assist anyone who does have interest in developing that property.”
Opportunity Awaits?
The J.B. Chambers Recreation Park is located directly across from the former elementary school, and few businesses are in close proximity to the complex, including Biggie’s Pizza, Neely’s Grocery, and the eatery Sweetie Pies. A convenient store is expected to reopen along 16th Street, as well.
Most recently, a new scoreboard was installed at the park, and enough bleacher seating was added in 2018 thanks to a $250,000 donation from philanthropist Gary West. The pandemic shuttered the facility earlier in 2020, but the action remained limited once it reopened during the summer months.
“Right now, there is not a plan for the city to act on the Clay building because we remain hopeful that someone from the private sector will deal with that property,” Herron said. “The complex across 15th Street has been a very successful project, so we do believe there is an opportunity there.
“The J.B. Chambers Recreation Park has been used by a number of different organizations and by the people of the neighborhood, too,” he said. “The facility has brought people to that area of the city who otherwise likely would not have visited the area, and that was one of the goals when we first began to discuss that project.”
The $3 million park was completed in 2014 following the purchases and demolitions of more than 30 residential properties within a two-block area along 15th and 16th streets. Only seven of the structures, however, were inhabited when purchased by the city of Wheeling while the other houses were vacant and condemned years prior.
The J.B. Chambers complex now offers an all-purpose playing surface that is lined for several sports, including football, soccer, lacrosse, and softball, and there are a basketball court, a playground, and restroom facilities for spectators and participants. It was funded by more than $1 million in donations, by the city’s taxpayers, and by grants received from the state and federal government.
“Prior to the beginning of the project, we received a lot of complaints about that area of East Wheeling, so we knew there were issues there because it was a vacant area for the most part,” Herron recalled. “With the new park, we were hopeful that something would have happen with the Clay property whether a developer wanted to renovate the current structure or to take the building down for something new.”
