The Hobbs Green senior living apartments opened relatively recently in South Wheeling.
There was much excitement back in December about the impending opening of the $8.7 million dollar facility that provided 39 units available for rent to adults ages 55 and older. It’s located at 37th and Jacob Streets.
But here’s a question. Can anyone identify the namesake of those apartments? Why the Hobbs name? Do you also know there’s an effort going on right now to save the namesake’s former home.
A few blocks away at 3503 Eoff Street sits the Hobbs House, home of the late John L. Hobbs. He was the co-owner of Hobbs-Brockunier Glass Company in South Wheeling. Hobbs-Brockunier was one of the largest, well-known, and most innovative glass manufacturers of the 19th century.
The ownership of the Hobbs home has changed hands many times through the years, but the property itself has been neglected for 50-plus. Now, it’s fate may be sealed during the next Historic Landmarks Commission meeting in Wheeling.
At the previous meeting, current building owner Krista Peng presented a request for a demolition permit of the structure. Peng and her husband purchased the structure back in December, with the intention of trying to restore the home to its former glory.
South Wheeling Preservation Alliance (SWPA) president Ginger Kabala and vice-president Brother John Byrd were in attendance. The two are attempting to generate some fourth-quarter interest in the property in hopes of saving it.
They will be discussing it Tuesday night during SWPA’s monthly meeting at Trinity Lutheran Church at 3536 Eoff Street. The meeting will start at 7:15 p.m.
“A guy came in and bought up low-cost houses (in Wheeling) and put them online for auction,” Kabala said. “Mrs. Keng and her husband live in Washington and bought it, sight unseen aside from the pictures posted online, for $7,000.
“They are looking to tear down the property because they said it was too far gone and will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair. She was on a Zoom call during the meeting and was asked if they’d be willing to sell the property and they gave the figure of ($15,000).”
SWPA has put out a flyer detailing information about the Hobbs House, the fight to save it, and reasons why it should be saved.
First, any individual or group looking to save it will need to come up with around $15,000 to purchase the property. After that, the figure will grow quite considerably. Whether that be an individual or group hoping to save a historic property and restore it, it matters not.
“We know it’s late in the game, but what is it they say, anything is doable if you have enough money,” Kabala said. “That’s why we put the flyer out on Facebook. We’re hoping there’s some wonderful soul or souls out there that are looking to put their money into historical preservation.
“I’ve talked to some of the bank offices, but this falls outside of our mission statement, so must of what we’ve been doing is grassroots and volunteer work. The sad part is the people have never been education about how wonderful South Wheeling is and all the history we have.
A Bit of History
Hobbs, along with William Leighton Sr., came up with a formula that allowed glass to be made using bicarbonate soda instead of soda ash. It’s one of the two major breakthroughs in glass production because it allowed for higher quality glass to be made with lower production costs.
One of its employees, Michael Owens, a Mason County native who apprenticed at Hobbs-Brockunier at age 10, eventually traveled to Toledo where he invented a machine that automated production of glass bottles, reducing labor costs by 80 percent.
John L. Hobbs died in 1881 and later, the final days of the glass production company ended in 1925.
“It was referred to as America’s Glass University,” Kabala said of Hobbs-Brockunier.
Councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum is becoming well-versed in the property. The city’s third ward councilwoman, Ketchum recently moved across the street from the Hobbs House. She’s been aware of it since her first days on council, but there was a length of time where the structure dropped off everyone’s collective radar until recently.
“What’s interesting is my first week as a member of council, a preservationist reached out, and we didn’t have an answer at the time, and then it was never brought back up,” Ketchum said. “It kind of fell off our radar until about last week.”
Kabala noted she’s toured the inside of the Hobbs House on multiple occasions, as its ownership has changed through a number of hands in the last decade or so. Each time, the members of SWPA have a renewed hope that someone will come in and save the structure, and each time, they’ve been met with disappointment.
South Wheeling itself has plenty of history inside its borders, but some in the group feel it doesn’t get quite the same attention as other areas inside city limits. They wonder if the Hobbs House would have been located in a different section of Wheeling, might have it been given more attention sooner.
To that point, Ketchum is in agreement.
“It probably would have been demolished sooner, or would have been better take care of,” Ketchum admitted. “Properties in East, South, and Center Wheeling have been neglected for many years. The Nelson Jordan Center is the only city-owned rec center and it’s in terrible shape.
“If it was in Woodsdale, or Warwood, or on Bethany Pike, it would not look like that, and I don’t think that’s a controversial statement to make. Buildings like the Hobbs House would have been addressed more quickly by council or the administration if it were in a different location.”
Real World Costs
The Pengs are contractors and are experienced in the restoration of early 1900s homes. But Peng’s permit request lists advanced damage done to the Hobbs home, estimating $50,000-$100,000 to bring the foundation of the home to code, and another $100,000-plus to fully restore the inside of the property.
SWPA members know it’s a lot of funding to come with and not a lengthy period of time in which to do so. But regardless, they are making the effort to try.
“The landmarks commission granted a stay of execution, but a person or persons really have to start working on it as soon as possible,” Byrd said. “There are major problems, and we knew that. It needs a new roof, which it needed about 2-3 years ago. And because it hasn’t gotten one, the water damage is now more extensive.
“But it could really be a showpiece and it’s so vital to that block, which is a major block in the historic district. To me, it is the house in the district. Others have bought it in the past and we got our hopes raised, but they’d end up turning away from it.”
One question that likely will arise is profitability. At the base level, few likely want to see a building of historical significance torn down. But given the amount of money needed to restore the property, that money will need to be recouped somewhere.
It could function as a museum, but dedicated the entirety of the structure to a museum would likely never see the initial investment funds recouped. That seems to be a universal opinion.
“A museum would be ideal, but you could have an apartment on the second floor and use all or a portion of the first floor as office space,” Byrd theorized. “That’s where any group looking to restore it would need to sit down and really strategize and figure out how to generate income after it’s preserved.”
“It would need to be some type of profitable property,” Ketchum said. “There is a lot of history in our community and properties that are historic and, unfortunately, after decades of neglect, you’re seeing a triaging of properties where some are being addressed through demolition.
“As council members, we struggle with improving the quality of life for our communities while at the same time preserving the history of our neighborhoods. I’m 28 years old and these problems have consisted for twice as long as that.
“I wish we had the foresight 20 years ago to make the really important investments in our preservation.”
That is still a possibility for the Hobbs House, however slight that possibility may be. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend the SWPA meeting on Tuesday at Trinity Lutheran, or visit SWPA online via its Facebook page.
