What Kind of Development Does Wheeling Need Most?

A Whole Foods? An Indian restaurant? Water taxis between Wheeling Island Casino and Heritage Port?

Those ideas are among the most popular answers offered when informal surveys have been conducted on social media, but Wheeling’s city manager has a completely different reply when asked what kind of development is needed most. Bob Herron’s answer, though, isn’t a wish list item like a new store, a tasty eatery, or a green-spaced park.

Instead, his response was about the future and not about the now.

“Housing.”

New housing, that is.

“We need a wide range of housing all the way up to single-family dwellings, and we have had conversations that are, at this point, confidential. But housing is definitely something the City is interested in,” Herron explained. “There is interest from the community to expand the housing opportunities that we now have, so we’ll see where we go from here.

“We identified that housing was an issue about 10 years ago, and there has been some new construction since then, but we need more,” he said. “So, we’ll see what takes place in the future.”

Herron first became Wheeling’s city manager in 2002 so he’s orchestrated a long list of public economic development projects that include everything from new construction and commercial and residential demolition to the $32 million streetscape that is scheduled for completion later this year. He’s worked extensively with the Woda Group on apartments, townhouses, and senior housing communities, too, but the need for more remains.

That’s why some developers have recently reached out.

“The City does get contacted by developers fairly regularly because there is interest in open lots and buildings that are available for sale right now, and they also ask about the economics of the city when they call,” Herron reported. “Most of those conversations involve commercial development and the topic of residential housing has come up, too.

“There has been interest from companies in the retail industry, and as far as housing is concerned, developers have recognized the need for new housing here in Wheeling and in the area,” he explained. “Most of the conversations have been positive, and some have talked about renovating an existing building despite the fact those projects can be very daunting.”

When it comes to economic development, though, there’s always a lot of talk about downtown Wheeling. Who will buy the Mull Center? What’s happening with Absure Tower? With the Wheeling-Pitt Building?

Herron, however, confirmed that not all calls concern Main and Market.

“Some of the calls have been about our downtown now that the streetscape is scheduled for completion later this year, and because of the private dollars that are being invested right now. We’ve seen a lot of façade work performed, and we have renovations and a new building under construction along Main and Market streets,” Herron revealed. “But there have been calls about other areas of the city, too.

“People have called about areas in Elm Grove and on Wheeling Island, and we already have some new construction taking place in Woodsdale along National Road, and there will be more once Sheetz begins its renovation project on the corner with Bethany Pike,” he added. “That’s a very hot area right now with more to come.”