WHEELING, W.Va. – May 26, 2026 – In recognition of National Historic Preservation Month, Wheeling Heritage is celebrating a major milestone in its ongoing preservation efforts with the completion of the first round of the Wheeling Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program.
Historic preservation is one of the four pillars of Wheeling Heritage’s mission and plays a key role in revitalizing Wheeling’s neighborhoods, downtown buildings, and historic character for future generations.
In 2021, Wheeling Heritage received a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant through the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, to launch the Wheeling Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program. The initiative was created to support the redevelopment of historic commercial properties downtown and encourage catalytic revitalization projects throughout Wheeling’s urban neighborhoods.
Through the first round of funding, $712,500 was awarded to support historic renovation projects across Wheeling. Funded projects include the 1400 Block ($200,000), Waterfront Hall ($100,000), Smart Centre ($25,000), 106 14th Street ($40,000), 722-724 Main Street ($50,000), Bridge Tavern ($75,000), 1306 Events ($30,000), 76 15th Street ($75,000), Vigilant Books and Coffee ($50,000), and the former Kepner Building ($67,500).
“As most people who work in historic preservation know, there is always a gap in funding,” said Scott Schenerlein, executive director of Wheeling Heritage. “This grant has been instrumental in helping continue the work of keeping our historic neighborhoods and our downtown moving forward. We are grateful to the National Park Service for selecting us not once, but twice.”
The successful initiation of our program led Wheeling Heritage to receive additional support from the National Park Service in 2023 for a second round of subgrants. Round 2 properties were selected through a competitive application and committee review process, and these preservation projects are now underway.
For more information about these initiatives and to view related videos, visit Wheeling Heritage at wheelingheritage.org/historic-revitalization-subgrant.
