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Now that the $12.3 million, six-level parking structure is complete and open on the corner of 11th and Market streets in downtown Wheeling, city officials are anxious to see what businesses will fill the 1,000 square feet of street-level space.City Manager Bob Herron confirmed those conversations have started with new Mayor Denny Magruder and the city’s six council members meeting with representatives from Century Realty. Century Realty, located at 1233 Main Street in downtown Wheeling, is a marketing and recruiting firm that has worked with the city several times in the past.“Now that we have a new mayor and council, we’ve met with Century Realty to talk about possibilities and direction,” explained Herron. “The building is complete, and it turned out great, so the street level is ready for whatever might go in there and there are a lot of ideas that have been tossed around.The Mills Group designed the new Market Street Garage that rests on the corner of 11th and Market streets.“Our leasing agreement with Century expired so a proposed renewal will be on Council’s agenda in the very near future because it’s time to market the property to see what’s possible,” he said. “It’s a pretty large space that I believe could fit as many as three businesses depending on what they are. It all depends on who’s interested in coming to downtown Wheeling, but we’ve always imagined a small restaurant with outdoor dining there on the corner with other businesses in the other areas.”The land where the new garage rests is where an Army-Navy Store and a Chase Bank once stood. The rendering of the structure that was released two years ago displays enough space for a few different businesses.“There are a lot of options that Mayor (Denny) Magruder and the council members have to consider, like grocery, pharmacy, and some kind of retail would be great. We’re looking at restaurant possibilities, too,” Herron said. “It’s a big space with heigh ceilings so there will be those challenges, but everything is ADA accessible and it’s ready to market.“It’s still gravel on the first floor, and that’s on purpose so the developers have access to all the utility lines so they can decide where they want kitchens and restrooms and things like that,” he explained. “We made the lines are big enough to handle anything, so we’ll just have to see what’s possible.”The Wheeling-Pitt Lofts were announced in early January 2020, but the project stalled because of the increase in interest rates.Downtown ResidentialThe idea for the new parking garage originated when Steve Coon of Coon Restoration and Herron started a conversation about the possible transformation of the Schmulbach Building – also known as the former headquarters for Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel – into a 12-story residential property with more than 100 one- and two-bedroom loft apartments.The building was purchased in 2015 by Dr. John Johnson, the owner of East Ohio Regional Hospital, and Coon and his crews have re-pointed most of the exterior of the building while gutting the inside of all debris and old furniture.A part of the conversation between Cook and the City, though, included the construction of a new parking garage in close proximity to the “Wheeling-Pitt Loft” project. But, while the garage was under construction, no progress was made on the apartments because interest rates, Coon said, are far too high at this time.Their former Schmulbach Building once was the tallest in the estate of West Virginia. It was constructed in 1905-06 and opened in 1907.“The garage has a total of 290 parking spaces on six levels, and 144 of them were supposed to be reserved for the residents of the apartments. I consider that project active and still very possible,” Herron said. “There has been a delay because of capital stack issues, but no one has told me it’s a dead project. The last I heard from (Steve Coon or Coon Restoration) is that it is active.“But I believe we’ll sell those spaces if we have to because there is a demand for parking in that area,” he said. “And once the streetscape is completed and we get back to normal in downtown, I think even more people will park in the garage to get their vehicles off the street.”The Health Plan Headquarters is nearby and so are a few businesses, including Williams Lea Tagg in the Stone Center, and the Wheeling Nailers and the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce do business in the Horne Building on Market Plaza.So, there is the potential for new parking customers.“We have seen a lot of development take place in our downtown, and now with a year left for the ($32 million) streetscape, I believe we’ll see even more,” Herron said. “With the Newbridge Center across from the Capitol Theatre, the proposed new hotel near Wesbanco Arena, and the other construction that’s taking place, we’ll have a new downtown pretty soon.“It won’t be what it was, but it will be something new.” Read the full article

He likes the pizza, the fish sandwiches, and he digs the lunch vibe at Later Alligator, but Steve Coon admits he takes few breaks when in the city of Wheeling.He’s busy, that’s why, and he’s focused on the meticulous management of the transformation of the Schmulbach Building in the middle of downtown Wheeling. The 12-floor structure, once the tallest building in West Virginia and the former business headquarters of Henry Schmulbach’s brewery and for the German Bank of Wheeling, has been vacant since 2012 when RG Steel suddenly shuttered operations.The Wheeling-Pitt Lofts, an initiative announced in 2019 by Coon and his business partner Dr. John Johnson, has realized pandemic-related delays but now is moving forward in full force. The developer has changed his approach, though, thanks to the economic impacts connected to increased interest rates.“I know people have questioned the progress on this project, and that’s fine, but I hope those people know that right now we’re working on a lot the structural issues and on the interior demo, and that’s not something people will see much,” Coon explained. “Right now, we have scaffolding on several sides of the building while we’re replacing bricks, but those guys are hidden by the H-shape of the building.“It’s taken our guys two years just to clear the building because when we first walked in here, there were thousands of desks and filing cabinets filled with paperwork. It was a heavy lift, I can tell you that, but we are finally on the second floor with that part of this project while other workers have been on the top floors removing walls and get those level ready for the building’s new interior design,” he said. “The local people will see the general construction on this project get started a little later this summer.”Much of the brickwork now underway is not visible to local residents looking for progress.By the time the RG Steel bankruptcy took place more than a decade ago, most of the riverbank buildings owned by the once-mighty Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel had fallen silent. The corporation, founded in 1920, operated in 11 different locations and employed more than 10,000 steelworkers in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, but demand began to decline once imported steel proved more popular.The Schmulbach Building became widely known as the “Wheeling-Pitt Building” once the company purchased the structure in 1921. Access Infrastructure, a company owned by Dr. Johnson, purchased the building in 2013.“The pandemic did delay a lot of things, but we were able to still move forward with the interior demolition. Not only were there desks and filing cabinets, but it really looked like everyone here picked up and left and left behind everything. It was a really weird thing to see,” Coon said. “What has really hurt us are the interest rates and the increases that have taken place over the last couple of years. That’s why we’re going to do this project in phases.”“I’ve already jumped off the mountain and we’re not going to stop now. We’re not going to go about it the way we typically do, but we’re going to get this building completed and it’s going to be a special project for the city of Wheeling,” he said. “I know some people have questioned whether this was going to happen, but trust me, it’s happening, and the work won’t stop until there’s no more work to do.”Several floors of the former steel company headquarters are now barren and ready for transformation.The Wheeling FeelingThe first projected completion date was sometime in 2022, but then a pandemic closed down America.In January 2021, Coon joined Wheeling leaders to announce the project would move forward, and then in April a Wheeling contingent traveled to Coon’s headquarters in Louisville, Ohio, for an extensive project update.Coon told Herron, Councilmen Ben Seidler and Chad Thalman, and outgoing mayor, Glenn Elliott, the exact same message: “I’ve already jumped off the mountain and we’re not going to stop now.”The cost of the project, however, has jumped from $30 million to $45 million.“But the project still makes sense to me because Wheeling is one of the best cities I’ve ever worked in and that’s because of your city manager, Bob Herron. He has been engaged in this project from the very beginning, and despite the challenges we’ve encountered, Bob has always been right there asking what he can do to help us move forward,” Coon reported. “If we had a Bob Herron in every city we’ve worked in, we would be much more successful. He’s always asked what the city can do to help.Extensive work is taking place on the building's guts, including its plumbing and electrical systems.“I’ve worked in over 100 cities doing what we do best, and I would rank Wheeling at the top,” he insisted. “And Bob is A-number-one because they don’t come any better than him as a city manager.”Instead of 128 one-and two-bedroom apartments, the real number, according to Coon, is closer to 100 lofts that will be market-rate priced. The plan for first-floor retail remains in place, and with the city’s six-story parking garage progressing nearby at the corner of 11th and Market streets, that imperative piece of the puzzle will be in place when Coon completes Phase 1.“I believe we will attract residents from Pittsburgh and anyone from within 60 miles is going to take a look at this building and the city of Wheeling as a place to live because what’s not to love. These apartments are going to have wonderful views from all sides, and the new normal is people want to live in downtown areas,” Coon said. “They want to find their sense of place in downtown districts, and watching downtown Wheeling grow as we speak is very exciting.“Yes, we are moving slower than normal, that’s true, but that’s because I am financing a lot of this myself at this point,” he added. “But I’m committed and so is my partner, Dr. John Johnson. The Wheeling-Pitt Lofts building is going to be a great addition to downtown Wheeling.”More than 100 loft one- and two-bedroom apartments will be available in the building once the first phase of construction is completed in a couple of years.

He likes the pizza, the fish sandwiches, and he digs the lunch vibe at Later Alligator, but Steve Coon admits he takes few breaks when in the city of Wheeling.He’s busy, that’s why, and he’s focused on the meticulous management of the transformation of the Schmulbach Building in the middle of downtown Wheeling. The 12-floor structure, once the tallest building in West Virginia and the former business headquarters of Henry Schmulbach’s brewery and for the German Bank of Wheeling, has been vacant since 2012 when RG Steel suddenly shuttered operations.The Wheeling-Pitt Lofts, an initiative announced in 2019 by Coon and his business partner Dr. John Johnson, has realized pandemic-related delays but now is moving forward in full force. The developer has changed his approach, though, thanks to the economic impacts connected to increased interest rates.“I know people have questioned the progress on this project, and that’s fine, but I hope those people know that right now we’re working on a lot the structural issues and on the interior demo, and that’s not something people will see much,” Coon explained. “Right now, we have scaffolding on several sides of the building while we’re replacing bricks, but those guys are hidden by the H-shape of the building.“It’s taken our guys two years just to clear the building because when we first walked in here, there were thousands of desks and filing cabinets filled with paperwork. It was a heavy lift, I can tell you that, but we are finally on the second floor with that part of this project while other workers have been on the top floors removing walls and get those level ready for the building’s new interior design,” he said. “The local people will see the general construction on this project get started a little later this summer.”Much of the brickwork now underway is not visible to local residents looking for progress.By the time the RG Steel bankruptcy took place more than a decade ago, most of the riverbank buildings owned by the once-mighty Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel had fallen silent. The corporation, founded in 1920, operated in 11 different locations and employed more than 10,000 steelworkers in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, but demand began to decline once imported steel proved more popular.The Schmulbach Building became widely known as the “Wheeling-Pitt Building” once the company purchased the structure in 1921. Access Infrastructure, a company owned by Dr. Johnson, purchased the building in 2013.“The pandemic did delay a lot of things, but we were able to still move forward with the interior demolition. Not only were there desks and filing cabinets, but it really looked like everyone here picked up and left and left behind everything. It was a really weird thing to see,” Coon said. “What has really hurt us are the interest rates and the increases that have taken place over the last couple of years. That’s why we’re going to do this project in phases.”“I’ve already jumped off the mountain and we’re not going to stop now. We’re not going to go about it the way we typically do, but we’re going to get this building completed and it’s going to be a special project for the city of Wheeling,” he said. “I know some people have questioned whether this was going to happen, but trust me, it’s happening, and the work won’t stop until there’s no more work to do.”Several floors of the former steel company headquarters are now barren and ready for transformation.The Wheeling FeelingThe first projected completion date was sometime in 2022, but then a pandemic closed down America.In January 2021, Coon joined Wheeling leaders to announce the project would move forward, and then in April a Wheeling contingent traveled to Coon’s headquarters in Louisville, Ohio, for an extensive project update.Coon told Herron, Councilmen Ben Seidler and Chad Thalman, and outgoing mayor, Glenn Elliott, the exact same message: “I’ve already jumped off the mountain and we’re not going to stop now.”The cost of the project, however, has jumped from $30 million to $45 million.“But the project still makes sense to me because Wheeling is one of the best cities I’ve ever worked in and that’s because of your city manager, Bob Herron. He has been engaged in this project from the very beginning, and despite the challenges we’ve encountered, Bob has always been right there asking what he can do to help us move forward,” Coon reported. “If we had a Bob Herron in every city we’ve worked in, we would be much more successful. He’s always asked what the city can do to help.Extensive work is taking place on the building's guts, including its plumbing and electrical systems.“I’ve worked in over 100 cities doing what we do best, and I would rank Wheeling at the top,” he insisted. “And Bob is A-number-one because they don’t come any better than him as a city manager.”Instead of 128 one-and two-bedroom apartments, the real number, according to Coon, is closer to 100 lofts that will be market-rate priced. The plan for first-floor retail remains in place, and with the city’s six-story parking garage progressing nearby at the corner of 11th and Market streets, that imperative piece of the puzzle will be in place when Coon completes Phase 1.“I believe we will attract residents from Pittsburgh and anyone from within 60 miles is going to take a look at this building and the city of Wheeling as a place to live because what’s not to love. These apartments are going to have wonderful views from all sides, and the new normal is people want to live in downtown areas,” Coon said. “They want to find their sense of place in downtown districts, and watching downtown Wheeling grow as we speak is very exciting.“Yes, we are moving slower than normal, that’s true, but that’s because I am financing a lot of this myself at this point,” he added. “But I’m committed and so is my partner, Dr. John Johnson. The Wheeling-Pitt Lofts building is going to be a great addition to downtown Wheeling.”More than 100 loft one- and two-bedroom apartments will be available in the building once the first phase of construction is completed in a couple of years.