Wheeling Projects To Receive Millions in Federal Earmarks
Eric Ayres (File) Trending
WHEELING -- In buying the former Wheeling Inn hotel at the entrance of Main Street, the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau had a vision for what that property could be in the future. The CVB just received a federal earmark that will put that vision much closer to reality.
The CVB received $5 million in federal funds for its proposed welcome center on that property, one of two Wheeling initiatives that received seven-figure funding boosts in a Senate Appropriations Committee mark-up on a trio of funding bills. On top of the CVB's $5 million, the Community Impact Network Inc. received $1 million to help build a child care center.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a member of the Appropriations Committee, announced those awards Friday.
"I am pleased that the Committee has advanced bipartisan appropriations bills that provide funding to West Virginia for some of the state's top priorities," Manchin, D-W.Va., said in a news release. "As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I am committed to bringing back regular order, doing our job, and passing these funding bills on time to deliver these crucial resources to West Virginia."
The CVB purchased the Wheeling Inn property for $1.7 million in January and CVB Executive Director Frank O'Brien estimates that demolishing the building and asbestos abatement will happen by the end of the year. The funds announced Friday will go a long way, he said, in moving forward with a project he estimates to be about $16 million total.
"I don't think we ever really over-promised about what this project would be," O'Brien said. "But as we get this funding stack in play, now we can not over-promise, we can show what we can deliver."
What this earmark also does, O'Brien said, is make the project much more attractive as the CVB applies for other grants and funding. With $5 million in hand, other funding avenues should open up. O'Brien said the CVB is working on a grant from the Abandoned Mine Land program, for which the Wheeling Inn land would be eligible.
The project is going to take time, but O'Brien sees the simple demolishing of the Wheeling Inn as a huge step, allowing people entering downtown Wheeling from the top of Main Street to get an unencumbered view of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge for the first time in decades. The funds announced Friday will be significant fuel to the project.
"I think it will add to our momentum," O'Brien said. "You know, this earmark is huge. I mean, this is the financial incentive and ticket for us to get the additional funds. But tearing that building down will be just as momentous and huge to the public.
"We'll show them that we are serious about this and we are going to be making an investment in downtown Wheeling," he added.
The Community Impact Network's $1 million award will help toward solving a major problem in the Wheeling area - a lack of affordable childcare. According to statistics from Team For West Virginia Children - presented at an April town hall in Wheeling - there are 1,318 licensed child care providers in West Virginia with a licensed capacity for 38,297 children. Yet there are 62,786 children under age 6 who need child care, but can't get access to it.
Officials at the Community Impact Network could not be reached for comment Friday.