Kepner Funeral Home Donates Property To Preservation Group
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WHEELING -- The former Kepner Funeral Home building in South Wheeling has been donated to Ritchietown Renaissance, a new preservation group.
Ritchietown is what South Wheeling was called in the mid-1800s.
Last winter, during a deep freeze, pipes inside the funeral home burst, causing much damage. At that time, the company assessed the damage and hired Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration to do a cleanup. The building has been gutted and was recently donated to the Ritchietown Renaissance.
Jim Kepner, president of Kepner Funeral Home, said his company originally thought about razing the building because it didn't want to spend extra money to try and renovate it. A demolition permit triggered a review of the plan by the city's Historic Landmarks Commission.
However, after talking to the Ritchietown Renaissance members at the Historic Landmarks Commission hearing, Kepner said he decided to give the building to the group.
"It's a win-win for both parties. They have a structurally sound building," Kepner said. "We were happy to give it to them. We were able to keep it intact and not lose another historic building in the South Wheeling area."
Debbie Griffin, president of Ritchietown Renaissance, said when a property owner applies to raze a contributing building in a historic district, the application must be reviewed by the HLC.
"We came to the meeting with the intention of asking for a 60-day stay to allow us to work with Kepner to try to find an alternate solution," she said. "That is when Jim Kepner generously offered to donate the building.
"This illustrates the importance of the requirement of going to the Historic Landmarks Commission, because it raises awareness and sometimes can generate a better outcome than demolition," she added.
Griffin said the group hopes to redevelop the building into space for artists to use for creating and selling works.
"We have already received expressions of interest from several parties," she said.
Because of the amount of damage to the building, much work needs to be done to make it usable again.
Last Christmas, a severe cold snap caused about seven pipes to freeze and then burst inside the funeral home, flooding the inside of the building, which is located at Jacob and 36th streets. The breaks were discovered by a person walking their dog past the building. The water was coming out of the building and the dog walker called 911.
The Wheeling Fire Department's South Wheeling station, which is near the funeral home, responded quickly. However, since there were several feet of water in the basement they could not reach the water main shutoff. The water had to be shut off at the street level.
Several pipes broke on the third floor and the water ran for a couple days. It gushed out and ran down, third, second and first floors. About seven feet of water collected in the basement.
The fire department was tasked with pumping the water out of the basement. The deluge caused much damage inside the building, destroying walls and ceilings
Griffin said upgrades to the electrical and fire safety systems are needed. Interior walls need new drywall and wood trim. The wood flooring needs repairs and several windows need to be replaced.
"We hope to develop the building in phases, as funds are available," she said. "We estimate that the first floor alone will be at least $100,000. We intend to apply for grants to do the bulk of the work, but we also are seeking public support."
To donate, people can visit the group's website, RtownRen.org, or mail checks to Ritchietown Renaissance, Inc., 3545 Jacob Street, Wheeling, WV 26003.
"It is located on an important commercial corner that already lost two buildings to neglect earlier this year," Griffin noted. "This building has a long history, to back before the Civil War. The south portion was constructed around 1852 and housed a grocery and dry goods store for decades.
"The building was the original home of Cooey-Bentz, who occupied it from their founding in 1897," she added. "They continued to operate their funeral home business there even after moving the furniture store to the larger building across the street. Kepner Funeral Homes purchased the Cooey-Bentz funeral business, including this building, in 1941."
For those who would like to see the inside of the building, the Friends of Wheeling is hosting a tour there starting at 1 p.m. Saturday.