North Wheeling Dream Center Wants To Add Child Care Center
Joselyn King Trending
WHEELING - Bishop Darrell Cummings has aspirations for the North Wheeling Community Dream Center, and it involves establishing a child care center in the building's basement.
Cummings believes the center would serve not just the surrounding North Wheeling neighborhood, but also attract families from throughout the Wheeling area.
It could also generate revenue that might help to pay for more than $1 million in needed upgrades to the building, he noted.
Cummings said when inspectors with the West Virginia Fire Marshal's Office came to the building, there were many things they especially liked. The first is that parents bringing children to the Dream Center would be able to drive to the access road behind the building, stop at the future childcare center's door, and take them directly inside or pick them up at the end of the day.
"They can drop their child off, or pick them up, and just keep driving," Cummings explained. "I don't know of anybody else (a child care center) that has a drive-through."
The State Fire Marshal's Office anticipates the facility being planned for the Dream Center could accommodate 30 to 40 children, according to Cummings.
"That was our first step in finding out whether this building would even be acceptable," he said. "That's one of many steps, but it is the first step."
Cummings also pointed out the large parking lot for the facility with room to park 85 cars. There would still be plenty of room to also accommodate a playground for the youngsters, he continued.
There is no time frame yet for when the child care center could open. But work begins next week to pull out the flooring, ceiling and lighting, Cummings said.
The entry space will be enlarged to make it more secure, he continued. Workers also will be closing off the interior exit space from the child care area so children can't wander into the rest of the building. This is intended to keep the children securely in one area.
"We're still wanting to find someone who wants to run a daycare, or somebody who wants to expand their daycare," Cummings added. "We're not married to the idea that we've got to run it. Anybody who wants to expand into the North Wheeling area, we're willing to work with them."
He reported the Dream Center has received $100,000 American Rescue Plan Act dollars through the City of Wheeling to help transition the basement area into a child care facility. The Ohio County Commission last year directed $180,000 in ARPA funds to the Dream Center to help pay for replacement of the six roof sections on the building.
The entire Dream Center was built 85 years ago, and encompasses 35,000 square feet. Cummings estimates more than $500,000 has already been spent by his church on upgrades.
A prior failure of the sprinkler system in the building sent water through the structure, resulting in a $250,000 clean-up. The church next installed a new sprinkler system at a cost of $125,000, but it wasn't compatible with the existing sprinkler alarm. The new alarm added another $24,000 to the price tag, according to Cummings.
Five new furnaces also were purchased for the Dream Center, resulting in another $50,000 spent.
Most recent upgrades include new wiring and lighting in parts of the building, and the establishment of male and female restrooms with a lounge. A project to replace elevators and make the facility handicapped accessible is expected to cost another $100,000.
Cummings expects the Dream Center renovation to certainly top over $1 million spent before all is completed.
The hope is that much of the space - including the proposed child care area - will someday generate revenue. There are four apartments in the building, as well as additional places for office and retail space.
"It's a big elephant," Cummings said. "As I understand it... we're one of the largest buildings in North Wheeling. It's a lot to get it done. These kinds of improvements haven't been done in a number of years.
"I call it the 'Dream Center.' Some of our members call it 'The Nightmare.' I think we can turn this nightmare into a dream," he continued.