Former Clay School Building in Wheeling Will Be Demolished
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WHEELING — City Manager Robert Herron announced Tuesday evening the receipt of two tax credit awards from the West Virginia Housing Development Fund, one of which will fund, to some degree, the demolition of Clay School in East Wheeling.
In its place, a new building will offer 42 two-bedroom apartments intended for elderly residents living on a low income. The project is, for now, titled the Clay Elderly Housing Project. Herron said he could offer few details on the announcement, including the development company thatás potentially interested in the contract or the estimated cost.
âI know there have been significant efforts to try to look at ways to renovate that building or repurpose it, but the numbers have just come back astronomically high,ã he said. âEven the company thatás interested in doing this project just could not make it work.ã
The second tax credit will benefit a third LaBelle Greene housing property near 32nd Street in South Wheeling, which will serve elderly residents. The first two are currently under construction, and they are owned by the Woda Group. They also accommodate low-income residents.
Mayor Glenn Elliott said news of the Clay School project was also broken to him today, prior to the meeting. He said while heás usually a proponent of reusing existing structures, he isnát âweddedã to the school. He said a leaking roof has left the building structurally compromised, and said the cost of saving it is simply too high.