WHEELING – Members of the Wheeling Planning Commission met virtually Monday night, recommending site plan approval for a number of projects in the city, including the plan for the proposed Duplaga Professional Center on Washington Avenue.

Attorney Bob Fitzsimmons and property owner Chris Duplaga joined commission members to discuss the proposed site plan for the project at 1108 Washington Ave., located right at the diagonal intersection with West Washington Avenue.

Some voiced opposition to developing the site in a primarily residential neighborhood. Three lots on the property were rezone to allow construction for a small medical office complex. Yet a majority of those involved — including a majority of Wheeling Planning Commission and Wheeling City Council members — supported the rezoning and the development itself.

City officials indicated that the complex, expected to house offices for a handful of doctors and dentists, is designed to maintain the residential character of the neighborhood and be an attractive addition to the area.

“I think it’s a plan well done, and we’ll assume it’s going to be a job well done,” Commissioner Jeff Mauck said.

Another site plan review for Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration was unanimously approved Monday night. Robert Contraguerro Jr. of Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration said the company recently acquired a full block’s worth of vacant industrial property along McColloch Street between 41st and 42nd streets.

“We want to develop half of it at this point for an expansion project that we’ve been needing to do,” Contraguerro said. “We want to construct a 12,000-square-foot building on the first half of it.”

The proposed warehouse building will be used for additional storage allowing the company to take equipment currently stored outside and bring it indoors.

Members also heard an update from West Virginia Northern Community College, which is currently upgrading two parking lots in downtown Wheeling. One issue teft up in the air was the design of fencing around a recently improved WVNCC lot at the corner of 16th and Main streets.

Originally, plans called for decorative fencing along the street-facing sides of the lot and chain-link fencing along the lot’s north and east sides facing the alley and the parking lot of The Intelligencer and Wheeling-News Register. City leaders had indicated that any plan that included chain-link fencing downtown would likely be rejected.

Since the last planning commission meeting took place, officials at WVNCC approved additional funds to complete the lot with ornamental fencing on all sides. Hays said the designed fencing matches up with other ornamental fencing used in the downtown by WesBanco and will be used along portions of the city’s main thoroughfares as part of the highly anticipated $25 million Downtown Streetscape Project next year.

Also Monday, the Wheeling Planning Commission held a public hearing for a request for a special use permit for property at 88 14th St. Kate Marshall of HOH Share Inc. explained the building will be used as a community center-type of space. The Mother Jones Center for Resilient Community and Bill Hogan Gallery, Gift Shop and Art Studio are expected to host public programming once the COVID-19 pandemic allows. Commissioners heard no opposition during the public hearing and approved the permit.