Upgrades In Store For City-County Building In Wheeling
The exterior of the City-County Building in downtown Wheeling soon will get a new look.
Plans are being discussed to improve the outer facade at the front entrance, according to County Administrator Randy Russell. Visitors can't help but notice the columns on the front portico and how the stone attached to the columns is separating from steel plates underneath.
Ohio County last year received a $100,000 grant from the State Courthouse Facilities Improvement Authority to repair the portico facing Chapline Street, as well as the second portico on the 16th Street side of the building.
The building has been in use since 1960.
"The project out to bid now is for the portico repair," Russell said. "Those are stone panels covering steel panels, and the steel panels have released because of corrosion.
"It may fall at some point, and hopefully nobody will be standing there. We want to take care of it."
When completed, the entrance likely will look different, according to Russell.
"We're trying to locate matching stone panels," he said. "We're also considering redoing it in a decorative metal to give it a more industrial look."
The actual look and design are still being discussed, and haven't been finalized, Russell said. The floors on both porticos were laid about 60 years ago, and Russell described them as "worn and rough."
"We will resurface that and make it a flat service to walk on," he said. "We also will replace the steps."
What won't be changed out as part of the project will be the windows on the City-County Building. Those will be considered as part of a separate project, according to Russell.
Bids to replace the building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning system went out for bid earlier this year.
"The HVAC system is 35 years old," he said. "It is well beyond its useful life, and it continues to fail."
The current system will be left in place until a new system is operational.
Replacement of windows could be a part of the HVAC replacement depending on costs, Russell said. Other improvements could include the installation of LED lighting and lowering the ceilings in the building.