photo by: Eric Ayres

A project to demolish the former Clay School building in East Wheeling is officially out to bid. A bid opening for the major demolition project is scheduled to take place on Feb. 20, with work expected to begin in early spring.

WHEELING — The long-awaited demolition of the former Clay School building in East Wheeling will be taking place in the coming months, as the project to raze the massive facility was put out to bid on Friday.

This past week, Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron told members of city council he was happy to report that demolition is set to take place soon, noting that the project is on track to be under contract by early spring.

“The bid opening for that project will be on Feb. 20,” Herron said. “So we’re moving forward with the Clay School demolition.”

Late last year, work to remove asbestos from the sprawling 75,000-square-foot building took place. Reclaim Company LLC of Fairmont, W.Va., was awarded a $498,000 contract for the abatement work, which was funded through a $123,624 draw from the city’s Restricted Capital Improvement Project (RCIP) fund and a half-million dollar Brownfields grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – a portion of which was also used to fund engineering for the project’s plans.

Officials noted that the abatement work went well and was completed entirely within budget.

The cost of the actual demolition of the former school will be paid through funding from the West Virginia Environmental Protection Agency’s D-LAP (Reclamation and Abandoned and Dilapidated Properties) program.

“We do have West Virginia DEP – Dilapidated Building funds for that project,” Herron said. “So we’re anxious to get that underway.”

The Clay School first opened its doors more than 80 years ago and operated for decades as part of the city’s public school system before closing in the 1990s. Several attempts by private investors had been made to bring a new life to the building along 15th Street in East Wheeling, but no ventures to redevelop the property ever took root.

In December 2021, the city of Wheeling acquired the property. A study about the property’s future was done weighing input from neighborhood residents and community members, including those who worked and attended classes at the Clay School. With the cost to renovate and repurpose the building considered, it was ultimately decided that the building should be razed.

City officials noted that once the site is cleared, work should be underway to assemble a funding package to construct a new indoor recreational facility at the site, which is located adjacent to the outdoor fields of the J.B. Chambers Memorial Recreation complex.

Friday’s advertisement for bids to demolish the hulking vacant building represents a huge step toward the future of this area, city officials noted.

“Today is the beginning of a long overdue project for East Wheeling,” Councilwoman Connie Cain, who represents the Ward 3 neighborhood where the former school is located, said on Friday. “I am so excited to see what the future holds for our community.”