West Liberty University Students Tour Historic East Wheeling

WHEELING -- West Liberty University students recently toured the East Wheeling neighborhood to learn more about its historic architecture and the use of historic tax credits there.

Robert Kruse, professor of geography in the College of Liberal and Creative Arts, led his geography and planning students on a walking tour of the neighborhood to see firsthand the historic buildings there.

Afterward they visited with Betsy Sweeny, a historic preservationist with Wheeling Heritage Area Corp., at her office to talk about what they learned on the tour and how their classwork applies to real life.

"A lot of the discussion centered around the concepts they're talking about in class," Sweeny said, adding some of the topics include urban renewal, gentrification and red-lining.

Sweeny said historic tax credits are a great tool for a person trying to renovate a very old house. She knows firsthand how important the tax credits can be, as she is working on renovating an East Wheeling house from 1892.

In historic districts like East Wheeling, much of the housing stock is old and large and expensive to fix if in disrepair. In West Virginia, residential homeowners can receive a 20% historic tax credit to help them fix their properties.

"The housing stock outnumbers the people and tax credits are an incentive that make rehabilitation more feasible," Sweeny said.

She said for commercial properties the state offers a 25% tax credit that can be coupled with a 20% federal tax credit. However, she noted there is no longer a federal historic tax credit available for residential properties.

Sweeny owns and is renovating her own historic home in East Wheeling, a project that has involved rehabilitating what she describes as a formerly abandoned house. The major portions of her project, such as new plumbing, electrical and structural work, took about 18 months to complete.

She got to move in this past Christmas and is now working on installing a kitchen and other projects. Sweeny documented the beginning of her journey with a video posted online titled "Renovating a House from 1892."

Sweeny said since posting that video and starting work at Wheeling Heritage she has noticed a swell of interest in Wheeling's historic buildings, with many people calling her to ask what is available to buy in the city.

"In the last year and a half there has been so much attention on my house and with the pandemic people are interested in relocating. It's like a completely different job," she said.

Kruse has been a professor at WLU since 2005 and believes such field trips are an important part of learning.

"I am grateful to Betsy for taking time to share her professional experience and knowledge with these students who are all majors in geography and planning. She is an historic preservation expert and was able to explain why these tax credits matter in the urban setting," he said.

Students who participated in the tour included Woody Hughes, Justin Schrack, Janell Loh and Ashliegh Strickland.