Photo by Eric Ayres - Jeffrey Woda, president of the Woda Cooper Companies Inc., addresses a crowd of dignitaries and company employees Wednesday during a ceremonial groundbreaking for The Doris on Main.

WHEELING — Developer Jeffrey Woda credited his mother for being instrumental in helping him start and grow his company into the successful business it is today. On Wednesday, ground was broken in Wheeling on the Woda Cooper Companies’ latest project – one that will honor her memory.

“My mom was a very driving force in what I’ve achieved in my life,” Woda said during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for a new 46-unit housing complex in downtown Wheeling. “Although she hated the name Doris – she’d always go by Dory or something else – we named it after her. The Doris will now live in perpetuity.”

Doris Ann Ingold Woda died about a year and a half ago, but she had suffered from dementia and Alzheimers for the last decade of her life, her son noted. She was a lifelong businesswoman in the Ohio Valley who worked for many years in Wheeling as the owner of a restaurant in Centre Market known as Dorelli’s. She later helped her son launch Woda Development and Construction, which has grown into the Woda Cooper Companies – a development and property management firm that has invested more than $60 million in the area.

The Doris on Main will be the latest in Woda’s many local housing developments. It will be located at 930 Main St., and construction is expected to be completed by mid-2023.

Woda was joined by local and state dignitaries, company employees and business partners from both the public and private sector that have helped bring this project to life. Woda credited officials in the city of Wheeling, the Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED) and PNC Bank as being key players in bringing this project to fruition in the heart of Downtown Wheeling.

Located at the main entrance to the heart of the city from Interstate 70, the site where the new complex is being built is virtually the first property motorists see when coming into the downtown from the eastbound exit off of the Fort Henry Bridge. For many years, the site was an underutilized city-owned surface parking lot.

At first, the company – which has developed numerous new affordable housing complexes in Wheeling – was not interested in this particular site, Woda said. But the need for housing downtown and the growing momentum toward redevelopment in the area has helped turn a sound investment into a great one, officials indicated.

Photo by Eric Ayres
Local dignitaries participate in a ceremonial groundbreaking for The Doris on Main Wednesday in downtown Wheeling. From left are Cindy Millison of PNC Bank; Mayor Glenn Elliott; Councilmen Dave Palmer and Ty Thorngate; W.Va. Sen. Owens Brown, D-Ohio; Councilman Ben Seidler; U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va.; Vice Mayor Chad Thalman; Josh Jefferson of the Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED); Michael Taylor of PNC Bank; and Jeffrey Woda of the Woda Cooper Companies.

“There is no better site than this,” Woda said. “Bridge Tavern just underwent a very nice rehabilitation, we have readily accessible parking (in the adjacent 10^th Street parking garage). We are really able to put units here and use the site to its fullest benefit.”

Mayor Glenn Elliott said The Doris on Main “checks a lot of boxes” for the city.

“Surface parking lots in a downtown business district are probably the least efficient use of real estate,” Elliott said. “It’s right off the Fort Henry Bridge, where most people come into Wheeling. Seeing an empty parking lot here is not a great ‘hey, welcome to Wheeling’ look. Seeing a brand new building like the ones we see in the drawings here is really going to give the message that Wheeling is a city that’s alive.”

The mayor added that the need for downtown housing is clear, and the rest of town benefits from increased foot traffic and need for other supporting retail commerce with people living there.

“I’ve seen the businesses that used to be located here,” said U.S. Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), who noted he is a seventh-generation resident of Wheeling. “Now we’re seeing that this thing is going to pop back. As you come into town, this is going to be one of the first buildings that’s going to set an impression on people. I’ve seen this town struggle, but now I’m seeing a vibrancy. The amount of investment that is taking place in this town is overwhelming, and it’s a great thing.”

McKinley commended developers like Woda and other visionaries who are willing to take a risk on investments like this.

“This is a vision,” W.Va. Sen. Owens Brown (D-Ohio) said. “Let’s look at this as a rebirth of the city. This is the first time in many years that I’ve seen a project like this in downtown Wheeling for housing. This is a great day for the city of Wheeling.”

Woda in recent years has completed the Boury Lofts and units in the Stone Center, bringing some new residential housing options to downtown Wheeling. There are waiting lists of potential tenants trying to get into those facilities, Woda said, noting that The Doris on Main will target workforce housing needs.

Once completed, the new four-story building will include a total of 46 housing units – 19 one-bedroom apartments, 27 two-bedroom apartments. They will be mobility and disability prepared with accessible entrances and an elevator. The units will include energy efficient appliances, and the building will boast energy efficient utility systems. There will be a fitness center, a coffee lounge and a theater room, as well as a rooftop terrace with a view of the river.

“We think that is really going to be a great amenity for our residence,” Woda said of the terrace.

PNC Bank invested in Opportunity Zone equity finance and served as a lender for the first mortgage, including permanent and construction loans – providing more than $6 million in financing for the development. PCI Design Group served as the architect for the project, which along with the involvement of the city and RED, Woda described as a “true public-private partnership.”

“My family’s history is rooted in the Wheeling area, and I’m excited our company can support the community’s growth and progress with a new, high-quality housing option in the downtown area,” Woda said. “Over the years, Woda Cooper Companies Inc. has invested more than $60 million in housing in the area, which is making an impact in the city’s economic progress. We know that business and jobs will attract workers to a community if there is also adequate quality housing.

“My mother loved Wheeling, and she would be very proud to know that 46 local families will have new, beautiful apartments to call home.”