photo by: Photo by Shelley Hanson

Ashley Blumenauer, left, and her mother Ellen Renforth, a resident of North Wheeling, attend an open house for the Wheeling Housing Authority’s new community center on Tuesday.

WHEELING — Four years ago, the Sacred Heart Church — which served as a community center in North Wheeling and office space for the Wheeling Housing Authority — was destroyed by a fire.

On Tuesday, the authority celebrated the completion of a new $1.5 million community center in the same spot.

The 4,500-square-foot building contains a main open space for events and meetings, a kitchen, restrooms, a maintenance room, storage space and an office.

It also has a wheelchair ramp and parking spaces beside it.

The building, located at 99 Main St., was blessed with holy water by the Rev. Paul Mundumoozhikkaranirappel, pastor at Corpus Christi Church in Warwood.

Joyce Wolen, executive director of the Wheeling Housing Authority, said the cost of the new building was covered by the insurance the authority had on the previous building.

“The Wheeling Housing Authority is pleased and excited to again be in the North Wheeling community on a daily basis. We hope this space is a blessing in the community,” she said.

It took a while before the project could begin, as demolition of the former church building first had to be approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Part of the approval, Wolen noted, was proving to HUD that the building actually had been on fire, she noted.

There was no doubt about it on that day. Smoke could be seen from miles around.

Wolen said, starting next week, the new building will be staffed every day. People in the community will also be able to rent the building for gatherings such as parties, bridal showers and more. She noted the community center is an asset that is needed in North Wheeling.

She said the playground connected to the building is going to be refurbished and the grounds around it will be replaced as there are likely still bits of glass and other debris in it from the fire.

“The fire was devastating,” Wolen said. “But we’re happy to have this space for the community.”

Ellen Renforth, a resident of one of the Hope VI homes built by the authority in North Wheeling in 2002, said she was happy to see the new community room completed.

“It’s beautiful. I’m glad to see that they put it here,” Renforth said. “I was a member of the parish. My daughter and her husband were the last to be married at the church.”

Renforth said she was also happy to see a piece of the old church – a light fixture – was salvaged and placed in the new building. The fixture is hanging from the ceiling of the lobby.

Renforth’s daughter, Ashley Blumenauer, also likes the new community room.

“It’s nice,” she said.

Renforth said she has enjoyed living in her house and was one of the first people to purchase a home when the neighborhood was first developed.

Jerry Craig, a Wheeling Housing Authority board member, also was impressed with how the project turned out.

“I think it turned out beautiful. Seeing it from the inside makes it all that much better,” he noted.

Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron and Wheeling City Councilman Dave Palmer both were on hand for the blessing. They were impressed with the new building.

“I look forward to the community using it for years to come,” Palmer said.

Shaeffer & Madama Architects and Engineers oversaw the construction of the building that began last July and Colaianni Construction was the general contractor.