photo by: Derek Redd

The Wheeling Gateway Project’s proposed visitors center would be built on the land where the old Wheeling Inn now stands.

WHEELING — A developer and site manager — Tipping Point of Youngstown, Ohio, — has been hired to oversee the multimillion-dollar Wheeling Gateway Center project.

The Wheeling National Heritage Area Foundation announced Thursday that it is covering the cost of Tipping Point’s services, $138,000, for about a year. The company will oversee the demolition of the former Wheeling Inn, plans for the new visitors center and more.

The property is owned by the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau, which purchased it from Nalani LLC for $1.7 million.

Scott Schenerlein, executive director of Wheeling Heritage, said a majority of the funding for Tipping Point’s services is coming from the Wheeling National Heritage Area Foundation and the rest will come from a donation from the Mary Paull Riley Foundation.

“This (money) came out of the Wheeling Heritage Area Foundation and that’s where all our donations go and things like that so this is not federally funded,” Schenerlein said.

He said the process of hiring a developer did not have to be bid out because of the lack of public money being used to cover the fee. He added that Wheeling Heritage is already familiar with Tipping Point’s work as it is helping with different projects across the city including the 1400 block of Market Street, the Blue Church in East Wheeling and the Clay School redevelopment proposal.

Jim Ambrose, president of Tipping Point, said his company will also help with the technical aspects of getting the site ready for development.

“Our first order of business is to essentially bid out all the necessary technical reports that will be required to understand what the soil conditions are … because it’s located next to a historic bridge,” Ambrose said, referring to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.

“We want to make sure we get all the appropriate engineering documentation done because that will inform our strategy to be able to take down the existing structure. Then we can prepare it for something new.”

In addition to the building being the new visitors center, the structure may also include some businesses. What those businesses may be remains to be seen. Tipping Point and Wheeling Heritage plan to get ideas from the community, the CVB, Wheeling Heritage, the city of Wheeling and the Regional Economic Development Partnership on what they would like to see there.

Ambrose estimated it would take about a year to get the site studies done and the hotel razed. Asbestos abatement must also be done on the structure.

Ambrose said he did not have an estimate as to how much it will cost to construct the new building; however, an unrelated study by another company in 2021 for just a new CVB put the cost at between $11 million and $15 million for that project.

Schenerlein said the Gateway Project is going to be “transformational” for the city, region and state of West Virginia.

“There is no welcome center coming east or west here into this area. This will serve as a welcome center for all people who visit West Virginia and those coming into the city and the county,” Schenerlein said.

“We’re working very hard to make sure this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create something near the historic Suspension Bridge.

“It should be a beacon for everybody that comes down Interstate 70 to be able to see, and we want it to look good. We want it to be right and what the community wants and what our visitors want.”

The site will also have green space so that it is pedestrian friendly and has gathering places, Ambrose said.

“We’re going to have a really great connection down to Heritage Trail and provide waterfront access,” he said. “I argue that it’s one of the nicest sites in America right now.

“Once we clean it up and take that building down it is going to be a really prime experience.

“We’re not rushing to say what these uses should be beyond the visitors center because it is really important that we carefully plan that because it is so pristine.”

Frank O’Brien, executive director of the Wheeling-Ohio County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said it was important to hire a company like Tipping Point to make sure the project is successful.

“There are a lot of experts who need to be called in to get us through this process. Tipping Point is a company that can do all those things.

“Ultimately final decisions lie with us, but getting through and navigating the scope of such a big project, doing it the right way and the most efficient way and cost-effective way, we thought it was very smart to bring in a professional firm,” he said.

O’Brien said that he personally did not look into hiring any other firms to oversee the project.

“I think the decision was based on the fact that they already have a presence in Wheeling and are doing good work in Wheeling,” he said of Tipping Point.

Ambrose said he plans to open an office in Wheeling, possibly inside the Wheeling Heritage building on Main Street, during his company’s work on the Wheeling Gateway Center project.

O’Brien said many grants and other forms of funding, such as possible federal earmarks, are being sought for the project, and what is awarded will likely determine the scope and size of the project.

“We’re optimistic that we have a good project that will generate the interest from those funding entities,” he said. “If we can get between $11 million and $15 million we will have a beautiful site.

“It will be something that not only Wheeling residents will be proud of, but we can be proud to showcase Wheeling to the visitors and the 100,000 people that drive by every day.”