photo by: Eric Ayres

Fencing surrounds the former Ohio Valley Medical Center campus in Center Wheeling. Asbestos abatement and demolition of the buildings is expected to take place over the course of the next 14 months.

WHEELING — Nearly a year to the day after the announcement was made that a new regional cancer center was coming to the former Ohio Valley Medical Center campus, the lease for the property was officially signed, and site work on the multimillion-dollar project that promises to transform Center Wheeling is set to begin.

Officials from WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, West Virginia University Health System, the Ohio County Commission and the city of Wheeling on Tuesday completed a lease and financing transaction. The terms of the lease include financing for the environmental remediation and demolition of the remaining buildings on the former OVMC campus.

Once the lease revenue bonds are paid off by WVU Medicine, the deed to the property will officially be transferred to WVU Medicine for $1, Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said.

Although the term of the lease agreement is technically 30 years, the bond is expected to be repaid in 15 to 20 years.

Community Bank provided “exceptional terms” for financing a portion of the environmental remediation and demolition of the remaining buildings — a sprawling maze of structures that occupy nearly 800,000 square feet of space.

Fencing has been erected around the entire property, and equipment for the demolition has begun to arrive at the site while asbestos abatement inside the seven remaining buildings has been underway.

Herron said Tuesday’s transaction finalizes the deal, officially passing the baton from the city to WVU Medicine, which has now assumed control of the property.

“They’ve got the keys,” Herron said, noting that the city has vacated the property and is stepping aside to allow the hospital to proceed with its plans.

This past summer, the hospital awarded the massive asbestos abatement and demolition contract for the OVMC site to F.R. Beinke Wrecking Inc. of New Jersey for around $6.8 million. Some additional environmental issues, underground tank removal and engineering beyond the scope of the demolition contract have elevated the estimated cost of the project to remove the buildings and prepare the site for construction to just under $8 million, officials said.

The city of Wheeling is contributing $2 million from its Project Fund toward the demolition. Ohio County is also contributing $2 million, and the financing package that was finalized Tuesday will provide the remaining funds — just under $4 million — to WVU Medicine to complete the work.

“For many years, our area was blessed to have two wonderful hospitals in Wheeling Hospital and OVMC,” Herron said on Tuesday. “This project continues the tradition of providing first-class health care from this site. This project is a shining example of the cooperation that exists between the city of Wheeling and the Ohio County Commission. Without the Commission’s support and the financial contribution, this venture would not have been possible.”

Environmental work and demolition is expected to take place at the site over the next 14 months, officials said. Thereafter, the construction of the new regional cancer center is expected to begin. Estimates project an investment by WVU Medicine of between $75 million and more than $90 million.

“This partnership with the city of Wheeling and WVU Medicine will not only help to transform healthcare in our region, but will have a very significant economic impact in Ohio County and the valley as a whole,” Ohio County Commissioner Randy Wharton said. “This project would not have been possible without the vision and commitment of the entities involved, and I couldn’t be happier to see this come to fruition.”

Herron said the city of Wheeling was “truly grateful to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital and WVUHS for their faith in our community and their continued commitment to providing exceptional health care and well-being to our region.” Once the regional cancer center is completed and operational, it is expected to generate 40,000 to 50,000 patient visits per year, serving the region’s cancer treatment needs for many generations to come.

Following the closure of OVMC in September 2019 after many decades of serving the healthcare needs of the Ohio Valley, the city of Wheeling took the unprecedented move to assume ownership of the entire property, with the intention of shepherding the site to a new future.