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Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters Construction Delayed by &build Bankruptcy

WHEELING - The city of Wheeling is taking steps to transfer general contracting duties to another company after PCS &build - the Cleveland-based company that has been in charge of constructing the new $9 million Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters - filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this week.

Work on the construction of the new fire department headquarters in East Wheeling originally was scheduled to be completed at the end of last year. However, problems with the general contractor reportedly created delays in the progress of the work.

This week, work on the $12.5 million Moundsville City Building project came to a halt as well after PCS &build’s bankruptcy filing. The company also was serving as the general contractor on that major local project. The Moundsville City Building project kicked off in September 2022, and the Wheeling Fire Department Headquarter project along 17th Street in East Wheeling had its groundbreaking a month prior in August 2022.

What started off as smooth sailing during the initial phases of the FDHQ project turned very rocky late last year after a number of subcontractors walked off the job because of non-payment issues related to the general contractor. Issues appeared to be ironed out, as work came back into full swing at the job site earlier this year, but city leaders have been on guard since problems arose.

"All payments made by the city to the contractor since work resumed in January have been made to an independent escrow account for distribution, not to this contractor," Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron explained. "Several subcontractors have continued work this week."

Herron indicated that the recent bankruptcy filing will more than likely cause additional delays in getting the fire headquarters completed.

"It’s too early to tell at this point how long," Herron said. "The fire headquarters project is going to be affected by PCS &Build's filing. We had already been working with the surety/bonding company since October. Our architects and engineers are actively working with the bonding company on a transition to another contractor."

The new Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters is designed to be a sprawling 26,860-square-foot state-of-the-art first responder facility. Construction had cruised along at a fast clip through mid-year last year. Prefabricated concrete walls were set into place in April of last year, and ever since the roof was placed on the structure, the vast majority of the work over the past several months has been taking place in the new facility’s interior.

Because of the initial delay stemming from the issue of payment to subcontractors last year, the plan for a smooth transition from the old fire headquarters to the new facility was derailed. The former Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters was located in the lower level of the Center Wheeling Parking Garage. The original plan was for the fire department to move out of the old site and into the new building, then move forward with demolition of the old parking garage.

However, a contract for the garage demolition had been awarded and schedule had been put in place before the delays in the new fire headquarters pushed back the projected opening date. This caused the city to temporarily move personnel and equipment out of the old facility and into other satellite fire stations across the city and into the vacant former police station space in the City-County Building.

Since then, another temporary move was initiated after the city recently acquired the keys to the former U.S. Army Reserve Building in Clator. The city will eventually take ownership of the former military police center and use it for large vehicle maintenance and other purposes. Until the new fire headquarters is completed, Fire Chief Jim Blazier and other administrative personnel, along with various fire apparatuses, are expected to be moved there, temporarily.