|Photo by Joselyn King| Josh Jefferson, CEO and President of the Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED), left, speaks with Ohio County Commissioner Zach Abraham and Mike Howard, COO of the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce during the "Power of Partnership" Panel discussion Thursday at the Wheeling Artisan Center. The event was hosted by Wheeling Heritage.

WHEELING – A new regional cancer center, a proposed hotel, increased airport activity and recreation and tourism are all factors expected to positively drive Wheeling’s economy over the next decade, according to local leaders.

They indicated there is also going to be a need for new housing.

Wheeling Heritage celebrated 30 years of working with local governments and organizations with a “Power of Partnership” panel discussion Thursday at the Wheeling Artisan Center.

Panelists were asked what changes now happening will most affect Wheeling over the next 10 years.

“There is an excitement in the air in Wheeling that is certainly infectious from our perspective,” said Wheeling City Manager Bob Herron. “We’ve got the regional cancer center that is being constructed (by WVU Medicine).

“And we’ve got downtown living interest that I can tell you is real. It will continue to happen, regardless of what might be happening currently.”

Herron added housing issues throughout the city are going to have to be developed as the city continues on a path toward growth and a want for downtown living. The recent announcement of a hotel construction project at 14th and Water streets shows there also are expected prospects for tourism and doing business in downtown Wheeling, and Centre Market is going to continue to develop, he added.

“We’re excited about what is happening now, but I think over the next few years it’s going to be even more,” Herron said.

The investment and revitalization that is happening locally is important for Wheeling’s future, noted Natalie Hamilton, community development/grants administrator for Belomar Regional Council.

“I think people want to live in a city that has a very vibrant downtown,” she explained. “I think we’re going to see a lot of the large cities in the U.S. becoming too expensive and too stressful for people to live in, and people are going to look for medium- to smaller-size communities.

“We need to attract those people, and I think we do that by providing those amenities you find in big cities and creating a vibrant downtown. There are a lot of people here working to make that happen.”

Josh Jefferson, CEO and president of the Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED), noted the current streetscape project happening in downtown Wheeling is going to have a far reaching impact on Wheeling’s future.

“We’re living it. At the end of the day, we’re seeing it every day,” he said. “The streetscape is being completed, and that’s a big deal. … It’s huge to see that kind of investment.”

He has observed the region is experiencing both public investment and private investment.

“We’re seeing international investments being made in our panhandle – from companies in Turkey, and companies in India,” Jefferson said. “And those people are going to be living here. They are going to be coming here to spend time and see Oglebay and the symphony.

“We are excited. We do feel there is a momentum in the Northern Panhandle.”

Jefferson also alluded to the recent partnership by West Liberty and Marshall universities to bring a flight school to the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport. Among those most pushing for an increased use of the airport is Ohio County Commissioner Zach Abraham.

He said a lot of people are focused on the airport, and the new aviation program is going to be the kickoff to a lot of great things there.

“Quality of life is really important, and we are the perfect size community,” Abraham said. “We have urban (areas), we have suburban areas and we have county living. That’s pretty unique.”

The Wheeling area also is situated along a revamped Interstate 70, and the local infrastructure is now renovated and new, Abraham continued.

He said he was smiling as he walked down the streets of Wheeling on Thursday.

“You can see what it’s going to be,” Abraham said. “We probably haven’t had this much excitement collectively. Everywhere you turn, somebody is excited about something in Wheeling.

“We have to create those opportunities for people to want to come and live here, because people can work from wherever they live – sometimes.”

Housing has to be a focus of local leaders, and so does providing childcare, he continued.

Mike Howard, COO of the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce, told those present the chamber has been working to establish a foundation. Money raised would go toward providing workforce opportunities and leadership development.

The chamber is also looking at establishing a business incubator, and working with the chamber in Chattanooga, Tennessee on how to best make it happen, he added.

“They have pumped out 5,000 viable businesses through their business incubator,” Howard said. “I am going to have to go there, take notes, and bring them back so we can see what we can get going here.”

Frank O’Brien, executive director of the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau, spoke of the CVB’s relationship with Wheeling Heritage, and how it has enabled them to invest in infrastructure.

In addition to a major renovation at the Capitol Theatre overseen by the CVB, the organization is now looking to build a new Wheeling Gateway Center on Main Street next to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.

“As a destination marketing organization for Wheeling and Ohio County … most of our budget, which comes from hotel-motel bed tax, traditionally is spent in marketing this area as a destination location,” O’Brien explained. “However, thanks to the partnerships with Wheeling Heritage, Wheeling, Ohio County and RED, we have been able to reinvest some of those dollars into enhanced tourism infrastructure.

“The Capitol Theatre is a great example of using marketing dollars to create something that will drive people to the downtown area.”

About 65,000 people each year see shows at the Capitol Theatre, and that translates about $3 million to $5 million in local economic impact, according to O’Brien.

Scott Schenerlein, executive director of Wheeling Heritage, spoke of “the importance of partnerships,” and how his organization has worked to build a “culture of trust “during its 30 years.”

“You have to build a culture of trust among all of our partnerships, but also among their people,” he said. “I think that’s something we’ve worked hard to do, and is something that’s going to pay dividends.”