The former Clay School building has sat vacant in East Wheeling since closing its doors as a public school building in the 1990s. The property is owned by the city of Wheeling today, and city leaders are expected to decide the fate of the building in the coming weeks. (File Photo by Eric Ayres)

WHEELING – Officials in the city of Wheeling are expected to soon decide the fate of the sprawling former Clay School building in East Wheeling.

This week, members of Wheeling City Council voted to approve an ordinance authorizing expenditure of $125,375 with Montrose Environmental of Wheeling for professional environmental services for Clay School.

The city had hired consulting firm Tipping Point to gather community input and develop options for the future of the property – whether that would be renovating and repurposing the current building or demolishing it and rebuilding on the site.

Surveys revealed a 50-50 split from the community when asked whether the Clay School should be razed or repurposed. In light of that result – which reportedly was reaffirmed several times – the cost analyses for all options presented are expected to be the key considerations when moving forward with plans for the site.

Asbestos needs to be abated from the 75,000-square-foot property regardless of the property’s future. However, Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron noted that the manner in which the asbestos is removed and the costs associated with that work hinge on the fate of the building.

“It would be extremely helpful if we received direction from city council as to what ultimately they’d like to do with the Clay School,” Herron told city leaders this week. “There’s two ways to remediate – one where the building is going to be reused, which is a lot more careful and more expensive. But if the building is going to be demolished, that changes the way the asbestos is removed, and it makes it a little bit less expensive.”

Four different scenarios were presented last summer to Wheeling City Council by Jim Ambrose of Tipping Point regarding potential avenues toward the future of the Clay School property. Cost estimates ranged from $13.7 million for demolition and “financially feasible” repurposing of the site to $24.5 million for a private ownership with medical and wellness facilities on the upper floor and a new city-operated Nelson Jordan Center for indoor recreation on the first floor.

Each scenario presented included public subsidy estimates that could help fill the gap between final project costs and any available financial assistance that may be available. Despite the lack of architectural value, the Clay School building is a historic property.

The former Clay School building has sat vacant in East Wheeling since closing its doors as a public school building in the 1990s. The property is owned by the city of Wheeling today, and city leaders are expected to decide the fate of the building in the coming weeks. (File Photo by Eric Ayres)

The Clay School first opened more than 80 years ago and operated for decades as part of the city’s public school system before closing its doors in the 1990s. Several attempts by private investors had been made to bring a new life to the sprawling structure along 15th Street, but no ventures to redevelop the property ever took root.

In December of 2021, the city of Wheeling acquired the structure.

Grant funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the West Virginia Environmental Protection Agency has been obtained for environmental remediation and potential demolition, and the city manager encouraged city council members to make a decision about the site before the contracted work begins.

“Either way works – we have funding for either way,” Herron said about the raze or refurbish options when it comes to asbestos abatement. “But it would be helpful if we could, through city council, could give guidance not only to the community but also to this consultant in specing out the remediation.

“We do have a $500,000 Brownfield grant from the U.S. EPA for that remediation, and the state DLAP program (West Virginia EPA Dilapidated Properties Program) has stated that if city council chooses to demolish the building, funding would be available to a certain extent – which we believe would be enough to cover the demolition through the state to actually demolish the building.”

Herron said this is something that members of Wheeling Council should consider over the course of the next 30 days to six weeks in order to provide direction to the environmental remediation contractor.