photo by: Eric Ayres

Wheeling Councilwoman Connie Cain, left, chair of the Health and Recreation Committee of Council, and City Manager Robert Herron appear at a meeting to discuss the status of the Clay School property in East Wheeling.

WHEELING — With the temporary freeze on federal grant funding rescinded this week, work on remediation at the former Clay School building in East Wheeling is slated to resume as planned.

While Wheeling City Council still needs to vote on any action on the old school building, all signs are pointing toward the demolition of the structure to make room for future redevelopment.

The city received a Brownfields grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for asbestos remediation at the site. Representatives from Environmental Standards Inc. were scheduled to be on site this week when the project was abruptly put on hold after the White House issued a freeze on federal grant and loan programs.

Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said this remediation work at the Clay School was the one major project that had to be stopped because of the budget freeze, which was rescinded on Wednesday in the wake of nationwide confusion over the action, along with a myriad of legal threats.

The Clay School is reportedly full of asbestos, according to surveys performed for the building in recent years. Environmental issues will be addressed regardless of whether the building is preserved or razed. However, the city manager noted there were two different approaches to the remediation work that were dependent on whether a structure was being revitalized or torn down.

Most council members have signaled a desire to have the building demolished and to find funding to rebuild a new indoor recreation facility at the site.

Last month, members of the Finance Committee of Wheeling City Council recommended demolition of the vacant school building. Members of the Health and Recreation Committee of Council met earlier this month to discuss the future of the property and also voted to recommend demolition to the full council.

“We’ve had a couple of studies done for the Clay School – one by Tipping Point and one by SGA (Stromberg Garrigan & Associates, Inc.), which was funded through the U.S. EPA,” Herron reported. “Based on the recommendation of the Finance Committee a couple of weeks ago regarding demolition of the structure, we did use as an example from the EPA study that was done by Stromberg Garrigan & Associates … they came up with an idea – a very preliminary concept – of what the building could look like at that site if the current building were demolished and a new recreation center was constructed. Again, this is just an example of what could fit on that site in the event that council makes a final decision to demolish it.”

Herron said SGA has done quite a bit of work on local projects and is currently spearheading the design for the Robrecht Waterfront Park at the mouth of Wheeling Creek along the Ohio River.

Earlier this month, the city manager and Wheeling Development Director Nancy Prager met with officials from Environmental Standards, the company selected for the remediation, for a meeting regarding the scope of the project. Their on-site work had been slightly delayed because of the stretch of extremely cold weather in previous weeks, but were slated to be on the property this week.

“They will be looking at a project scope and schedule that revolves around remediating the site based on demolition,” Herron said, noting that this approach could change if the full city council elects to go in a different direction. “In addition to that, the city has put together a request for qualifications for engineering services associated with demolition of the building.”

If officials decide to demolish the structure, they must consider the fact that homes on the neighboring hillside adjacent to the property in the back will be impacted.

“Engineering qualifications and proposals for the specification of demolition are taking into account that the building is serving as a retaining wall, and that we need to take that into account in demolishing the structure,” Herron said. “Those proposals due Feb. 21.”

Herron said the city has received tentative approval of funds for the demolition of the Clay School building through the W.Va. EPA’s D-LAP ((Reclamation of Abandoned and Dilapidated Properties) program. The city manager said he anticipated a proposed schedule could be in place next month regarding the next steps ahead.

Not only will city council ultimately vote on demolition of the property, it will also need to make a decision in the future about what kind of building will be constructed on the site, what facilities and programs such a building will house, what the size of the structure will be, what funding will go toward the project and other components of its redevelopment.

Herron said putting together a funding package to redevelop the site will be similar to the method used to pull funds together for the proposed Wheeling Gateway Visitors and Heritage Center at the former Wheeling Inn property.

“We would approach interested foundations, we would look at maybe some Congressionally Directed Spending and different types of grants that would be available to assemble the capital that would be necessary for a project,” Herron said. “But at this point, we don’t have that.”

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. Tipping Point spearheaded a study two years ago that garnered community input about the future of the Clay School property. Half of the people who participated in surveys voiced a desire to see the building renovated and repurposed, and the other half expressed a desire to see the building razed and a new building constructed there.

Tipping Point provided multiple options and cost models based on different scenarios ranging from renovation to demolition and new construction. All approaches were expected to be eligible for a variety of different funding possibilities, and all were estimated to cost several million dollars to complete. Officials have indicated that razing the building and constructing a new facility at the site within the parameters of available funds will likely be the most feasible and fiscally sound approach to redeveloping the property.