photo by: Eric Ayres

Signage and markings for parking spaces have already been put in place on the existing concrete ramp left behind after the removal of the Center Wheeling Parking Garage.

WHEELING — A portion of the vacant lot left behind as a result of the removal of the Center Wheeling Parking Garage is expected to be used for parking once again– at least temporarily.

During Tuesday night’s meeting of Wheeling City Council, City Manager Robert Herron reported that a need still exists in the Centre Market area for additional parking, particularly long-term parking for employees.

“At the last council meeting, we talked about the potential for development of the site where the former Center Wheeling parking structure was located,” Herron said. “We’re going to move forward with that per the Development Committee’s direction.”

However, talk about redevelopment of the site also prompted the discussion about the immediate need for additional parking in that area, Herron said.

“When the parking structure was torn down, there was a ramp that went from Market Street to Chapline Street that remained, and that was the game plan. So we’ve cleaned that ramp up. We’ve been able to partition it off, and we’re going to open that for monthly parking in the Center Market area.”

The Center Wheeling Parking Garage for decades served patients and employees of Ohio Valley Medical Center until it closed in 2019. The garage was subsequently closed to the public because of structural concerns and in recent years was torn down at the same time the remaining buildings on the OVMC site were demolished.

Herron said the parking on the site will be temporary while the property is marketed for future development.

“It’s going to create about 34 parking spaces, and we hope to have that open by the end of this week or early next week,” he said. “There are some repairs that need to be made to the ramp to that area, but hopefully that will help alleviate some of the parking issues — particularly employee-related parking issues — that are in Center Wheeling right now.”

This lot is not the gravel lot left behind from the main footprint of the former parking structure. It is the concrete ramp that was intentionally left behind, Herron noted.

“The majority remained intact,” he said of the ramp. “It is clearly marked that this is a future development site. It is in good condition and it is available, so we thought we would try to at least help with the parking issues down in Centre Market.”

Herron said there will be monthly parking at a rate of $40 per month.

“We’ve already had inquiries for about half of the spaces,” he said. “I’ve had a number of building owners tell me that their employees were feeding the meters. When the parking structure was there, it had monthly parking.”

Parking for employees will free up on-street parking for patients, Herron said.

The city plans to request proposals from developers who are interested in the now vacant site in the heart of the Centre Market area. Herron noted that proposals that include some public parking will be taken into consideration.

“We want to develop the site, and parking could be part of that development, obviously,” he said.

A portion of the former parking structure site is also being eyed for the construction of a sally port that will be connected to the south side of the new Wheeling Police Department Headquarters, as well as a smaller surface parking area for cruisers and a garage where auxiliary police vehicles can be stored.

In other action on Tuesday night, Herron noted that the ongoing renovation of the City-County Building is expected to reach the first floor during the summer months, which will require some city departments on the lower level of the building to relocate temporarily.

“Right now, the second floor is under construction, but it is nearing completion,” Herron said. “The next floor to be undertaken is here on the first floor, so there are going to be relocations of the Finance Department and the Water and Sewer departments. We don’t know exactly where yet.”

The disruptions will also impact the city council chambers, which will also see a temporary relocation during the summer months and into early fall, likely to courtroom space on the second or fifth floor, Herron noted.

“We will certainly notify the public well in advance,” he said. “But this floor is the next floor to be done, and there are going to be significant disruptions.”