photo by: Metro Creative

WHEELING — If developers build new housing in the Ohio Valley, will new residents choose to come live here rather than Pittsburgh or Washington County, Pennsylvania?

A panel of local leaders recently discussed the issue during the annual Economic Outlook Conference organized by the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce. The event took place at the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack.

Participating in the discussion were Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder, Marshall County Administrator Betsy Frohnapfel, Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy and Clara Lehman, a filmmaker and newcomer to the Ohio Valley.

“The single most important issue with expansion in Ohio County is housing,” Magruder said. “We have to take every opportunity to encourage developers to come in and build housing. We need single-family housing.”

Wheeling is awaiting the construction and eventual opening downtown of the WVU Cancer Institute St. Joseph’s Regional Cancer Complex. The project likely will attract high-level health care professionals to the area, he noted.

“We don’t want them to live in Pittsburgh or Washington County, Pennsylvania and commute to Wheeling,” Magruder continued. “We want them to live here.

“I know one of the problems we see with the city is that we’re landlocked, and we don’t have a large tract of land to develop for new housing. But we do have some good neighborhoods with one or two plots of land where one or two houses can be constructed.”

Frohnapfel added Marshall County also faces housing issues, particularly in its outlying areas.

“One of our biggest uphill battles is the developers have a mindset that (land opportunities) have to be seen just miles from an interstate — maybe six, maybe four,” she said. “We can’t get you there in Marshall County — but we can get you to U.S. 250, Route 88, or West Virginia Route 2.

“If you drive out in the rural parts of Marshall County, it doesn’t take you long to see there are some beautiful homes there and a lot of acreage. If we can get the developers to change their mindset a little bit and look at our rural areas more, I don’t think there would be any trouble in selling them.”

There is one housing development in the county off of U.S. 250 where the homes must cost “at least $300,000” each, and they sell quickly, Frohnapfel said

Healy noted Moundsville has the problem of being landlocked.

“You can drive around Moundsville, and you won’t find a lot of multi-lot areas. We have (vacant) lots here and there,” he said. “We are in the process of creating a land re-use agency. That agency will allow us to start to acquire some of these lots.

“We have a strong demolition program. But when you demolish a property, put a lien on the property and the property sits there – the city guys have to go out and cut every couple of weeks and it isn’t doing anyone any good.”

The land re-use agency will attempt to put unused lots “into the hands of somebody who wants to develop them,” according to Healy.

Lehman, a filmmaker who is founder of the Coat of Arms and Country Angel Roads networks, explained she was the “new one” on the panel who relocated to Wheeling after being a native of Helvetia, West Virginia in Randolph County.

“My children go to school here in Wheeling, and that has been a huge factor in making the decision for Wheeling to be my home,” she explained. “Wheeling is going through a renaissance. From an outsider’s perspective, we should be very proud of that – all of you.”

Lehman spoke of attending Wheeling Symphony Orchestra events at the Capitol Theatre, and enjoying time at Oglebay Park Resort prior to her move to Wheeling.

“There are so many riches you have here anchored between history and novelty,” she said. “Don’t lose sight of that. My generation and others want that story. They want that grit. But we also want the best coffee — the best parks and music, and laughter.”