Friends of Wheeling Continue to Highlight Historic Preservation
Photo by Eric Ayres Trending
WHEELING - Officials with the Friends of Wheeling continued their effort to shed light on the benefits of historic preservation and to encourage city leaders to support measures promoting investments toward rehabbing existing properties in town.
This month, Steve Suhler, treasurer for Friends of Wheeling, was joined by other officers with the local historic preservation organization and spoke before Wheeling City Council to highlight a preservation win in the city - bringing another historic building back to life.
"My purpose for being here is to highlight the value that preserving and rehabilitating existing properties have in contributing to the greater Wheeling community," Suhler told city officials. "An example of taking what once was an eyesore to being an asset to Wheeling is the property situated at 1069 Main St. The first Wheeling city directory listing that shows a business at this street address was in 1874, when boots and shoes were sold there."
Over the years, the building has been home to numerous businesses, Suhler noted. The businesses once at this Main Street location over the decades vary wildly, such as a dry goods store, a tropical fish store, and a chiropractor on the second floor.
Tom’s Pizza was the last business in the building. It closed in the 1990s.
The city of Wheeling acquired this property in 2005 and sold it to its existing owners - Bekah Karelis and Sarel Venter. They bought it in 2016.
"With over 10 years of hard work, it is now rehabbed and is ready for a new tenant to occupy in this prime location," Suhler said. "Improvements have included rebuilding the building’s four-story rear section, a new roof, rebuilding and reinforcing the front oriel window and rebuilding the storefront to a period-appropriate style."
Additionally, all of the windows were restored and front and back decks were added to the third story," Suhler noted.
"This property was one of the first that was able to take advantage of the Friends of Wheeling Loan Guarantee Program, through which property owners can borrow money at substantially lower than market interest rates," he said. "Thirty other projects have used this loan program since it started in 2013. More information on this loan program can be found at wheelingheritage.org/friendsofwheeling."
Suhler requested members of Wheeling City Council consider two things that he said would help foster rehabilitation projects and the continuance of preservation efforts in the city, which preservationists stress is blessed with a treasure trove of historic structures and unique architecture. He suggested council members review and revise the city’s vacant structure code and consider granting more authority to the Wheeling Historic Landmarks Commission.
Saving pieces of Wheeling’s past is a smart way to invest in the city’s future, Suhler indicated.
"We’d like to preserve these old buildings. We think it brings value," he said. "Lacking new money coming into town to build new buildings, let’s save what we have."