Officials Detail Planned Improvements at Oglebay’s Wilson Lodge
City Helps Wheeling Park Commission With $20M Bond Issue for Renovations
Photo by Eric Ayres Trending
WHEELING - The city of Wheeling this week approved the issuance of $20 million in revenue bonds to assist the Wheeling Park Commission with the next round of major renovations at Oglebay Park.
Officials from the Wheeling Park Commission attended a public hearing before Wheeling City Council this week to explain the plans for improvements and renovations to portions of Wilson Lodge.
"It’s a very exciting project for us," said Bob Peckenpaugh, president and CEO of the Wheeling Park Commission. "This is kind of the last area of the lodge at Oglebay that really needed this facelift."
Peckenpaugh noted that much of the planned renovations involve improvements to the area of the Byrd Wing of Wilson Lodge, the indoor pool and outdoor courtyard area.
Rooms in the Byrd Wing will be renovated, and since they are slightly smaller than some of the other rooms at the lodge, some improved outdoor areas will give guests more space to enjoy.
"One of the fun things that we get to do with this particular renovation is get a little bit creative," Peckenpaugh explained. "We have 12 rooms on the courtyard that overlooks the area where the indoor swimming pool is. Those 12 rooms all have a cement pad outside."
Those pads will be replaced with new outdoor living room spaces, complete with chairs and a fire pit in between every two rooms.
"We kind of take this one-season space and make it a three-season space where you can go outside and enjoy the outdoors a little bit more," Peckenpaugh explained. "So it’s a fun little addition."
Slides of prototype room designs and conceptual renderings of some of the improvements were shared with city leaders during the public hearing, including images depicting planned renovations to the indoor pool and outdoor areas adjacent to the lodge.
Peckenpaugh said the footprint of the indoor pool will not change, but they will be cleaning up and modernizing that area. Plans also call for the addition of a new outdoor pool that curves and goes inside, as well, complete with seating areas where a grass knoll currently exists.
While children splash in the pools, grown ups will be able to escape to a new adult outdoor lounge area, Peckenpaugh noted. An outdoor area is being repurposed to include a waterway in the middle, a waterfall area and a tranquil place for adults to relax.
Lastly, the arcade area at the lodge will undergo a significant refresh, Peckenpaugh said. A number of improvements to safety features will also be included in the upgraded area.
Attorney James Gardill, representing the Wheeling Park Commission, noted that the city’s assistance with securing the funding for these improvements will not burden the taxpayers of the city at all.
"These are not obligations of the city of Wheeling," Gardill said. "They are not paid through tax revenue of the city. They are solely secured by net revenues of the parks. So it doesn’t use any taxpayer money to support these projects."
Officials have noted that the Wheeling Park Commission cannot borrow money but it can pledge revenue, and the commission has partnered with the city in the past to help secure financing for major renovation and improvement projects at the parks.
Last year, the city helped the Wheeling Park Commission with the issuance of $12 million in bonds, which helped fund improvements to the Lakeside Wing at Wilson Lodge, revamp the arrival area of the Good Zoo at Oglebay and help launch the construction of the Base Camp Villas and Lion Habitat that is coming to the zoo.
Gardill said the 2026 bond issue will be allocated in two tranches - a series for $9.8 million that would carry tax-exempt interest and another series of $10.2 million for a total of $20 million. The debt will be spread over a 20-year-period.
Members of Wheeling City Council on hand during their regular meeting this week voted unanimously to approve the 2026 Oglebay Park Improvement Revenue Bonds.
"Just to emphasize - no taxpayer money, no obligation from the city - we’re not giving you $20 million," Councilman Dave Palmer, chairman of the Finance Committee of Council, said to the Wheeling Park Commission officials, reiterating to the public that the city is simply helping the park officials secure funds for these improvements and is not taking on any related debt. "You’re responsible for the repayment. I want to make that perfectly clear. That’s what I want to stress."