For six years, the city of Wheeling has owned what arguably are the most unappealing group of downtown buildings, located in the 1400 block of Market Street. But now there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel, as two developers have stepped forward with viable proposals to not only rehabilitate those structures, but reimagine them.

The city partnered with Wheeling Heritage earlier this year to put forth requests for proposals to preservation developers for the properties. Two developers — Desmone Architects of Pittsburgh and TMR/BSG of Rutherford, N.J. — submitted ideas that are now under consideration by city officials.

“These are both very thorough proposals,” Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott said. “Both are very different I would say — one is more focused on a mixed use, with retail and a restaurant, activating some of the space on the first floor with upper floor apartments. In the back area where Tin Pan Alley used to be would be part outdoor decking and part parking.

“The other proposal is much more focused on just filling up every space, including new construction in the back with almost all residential and some office space. It’s a different concept with maximizing every inch on that with residential — I think he packed in 48 units.”

That’s wonderful news, particularly since the existing buildings are quickly deteriorating. If these proposals were to fall through, it’s likely the city would be forced to demolish the site, which would then remove the possibility of a developer utilizing certain tax credits to revitalize the buildings.

City leaders should be commended for keeping these buildings in mind as an integral part of downtown revitalization. These structures have sat largely vacant for too long already, and it’s time to get them back to a productive use.