Trending
Amid the orange barrels, missing sidewalks and closed streets, it's at times hard to see the progress happening in downtown Wheeling.
But it's there. And Monday's opening of the Doris on Main apartment complex shows that while the short-term may be difficult, downtown's best days remain ahead.
Situated at the top of Main Street at the northern end of the Central Business District, the Doris on Main, developed by Woda Cooper Companies, replaced a former surface parking lot across from the soon-to-be-demolished eyesore known as the Wheeling Inn with a new brick building that brightens up downtown's primary gateway. Along with the changes coming to the Wheeling Inn property, the renovations to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge and the renovations and new look at The Bridge Tavern and Grill, the new structure has helped take one of downtown's most blighted blocks and give it new life.
"I think it's a unique development to Wheeling," Jeffrey Woda, founder of the Woda Cooper Companies, said of the Doris on Main. "I'm not sure there's anything else of this size that's been placed in service in the last few decades."
He's right. Downtown has seen very little new construction over the past four decades. But with the Doris, The Health Plan, a new parking garage and the new Ohio Valley Community Federal Credit Union, that's changing.
"To me, this is a sign of what downtown can be," Mayor Glenn Elliott said. "Downtown living driving first-floor retail -- that's what this project is going to facilitate. It's also a strategic gateway location --now when you get off the (Fort Henry) bridge, your first view is not an empty parking lot that did not look very nice. This is a much more attractive, 'Hey, welcome to Wheeling' look. It's a win-win in so many ways."
Those looking for downtown living have taken notice. The apartments at the Doris all are market-rate, and are filling quickly. The first tenants are set to move in at the end of next week.
"We're moving very quickly -- a lot will happen in the next week and a half," Erica Green, property manager at The Doris, said. "With the construction out there -- I think it does make it a little confusing about whether or not we're quite ready to go. We're really excited to let everyone know that we are."
That's excellent news for Wheeling and downtown in particular. While the struggle for many businesses will remain over the next 18 months, at least for now let's celebrate an exciting new project that will help bring more people to the Central Business District.