Plenty of people over the years have offered opinions about what needs done to improve the city of Wheeling. Few of them have turned their words into action. Even fewer have done it at the level of Barry and Lisa Allen.

Earlier this week, the Allens, along with city officials and others, announced a project that will change the landscape of Wheeling both literally and figuratively — a $63 million hotel, dining, retail and event center that will include 122 hotel rooms, eight condominiums and a 2,600-square-foot event center, all overlooking the Ohio River next door to WesBanco Arena.

That will be built where Wheeling Coffee & Spice and National Equipment currently stand.

“This is much more than a hotel, it’s an event place,” Barry Allen told The Intelligencer in the initial announcement. “It’s a place for people to come and experience Wheeling. The waterfront couldn’t be a better place for a hotel to show the beauty of our city.”

The Allens are providing the seed money for this project and already are getting help from the city of Wheeling, which will purchase the five buildings to be torn down for around $2.1 million.

The significance of this project cannot be overstated. Downtown Wheeling has needed an upscale hotel and meeting site for years. It’s the type of building where the effects could trickle down to make Wheeling even more attractive for bigger entertainment acts to perform at WesBanco Arena or the Capitol Theatre. It also will make the city’s popular waterfront area — already a hub of activity with events such as the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend, the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival, Heritage BluesFest and the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta — shine even brighter.

The term “game-changer” gets thrown around plenty these days. There is no more apt example than this project.

Wheeling is transforming right in front of our eyes. The Downtown Streetscape Project is turning turn what were drab and pothole-ridden downtown roadways into eye-catching spaces. Families such as the Carls already are pitching in to beautify the area with their renovation work at The Bridge Tavern. A new Gateway Center is scheduled to go up where the old and dilapidated Wheeling Inn currently stands.

The Allens are casting their lot in that endeavor, “getting on the Wheeling train,” as Barry Allen said. Barry and Lisa Allen, the former president and former CEO and chair of the board of directors of The Ziegenfelder Co., respectively, are longtime community stalwarts whose contributions to Wheeling are many. Their announcement only cements how much they love their hometown.

For Wheeling to become what it needs to be, private investment must lead the way. The Allens are priming the pump with their contributions to this hotel project, and they hope their decision will spur others to join in.

“I want people to be able to take this project and not see the buildings here today, but to see the vision and get excited about what we are planning for the city’s future,” Barry Allen said.

The more people hop on the Wheeling train with the Allens, the tougher it will become to stop that train from barreling forward.