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This past Tuesday, as about 100 people gathered on the porch at WesBanco Arena to hear details of the planned JC Lando Hotel on Water Street moving into its next phase, I took a few minutes to marvel over just how much the downtown's waterfront has changed since the late 1990s.
I still recall one of my earliest stories for these newspapers -- a local downtown businessman and property owner who objected to the Wharf parking garage being removed. Water Street then was primarily a mix of commercial businesses. The Wharf garage, which sat on the western end of Water Street, may have been one of the most misplaced buildings in the city's history, highlighting the bland design fads of the 1950s. And few could see beyond what was there to what could be. Heritage Port as it exists today was just a concept. There was no focus on the waterfront as anything more than a nuisance.
How times have changed.
Today, we have a thriving port that showcases the city's waterfront. We have new businesses. The renewed sense of optimism for Wheeling has its origins there. And soon, we'll have the JC Lando.
The hotel, a project of Vol for Life, a nonprofit headed by Wheeling residents Barry and Lisa Allen, will make a major impact once it's built. It will have quite the impact economically on the city, and it also will bolster confidence and pride that positive steps are, indeed, taking place.
Barry Allen has spent the past four years working toward this point, with the last two focused on lining up financing. All that work led to Tuesday, where the $58.7 million project's developer was announced along with its timeline and other details.
Those details? Along with a hotel there will be a restaurant, conference space and more.
During the construction period, the project is expected to generate nearly $88 million in total economic activity, support 465 jobs, provide $28 million in employee compensation and produce $2.8 million in state tax revenue.
Once fully operational, the hotel, its restaurant and its retail components are projected to generate nearly $23 million in annual economic activity, support 187 jobs, provide approximately $7.2 million in employee compensation and generate more than $2.1 million in annual state tax revenue.
The hotel alone is expected to support more than $12 million in annual spending and 87 jobs, while the restaurant is projected to generate more than $9 million in annual spending and 88 jobs. Retail operations are estimated to contribute an additional $1.3 million in annual spending and 12 jobs.
That's a significant impact to Wheeling. This is a project the entire community should be rallying behind.
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What a difference a decade can make.
About this time 10 years ago, reports on the misdeeds and questionable use of diocesan funds by the late bishop Michael J. Bransfield were hitting their crescendo, culminating just a few years later with the 2019 release of the Bransfield Report.
When the Most Rev. Mark Brennan arrived in Wheeling in 2019, he found a faithful shaken after more than a decade of having Bransfield as bishop. Brennan, though, quickly started making a difference, as he brought a true servant's attitude to the posting, which ended earlier this year with his retirement.
The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston's trajectory has changed yet again with the ascension last month of the Most Rev. Evelio Menjivar, who also takes the role of servant seriously, something he showed most directly just weeks into his tenure.
Following the floods in mid-July that destroyed homes and lives in Lewis and Upshur counties, Menjivar did more than just ask for prayers and donations: he got out and worked. He joined the Rev. Doug Ondeck, pastor of St. Patrick Church and School in Weston, to muck out several dozen homes over the course of a few days. He even was seen walking along a home's roof, checking it for damage.
"In 1 Kings 3:7-12, Solomon humbly acknowledges his own limitations and asks God for an understanding heart to lead His people well, and God blesses him with wisdom because he chose service over self-interest," the Diocese wrote. "That same spirit is reflected in what we witnessed in Bishop Evelio ... a shepherd who rolls up his sleeves to help, showing that true wisdom is not measured by authority or title, but by compassion, humility, and a willingness to stand with those who are suffering. Like Solomon, a faithful shepherd leads with a servant's heart, reminding us that God's greatest gifts are revealed through love put into action."
That spirit of serving others first -- that's what we truly are called to do. Menjivar is a most-welcome addition to the diocese.