On Wednesday, work is underway to clean up the 1400 block of buildings on Market Street in Wheeling.
WHEELING — Work is underway to clean buildings on the 1400 block of Market Street ahead of their redevelopment by Desmone Architects of Pittsburgh.
An iconic neighborhood business — the Market Street News bookstore and adult video that had operated on the site for decades — officially moved out of the city-owned downtown block of buildings last fall, city officials said. city.
Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott said that after the partnership with Desmone was consolidated, the plan was to allow the bookstore to operate there until contractors were ready to continue work on the site, which have now started.
“There’s no way to do the major rehabilitation of any of these buildings and keep an active tenant in place,” Elliott said. “From our perspective, the adult video store was a great tenant, and we had let them know that we would love to see them stay in Wheeling. Our zoning laws would limit the location of a new adult property, but hopefully we can find a solution in the right situation.
Wheeling City manager Robert Herron said the company leases the space from the city on a monthly basis and at this point they have not moved.
picture by: Photo by Shelley Hanson
Tiles depicting a football player, baseball catcher and basketball player are featured on the front of the former Sportsman Club, one of the buildings being cleaned up in the 1400 block of Market Street this week.
“All of the rent they paid over the several years that we’ve owned this building has been put into a fund that will be used to revitalize these buildings,” Elliott said, noting that this pool of money had accumulated about $70. 000 dollars last time. he saw a total.
In recent months, bricks from the upper level of the building at 1431 Market St. had fallen into the driveway, which the city closed for safety reasons. Officials representing Desmone were aware of the problem and informed city leaders that a plan was in place to secure the exterior of the building as soon as possible.
On Oct. 6, Wheeling City attorney Rosemary Humway-Warmuth sent 30 days’ notice to terminate the monthly lease with Brookline Inc., which did business as Market Street News. In the letter, the attorney noted that the property has been deemed unsafe by the city’s fire department and building code department.
“Due to serious issues with the roof, which after recent stores suffered structural damage, including bricks and mortar falling from the building, the city is concerned for the safety of the public and those inside. structure,” Humway-Warmuth wrote.
The company began leaving the site in October and November, and Desmone contractors have recently started cleaning the buildings.
picture by: Photo by Shelley Hanson
Work vehicles are featured in the alley next to the 1400 block of Market Street buildings in Wheeling. Buildings are cleaned before redevelopment.
Passers-by may have noticed the start of construction this week, seeing people wearing hazmat-style suits walking in and out of buildings.
A site worker said the coveralls were meant to keep employees’ clothes clean and there was no asbestos abatement.
The city purchased 1437, 1433, and 1492 Market St. in 2005 and 1429 Market St. in 2006 with the idea of razing the buildings to make way for new developments. However, after getting an estimate of $350,000 for demolishing the buildings, city leaders decided it would be best to see if anyone would be interested in rehabilitating the buildings.
Businesses that once operated there included the adult novelty and book store Market Street News, the G&G Bar, and the Sportsman Club.
A number of potential developers had put forward plans to revitalize the block’s 1,400 buildings, but none have materialized in the past. City leaders have indicated they believe Desmone’s plan to redevelop the downtown site – which is expected to involve an investment of approximately $7 million – will bring new life to this part of downtown.
picture by: Photo by Shelley Hanson
On Wednesday, work is underway to clean up the 1400 block of buildings on Market Street in Wheeling.
Working with Wheeling Heritage, the city solicited requests for proposals for the redevelopment of the site in 2021. They received three different proposals from three different developers and ultimately decided to go ahead with Desmone’s proposal.
Desmone’s plan for the building includes creating new retail space at the bottom of 1437 Market St. while the first floors of the other buildings would be transformed into a large restaurant with outdoor seating at the back of the building. ‘establishment. Parking would also be located at the rear. Upper floors would most likely be converted to Airbnb units.
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On Wednesday, work is underway to clean up the 1400 block of buildings on Market Street in Wheeling.
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Tiles depicting a football player, baseball catcher and basketball player are featured on the front of the former Sportsman Club, one of the buildings being cleaned up in the 1400 block of Market Street this week.
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![]()
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Work vehicles are featured in the alley next to the 1400 block of Market Street buildings in Wheeling. Buildings are cleaned before redevelopment.
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![]()
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On Wednesday, work is underway to clean up the 1400 block of buildings on Market Street in Wheeling.
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