investments; awarded more than $50,000
to projects and small businesses through its
community crowd-funding program, Show
of Hands; helped bring CO.STARTERS,
an entrepreneur training program, to
Wheeling; invested more than $8 million
in the reuse of historic properties; helped
reopen Wheeling’s Capitol Theatre; sup-
ported 1,109 jobs; and generated $86.6
million in economic impact and $6.4
million in tax revenue.
In that same time frame, Wheeling’s
downtown vacancy rate has decreased
from 32 percent to 15 percent, 124 build-
ings have seen improvements, and the
downtown has netted 37 new businesses.
The growth of shopping, dining and art
amenities and the addition of 100 new
multi-family apartments have led to more
people living in downtown Wheeling than
at any other time in its history.
“We have weathered the economic
storm from the reduction of the coal
and steel economies over prior decades,
and now we are in the early stages of a
renaissance,” says Wheeling Mayor Glenn
Elliott. “New businesses are popping up,
and Wheeling natives who moved away
in years past are coming back. We are
being seen as a city with brighter days
ahead, and for the first time in decades,
a sense of optimism is taking root within
the community.”
These incredible initiatives led to
Wheeling being recognized as one of the
best and brightest Main Street communi-
ties in the country in 2019. Every year, the
National Main Street Center recognizes
standout communities that have imple-
mented comprehensive, preservation-based
CONGRATULATIONS,
Steve Hedrick!
From your friends at
26
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
commercial district revitalization plans
with the Great American Main Street
Award (GAMSA).
These communities exemplify the use of
the Main Street approach by revitalizing
traditional downtowns and neighborhood
business districts into thriving destinations
with strong small business communities.
In March at the Main Street Now Con-
ference in Seattle, WA, Wheeling was
named one of three GAMSA winners