New data suggests demolition for former Clay School in East Wheeling

WHEELING, W.Va. ( WTRF ) – The future of the former Clay School is still up in the air, but there’s a new suggestion on what to do with it.

LINK TO PREVIOUS COVERAGE: What happened to Clay School in Wheeling?

Wheeling hired consultant Jim Ambrose , the president of Tipping Point, to collect data and present research for the best financial option that also meets the diverse needs of the community.

In a local survey of 1100 people conducted by the company Tipping Point , it’s a 50/50 split between keeping the current building or demolishing it to build something new.

The research revealed four solutions for the property: (1) recreational only, (2) recreation and a housing component, (3) recreation and commercial office space, or (4) demolish the current building and create a recreational experience.

The first three solutions listed were focused on private investment and private capital being the owner of the property. The cost of those options fell between $20-25 million. Ambrose says a maximum loan a bank would be willing to invest was $3-4 million.

Private investors looked into the property before the city acquired it back in December of 2021, but no developments followed, according to Ambrose.

“So obviously those first three options create a major financial gap to complete the project in that way. The market conditions are incredibly challenging right now. Even in the first three scenarios, there’s a lot of public subsidy that would still be needed just to be able to pull one of those options off.”

Jim Ambrose | President, Tipping Point

Ambrose says the data suggests the best financial option is the fourth solution: demolish and build a smaller recreational building that would complement the field and playground across the street.

“That survey prioritized some sort of recreational use, ensuring that it was a place that would serve future generations of children for the Greater Wheeling area to have afterschool programs, recreation opportunities, sports, things like that.”

Jim Ambrose | President, Tipping Point

No final decision on the property has been made and Ambrose made it clear his findings are just suggestions based on data.

“We started this, because it’s hard to have your community drive what your development is going to be, especially because that usually leads into costly things. So, I think the goal in this information is to allow everybody to be able to make, you know, very well-informed decisions that not only quantify what experiences people want, what those experiences cost, and then what is the marriage between the two that people can afford without creating a greater burden on either the city or tax moneys to the residents of Wheeling.”

Jim Ambrose | President, Tipping Point

The ultimate decision will be left to city officials based on community input.

Ambrose encourages residents to reach out to Wheeling council members with their opinion on what should happen to the property.

To view more details about Tipping Point’s findings and solutions for the former Clay School property, click or tap here .

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