Dominic Works of Wheeling enjoys a raspberry ice cream cone to beat the summer heat at Wheeling’s Centre Market. New outdoor seating and other furniture were recently installed as part of ongoing renovations to the historic shopping centre in downtown Wheeling. (Photos by Eric Ayres)
WHEELING – Thanks to federal pandemic relief funds from the city’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds, several upgrades are underway at Wheeling’s historic Centre Market.
Last fall, the Wheeling City Council passed a resolution authorizing the use of $420,000 in ARPA funds for improvements to Center Market. The ARPA grant was awarded by the council after Center Market Manager Brooke Price presented the council’s Finance Committee with a request for a portion of these one-time federal funds for a list of improvements to the facility.
This request was one of the last major grants approved by the City Council late last year, when the city’s ARPA funds were nearly exhausted – the vast majority of the pandemic relief funds had either already been distributed or earmarked for other eligible projects in the community.
Last week, the public had the opportunity to see some of the investments at Centre Market first hand when new furniture was installed in the outdoor areas of the facility.
“We have new benches, new trash cans and new tables and chairs in the patio area,” Price said. “We’ll be getting new bike racks soon.”
The new outdoor furniture is all coordinated and ensures a uniform look in black metal.
In June of this year, the City Council awarded the contract to install the new outdoor furniture at Centre Market to Indhoff of Wheeling, which submitted the lowest and most responsive bid for the job at $46,775.
New benches, trash receptacles, outdoor tables and more were recently installed at Wheeling’s historic Centre Market, where ongoing improvements are being made with funding from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act. (Photos by Eric Ayres)
Price said there have also been a number of other improvements in the market recently, and there are more to come.
“We just finished installing security cameras in the store and new magnetic lock doors that open and close on a timer,” Price said. “We are currently working on renovating new bathrooms. All four bathrooms will be renovated soon.”
Price noted that the public restrooms in the Lower Market House will be ADA compliant after the upgrades. Currently, the restrooms in the Lower Market House are not fully handicap accessible, as they only have one step at the entrance.
Tenants and customers of Centre Market said last week they appreciated the city’s investment in the historic facility, which remains a popular regional retail center with small businesses, boutiques and unique local restaurants.
“I think it’s great,” said Keith Works of Wheeling, whose family members cooled off with ice cream cones from Centre Market on a hot summer afternoon last week. “I really enjoy coming here. I try to come here every now and then – especially for Coleman’s Fish.”
The new benches, picnic tables and trash receptacles now line the outside of the market houses and the patio area that separates them. The new, uniform black metal benches replaced a row of hand-crafted wooden benches that once lined the Centre Market. Those wooden benches, provided by local craftsman John Warnick of Johnny’s Benches, were removed from their previous locations when the new outdoor furniture arrived, but Price said Centre Market Commission members identified other areas in the Centre Market area where they could be relocated. A row of Johnny’s Benches are still used as outdoor seating outside the surrounding shops and stores in the Centre Market area.
New benches, trash receptacles, outdoor tables and more were recently installed at Wheeling’s historic Centre Market, where ongoing improvements are being made with funding from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act. (Photos by Eric Ayres)
A large portion of the ARPA allocation for Centre Market is to be used as a local match for other funds earmarked for future replacement of the lower market house roof. The city has been granted a congressionally mandated expenditure item of $150,000 for the replacement of the Centre Market roof. A local match is required and $150,000 from the ARPA allocation for Centre Market will be used for this grant.
Officials, however, said those federal funds would cover only about half of what would be needed to completely replace the roof of the sprawling old building.
“We still need to raise money and try to get additional grants for the roof,” Price said. “It’s a historic building and it has a cedar shingle roof, which is significantly more expensive to replace.”
Price noted that the city has already replaced the roof of the upper market house in recent years. According to the Ohio County Public Library’s historical data on the Centre Market buildings, the upper market house was built in 1853 and is the oldest cast iron market house in the country. The lower market house was added in 189. The buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and are the focal point of the larger Centre Market Square Historic District in Wheeling.
New benches, trash receptacles, outdoor tables and more were recently installed at Wheeling’s historic Centre Market, where ongoing improvements are being made with funding from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act. (Photos by Eric Ayres)
