WHEELING, W.Va. — Wheeling Heritage is celebrating a major preservation milestone after completing the first round of its Wheeling Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program, an initiative aimed at restoring historic buildings and strengthening neighborhoods across the city.
The announcement comes during National Historic Preservation Month and highlights years of work focused on preserving Wheeling’s historic character while encouraging new economic development downtown and throughout surrounding neighborhoods.
In 2021, Wheeling Heritage received a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant through the National Park Service and Department of the Interior to launch the program. The funding was designed to support redevelopment projects involving historic commercial properties and catalytic neighborhood revitalization efforts.
During the first round of funding, more than $712,000 was awarded to projects across Wheeling. Recipients included the 1400 Block, Waterfront Hall, Smart Centre, Bridge Tavern, Vigilant Books and Coffee, the former Kepner Building, and several other historic properties undergoing restoration and redevelopment.
Wheeling Heritage Executive Director Scott Schenerlein said preservation projects often face major financial hurdles, making the grant program critical to continued progress.
“This grant has been instrumental in helping continue the work of keeping our historic neighborhoods and our downtown moving forward,” Schenerlein said. “We are grateful to the National Park Service for selecting us not once, but twice.”
Because of the success of the first phase, Wheeling Heritage later received additional National Park Service support in 2023 for a second round of preservation subgrants. Officials say those projects are now actively underway following a competitive review and selection process.
Historic preservation remains one of the core pillars of Wheeling Heritage’s mission as the organization continues working to revitalize the city through preservation, arts, and community development initiatives.
For more information, visit Wheeling Heritage
