On Wednesday, February 28, The Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Wheeling,WV) is hosting an in-person event at the Capitol Theatre to share results from the Wheeling Gateway Survey. This community engagement event will give attendees the chance to provide additional feedback through live polling and learn about the latest project updates. The Capitol Theatre, located at 1015 Main Street, will open its doors at 5:30 p.m., followed by the program scheduled from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Complimentary popcorn and refreshments will be available for all attendees.
Initiated in December of 2023, the Wheeling Gateway survey has been one of Wheeling’s most extensive community engagement campaigns in recent history. To date, the survey has garnered more than 4,000 responses and over 100,000 unique interactions. The primary goal of the community engagement process is to ensure that the site is developed to maximize the impactful experience for both locals and visitors alike once the former Wheeling Inn is demolished. The information collected from both the online survey and in-person community engagement gathering will provide the project’s architecture and engineering teams with valuable data that will be used to develop design concepts for the site.
“We as a community have the rare opportunity to create a new vision for the primary gateway into the City of Wheeling. Your voices and ideas will help us build a place to showcase Wheeling’s Historic Suspension Bridge, while embracing a new future for the city’s Main Street,” said Frank O’Brien, Executive Director of Wheeling-Ohio County Convention Visitor’s Bureau.
This event comes after a major award of $2,011,172 by Governor Jim Justice, through the Abandoned Mine Lands Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Program. Gov. Justice held the event at the Grave Creek Mound Historical Complex in Moundsville on February 9, 2024.
The much-anticipated official release of the environmental remediation and demolition bidding process is also expected to be announced as well. Anyone from the community who is interested in being a part of this monumental project is encouraged to attend. The online survey will remain open through February 22 and can be accessed at wheelinggateway.tippingpointdev.com. Learn more about the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau by visiting wheelingcvb.com.