Early Notice and Public Review of a Proposed
Activity in a 100-Year Floodplain, Ohio County
To: All interested Agencies, Groups, and Individuals
This is to give notice that the City of Wheeling has determined that the following proposed action under a Community Planning and Development Grant [HUD grant number: B-24-CP-WV-239] is located in the FEMA designated 100-year floodplain, and the City of Wheeling will be identifying and evaluating practicable alternatives to locating the action within the floodplain and the potential impacts on the floodplain from the proposed action, as required by Executive Order 11988, as amended by Executive Order 13690, in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR 55.20 in Subpart C Procedures for Making Determinations on Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands. The proposed project location is at 949 Main Street, in the city of Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia. The extent of the FFRMS floodplain was determined using the freeboard value approach, as the project is determined to be a critical action within a Special Flood Hazard Area (FEMA map panel #54069C0053D, effective 07/17/2006).
Proposed Action
The Wheeling Gateway Center Project includes the development of a new visitors center to provide a welcoming destination for visitors and locals to enjoy Wheeling’s heritage and natural beauty while supporting the rejuvenation and revitalization of the entire region. The Project will include a restaurant, office space, and associated infrastructure in the heart of downtown Wheeling along the Ohio Riverfront. The Project would be constructed on a vacant lot that was the former site of the Knights Inn hotel which blocked views of the Historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge. The Knights Inn hotel and parking area were previously removed with State of West Virginia resources. The proposed heritage center building footprint would be 8,425 square feet and the retaining wall and patio would occupy an additional 5,035 square feet, with a total built area of 13,460 square feet. The average depth of excavation for the building would be 16 feet below the grade, at street level. Depth of excavation for the site retaining walls would vary across the site, as would retaining wall height which could reach up to 20 feet tall in some areas. The composition of the walls would include large scale engineered blocks with drainage and reinforcing systems. In addition to the building, extensive landscape and hardscape would be constructed, including fourteen (14) parking spaces – two (2) of which would be ADA-compliant – with access to Main Street; walkways connecting the Visitors Center to Main Street as well as the plaza and the Wheeling Heritage Trail; an ADA-compliant vertical circulation element (an elevator tower with external stairs); extensive landscaping, and exterior lighting.
According to flood insurance rate maps from FEMA’s Map Service Center, 100-year floodplain (Zone AE floodplain) occurs along the portion of the property adjacent to the Wheeling Heritage Trail, and the project could impact up to 800 square feet in this mapped Zone, to accommodate the footing/base of the vertical circulation element. The project is in a Special Flood Hazard Area (FEMA map panel #54069C0053D, effective 07/17/2006). Existing natural beneficial functions of this floodplain include floodwater storage and conveyance, and habitat for flora and fauna. Existing intrinsic values along the Ohio River and associated floodplain include recreational, educational, scientific, historic, and cultural values.
There are three primary purposes for this notice. First, people who may be affected by activities in floodplain and those who have an interest in the protection of the natural environment should be given an opportunity to express their concerns and provide information about these areas. Commenters are encouraged to offer alternative sites outside of the floodplain, alternative methods to serve the same project purpose, and methods to minimize and mitigate project impacts on the floodplain. Second, an adequate public notice program can be an important public educational tool. The dissemination of information and request for public comment about floodplain can facilitate and enhance Federal efforts to reduce the risks and impacts associated with the occupancy and modification of these special areas. Third, as a matter of fairness, when the Federal government determines it will participate in actions taking place in floodplain, it must inform those who may be put at greater or continued risk.
Written comments must be received by the City of Wheeling at the following address on or before May 23, 2025: City of Wheeling, 1500 Chapline Street, Wheeling, West Virginia, 26003, and (304) 234-3601, Attention: Brenda Delbert, Director of Building and Planning. A full description of the project may also be reviewed from 8:30a.m. to 5:00p.m. at 1500 Chapline Street, Wheeling, West Virginia, 26003 and online at
https://wheelinggateway.
tippingpointdev.com/
Comments may also be submitted via email at
bdelbert@
wheelingwv.gov
INTEL – May 8, 2025