A school building that's sat quiet in the middle of Weirton's Marland Heights neighborhood has a new plan for its future, and it involves a dozen apartments.
The city's Zoning Board of Appeals has approved a proposal from local resident Jesse Krieg to convert the former Marland Heights school into a 12-unit apartment building, WTOV reported Oct. 16.
The request appears on the board's agenda for its Oct. 6 meeting. It's listed as a request for conditional-use approval "to redevelop a closed school into a 12-unit apartment building at 3900 Bright Way," identified as Tax Map W42R, Parcel 405. (The city's agenda spells the applicant's last name Krieg. The TV station's report spells it Kreig.)
Weirton Mayor Dean Harris told WTOV he's proud of how Krieg has maintained the property and excited to see the old school put back to use in the center of Marland Heights.
He framed the project as a way to get housing moving in more than one direction.
"It's going to be important for that type of housing in the area," Harris said. "You know if you can get to 12 people that own homes that want to just downsize and move into apartments. That opens those homes for future buyers in the area."
That's a point worth chewing on. A 12-unit building won't change the regional market by itself. But apartments aimed at longtime homeowners who want to downsize can free up existing houses. Those houses tend to need updating when they change hands, which means more work for remodelers.
Still early
Nobody should expect dumpsters on Bright Way right away. Harris described the project as being in the planning stages, and WTOV reported there is no set date for when construction will begin.
"Really it's in the planning stages," Harris said. "He's going through his due diligence as far as getting all the permitting and everything. And once that's done, then I think that he'll bring in and he'll look at contractors and come in and engineer it and it's going to be a nice facility."
That quote is about as clear a signal as contractors get this early. By the mayor's account, the owner hasn't brought on contractors yet. Engineering and permitting come first, and then the owner plans to look at builders.
The approval covers land use: whether apartments can go in that building at that spot. It isn't a building permit. Turning a school into homes typically brings its own list of hurdles. Older school buildings often need hazardous-materials surveys before demolition starts. Converting classrooms into apartments usually means new fire separations between units, updated egress, plumbing for kitchens and bathrooms in each unit, and new mechanical and electrical systems sized for residential use. None of the public reports detail the design or the budget for this project, so the specifics will come out as plans move through the city.
Neither WTOV nor the city agenda gave an estimated cost, a unit mix or a timeline. Contractors interested in the job should watch for building permit filings at 3900 Bright Way rather than count on a bid date.
The Weirton approval follows a familiar sequence. A local owner holds a building that's no longer used as a school, the mayor and neighbors would like to see it back in use, and the city has signed off on the use. The construction questions come last.
Why it matters for Contractors
Projects like this one start as a zoning item and only later turn into a bid package. Contractors who follow local zoning and planning agendas, not just bid boards, hear about them first. In Weirton, the mayor has said in plain terms that the owner will be looking at contractors once permitting and engineering are done.
For small and mid-sized firms in the Northern Panhandle, a 12-unit school conversion is the right size. It's big enough to matter and small enough that a local contractor with renovation experience can compete. Knowing the building, getting to know the owner early and being ready to price a conversion with unknowns behind the walls is how local firms land work like this.
It's also worth keeping the mayor's downsizing argument in mind. If the apartments fill with longtime Marland Heights homeowners, the houses they leave behind will come onto the market. Older homes that change hands often get new kitchens, baths, roofs or systems for their next owners, and that's steady work for remodelers and specialty trades around Weirton.