Still in high gear
Shoppers head for the entrance to Cabela’s, the anchor store at The Highlands in Wheeling, W.Va.
Workers begin construction of one of the elevators in the new complex at The Highlands in Wheeling, W.Va.
A view of the construction area that will include a big-box store, hotel and convention center at The Highlands in Wheeling, W.Va.
A view of the construction area that will include a big-box store, hotel and convention center at The Highlands in Wheeling, W.Va.
Shopping at The Highlands has been more than a fling for Theresa Porter.
“I love it,” she said, beaming as she lugged a purchase. “They have a large variety of stores and a wide range of restaurants. I’m here probably two times a week.”
Her car likely could navigate the 12-mile commute from her Beech Bottom, W.Va., home on its own. Porter has been a patron of the massive multi-use complex since it launched in 2004, and revels in all it has to offer. She also laments two things it doesn’t: the oft-discussed water park that hasn’t materialized and the lack of what she terms a “romantic” restaurant.
“You have to drive to Kennywood or Cedar Point. There’s nothing close,” she said of the former. “And there’s no really nice place to eat that’s romantic, with real tablecloths and napkins. There’s no place in Wheeling, either. If you want a place with a little ambiance and style, you won’t find it here.”
You can find just about anything else, though, and more is en route.
The Highlands, high on a hill and seemingly as wide as the panhandle, is in an expansion mode again. Construction is well under way on a Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Extended Stay hotel, behind Cheddar’s Casual Cafe, and on a building that will house seven tenants, including Five Guys Burgers and Fries. A late summer opening is targeted for both.
Farther down Cabela Drive, construction of a 96-room hotel and conference center has begun in the western end of the 1,000-acre property, off Interstate 70 and a tad east of Triadelphia, W.Va. And land nearby is being prepared for the most intriguing, and ambitious, of the new projects: a 200,000-square-foot structure that will house an unnamed big-box retailer – which will be more like a gargantuan-box retailer.
Outdoors giant Cabela’s, the signature tenant since the beginning, has a mere 176,000.
There are more than 1 million square feet of retail space in this complex. That new tenant will push it toward 2 million … and counting, for there are plenty of wide-open expanses prime for development.
Like most 11-year-olds, The Highlands is growing, maturing and filling out. It is a prime attraction for Ohio Valley residents in West Virginia and Ohio, and a popular destination for Washington Countians despite a retail/restaurant boom in their region. Pittsburghers aren’t as plentiful, but they’re less than a hour away and frequently stop while wheeling toward Wheeling, seven miles to the west.
Even if there isn’t a water park or restaurant with boundless ambiance.
Randy Wharton has been involved with the project since its inception, when “Cabela’s cut the ribbon in August 2004.”
He is an Ohio County commissioner and president of its offshoot, the Ohio County Redevelopment Authority – owner, developer and manager of The Highlands.
“We are proud of this,” he said. “It’s evolved over the years and is not primarily retail, like so many other places. We’ve been lucky to diversify the site, so we feel it’s kind of recession-proof.”
That diversity includes retailers and restaurants, plus auto dealerships, cinemas and a branch campus of West Liberty University. (For a list, visit http://www.the-highlands.com/store-directory.html.)
Wharton said there are 80-plus tenants “pushing 4,000 employees with a payroll pushing $80 million a year.” He added about 650 of the 1,000 acres are “developable.”
Development of The Highlands has spawned hotel construction, within the complex and elsewhere in the Triadelphia area. The one being built in the western end will be a Marriott product that will be connected to the West Liberty campus space, at the back of a building off Cabela Drive. The target for completion is mid- to late summer.
A conference center, with 4,100 square feet, will be adjacent to the hotel. A 15.5-acre tract, slightly to the south, is the future home of that anonymous big-box tenant. Wharton said there is agreement to build, but cannot reveal the identity.
He said the retailer has to finalize the design, which would be followed by a 90-day permitting period. Then, if all goes well, the property would be made pad-ready.
“We hope to deliver that to (the retailer) by early fall,” Wharton said.
The indoor/outdoor water park? He said that project, called Wild Escape, was discussed years ago but is not on the radar for now.
Life at The Highlands suits Sara Sweeney. She is campus manager of West Liberty University Highlands Center, which offers undergraduate and graduate courses to about 400 students each semester. It is undergoing renovations.
Sweeney lives in Washington, virtually equidistant from her job and that of her husband’s in downtown Pittsburgh, and doesn’t mind the commute. She is equally comfortable with her professional surroundings, and not only because she grew up in a family that owned an excavation company in eastern Pennsylvania.
“I feel like there is always something new here, or they’re getting ready for something new,” she said. “There are a lot of restaurant choices and a lot of events here on weekends, especially during the summer.”
Kollin Melko comes to The Highlands less frequently than Sweeney, but is no less devoted. He has been shopping there for five or six years and favors Staples, Target and Logan’s Roadhouse. But he is most passionate about Cabela’s, where he had just been.
“It’s always busy here,” said the Martins Ferry, Ohio, outdoors aficionado. “They have everything – RVs, ATVs, dune buggies, canoes … stuffed animals that show kids what the animals really look like.”
There are BB guns, as well. Melko said his son is learning to shoot, and he plans to buy a BB gun for the youngster’s ninth birthday.
Megan, who declined to give her last name, also was leaving Cabela’s. She likewise lives in Martins Ferry and said she comes to the complex about once a week.
“The three of us will probably eat, see a movie, go to a pet store,” Megan said as she and her young son waited to be picked up. “This entertains us for the day.”
The three also are Cabela’s fans. “It’s a good place. They have toys for all kids, including my son and husband.”
The Highlands has a lot of toys for a lot of tastes, with more to come.