Work on new Wheeling fire headquarters remains stalled due to contractor bankruptcy | News, Sports, Jobs

A rendering of the new Wheeling Fire Department headquarters currently under construction (Image provided)

WHEELING — Work on the new Wheeling Fire Department headquarters was halted while hearings in the bankruptcy case filed by the project's general contractor, Cleveland-area company PCS &build LLC, were held .

In fact, no general contractor work has occurred at the site of the new Wheeling Fire Department headquarters along 17th Street in East Wheeling since PCS & build filed an application for filed for bankruptcy (Chapter 7) on March 25. Over the past several weeks, hearings related to the case have been taking place in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland.

“We have a takeover agreement with the bail bond company,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said last week, noting that a new general contractor is expected to be named in the near future to take over as general contractor and complete the work that PCS &build has carried out. remains to be done on site.

The city entered into a $9 million contract with PCS &build to build its new fire headquarters, and work began in August 2022. Herron said last week that although the prefabricated walls have been in place for several months and the building has been closed, significant work still remains to be carried out inside the building.

“We're trying to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” Herron said, noting that a number of subcontractors remained on site to do work several weeks after PCS&build filed for bankruptcy.

Work on the new Wheeling Fire Department headquarters was progressing at a brisk pace until a number of subcontractors walked out due to non-payment issues with the general contractor at the end of Last year. To resolve this issue, the surety company had opened an escrow account late last year to ensure subcontractors would be paid without funds passing through the hands of the general contractor.

Things seem to have settled down and work resumed on the site in January. Crews continued to make progress until the general contractor filed for bankruptcy and left the site. Several subcontractors still owe money and payments have not yet been made because the progress of the work is currently left in limbo, officials said.

The same situation occurred in Moundsville, where PCS &build was hired as the general contractor for the construction of the town's new building. The $12.5 million City of Moundsville construction project began in September 2022, and work there was also halted following the general contractor's bankruptcy filing.

Moundsville officials, on the advice of the bonding company, secured the services of Spilman Thomas & Battle for legal representation regarding construction issues such as these.

“They will work in conjunction with the city attorney to provide any necessary legal advice,” Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy said last month. “We have also been informed that Coon Restoration has a financial interest in the project and they are also interested in serving as general contractor. At this stage we are therefore awaiting the necessary advice from the legal team and the surety company.

Steve Coon of Canton-area development company Coon Restoration is also one of the parties involved in a dispute with PCS &build, according to officials familiar with the bankruptcy case and the latest docket filings. Coon is the developer behind what was billed as a $30 million transformation of the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel headquarters on Market Street in Wheeling into History Wheeling Pitt Lofts – an apartment complex in the heart downtown which lasted about a year and a half. showed no progress.

Published reports indicate that Coon – through his company, Hourglass Holdings LLC – filed a lawsuit against PCS Companies and &build Investors late last year over contracts related to a multi-storey redevelopment project. million dollars north of Cincinnati.

A trustee has been named in the bankruptcy case filed by PCS &build, and the parties are currently in discussions with the trustee about how to proceed with unperformed government contracts in West Virginia, Herron said.

The new Wheeling Fire Department headquarters is designed to be a large, 26,860 square foot, state-of-the-art first aid facility. Due to the initial delay over the subcontractor payment issue last year, the project to provide a smooth transition from the old fire station to the new facility was derailed. The old Wheeling Fire Department headquarters was located on the lower level of the Wheeling Central Parking Garage, which was already under contract to be razed. The initial plan called for firefighters to move from the old site to the new building, then demolish the old parking lot.

However, a contract for the demolition of the garage had been awarded and a schedule established before delays at the new fire station pushed back the planned opening date. This caused the city to temporarily move personnel and equipment out of the old facility to other satellite fire stations across the city and into the vacant space of the old police station in the City-building. County.

Since then, another temporary move has been initiated after the city recently acquired the former U.S. Army Reserve building in Clator. Until the new fire headquarters is completed, Fire Chief Jim Blazier and other administrative staff, along with various fire apparatus, are expected to be relocated there temporarily.

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