News & Events

New Commerce Center To Locate in Weirton
Friday, November 13, 2009

By IAN HICKS

Staff Writer

Lou Stein sees downtown Weirton as a place where small businesses and manufacturers can network and help each other grow, boosting a community hit hard by a struggling economy and the decline of the steel industry.

To that end, Stein, executive director of Valley Ventures Inc., a nonprofit regional development agency, has announced his company's purchase of the largely vacant Magnone Building at the corner of Main Street and Lee Avenue.

Stein said the 78-year-old structure will now have a new life as the Valley Commerce Center, and efforts are under way for a "complete facade renovation," including brick staining, new doors, trim painting, new signage and clean awnings.

"We're thrilled to death," said Stein. "This is very exciting."

The two-story, 20,000-square-foot building currently is home to the Valley Ventures corporate offices, Lisa's Academy of the Arts and Healthways. Stein said the building could be bustling with activity sooner rather than later.

"We hope to have the ground floor of the building fully leased in the next 60 to 90 days," he said, noting there are three vacancies on that level.

Stein said the center's upper floor, which has been vacant for a few years, will be designed as a "business incubator." As the term suggests, he said a business incubator is a place where new startup and small growth businesses can find affordable office space with access to various support services like accounting, legal help, graphic design and others.

"By coming in there, they can get assistance with many areas of the business that they're going to need," said Stein.

Stein said bringing businesses back to one of the larger buildings in the city is "a major step in the downtown revitalization of Weirton." That revitalization effort has in the past year seen the opening of two Main Street eateries - Fujiyama Japanese Steakhouse and Tudor's Biscuit World - as well as planning for Mayor Mark Harris' Project Main Street.

That initiative, for which City Council approved up to $15,000 in funding last month, will allow businesses on that thoroughfare to repaint their exteriors. The city would foot the bill for paint, with businesses paying all labor costs.

Stein said Valley Ventures has lined up two nearby buildings for a similar business incubator that would house light manufacturing enterprises, but is not yet ready to make a formal announcement on that project

According to Stein, anyone looking for more information or interested in office space at the Valley Commerce Center should call the Valley Ventures office at 304-748-1525.