Photo by Niamh Coomey Members of Wheeling City Council, City of Wheeling staff and others cut the ribbon Friday at the new Market Street Parking Garage.

WHEELING — After two years of construction, the Market Street Parking Garage officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning.

The structure, located at the corner of 11th and Market streets in downtown Wheeling, boasts 290 parking spots and includes parking for bicycles and a handful of stations for charging electric vehicles.

The new addition also brings 10,000 square feet of street-level retail and commercial space available for rent. It is fully automated and has music playing within.

Though the structure was complete on Tuesday, city leaders saved the ribbon cutting for Friday as Streetscape workers were still working on the stretch of sidewalk along Market Street.

City Manager Robert Herron was among city and project leaders to give remarks at the opening.

He commended Victor Greco, consulting senior architect with the Mills Group, for his professionalism and innovative work fitting the structure into a “challenging tight space” on Market Street during ongoing construction.

Beyond project leaders The Mills Group and Carl Walker Construction, local contractors Erb Electric, Savage Construction, W.A. Wilson Inc and Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal, among others, contributed labor and materials.

Concrete Fabricators produced the concrete facade at the base of the structure in Wheeling.

The project sourced almost entirely local labor with 98% hailing from local unions, according to Joe White of Carl Walker Construction.

“They all put a tremendous amount of energy and heart into this project’s successful conclusion,” Herron said.

With the ongoing Downtown Streetscape project and builds that are underway like the soon to come Gateway Heritage and Visitors Center, Wheeling’s downtown is rapidly evolving. The new garage will support this growth and contribute to Wheeling’s “bright future,” Herron said.

“These enterprises represent tens of millions of dollars of new investment all of which, as well as others, will use and benefit from this new state-of-the-art parking structure,” he said.

Mayor Denny Magruder admitted he and others questioned the “wisdom” of the new build due to the nearby Pitt Lofts building not yet being completed. He said he now believes the new structure will be a catalyst for change in the northeast corner of downtown Wheeling.

“Look around you now, this is amazing, this is a wow factor today,” Magruder said.

Surrounding businesses and companies have employees still slowly returning to offices post-pandemic and need more parking space, he said.

Additionally, an increase in shows at the Market Plaza and the Capitol Theatre create the need for more accessible parking.

“People come to the theater when they can park,” Magruder said. “If they have to walk six, seven blocks, particularly people my age who come to see many of the shows, that’s not going to happen.”

Greco said the project was gratifying for him.

“A first-class parking structure with potentially vibrant street-level commercial space that will be used by citizens and visitors alike, that’s real and tangible and will bring people here,” he said.