WHEELING — On Monday, U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., both members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the city of Wheeling’s Small Business Facade Improvement Program will receive $500,000 as part of federal awards from the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests approved through the Fiscal Year 2023 funding bill.
Both senators championed the inclusion of the funds for the city’s popular Facade Improvement Program, which in recent years has been expanded from the downtown business district and Centre Market areas to eligible businesses throughout the entire city.
“Sens. Manchin and Capito have secured the $500,000 to continue the city’s Facade Program,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said on Monday. “This was submitted in last year’s CDS and passed in December, and the funds are now available.”
The Facade Program provides financial assistance to privately owned structures and commercial buildings for infrastructure and design improvements. The project is credited with helping to boost economic vitality in the city and enhancement of the overall curb appeal to the areas where business owners take advantage of this program to help improve their properties.
“As cities like Wheeling continue to grow, it’s important that we make the necessary investments, in partnership with private sector investment, to accommodate the economic and local needs of the community,” Capito said. “I am proud to secure this funding that will directly support Wheeling’s economic development goals that play a key role in moving our state forward.”
Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott said city leaders appreciate the efforts that Manchin and Capito put forward to help secure these funds.
“Expanding this very successful program’s funding for several additional rounds of facade grants will add more fuel to the engines of economic development that are moving Wheeling forward each and every day,” Elliott said.
The Senate Appropriations Committee allows members of Congress to submit CDS requests — previously known as earmarks — in the federal spending bill, which provide an opportunity for state and local governments, nonprofits and other public entities to receive targeted funding for projects that bolster their communities and directly support West Virginians.
Manchin on Monday also announced $1 million in CDS funds were now available for the Marshall University Division of Aviation, which houses the university’s four-year flight school and an aviation maintenance technology program. The continued growth of the airline industry and the nationwide pilot shortage ensure graduates will be in high demand, and the programs diversify the regional economy through training for employment in the aerospace industry, Manchin said.
“I’m proud to have secured direct funding for the city of Wheeling Small Business Facade Improvement Program and the Marshall University Division of Aviation,” Manchin said. “These investments will bolster commercial and residential infrastructure in Wheeling, as well as boost aviation workforce development through Marshall University as we continue to face a national pilot shortage. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for funding through Congressionally Directed Spending and other programs to support our communities and spur economic growth across the Mountain State.”
In total, Capito said she has secured $250,950,000 in direct spending measures for initiatives and projects across West Virginia through the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations omnibus package. She indicated that funding for the Wheeling Facade Program are being provided through the U.S. Small Business Administration.