WHEELING, W.Va. — A major business in downtown Wheeling is making progress. The Health Plan project is more than half way finished and now leaders are recognizing that progress.
Thursday, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito met with city leaders and representatives from the Health Plan.
Capito says the meeting surrounded healthcare in the U.S. and development to the area.
In February, the final beam of the new Health Plan corporate office went up ahead of schedule. As construction continues, so does the company’s growth. They now have almost 500 employees.
Right now, they're using the old Horne's building to house around 80-100 workers. They expect the project to be complete by the end of 2017.
That means around 500 employees will be in downtown Wheeling.
On Thursday, Capito toured the facility and met with members of the Health Plan, the regional economic development group and Wheeling city leaders.
“I’m really interested in the economic development that is happening here in Ohio County and the Northern Panhandle,” Capito said. “Obviously with the Health Plan and this beautiful construction here, 400 jobs, it's significant and I salute the city and leaders. And on the other hand we talked health care, the Affordable Care Act and problems for insurance and how can we make it work better."
Capito says healthcare will be the topic of discussion when she gets back to Washington. The senator is from Glen Dale and says she was impressed with the development taking place, including housing in downtown.
The Health Plan expects completion in November or December.