Table set for big economic year in ’08 for Parkersburg
12/31/2007
Mayor Bob Newell said the city is poised
for a big economic year in 2008.
Newell said 2007 likely set the table for a potentially huge
year for development in and around the city as several large
projects have been completed and have several more are
slated to begin in 2008.
“We have had a lot of things on the table and should be
happening in the next few years,” Newell said.
In 2007, Parkersburg has seen the completion of the new
$50 million wastewater treatment plant and the unveiling of
the Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital’s $56 million expansion.
The city will also benefit from the soon-to-be-completed
Corridor D project. A couple of national restaurant chains,
banking on the Corridor D project, have either opened or are
in the early stages of construction.
“They started Sonic over there, which should be an indication
of what kind of business will be coming in,” Newell said of the corridor development. “Once that bridge
opens, you will see a lot more development.”
Construction is also set to begin on the city’s projected $10 million Riverfront Park and the new Mountain
State Blue Cross Blue Shield Building. The company’s old office space, the former Union Trust Bank
Building, is also being considered for future economic development.
Newell said Public Debt’s plan to build a sorting center, and expand its workforce over the next five years,
is another sign of the good things to come.
The Riverfront park is slated to include a riverboat landing, a plaza overlooking the Ohio and Little
Kanahwa rivers, a seating area, a picnic area with restrooms, a fishing pier and walking trails. The mayor
is hopeful construction of the park will drive more business and development back into the downtown
district.
In addition to the potential business boom, Newell said the city has done a myriad of interior work that
will also pay dividends.
“We did a lot internal work, as in public works stuff,” Newell said. “We probably paved more road this year
than we have in a long time.”
The wastewater plant may be one of the city’s biggest internal investments into future development.
Utility board manager Eric Bennett said the plant’s existing capacity is 9.66 million gallons a day. Normal
capacity is 12.5 million gallons a day. The existing plant is designed for a peak flow of 17 million gallons a
day. The new plant will be equipped to handle a peak flow of 50 million gallons of water a day.
Information from the Utility Board claims the wastewater treatment plant upgrade will double the
biological capacity of the plant to allow industrial and residential growth.
“2007 was really a year of setting the table,” Newell said. “It should be a very big year for Parkersburg.”
Posted with permission from The Parkersburg News & Sentinel
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