Ohio County Commission President Randy Wharton said the County Development Authority had no choice but to buy back the seven acres of land — on which a Swank Construction laydown yard, concrete making plant and spoils yard now sit — from the West Virginia Economic Development Authority. (Photo by Derek Redd)
WHEELING — Ohio County Commission President Randy Wharton said Friday the County Development Authority would have preferred to wait until it was ready to build a second interchange at The Highlands before purchasing back any property it sold to the state more than a decade ago.
The OCDA agreed Thursday to spend $1.5 million to repurchase seven acres of 32.8 acres of land it sold to the West Virginia Economic Development Authority in 2009 for a price of $5 million — or about $152,439 an acre. The seven acres in question would have been worth $1,067,073 back then.
At $1.5 million, the ODCA paid about $214,285 for each of the seven acres repurchased.
But members had no option if it wanted to avoid litigation with the West Virginia Economic Development Authority, and rectify a rental agreement attributed to former County Administrator Greg Stewart, according to Wharton, who also serves as OCDA president.
“I really don’t really know if we had any choice,” he explained. “We didn’t set the price, and we couldn’t negotiate.
“I would have preferred not to buy anything back at this time. Once we were into building the second interchange, that would have been the time to do it.”
Stewart made a deal in 2019 with Swank Construction to use up to 10 acres of land near the Menards store as a laydown yard, concrete making plant and spoils yard, according to County Solicitor Don Tennant. A three-story pile of concrete spoils now sits on the spot.
But the property in question was not owned by the OCDA, but was part of the WVEDA land. Neither the state or county entity knew about or approved the deal, Tennant said.
The WVEDA gave the OCDA a choice of purchasing the seven acres where the spoils pile sits for $1.5 million, or facing litigation. In addition, the WVEDA would give the OCDA right of first refusal on the remaining acres for three years at no cost, “and if no bona fide purchasers come forward” the OCDA will have the opportunity to repurchase the acres for $2.4 million.
Wharton believes the $1.5 million price tag for the seven acres from the WVEDA was a fair one.
“But it really doesn’t matter what I think — we had to do it,” Wharton said. “We just didn’t realize that was where the state’s property was. This is not something we had planned for.”
No other entities but the OCDA and WVEDA own property in the vicinity where the cement spoils pile is located, and nobody else was impacted, he said.
Solicitor Don Tennant had advised OCDA members that purchasing the seven acres of land and avoiding litigation was the most prudent thing for them to do.
“Unfortunately, as it is, this sale must be accomplished at the most inopportune time and in a manner where the OCDA lacks any leverage to negotiate a better deal — all due to the improper handling of this by the former county administrator, Gregory L. Stewart,” he told OCDA members.
Stewart did not respond to messages seeking comment late Thursday and Friday.
Wharton agreed the OCDA probably would have received a better deal on land if there had been negotiations.
Still, he said the OCDA likely will consider buying back all the property sold to the WVEDA at a later time as efforts to build a second interchange from The Highlands leading to Interstate 70 progress.
“Based on future development, there is always that possibility,” he said. “The second interchange will bring a lot to the development and it changes the dynamics there.”
The OCDA will need concrete fill to even the land and make it usable property — whether it is for a baseball field, retail development or a light industrial tenant,” he said.
“But we like to do things in the order they come, and not because you have to,” Wharton said. “We’re hoping this deal puts the issue to rest. I assure you it won’t happen in the future.”
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Wharton: Ohio County Development Authority Had 'No Choice' on Land Purchase - Wheeling Intelligencer
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