Wheeling Wickes site meets wrecking ball

Wheeling’s largest building is coming down this week as demolition work continues on the former Wickes site.

Wheeling has been trying to redevelop the site since Wickes declared bankruptcy in 2008 and eventually went into liquidation for failure to find a buyer or an investor. That same year, Wheeling bought the empty building at Northgate Parkway and Dundee Road for $3.77 million.

Last month, Wheeling’s village board approved a $100 million redevelopment plan for the site that could comprise 170,000 square feet, including a 70,000-square-foot national retailer as an anchor. Smaller boutiques could include specialty shops, a gourmet food store, a bakery and restaurants. Plans also call for two 12-story residential buildings.

The developer also wants to relocate parts of Northgate Parkway to make room for a green-space area that could be closed off for art fairs, pottery classes and jewelry exhibitions, according to the project’s master plan.

Wheeling trustees voted unanimously in March to pay the Langos Corporation, of Barrington Hills, $227,385 to level the building at Northgate Parkway and Dundee Road.

It will take about 40 days to completely tear the building down.