WHEELING, W.Va.—City officials recently passed an ordinance that could make downtown living in the Friendly City a real possibility.

Complex old buildings and high-rises spotting the downtown area are primarily used for commerce right now; some buildings just stand vacant. Very few are for residential living and those that are were previously restricted by a city ordinance that did not allow housing on the first floor of a downtown structure.

"We've been approached by a couple of developers who are interested in developing downtown housing, but feel as though they need to have the availability of first-floor housing to make the projects and the buildings work," said Wheeling’s city manager, Robert Herron.

City Council recently passed an ordinance to make this possible.

"If someone sees a building in the downtown district that they're interested in from a housing perspective, they have the ability to now convert that entire building into housing, if they so choose," said Herron.

At a time where the city is making distinct efforts to clean up blight and manage already-developed land, questions continue as to what will happen to vacant downtown buildings, like the former RG Steel building, or the newly cleared "land of opportunity” in the city's 1100 block of Main and Market streets.

"There's a strong feeling in this community that downtown housing is something that would be beneficial and in demand," said Herron.

Whether it be single-dwelling apartments, duplexes or even high-class loft living space, Herron said housing is wanted in the community and the process is just now unfolding.

"Developers, they want to do projects, but they also want to make money. I mean, that's the name of the game, and we think that based on our discussions with developers, that enabling them to occupy the first floor, that gives them a better chance of a profitable project," said Herron.

Herron said passing this ordinance to allow downtown housing on the first floor has given developers the opportunity to maximize the square footage they can develop and thus profit from.

He also said interested buyers have already entered into discussions with building owners.