Dr. John Johnson sees promise in what others have abandoned.
Alecto Healthcare Services closed East Ohio Regional Hospital in 2019. Johnson bought it, just last week, the facility reopened its doors.
Johnson bought the landmark Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel building in downtown Wheeling, which had been vacant for years. He’ll work with developer Steve Coon to turn it into a new apartment building, with the city constructing a new parking facility close by. The total project will be as much as a $31 million investment in the city’s future.
Too often in recent years, the Ohio Valley has seen businesses and people depart, seeking fortune elsewhere while the people who remain try to fill the holes left in the community. Johnson, though, looks around and sees potential. He sees a community aching for someone to invest in good people, and he has done that on both sides of the Ohio River.