WEIRTON - Officials with Valley Ventures, a regional development agency covering the four-county area, announced on Wednesday plans for a new commerce center and business incubator at the new offices in the city.

Lou Stein, executive director of Valley Ventures, announced the agency has acquired the property formerly known as the Magnone Building located at 3300 Main St. to launch the new Valley Commerce Center.

"We are very excited about the acquisition of this wonderful property on so many different levels," Stein stated. "This will provide our organization with excellent, high visibility office space in the heart of downtown Weirton, as well as a strong corporate identity in the community and the region."

The redevelopment of the building will include several phases, including providing space for existing businesses on the main level.

The next phase of the project will be to launch a regional small business incubator in the building. The promotion of the incubator will begin soon after the first of the year, according to Stein.

Also set to take place sometime next year is the inclusion of a proposed incubator for light manufacturing, which Stein has said could be located in another nearby facility.

As part of the launch of the commerce center, Valley Ventures also has moved its offices into a portion of the building and now is located at 100 Lee Ave.

Stein said the commerce center will serve as a catalyst for businesses in the north end of Weirton, as well as for small businesses looking to get started. He explained much of the ideas are to run in concert with ongoing redevelopment in the city's downtown, including work at the Weirton Millsop Community Center and First Choice America Community Federal Credit Union, as well as the citys beautification programs.

"This is a continuation of that," Stein said. "We're very excited."

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com.)