BMW Motorcycle Business Activity

Journal story tells us there is activity at the old Seniors Center downtown. Looks like the owner has a substantial investment in this business and has set a goal of opening this summer. I congratulate him on his efforts and his faith in investing in Middletown.

I find it interesting that he is opening a BMW motorcycle dealership and repair shop in Harley-Davidson country. From the ratio of BMW ownership versus Harley ownership, it would appear he is outnumbered in interest as to choices in motorcycles. Certainly, Middletown is more of a Harley town, moreso than the more refined BMW rider. Still, it appears he has done his homework and is satisfied that there is a market for his product here. Interestingly, he offers the comment that Middletown is midway between the larger markets of Dayton and Cincy, and that would be a logical location choice to make with regard to ease of access to his dealership, but I question his downtown location choice. An I-75 location would be the logical choice for ease of access for potential customers but I must admit, the choice of a location seven miles to the west is surprising. To the BMW owner wanting service or to the potentially interested BMW buyer, the downtown location may be a liability due to the somewhat confusing route to get to the downtown by those not familiar with Middletown. That may result in a negative, first-time impression to potential clients I would think. If you get frustrated trying the find the place, you may be inclined to just turn around and balk at visiting.

Another interesting thing in the story was the comments made by Larry Mulligan.

From the story....

"Mayor Larry Mulligan said the city is on an upswing. He said downtown can offer unique retail shopping and there is plenty of support for entrepreneurs through the efforts of Downtown Middletown Inc. as well as public/private partnerships tools that can be used.The city has been working to assist potential business owners and entrepreneurs through various incentives and tax abatements. In the past few years more than 35 new businesses have opened up in downtown Middletown that include restaurants, distilleries, microbrews in addition to having Ohio’s first Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area."

According to his statement here, it would appear that Mr. Mulligan thinks that because there is some development in the DOWNTOWN area, the city is on "the upswing". As always, it is ALL about the downtown in this city for Mulligan and his supporters. Never a mention about what Mulligan and the downtown supporters have planned for the "upswing" for the rest of the city. They fail to encompass any other section of this city EXCEPT for their dam downtown area. Given Mulligan lives down on S. Main St. with his residential area being connected to the downtown, I can understand Mulligan defending his turf to protect his property values. He doesn't want to live next to a dilapidated downtown area. I would ask Mulligan if he thinks others who live here in other, forgotten about, "non-protected" parts of town shouldn't have the same luxury that he seems to enjoy as to property value protection as well. It is all about protecting the members of the "important" people in this city. It has nothing to do with equal treatment in all segments of this city. Never has really.

It is nice to see some parts of town get attention although the downtown has overwhelmingly gotten much more than it deserves. It is also not pleasant to see others left to fend for themselves for decades while their neighborhoods deteriorate and receive absolutely no help from this city. Some areas of town lack shopping amenities altogether. The city needs to adopt more of a "share the opportunities" focus IMO. It is sad to see only one area of town get all the attention. It is also the wrong way to go if inclusion for everyone is valued. The city is good at taking the money from the people who live in non-valued areas of town but they fail miserably in making their areas more livable. Why the tunnel vision focus city leaders?

Shouldn't everyone who lives here be valued as citizens and if this is true, shouldn't the city ask for the opinions of those same citizens concerning their city provided needs?

Ditto, Vet.  Ditto.

This is really a tale of two Middletowns......in fact it mirrors much of our country.  25% make so much noise you think they're the majority - but everything they do fails because...oh yeah, they're just 25% (or less in many circumstances).

buddhalite:

"This is really a tale of two Middletowns......in fact it mirrors much of our country. 25% make so much noise you think they're the majority - but everything they do fails because...oh yeah, they're just 25% (or less in many circumstances)."
I have noticed this as well. Seems since the Obama years, the minorities in this country have gotten the grease simply by becoming the squeaky wheel. Seems they receive more attention than the 80% majority nowadays. This is a new twist on a democratic society. This is the primary reason I switched parties. After decades of being a Democratic Party supporter I switched. Obama and his minority sponsored policies caused the switch.

buddhalite:

"We should be like Monroe - just open our arms and welcome business - we'd have many less problems in our fair city...and jobs galore and industry every where and less crime, less vagrancy, less drugs....."

But buddhalite, our leaders always tell us they are business friendly. Are you suggesting that may not be true, that Middletown leaders are not open-minded about business and hand select what fits their special agenda similar to what we see in their downtown area? (Marty Kohler was good at this by the way). Amazing isn't it? Hamilton is a mirror image of Middletown, only a tad bit larger. Same demographics-same blue collar factory town with a splash of county government offices thrown in.....However, they have made the decision to advance into today's world and have grown from their decision. The "corn field" that was Monroe in the 50's has grown and marketed themselves into a mini version of Springboro when they started their growth. Monroe is making the transition from a former sleepy little farm town to a nice, decent, livable community with good schools and updated housing to attract quality people to locate there. They've thrown in some light industry as well. Same goes for Springboro, a one traffic light farming burg on Rt.73 in the 50's to a community of wealth and influence now. The former and current leaders of both communities have really planned well and we see the end results. You can also see the positive results from West Chester, literally cow pastures on both sides of I-75 back in the early 60's to current. Hell, even Franklin, who has always played Middletown's small brother, has done better than Middletown if for no other reason than their schools are better. If West Chester, Monroe and Springboro can take their sleepy little cow pastures and transition them to what they are now, what happened to Middletown, who was always more advanced than these communities......until the 70's that is. Since then, Middletown leaders have totally failed to identify what was needed for this city to advance in modernized growth. The only modern growth that is seen is out by the Towne Mall and that was driven, not by the city, but by private developers. This is proof positive the city needs to keep their hands off of development and let the private developers take over modernizing the city. Looking back in time, it doesn't appear we had very smart planners the last four decades. Looks like the smart ones went to West Chester, Monroe and Springboro. You could make the assertion that ALL communities have been moving past Middletown the last four decades. Why does it appear that the Middletown leaders are in a stalled vacuum as to development? Better yet, just stay out of the development arena. Your not good at it at all. The Economic Development department in Middletown is a joke compared to other cities.