It Appears Lincoln School Is Next

Journal story....

Area cities demolishing multiple old industrial buildings for safety, possible redevelopment


In March, Middletown officials said they are planning to demolish the former Lincoln School, 2402 Central Ave. later this year. The city acquired the building through the county land bank in July 2018 after the state was unable to sell it for back taxes.

In another tax forfeiture case, the former Middletown Paperboard plant off Ohio 4/South Verity Parkway, is heading to a sheriff’s sale sometime after Aug. 1, according to Butler County Treasurer Nancy Nix. The previous owner, B.P. Logan, LLC, owed $259,565 in delinquent real estate taxes.On April 16, Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Howard issued a default judgment on a foreclosure request. The court issued an order of sale to sell the property, which consists of 61 parcels of various sizes, for no less than $261.550.The former paper factory was the site of a February 2018 fire that was ruled as an arson.“Long term, Lincoln School and the Paperboard building represent two of the last large demolitions remaining in the city,” said City Manager Doug Adkins. “The Paperboard building has been difficult to secure after the fire and it does not represent well the entrance to the city on (Ohio) Route 4.”He said, as with all public things, finding the dollars for demolition will take time and planning. Adkins said there are multiple structures on those parcels, and there may be remediation required after demolition is completed.Adkins said these demolition projects are necessary to prepare these open sites for future development is part of the proposed housing plan and city master plan. He also said projects such as the paperboard site could require a five-to-10 year completion time frame due to the high costs of demolition and remediation.The Paperboard site is also adjacent to the Oakland neighborhood, which Middletown is targeting for redevelopment. Also adjacent to the neighborhood is the former Vail Middle School site that has been cleared for future development by the Middletown City School District.

Jennifer Ekey, Middletown economic development director, said the Paperboard site will be listed in the city’s new master plan as a special interest area due to its proximity to the Oakland Neighborhood and because it’s a likely brownfield site.

“The Paperboard site is a separate project from the Oakland Neighborhood project, but it’s related in the idea that it’s adjacent to that development,” she said. “We want to make sure that the redevelopment of that property is sensitive to the neighborhood.”

Now, here is where Hamilton is much different than Middletown when deciding to demolition or salvaging old buildings.....

In Hamilton, there are 100 vacant commercial and industrial structures, according to Tom Vanderhorst, executive director of external services.Vanderhorst said “we need to be careful as a community on how we address these buildings, considering many of them are historic and contribute significantly to Hamilton’s identity. While some may be demolished over time, others could turn into adaptive reuse projects that unlock their potential.”He noted projects such as the Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill, the Mercantile Lofts, and the Robinson-Schwenn Building as examples of reuse and redevelopment successes.Vanderhorst said that “many developers look at vacant buildings as an opportunity for redevelopment rather than as something that needs demolished, so getting these buildings into the right hands is an important goal. We expect our journey in reducing the number of vacant structures will be a combined improve/remove strategy. Saving significant historic structures will be our first priority where reuse and redevelopment is feasible.”

Apparently, Hamilton looks for new uses for buildings using demolition as a last resort and can find actual developers who are able to obtain financing to execute their development plans while Middletown doesn't have the capability of formulating ideas nor attracting actual buyers who have money to rehab buildings. Don't read where Hamilton is giving away buildings for a dollar and then taking them back as Middletown has repeatedly done. Also don't know when Hamilton has given away tax dollars to developers just to see the project fall flat from the outset. (Rose Furniture building)(where did OUR $350,000 go anyway?)

Before they do to Lincoln school what they did to Roosevelt (which had the potential to be a senior apartment complex), and leave yet another open green space that will never be developed, why not network with senior living facility companies and offer them the building to re-purpose into a senior living facility? We do have an aging population who needs care and housing, right? How about apartments for low income candidates that we seem to like to attract to this city before leveling yet another building in this desolate city? Again, this city administration is dam good at demolishing everything in sight but fails miserably in replacing the demolished sites with new development.

In the form of city government we use, the system breaks down when the council becomes the manager's lap dog.

Yet the library is the lynchpin of the city's redevelopment plan for the newly created Oakland historic neighborhood.