Are These Poor Investments?

Journal story...

SORG receives $25,000 grant for opera house renovation
Work continues on downtown ‘anchor’

MIDDLETOWN —
Several downtown properties, considered keys to the city’s future, are showing life after they received grants and applied for additional funds.

Last week, Sorg Opera Revitalization Group (SORG) received the last of its $35,000 grant from the Duke Energy Urban Revitalization Initiative, said Denise Brodsky, one of the owners of the Sorg Opera House. She said the $25,000 will be used to continue renovations to the theater, 63. S. Main St.

The initial $10,000 was dedicated to asbestos removal, Brodsky said.

Also, the potential owner of the Manchester Inn and Sonshine Building is expected to tour the facilities Thursday and consider the next steps to renovating the property, said Denise Hamet, the city’s economic development director. She said William Grau, of Coldwell Banker in Northbrook, Ill., is expected to make repairs to the roof of the 92-year-old building, conduct a feasibility study to determine the demand for downtown housing, and he has applied for Ohio State Historic Preservation Tax Credits.

Grau purchased the two buildings from the city for $1, though it was asking $325,000. He expects the renovations to cost about $10 million. He plans to renovate the Manchester into apartments, restaurant, banquet facilities and office space, and open a microbrewery in the Sonshine property, he said.

Another property, the Sorg Mansion will start being repaired next month, said Traci Barnett, who, along with her husband, Mark, purchased the historic structure last year for $225,000.

She said a portion of the roof will be replaced with slate, along with other “extensive renovations.” She didn’t want to release the estimated cost of the repairs, saying only they are “substantial.” When the Barnetts bought the property in 2013, they estimated the complete renovations at $400,000 to $500,000.

Mark and Traci Barnett, who live in Baltimore, eventually will move into the Sorg Mansion once the renovations are complete, she said. The property may be converted into a bed and breakfast, she said.

Five downtown properties — the Sorg Mansion, Sorg Opera House, Sonshine Building, Manchester Inn and the Goetz Tower — will receive more than $17 million invested in renovations and repairs, Hamet said. All the owners are applying for historic tax credits, and City Council recently unanimously approved resolutions to support the applications.

Renovations to the Sorg Opera House and commercial property are expected to cost $6 million to $7 million, said Brodsky. Some of those costs include asbestos removal and replacing the HVAC, lighting and plumbing.

So far, she said, the group has received about $100,000 in grants, and if every grant is approved — what she called the “perfect storm” — the group would be awarded more than $1 million in financial assistance. SORG has applied for a $466,000 grant from the state, she said.

She said an economic impact study, conduct by the University of Dayton, estimates that the Sorg could generate $10 million in revenue for the city in the next four years.

Brodsky said it may take two or more years to get the theater “fully operational.” Brodsky and two partners purchased the Sorg for about $30,000 in 2011 after it went into foreclosure. All three of the owners live in northern Kentucky, but she said, she spends about 70 hours a week working on the Sorg project, whether that’s applying for grants or scraping paint off the walls.

She said SORG also is working with two “major” local companies on securing naming rights to the theater, though she refused to name those companies.

“We are on a mission,” she said. “It’s a tight time frame and it’s all about raising the funds.”

Brodsky said the Sorg renovation is important to the future of downtown as it transitions into an arts and entertainment district. She said those wanting to see the Sorg reopen have to be patient because it took years to develop the “decayed state” of the property.

“We need to get it back to its full glory,” she said. “It’s gonna happen; gonna be an awesome facility, the anchor for downtown Middletown.”

OK, LET'S LOOK AT THESE INVESTMENTS.....

SORG OPERA HOUSE

PURCHASED FOR 30 THOU- GRANT MONEY 100 THOU- RENOVATION COSTS- 6-7 MILLION

MANCHESTER HOTEL

PURCHASED FOR A BUCK- GRANT MONEY UNKNOWN- RENOVATION COSTS- 10 MILLION

SORG MANSION

PURCHASED FOR 225 THOU- GRANT MONEY UNKNOWN- RENOVATION COSTS- 400/500 THOU


NONE OF THESE APPEAR TO BE GOOD INVESTMENTS TO ME. THE COST OF PURCHASE/RENOVATION FAR EXCEEDS THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT DOESN'T IT? THE GRANT MONEY APPLIED FOR APPEARS TO BE A DROP IN THE BUCKET TOWARD THE RENOVATION COSTS.

ANY OF YOU BUSINESS FOLKS SEE THE LOGIC IN THESE INVESTMENTS? DO THE OWNERS REALIZE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO RECOUP THEIR MONEY AND START TURNING A PROFIT? PLEASE HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS REASONING.

Please notice that the historic vault at the Middletown Cemetery was not included in any of City Hall plans yet it is an older structure. 
When will City Hall donate the rest of the needed funds to complete the roof of the vault that is located on their property?

Vivian Moon wrote: Please notice that the historic vault at the Middletown Cemetery was not included in any of City Hall plans yet it is an older structure.  When will City Hall donate the rest of the needed funds to complete the roof of the vault that is located on their property?

ISN'T THE HANDLING OF MONEY, THE EXECUTION OF THE VAULT REHAB AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MIDDLETOWN CEMETERY OPERATION THE JOB OF THE CEMETERY COMMITTEE? WASN'T THIS COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED BY THE CITY AS AN OUTCOME OF THE COMPLAINT FILED WITH THE STATE BOARD IN COLUMBUS A YEAR OR TWO AGO BY A CITIZEN WHO HAD FAMILY BURIED THERE? WE HEARD OF SOME ACTIVITY INVOLVING THE VAULT REHAB IN THE PAST AND THE SUBJECT HAS FALLEN OFF THE TABLE IN RECENT TIMES. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ANY MONIES GATHERED BY THIS COMMITTEE AND WHAT ARE THEIR PLANS TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT? IF THE CITY DOESN'T FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THE GAMEPLAN OUT OF THE COLUMBUS MEETING, CAN THEY BE HELD LIABLE?