Middletown Journal
Posted: 4:24 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10, 2012

City targets five eyesores for demolition
By Michael D. Pitman
Staff Writer

    MIDDLETOWN — Middletown officials are considering tearing down pieces of downtown’s history in order to build toward the city’s future.

    Years ago, the former Sonshine, Studio Theater, Middletown Cabinet and Montgomery Ward buildings were some of the most highly-used and recognizable buildings in Middletown. Today, they are among the worst eyesores.

    That’s why city officials are talking about spending between $1 million and $1.5 million to demolish those city-owned structures in the second phase of a two-part demolitions plan.   The first phase of the city’s plan involves razing the Orman building at 500 Tytus Ave., which carries a price tag of $597,000.

    “With severely blighted structures eliminated from the landscape, and fresh green space, parking lots or new buildings in their place — along with students from Cincinnati State and the draw from art establishments and restaurants — I believe our downtown will have a very lively and vital feel in five years,” said City Manager Judy Gilleland.

    The Orman building, which is expected to be torn down in late January or early February, is the only building on the city’s list guaranteed to see the wrecking ball right now. Last week, City Council approved a deal with Cincinnati-based O’Rourke Wrecking to take down the Orman building. The city has already invested $75,000 in the Orman building’s deconstruction after it began to collapse and crumble this summer.

    The falling debris covered a portion of the railroad tracks used by rail suppliers of Wausau Paper several hundred feet away. Vickers Wrecking was paid to tear down a portion of the north wing of the building and stabilize it until city officials could seek demolition proposals.

Jay Moorman, a downtown Middletown business owner, said he believes the city should try to sell the buildings before demolishing them. He said the city could offer a deal similar to the one he and his wife, Linda Moorman, got a decade ago — sell the building for $100, give a no-interest loan in the amount it would cost to raze the building and the buyer will match the loan in building improvements.

    For the $300,000 no-interest loan they received, the Moormans have invested $600,000 into transforming the old three-story G.C. Murphy Building — which at one time was targeted for demolition by the city — into BeauVerre at the Square.

    “That made perfect sense to me,” said Jay Moorman. “No matter what happened, they had to come up with the $300,000. This way, they get their money back and they got more than a parking lot.”

    While Moorman understands “it’s obvious that some of these (buildings) are beyond help,” he thinks city officials should consider it before sinking money in tearing down a building.

Gilleland said as the city does look toward its future, and where it can grow, demolishing old buildings that are condemned and vacant of squatters is an option that Gilleland said is worth the investment.

    “In an older industrial city that is very much landlocked, our opportunity and space for redevelopment is limited,” she said. “When we identify a legitimate demolition project, we’re pretty pleased.”

    If these four buildings are razed, the city would need to borrow between $1 million and $1.5 million, though the Sonshine building may not be on a demolition list as staff is “still debating” the fate of that structure.

    “Cost is certainly a consideration,” Gilleland said, noting demolishing the Sonshine building would be around $250,000. “The area would be great parking in a future phase for demolition and renovation.”

    One building that won’t be on the list is the former Manchester Inn & Conference Center, which closed in 2011. Gilleland said they’ll put the historic hotel on the market, though she didn’t say for how much.

    Middletown Board of Realtors President Reva Owens supports the efforts to get rid of those vacant buildings.

    “They’re kind of trashy,” Owens said. “If the town looks better, the more prospects will come to town — more businesses.”

    If these buildings would leave the skyline, Owens isn’t sure what could become of the property, but has faith in the city’s planners.

    “There are some really good people down at the city who have some good insight,” she said.

 

Middletown Journal
Posted: 4:39 p.m. Thursday, March 14, 2013

MIDDLETOWN REVITALIZATION

Possibilities open up for downtown Middletown without the Orman building

By Michael D. Pitman

Staff Writer

    MIDDLETOWN — A changed landscape means new possiblities for downtown redevelopment now that one of Middletown’s most well-known eyesores is being torn down, city officials and local businesses say.

    The Orman building at 500 Tytus Avenue showed signs of its age and neglect when it began crumbling this past summer. Fallen debris from the structure blocked the railroad tracks that run north of the property, and city officials rushed to stabilize the building before more chunks of brick fell, possibly striking something or someone.

    The city paid Middletown-based Vickers Wrecking, Inc. $75,000 to stabilize the building, which involved tearing down its crumbling northern wall. And in December, City Council agreed to pay O’Rourke’s Wrecking, a Cincinnati-based company that also tore down the old Middletown Regional Hospital, $597,000 to finish the job.

    When the site is finally cleared, and the empty land is seeded with grass, it will be “less of an eyesore, and the possibilities are endless,” said Dan McClain, store manager of Jeff Pohlman Tire and Auto Service on Verity Parkway, which sits about a block from the Orman building.

He likened the possibilities to when the 12th District Court of Appeals building — also about a block away from the auto business — was built several years ago. The courthouse replaced a few old buildings off Reinartz Boulevard, and McClain said that “lightened up and brightened the downtown.”

    “Once you have an area clear, you can put something back up and make it more prominent,” he said. “Anything that they can do for the downtown is better for the downtown.”

    O’Rourke started several weeks ago removing the asbestos inside the building. This week, crews from O’Rourke started tearing down the abandoned industrial building. On the first day of demolition, the center portion of the u-shaped building was gone.

    Jeff Sizemore with O’Rourke Wrecking said the debris that remained from the August partial demolition still needs to be inspected for asbestos, and any contaminated material would be taken to Rumpke’s dump. It will take a few months to complete the demolition and clear the site, he said.

    The business owners and managers in the block where the Orman building sits say it will definitely be a new look without it as part of the landscape.

    “It will be a hollow hole, an empty space. It will take a little while to get used to it not being there,” said Ron Cole, owner of CRC Automotive. “I hate to see old stuff go, but it’s time for it to come down.”

    Driving up on the site post-deconstruction would probably be like when people first drove past where the downtown garage stood after its demolition, said City Manager Judy Gilleland.

    “It will look very fresh and open instead of old and dilapidated,” she said.

    What will happen with the site after the building is down and the site is cleared is not yet known.

    “Sometimes projects like this they are so voluminous we need to work on the first phase and then determine the next phase,” Gilleland said.

    Marketing the parcel is a possibility. It’s in the Urban Core Support zone, which means uses like office, residential and entertainment would be permitted. Retail and restaurant uses are not permitted without the city planning commission’s approval.

    Leaving it as green space could “work well” as an extension to Smith Park, Gilleland said.

    “As long as a historic building is not involved, I love to see new green space spouting all over town,” she said.

    The site could be an opportunity for additional downtown living, which is part of the city’s downtown plan.

    But some of the business owners would like to see the space be productive.

    “I’d say put some kind of business in there,” said Ray Fields, owner of Ray’s Muffler and Brakes. “They need to draw some business back downtown and stuff. Anything would be an improvement over what it’s been in the last two years.”

 

Middletown Journal
Posted: 12:00 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012

Neglected properties a drain on community and budget

By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

    Falling property values in the city can be traced to the supply-demand imbalance in Middletown and the large number of vacant and dilapidated properties, housing experts say.

City officials want to put a stop to this. Last year, the Middletown Journal examined five properties that readers said were among the worst eyesores in the area. In a year’s time, four of them have been demolished or are scheduled to be leveled, the Journal has learned.

Such eyesores can be hazardous to the health of residents and a burden on government budgets.

    Doug Adkins, Middletown’s director of revitalization, said his department demolishes between 40 to 50 structures a year, a number that will increase significantly in 2013. The city received a $2.4 million Moving Ohio Forward grant, and Adkins said the plan is to use the money to demolish the “worse” 300 eyesores in the city, those homes and businesses considered in most disrepair.

    There are 23,296 housing units in the city, and 20,238 are occupied, giving the city a 13.1-percent vacancy rate, according to the most recent U.S. Census. The more properties that are demolished, the greater the need for quality housing, Adkins said.

Properties demolished

    A home on Yankee Road was leveled a few days after the stories appeared on Sept. 10, 2011 in the Journal, and the Orman Building, 500 N. Verity Parkway, a vacant home on Forrer Street in Lemon Twp. and the former Wayne Elementary School, are being demolished, city and township officials said.

    The Journal asked readers to nominate the biggest eyesores in the area, and the list was narrowed to the Top 5: former First Baptist Church, 119 S. Main St.; vacant home at 411 Yankee Road; former Wayne Elementary School, 5566 Jacksonburg Road, Trenton; Orman Building and a log cabin at 1101 Forrer St.

    The land where the home at 411 Yankee Road formerly sat is covered with grass today after the home was demolished last September with Neighborhood Stabilization Funds.

    Last year, the front door was pad-locked, and most of the roof was removed and a pile of wood rested against a chain-linked fence. The property faces Old South Park, which recently received playground equipment as part of the facelift to the Historic District on South Main Street.

    The house was vandalized in 2008 when thieves stole copper and that same year, police were called several times for vagrants living there.

    One neighbor, who wanted to remain anonymous, said “it’s about time” the home was demolished, and she said the vacant house at 405 Yankee Road, just three doors away, also is a nuisance and it needs to be leveled. That home is covered with high weeds, making it nearly impossible to see from the road.

    Another property that’s seeing improvement is the former Orman Building on North Verity Parkway. Last year at this time, Adkins said the city was looking at “creative partnerships” to clean up and renovate the building.

    But in July, when part of the roof collapsed, bricks spilled onto the nearby railroad tracks, cutting off materials to Wausau Paper Co., the city had to move quicker than anticipated.   Vickers Wrecking was hired to stabilize the collapsed wall and roof, at a cost of $75,000 to the city. City Manager Judy Gilleland said a rough estimate on demolition is between $500,000 to $1 million.

    Adkins said the city hopes to have the bids for the demolition finalized next month.

The property at 1101 Forrer St. appears in better shape, though some neighbors still consider the property an eye sore. Last year, the yard was littered with two trucks, stacks of tires that were a haven for mosquitoes and 10-foot weeds. Since then, most of the front of the home has been removed, making it possible to look through the front door. The cars and tires have been removed and the grass has been mowed.

    The land is owned by Christopher Todd, who was unavailable for comment.

It appears a large eye sore in Wayne Twp. is about to be demolished, sold, then built into a residence, said Ted Ritter, zoning inspector for Wayne Twp.

    Ritter said he hates when a historical building is leveled, but the cost of renovating the nearly 100-year-old property was too expensive. He said it would have cost about $1 million to upgrade the building, which, he said, wasn’t feasible.

    So Charles Flaig, the owner, is having the asbestos removed, then selling the property to Gordon Friend, who plans to build a home on the nearly four-acre property, Ritter said. Flaig was unavailable for comment. Ritter said the title can’t be transferred until the property is demolished, hopefully by the end of January 2013.

    Ritter called the residential conversion “the best bet” for the township.

Friend, who owns other property in the county and a Cricket store in Trenton, said he’s unsure what to do with the property after it’s demolished.

    Since the previous owner wouldn’t comply with court orders, Friend said the property “fell in my lap.”

    The end appears near for the former First Baptist Church on South Main Street in the middle of the city’s historical district. Over the last years, the church was supposed to be converted into a youth training center, an art gallery, a museum or another business.

    But Adkins said the property is in the process of forfeit to the state of Ohio. He expects the church to be demolished sometime next year. The land is valued at $17,640 and the building has no value, according to the Butler County Auditor’s office.

Unmatched coverage

Following up with the investigation

Last year, The Middletown Journal asked readers to tell us where the worst eyesores were located in the Middletown area. After narrowing down the entries, the Journal analyzed property records, interviewed city and health officials, neighbors and attempted several times to contact the owners of the properties.

This year, we returned to those properties and repeated our investigation.

Facts and figures

Address: 411 Yankee Road

Owner: Innovative Research LLC (Utah)

Date built: 1900

Occupancy: Demolished

Taxes owed: $0

Value: $8,910

Address: 1101 Forrer St., Lemon Twp.

Owner: Christopher Todd

Date built: 1940

Occupancy: Vacant

Taxes owed: $0

Value: $40,040

Address: 119 S. Main St.

Owner: 119SMAIN LLC (Cincinnati)

Date built: 1908

Occupancy: Vacant

Taxes owed: $4,232.93

Value: $17,640

Address: 500 N. Verity Parkway

Owner: City of Middletown

Date built: Unknown

Occupancy: Vacant

Taxes owed: $0

Value: $19,760

Address: 5566 Jacksonburg Road, Trenton

Owner: Charles Flaig

Date built: 1914

Occupancy: Vacant

Taxes owed: $1,497.74

Value: $62,240

SOURCE: Butler County Auditor’s Office

Butler County

148,273: Total housing units

135,960: Occupied

94,757: Owner-occupied

41,203: Renter-occupied

12,313: Vacant

In order to evaluate the true cost of the Restoration of the Downtown Core
I believe we need to go back to when the roof of the Downtown Mall was removed 15 years ago.

Agenda
September 21, 1999

Page 2

6. CITY COMMISSION COMMENTS

III. LEGISLATION

1. Ordinance No. 099-99, an ordinance establishing a procedure for and authorizing a contract with Federal Signal Corporation for the purchase and installation of an outdoor warning system, 2nd reading.

2. Ordinance No. 099-100, an ordinance authorizing an agreement with Crystal Tissue for sewer connection, and to declare an emergency.

3. Resolution No. R99-24, a resolution in support of the D.A.R.E. Program and authorizing the City Manager to apply for a grant for the 1999-2000 school year through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and declaring an emergency.

4. Ord/Res, Block Grant Advisory Board.

5. Fiscal Officer’s Certificate. In connection with proposed issue of $10,590,000 bonds to pay costs of the reestablishment of a substantial part or all of Central Avenue and Broad Streets, for acquisition of property, for demolition and removal of a substantial part or all of the City Centre Mall, renovation thereof and all costs necessary or incidental thereto; that the estimated life or period of usefulness of the improvement is at least five years, and the estimated maximum maturity ofthe Bonds, calculated in accordance with Section 133.20 of the Revised Code, is thirty (30) years.

6. Ordinance No. , an ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of not to exceed $10,590,000 bonds for the purpose of paying costs of the construction of street improvements and the necessary demolition, property acquisition and other activities related thereto implementing the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan, as amended from time to time, and declaring an emergency.

7. Fiscal Officer’s Certificate. In connection with proposed issuance of not to exceed $2,560,000 bonds for the municipal waterworks improvement by constructing an elevated water storage tank; that the estimated life or period of usefulness of the improvement is at least five years; and the estimated maximum maturity of the Bonds, calculated in accordance with Section 133.20 of the Revised Code, is forty (40) years.

8. Ordinance No. , an ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of not to exceed $2,560,000 bonds, for the purpose of paying the costs of improving the municipal waterworks system by constructing an elevated water storage tank and water mains, together with the necessary appurtenances thereto, and declaring an emergency.

9. Resolution No. R99-25, a resolution to make adjustments to appropriations for current expenses and other expenditures of the City of Middletown, Counties of Butler and Warren, State of Ohio, for the period ending December 31, 1999, and to declare an emergency. (Downtown Improvements Fund)

10. Resolution No. R99-26, a resolution accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the Budget Commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the County Auditor, and to declare an emergency.

11. Ordinance No. 099-100, an ordinance a contract with Mid-Valley Care Net for employee health coverage, and to declare an emergency.

12. Ordinance No. 099- , an ordinance authorizing a contract modification with Dodson-Stilson for engineering work on Cincinnati-Dayton Road and declaring an emergency.

13. Ordinance No. 099- , an ordinance authorizing a contract with Dodson Stillson for design work, and declaring an emergency.

14. Ordinance No. 099- , an ordinance authorizing a contract with URS Greiner Woodward Clyde for USEPA RIP, and to declare an emergency.

15. Ordinance No. 099- , an ordinance authorizing a contract with URS Greiner

Woodward Clyde for CSO studies, and to declare an emergency.

16. Resolution No. R99- , a resolution authorizing the submission of an application for infrastructure improvements to the Ohio Public Works Commission; the execution of a contract therewith; and declaring an emergency.

17. Ordinance No. 099- , an ordinance authorizing the City to pay it’s share of the Manchester Manor 17 infrastructure improvements, and declaring an emergency.

18. Ordinance No. 099- , authorizing a contract extension with Burch Hydro, Inc. for sludge disposal, and declaring an emergency.

19. Ordinance No. 099- , an ordinance authorizing a contract with Middletown Ford for the purchase of eight police cruisers, and to declare an emergency.

20. Ordinance No. 099- , to expand the City’s Urban Enterprise Zone, and to declare an emergency.

21. Ordinance No. 099- , an ordinance modifying certain licensing requirements for mechanical contractors, and declaring an emergency.

22. Ordinance No. 099- , authorizing the application for the 2000 Ohio Elderly and Disabled Transit Fare Assistance Grant, and declaring an emergency.

It is the policy of the City of Middletown to make all public hearings and meetings accessible to all persons, in accordance with state and/or federal laws. If you have a disability which requires accommodation in order for you to attend and/or participate in this meeting, please contact us at 425-7934 or 425-7705 (TDD) at least forty-eight hours prior to the time of the meeting to advise us of the need for accommodation, and reasonable efforts shall be made to provide the same.

Well that plan must have hit the garbage can as soon as Woolpert Inc. walked out the door because we have nothing even remotely similar to those plans and probably never will.

Increased residential presence through creating attractive downtown neighborhoods along the riverfront, artist/resident space in the upper floors of downtown buildings, expanding the Trinity Place neighborhood and looking at rehabilitating the former Orman Building. It will also look at improving existing neighborhoods adjacent to downtown by demolishing/landbanking foreclosed homes, buffering or relocating heavy commercial uses, and reinforcing the South Main Historic District

Both concepts are similar, but one also addresses the possibility of establishing a downtown train station off Charles Street on the east boundary of the downtown district. The train station is part of other discussions with the state that is exploring a statewide passenger rail service.

Bottom line to all of these examples of city dreams versus the real outcome........

The city was successful at demolishing many structures as mentioned. They are very good at destroying things. They are not worth a crap at replacing the destruction with any meaningful replacement efforts. The city dreams were a TOTAL FAILURE on carrying out the plans for a "train station" megaplex around the Charles St.-Central Ave.-Manchester Ave. area as to any building destinations when Kasich and company canceled the train coming to town. (remember the talk about horsedrawn carriage rides from the train station down Central to the "arts district"?) The Jacks Rec Center teardown never developed into the "Duncan Oil store creating jobs" idea either. This area with the vacant lot at Office Outfitters/Shamrock gas station and Jacks Rec Center is just another example of ill-conceived ideas that cleared land but left us nothing in return for all the money spent.

Ya know, we read periodically where Hamilton, our impoverished sister city to the south is making progress with their revitalization program and have brought many old buildings back to life with new, creative ideas. I just wonder why we don't have the creative ideas to do the same thing in this town and, better yet, see them to fruition. Better planning-smarter people-more creative......don't know, but they are beginning to pull away from us as we go around the race track on new development. How can they see success and our leaders screw up everything they touch? Hamilton is pulling itself up out of the ghetto image in some respects and Middletown seems to be sinking more each day. Why are the cities so different in results?

Oh, ye of little faith!  Can't you see it?  It shan't be long now until the genteel folk stroll 'round the Village Green;  until young lovers spoon in the moonlight along the River Walk;  and until the bourgeoisie sip wine in the many bistros and cafes.  (But, it must be properly chilled!)