Printed From: MiddletownUSA.com
Category: Middletown City Government
Forum Name: Community Revitalization
Forum Description: Middletown Community Revitalization News
URL: http://www.middletownusa.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5056 Printed Date: Nov 22 2024 at 1:16pm
Topic: SORG Purges the Past with Clean-out EffortPosted By: Middletown News
Subject: SORG Purges the Past with Clean-out Effort
Date Posted: Feb 12 2013 at 2:38pm
"Removal Leads to Renewal" is
the theme this Saturday at the Sorg Opera House in Middletown as
community volunteers gather for a vigorous day of disposal of old items,
trash, waste, and anything that won't have a future in the revitalized
commercial section of the building. Anyone who wants to participate in
the effort is encouraged to take part in a day of community clean-up
that promises to be invigorating, fun, and extremely helpful. Follow the link to read the full story on http://middletownusa.com/articles/sorg-plans-to-purge-the-past-with-big-cleanout-effort-this-weekend" rel="nofollow - SORG Plans to Purge the Past with Big Clean-out Effort This Weekend .
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Replies: Posted By: LMAO
Date Posted: Feb 12 2013 at 4:43pm
Great idea.Hopefully I can can participate.Have not been in that place for 40t years.
Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Mar 30 2013 at 5:17am
Will the gravy ever stop being ladled on the old potatoes? Today's Journal story.......
Sorg work more than just a roof repair
MIDDLETOWN — While replacing the Sorg Opera House’s roof is necessary, the group that purchased the 19th century building says the project means so much more.
The Sorg could be “a major door-opener for downtown development,” said Patrick Kay, executive director of Downtown Middletown Inc.
“Having the Sorg revitalized and done and open for the public for shows will do more for the downtown than any other project down there,” he said.
NOW WAIT A MINUTE PATRICK. WHAT ABOUT ALL YOUR LITTLE ARTZY BUSINESSES DOWN THERE? HOW ABOUT THE PAC THAT WAS SO HIGHLY TOUTED WHEN IT WAS OPENED? THEY WERE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS OPENING THE OPERA HOUSE?
The 1,200-seat theater has the potential to draw upwards of 3,000 people over a weekend, and those people will need places to eat, shop and stay, Kay said
DOUBT IF THERE WILL BE 3000 PEOPLE DOWNTOWN ON ANY GIVEN WEEKEND, EVEN WHEN THE SORG IS RESTORED AND OPERATIONAL. ALSO DOUBT THAT THE SORG CROWD WILL HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON WHAT FEW RESTAURANTS, ROOMS FOR RENT NOR BARREN DOWNTOWN SHOPPING WILL KEEP THEM DOWNTOWN EITHER. JUST A TAD BIT OF WISHFUL THINKING, RIGHT?
NOW HERE COMES THE EMBELLISHMENT PROGRAM SPEAKERS......
FROM THE MAYOR....
It’s encouraging to see the private sector demonstrate its commitment to bring this building back to what it was in its heyday, Mayor Larry Mulligan said. “I think they have the passion and the interest and they have a good vision of what it could be and they’re going in with their eyes wide open of what they’re getting into,” he said.
AND FROM DANNY P.......YOUR VICE-MAYOR
The Sorg Opera House embodies Middletown’s history and “is one of the cornerstones of downtown,” said Vice Mayor Dan Picard. “It’s what the city was all about.”
NO DANNY, THE CITY WAS "ALL ABOUT" MANUFACTURING, PRIMARILY PAPER AND STEEL. (BUT THAT'S ALL BEEN REPLACED BY CASHIERS JOBS AT DOLLAR GENERAL AND THE LOCAL UDF AT SIX BUCKS AN HOUR).
The opera house was built by former paper magnate and U.S. Rep. Paul J. Sorg in 1891. Picard said he is proud the SORG organization “has saved this building.”
"PROUD" ??? HOW ABOUT HAPPY OR EXCITED?
“If you go back a few years, that building was just falling apart, it was going through foreclosure,” he said. “With the work that they’re doing, they’re contributing to the revitalization of downtown.”
WONDER HOW MUCH MONEY THESE INVESTORS ARE PLANNING TO SPEND BEFORE THEY REALIZE THEY HAVE SPENT TOO MUCH IN RELATION TO THE ROI? ALSO WONDER IF THEY HAVE CONSIDERED HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE BEFORE THEY BREAK EVEN, MUCH LESS TURN A PROFIT. IT IS NICE THAT THEY WANT TO RESTORE THIS HISTORICAL BUILDING WITH PRIVATE FUNDS AND NOT OUR TAXPAYER MONEY AS THE CITY ALWAYS DOES.....BUT IS IT A WISE BUSINESS MOVE?
ANOTHER DOWNTOWN RAH-RAH,SELF-PROMOTION STORY FROM THE JOURNAL. KINDA GETTIN' OLD PEOPLE.
------------- I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
Posted By: over the hill
Date Posted: Mar 30 2013 at 10:25am
Well, Vet, I guess we should comend them and wish them well. If it takes one more empty building and makes it useful then that's a good thing. Does'nt seem to work for a "owner-ocupied" home on Glenwood though, maybe it's in the part of town
Posted By: Bocephus
Date Posted: Mar 30 2013 at 3:04pm
They should have just bull dozed the whole downtown area years ago when it died and used space for new section 8 apartments or parking lots
Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Mar 30 2013 at 4:00pm
over the hill wrote:
Well, Vet, I guess we should comend them and wish them well. If it takes one more empty building and makes it useful then that's a good thing. Does'nt seem to work for a "owner-ocupied" home on Glenwood though, maybe it's in the part of town
And I do commend them for working on the opera house and renovating it rather than tearing it down. Much better than the city's habit of demolishing everything in sight. Also welcome the fact that they are using their own money to do it. I just don't understand, from a business prospective, how this cost is ever going to redeem itself as to ROI and what the motive is for spending so much money on a property that has an initial worth of less than a fraction of the rehab costs.
Also get a kick out of the repetitive theme of a "feel good about the downtown" Journal story, particularly when they quote a few city officials and what they think, attempting to make the article sound legitimate. I would imagine most in town could care less what they think. Nevertheless, get a good laugh from the embellishment angle.
------------- I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
Posted By: Richard Saunders
Date Posted: Mar 30 2013 at 5:43pm
"For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes - not that you won or lost - but how you played the Game." Grantland Rice
And that will be a dark day for the likes of Picard and Mulligan.
Posted By: bumper
Date Posted: Mar 30 2013 at 7:10pm