$1.3 billion Hollywoodland project called a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to transform Middletown

Now City Council will decide whether to move forward on a $1.3 billion proposed entertainment, event, dining and retail project called Hollywoodland. Council heard the first reading of the emergency legislation Tuesday night and will hear the second reading on Oct. 21.

The Hollywoodland concept is the first for Main Street Community Capital, which plans to build several similar projects, said David Elias-Rachie, one of the two principles who met exclusively Tuesday morning with The Journal-News.

Elias-Rachie said Hollywoodland Ohio “will work. You have the tools in this state.”

He understands why some people in the city are skeptical of the project of this magnitude.

“No one thinks their town is special,” he said. “This is a special place. You are blessed with demographics.”

Mary Huttlinger, executive director of the Middletown Visitors Bureau, called the investment “mind-blowing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to transform Middletown and create economic success and growth for future generations.

Elias-Rachie remembers the first time Palenick contacted him about the Middletown project. He looked at Water Street and First Avenue on Google maps and told Palenick, “You got to be kidding me. This isn’t going to happen.”

Then Main Street Community Capital has the option to acquire the 41 acres at Forest Hills Country Club on Fourth Street, pushing the available acreage for development from 11 to 52.

On the golf course property, studio sound stages will be built in hopes of pre- and post-movie production work being completed locally. The studios will create permanent, high-paying jobs and draw substantially more jets into Middletown Regional Airport, Palenick said.

He said Middletown has an opportunity to “build an industry in Ohio.”

The project, if approved by city council, is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, the city said.

Palenick said the project could lead to thousands of jobs, and the “unprecedented spin-off and multiplier affect” of millions of yearly visitors to downtown Middletown.

Huttlinger said the estimated 3.5 million annual visitors will generate about $591 million in economic impact locally.

Late last year, the city started focusing attention on the redevelopment of the city-owned 10.98-acre area along the riverfront. City Council approved spending $250,000 in March on a redevelopment study to determine if a large-scale, hospitality and destination entertainment-focused project could be “economically viable and sustainable,” the city said.

The city expects to spend $700,000 to $800,000 more in legal, engineering, lobbying, and professional consulting services and activities in support of the public improvements, according to the staff report.

The city will have no financial obligations and there will be no local taxes, Elias-Rachie said.

The Middletown project is expected to include a 288-room Marriott hotel with roof-top bar that faces the river and a convention center with 32,000 square foot rental space, an indoor theme park, indoor water park, and units in the former First National Bank.

Bob Chambers, CEO of the Producers Group based out of Glendale, Calif., said Hollywoodland will create a Retail, Dining, Entertainment, Event (RDEE) zone where entertainment will be emphasized more than retail.

He called creating neighborhood backlots “a fresh idea” and “very exciting.”

The ‘Hollywoodland’ development is expected to include:

SOURCE City of Middletown