Developer hopes Goetz Tower project can start this fall despite coronavirus delay

The developer of the Goetz Tower rehabilitation project in downtown Middletown expects to restart the project this fall after delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. FILE PHOTO The Goetz Tower stands at the intersection of Main Street and Central Avenue in Middletown. The city is seeing a demand for housing and hopes to covert the historic building into apartments, according to Economic Development Director Jennifer Ekey. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

The developer of the Goetz Tower rehabilitation project in downtown Middletown expects to restart the project this fall after delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. FILE PHOTO The Goetz Tower stands at the intersection of Main Street and Central Avenue in Middletown. The city is seeing a demand for housing and hopes to covert the historic building into apartments, according to Economic Development Director Jennifer Ekey. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF
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By Ed Richter
Aug 24, 2020
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The developer of renovations to the historic Goetz Tower in Middletown hopes the $3.5 million project can begin in October after delays caused by the coronavirus.

Developer Steve Coon, president of Canton-based Coon Restoration and Sealants and the Historic Goetz Tower LLC, said the pandemic had created delays and “the project is two years late, and later is better than never.”

He said because of the pandemic, he applied for an extension for his existing historic tax credits for the project.

Coon has an agreement from the city of Middletown to lease the first floor and plans to build 16 apartments in the 90-year-old, seven-story building. In addition, his company is constructing the Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill project in Hamilton.

He said they are working on a couple of other projects in Hamilton and also have projects about to start or are under way in Columbus, Cleveland and in Wheeling, W.Va.

ExploreSnag for historic Goetz Tower project resolved as Middletown agrees to lease

“We are hoping to start (on the Goetz Tower) in mid-October and have it completed in October 2021,” Coon said.

He said the building is secured, stabilized and cleaned out.

“We’re ready to get started,” Coon said. “We’re looking at a new heating systems. It will have new electric and elevators. Everything will be brand new and will be as nice as anything in Columbus or Chicago.”

ExplorePHOTOS: See Middletown’s historic Goetz Tower before redevelopment begins

He said they are getting their permits updated with the city and recently met with new City Manager Jim Palenick.

Palenick said he enjoyed meeting Coon and “let him know that it was an important project for the city.”

ExploreAfter delays, the significant Goetz Tower renovation project will start in Middletown

The Goetz renovation and restoration project has been delayed due to various issues over the past few years. Those delays include water damage from a broken interior fire main on the building’s fourth floor on New Year’s Day 2018 with water running from the pipe for more than 48 hours.

In early 2019, a nearby Duke Energy transformer malfunctioned filling the building with black smoke. Coon said the building was without electricity for two months but there was no other damage to the building.

Goetz Tower - By the numbers

  • $3.5 million - Estimated cost of the redevelopment project.
  • 2,000 - Square feet for the new Middletown Economic Development Department office on the first floor.
  • 1930 - Year the Middletown Building and Deposit Association constructed the building.
  • 800-1,100 - Range of square feet for the new apartments.
  • 16 - Number of market-rate apartments planned for the building.
  • 7 - Number of floors in the building.

SOURCE: Steve Coon/Historic Developers

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Ed Richter has been a working journalist for 38 years, with the last 34 years working in various capacities covering Butler and Warren counties as a reporter and an editor. Richter covers local news and governments in Warren County focusing on Springboro, Lebanon, Franklin, Carlisle and Waynesville.