City Manager Paul Lolli has said the money will allow the city to “finally bring some life back to this dead, blight part” of the city.
City Council unanimously approved the city establishing the Butler County ARPA Fund in order to separately track the ARPA funds received by the county for the Middletown Paperboard and Robert “Sonny” Hill Community Center projects.
Condrey said several downtown properties, including the Manchester Inn, Sonshine Building, Goetz Tower and First Financial Bank, are getting closer to being renovated.
The city also is making progress with the development of the Oakland District, according to Condrey.
Last month, it was announced the Oakland District, located near downtown Middletown, was one step closer to being declared a National Historic District, said consultant Christine Leggio from Johnson, Mirmiran and Thompson.
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) approved the Oakland District’s application and now it will be reviewed by the SHPO board, then forwarded to the National Register of Historic Places, according to Leggio.
She expects the city to learn whether the district, which includes 556 buildings and one apartment, was approved within the next two months.
Jeremy Loukinas, a member of the Middletown Historic Commission, said the commission has been working with the city since 2018 trying to get the Oakland Neighborhood on the national register and thus eligible for large state and national tax credits.
If approved, the owner of the former Carnegie Library will be eligible for tax credits needed to renovate the 105-year-old building that has been vacant for 20 years, Loukinas said.
Single-family homes are expected to be built on the former Roosevelt Elementary School site and townhomes are projected on the former Lincoln School site, Condrey said.
She also applauded the renovation efforts at Central Connections and the technology upgrades at the community center. She expects ground to be broken on additions of the community center next summer.
Thanks to the support of Middletown residents, who overwhelmingly passed a 1-mill property levy in May, Condrey said four fire stations will be built and more strategically located to reduce response times.
Improvements along a .56-mile stretch between Charles Street and Verity Parkway on Central Avenue are continuing, the mayor said. She expects work to be completed by next spring with the goal of increasing foot traffic and reducing speeding.
The project includes full-depth pavement replacement, utility replacements and upgrades (water, sewer and storm sewer), pedestrian upgrades including new sidewalks and enhanced crossings, streetscape improvements such as paver amenity strip with decorative street furnishings including benches, bike racks, trash receptacles, street trees and landscape planters, traffic signal upgrades at Canal Street and Clinton Street intersections and decorative LED street light upgrades.
Downtown also is expected to see a new steak restaurant next year. Primo Middletown hopes to have a “soft opening” in early February with a grand opening on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day.
In October, City Council approved a $200,000 forgivable loan agreement to bring Primo Middletown, an upscale Cincinnati-based steak restaurant, to open in the Murphy’s Landing building in downtown.
As part of her State of the City, Condrey interviewed several city leaders about a wide range of subjects. Police Chief David Birk said: “This city is going to boom. I look forward to the future.”
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