The building with perhaps the most sentimental attachment is the former Manchester Inn on Manchester Avenue, just steps ways from the city building. Neighboring the once vibrant landmark is the also the vacate Sonshine Building, 101 N. Main St., which is also owned by the city.

In October 2022, the city spent $112,000 for a company to clean-out the two properties in hopes of making them more attractive to potential developers and less attractive to the homeless.

A demolition company, removed any remaining furniture/bedding, trash, debris or any other loose items left behind and damaged by vandals with the goal of reducing reduce fire risk.

The five-story Manchester Inn, which closed in January 2011, is included on the National Register of Historic Places and has 119 rooms and is approximately 60,000 square feet. It was 102 years old in November.

The future of the Manchester has been a contentious topic for years with former owners and developers unable to follow through with plans for renovation.

Acting City Manager Nathan Cahall said the properties, as well as the city owned former First Financial building at the corner Main Street and Central Avenues, are “all properties staff will be discussing with council in the coming months.”

Councilman Paul Lolli, the city’s former city manager and fire chief, said the future of the Manchester Inn is “without a doubt something council is going to have to decide in early 2025. There is a lot of history there. A lot of people have strong opinions. It won’t be easy. It is just going to come down to the city deciding what is the most financially feasible thing and right path and direction to go.”

Decisions also will have to be made on other downtown properties including the former Aeronca plant site on Germantown Road near the airport and the open lots that once housed Swallen’s and a parking garage, according to city staff.

A project is in the works on the city-owned Central Avenue site of the former Lincoln School to build 59 homes on the site at 2402 Central Ave. The plan has been through planning commission and a public hearing is expected before council in December.

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

It’s part of an effort to address the need for more housing in the city.

“Our development office is working on a strategy to more actively facilitate in-fill housing construction,” Cahall. “A 2022 study determined the city is 3,000 to 4,000 housing units light in terms of what is needed in the housing market.”

That could also include many parcels deeded back to the city after demolition of dilapidated or eyesore properties through the Butler County Land Bank process. Most are now vacant lots grassy lots, but could again become a new home site.

Here are some other large city-owned properties:

Middletown Paperboard site: From a part of the city’s historic paper manufacturing core, to a crumbling vacate plant hit by a large arson fire, the former 14-arce Middletown Paperboard site is now seen as an opportunity to reimagine a gateway to the city.

A $1.5 million in state funding was received this fall for brownfield remediation and development, testing will continue to determine exactly what can be built on the now vacate site at Verity Parkway and Vanderveer Street after months of demolition.

North Main Street underground storage tank: By 2026, the five-million-gallon tank and water movement system to help reduce combined sewer overflows will be in place on North Main Street and an urban park will be on top.

For now the $53 million project on the four acres of city-owned land is keeping North Main narrowed with plenty of construction equipment in and out of the site.

The Event Center of Middletown: In 2023, Middletown purchased the large Central Avenue building for $1.8 million with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the Middletown Area Senior Citizens Inc. following financial difficulty of Central Connections and the termination of the former director for alleged theft, which remains an ongoing, open investigation.

Following the purchase of the building, it was manned by city staff for a while as a way to keep doors open and assure the city’s senior citizens had a “center.”

In May, city leaders determined the former Central Connections would remain in city stewardship with an event manager.

The center at 3907 Central Ave has been reborn as a home to daily senior activities and is booking special occasion events.

Robert “Sonny” Hill Community Center: After years of plans that stalled, groundbreaking was held this fall on an addition that will double the space in the historic building adding a new gym and retractable bleachers, new windows, gutters and downspouts and painting to match the new addition, upgrades on the two existing bathroom facilities and upgrade of the existing facility including new flooring, new walls, new ceilings, electrical improvement and HVAC improvements.

Construction is expected to take about 16 months.

How to speak out

To take the survey and give your ideas about the redevelopment of the Towne Mall property, go to: https://www.cityofmiddletown.org/forms.aspx?fid=65