More than 100 citizens, city leaders and employees gathered at the Events Center of Middletown on Central Avenue Tuesday night to hear about the 2024 accomplishments.
Slamka, who took office in December along with three new council members, thanked staff for their work during the changes in leadership during the past year.
During 2024, Middletown was the focus of national and international media coverage with the election of native son JD Vance as the nation’s next vice president.
Slamka said with the spotlight,”(We) have been able to showcase what it means to be Middletown strong, Middletown resilient, Middletown soaring.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
That has happened by “illustrating our illustrious blue collar steel making identity while also welcoming arts and culture,” she said. “We have achieved much in this last year and we have much left to do.”
Residents’ quality of life was a focus this year with “high quality events in every corner of Middletown” planned by staff and community organizations including A Very Merry Middletown, Light up Middletown, the Ohio Challenge, Food Truck Fridays, farmer’s market, summer arts in the park and a St. Patrick’s Day parade and the city’s first comic expo.
An investment has been made in updating and refurbishing several city parks, including Smith, Goldman, Sherman and in works, a facelift to Oakland Park.
Slamka pointed to the tear down of the former paperboard plant that was in ruins for years from vandalism and a massive arson fire.
“What was once an eyesore is no more,” Slamka said, noting the site’s future development is part of the city’s rebirth.
Several projects began or were announced this year that will mean more jobs and better programs in the city including the renovation and expansion of the Robert “Sonny” Hill Community Center that stalled in previous years and the proposed Cleveland-Cliffs’ overhaul of ironmaking systems and installing a new environmentally friendly system at Middletown Works.
“Economically, the project will secure the existing 2,500 jobs at Middletown Works while also adding 170 new jobs to the plant. The designing and building of the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will bring 1,200 construction jobs to Middletown during the peak construction phase,” Slamka said. “This significant investment will allow the City of Middletown to continue to grow a strong workforce with our largest employer with opportunities for Middletown residents to prosper.”
Three new initiatives in the city East End “will completely transform and revitalize the I-75 corridor, attracting the tens of thousands of individuals driving the major interstate every day to choose stope in Middletown,” she said.
Those project are the city’s purchase of the largely empty Towne Mall for $10 million with the intention to control the development of that land.
“Assistant City Manager Ashley Combs is currently in the process of asking residents and stakeholders to complete a short survey for what they would like to see at the site. Staff is asking everyone to think outside the box and look at the site as if it were a —a clean slate-- and we were starting afresh in building something new,” Slamka said.
Also in the I-75 corridor, council approved funding for the construction of an aquatic center at the Atrium Family YMCA.
“This new water attraction will allow today’s children and their families to create lasting summer memories, right here in Middletown,” the mayor said. Completion is slated for summer 2025.
In one of the largest investments of the past decade, the city broke ground in June on the transformative Renaissance Pointe project. It will be anchored by an arena/event center with surrounding retail, restaurants, and residential units.
“This $200 million investment at the intersection of State Route 122 and Union Road will allow Middletown to compete with other municipalities with large developments along the highway, such as Union Center, Liberty Center, the Monroe Outlet Mall, Austin Landing, and the Dayton Mall,” Slamka said. “The city expects Renaissance Pointe to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, spending their money and patronizing businesses in Middletown.
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