Now it appears the city of Middletown is ready to join those entertainment destinations if plans for a $200 million investment in the East End come to fruition.
City leaders and developers have referred to the project as “transformational” when discussing plans for 50 acres at the southeast corner of Ohio 122 and Union Road.
During last week’s City Council meeting, following a public hearing that provided no one for or against the ordinance, council heard the first reading of legislation that would change the zoning classification for three parcels of land from business center to planned development district.
Council will hear the second reading on April 4, and if approved, the ordinance will take effect 30 days later. The Planning Commission has recommended the request be approved, according to city records.
Developer Todd Duplaine, on behalf of the owners, Fischer Family Foundation and the city of Middletown, said the plan is to construct a 3,000-seat, multi-purpose Event Center, Class A retail and office, hotels, restaurants and a variety of residential products on the property.
While Duplaine said the project is in its early stages, he’s confident, with the support of Middletown and Warren County leaders and private and public partnerships, “this thing is going to happen. We just have to keep solving problems.”
The project would attract full-service, high-end hotels, premium and fast-food restaurants, townhomes that would sell in the $325,000 to $425,000 range and a medical complex that could complement the two East End hospitals, he said.
The biggest draw would be the multi-purpose Event Center that has the potential to host youth sporting events, mid-level concerts, conventions and high school graduations. To those residents concerned about excessive traffic, Duplaine said the center won’t be another 13,435-seat University of Dayton Arena.
The project could improve the quality of life for local residents and generate sales and property taxes, according to Duplaine.
He called it “a good, first-class front door on the East End.”
Mayor Nicole Condrey thanked city staff and Duplaine and his team for the time and dedication spent on the project that is “pivotal to the refreshed identity of the city,” she said.
Assistant City Manager Nathan Cahall has said the goal is to have the final closing on the project in the middle of the fourth quarter of 2023 with construction beginning the first quarter of 2024 with completion in 2026.
The city is pledging upwards of $4.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds in support of the project. The city also will be responsible for installing certain public infrastructure improvements on and around the project site at an estimated cost of about $21.7 million to be funded through bonds secured by TIF revenue.
Martin Russell, executive director of the Warren County Port Authority, said tourism, the largest industry in the county, generated $1.4 billion in 2021. He believes the Middletown project, located in Warren County, has the potential to create additional tourism dollars that will be spent throughout the region.
He said the city of Middletown and Warren County have “joint and mutual desires.”
This project may sound similar to what former City Manager Jim Palenick envisioned at the Towne Mall Galleria space.
In November 2022, council unanimously approved City Manager Paul Lolli cancelling the city’s purchase agreement with George Ragheb, the California-based owner of the Towne Mall. Before that, council unanimously approved the city spending $1 million of the total $16 million price tag to purchase the Towne Mall Galleria, located just off I-75 near the Ohio 122 exit.
But after “conducting extensive due diligence efforts” and examining the final financing costs for the redevelopment of the properties, the city concluded that acquiring the properties at the previously agreed to price was “not feasible,” according to the staff report.
Russell said while he originally preferred for the development to be located at the Towne Mall, he believes once the East End project is complete, it may “help the Towne Mall in the long run.”
Other private development will want to be located near the Event Center, residences, hotels and restaurants, according to Russell. That would give the mall “a second shot” of redevelopment, he said.
But right now, the East End development is top priority.
“This project, on its face, was too good to let go someplace else,” Russell said after the meeting.
PLANNED EAST END DEVELOPMENT
The development will be anchored by an Event Center and supported by a mix of Class A retail, food and beverage, entertainment, hospitality, office and residential product types.
Event Center
The Event Center includes three linked but separate playing and performance surfaces and areas. The largest venue is located on the north end of the complex and will have 3,000 fixed seats surrounding an 85x200 foot playing surface. Two more playing surfaces with 250 seats each will be located
Hotels
One hotel is located directly east of the Event Center and is connected by a ground level connector. The hotel is planned with a ground floor lobby and restaurant level and then four floors of hotel rooms above the lobby.
A second hotel is planned across the street and directly to the north of the HQhotel.
Office
An office building, most likely a medical office building, is planned across the parking lot and to the south of the HQHotel. It has been located so that it can be a standalone building, or it can be directly attached to the Event Center at grade level.
The connection is most likely to happen if a sports performance or orthopedic use is developed as a part of the medical office building.
Retail/Restaurants/Entertainment
Most of the retail uses planned for the site are along the frontage of Ohio 122. At the northwest comer of the site, a larger, high level, convenience store with gas is being planned. To the east of the store and to the east and west of the Event Promenade entry drive, smaller floorplates or “pad” sites, are planned for “fast casual” restaurants.
The largest retail or restaurant floorplates and uses are shown on the east and west sides of the Event Promenade. Most likely, these may be tall one-story buildings, but depending on the restaurant or retail concept, they could be more than one story. The master plan indicates three of these large retail or restaurant buildings.
Apartments/Multi-family Residential
Class A apartments and multi-family residential uses have been planned for the west side of the site. The largest building is located to the west of the Event Center, and four stories of units are planned above the ground level retail/restaurant uses. Two other apartment buildings are planned to the west and southwest of the larger central apartment building. The apartments are organized so that tenants can use adjacent surface parking lots, or they can use interior parking provided at a basement/garden level, directly below the floor-plate of the apartment buildings.
Townhouse Residential
Townhouse residential use is planned for the southeast portion of the site, allowing the lowest height, and the least dense site use to be adjacent to the existing single-family homes. These townhomes will further enhance the village-oriented vision of the master plan.
SOURCE: City of Middletown
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