Former library can be ‘catalyst’ for redevelopment of Middletown neighborhood

The owner of the former Carnegie Library understands why people may think he’s not making any progress renovating the 108-year-old property in the city’s Oakland neighborhood.

The exterior of the former public library — neglected since it became vacant about 20 years ago — appears about the same today as it did when Dan Mayzum purchased it in June 2018.

Mayzum, owner of Architecture Renewal, bought the building and land at 1320 First Ave. for $5,000, or $90,000 less than it was appraised in 2017 by the Butler County Auditor’s Office.

He remains enthusiastic about the future of the 17,000-square-foot building that may be converted into a brewery, restaurant, bar, meeting and banquet rooms.

“The library has been a destination,” Mayzum said. “It was and it will be again.”

Chris Xeil Lyons, Middletown’s economic development director, called the property “a catalyst” for the redevelopment of the Oakland neighborhood. She said the repurposed library has the potential to “spur” development in the area.

Last week, the Middletown Historic Commission unanimously approved Mayzum’s proposal for installing a metal roof on new roof trusses to match the original pitch and rebuilding the box gutter soffits to match original design, he said.

“A huge blessing,” he said of the approval. “Things are still happening, though it looks like it’s just sitting.”

Mayzum said Wunderfund, a Cincinnati crowdfunding portal, raised $800,000 for the Esoteric Brewery in Walnut Hills. He hopes the group can have the same success with the library. Wunderfund has started a multi-tier capital campaign that Mayzum hopes generates at least $250,000 or up to $1 million, or 25 percent of the $4.3 million needed to complete the renovation.

He’s looking for three levels of investors: $100, $10,000 and $25,000.

The renovation will create about 60 construction jobs, and once completed, 35 full-time staff members will be hired.

In 2018, Mayzum said the project would be complete by the summer of 2020, but the lack of funding and grants and the coronavirus pandemic delayed construction, he said. He has updated the timeline and hopes to be open two years after the roof is replaced.

He said the library will be equipped to host meetings, private dinners, wedding receptions, and outdoor dining. Since Middletown is located between Dayton and Cincinnati, he called the library the “perfect meeting place.”

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