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Middletown advances $200 million Renaissance Point, Gateway Lofts and new aviation center
Summary
Mayor Elizabeth Slamka outlined major economic projects including a $200 million Renaissance Point development, approval of 288 Gateway Lofts apartments, a planned Monsoon Bay waterpark, a new Chick-fil-A, and a $15 million Butler Tech Aviation Center at the regional airport.
Mayor Elizabeth Slamka told the State of the City audience that the I-75 corridor is moving from planning to construction, with Renaissance Point described as a $200,000,000 entertainment, dining and housing development whose infrastructure planning is complete and site preparation is underway. "This is about creating a destination where families, businesses, and visitors all feel at home," she said.
Slamka said two projects have been confirmed for Renaissance Point: a fueling station/convenience store and a Hallmark Communities housing development, Gateway Lofts, where Hallmark was approved to build 288 apartments. On leisure and tourism, the Monsoon Bay waterpark at the Atrium Family YMCA will include 30-foot water slides, new bathhouses and a new pool; officials said it is expected to open in time for next summer.
The mayor also announced that a Chick-fil-A opened recently on Culbertson Road and that the town mall site is in due diligence with Midland Atlantic properties to reimagine the space as mixed use. She said the city will issue a request for qualifications related to downtown redevelopment and that resident input informed the RFQ concepts.
On workforce and education infrastructure, the mayor said the $15,000,000 Butler Tech Aviation Center at Middletown Regional Airport is nearly complete, with only interior work remaining and an official opening planned for January next year. She framed the center as expanding training for aviation maintenance, private piloting and unmanned aircraft systems.
The mayor noted demolition at the former paperboard site is complete, with concerns from nearby residents about dust prompting staff to communicate mitigation efforts. She also announced a partnership between the Middletown Port Authority and the Butler County Finance Authority to support commercial and industrial development.
Several of the projects reported by the mayor were described as approved or in active development; the speech did not supply council roll-call votes or contract texts in the transcript, and some project approvals referenced developer agreements and due-diligence steps that remain ongoing.
