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Residents, developers press Middletown council to delay demolition decisions until RFQ process completes
Summary
Citizens and downtown stakeholders urged Middletown City Council to pause demolition decisions for city‑owned historic buildings and finish a revised downtown RFQ so developers can propose adaptive‑reuse plans; council members signaled willingness to extend timelines but left a final date to staff and the downtown working group.
Dozens of residents, preservation advocates and business leaders urged Middletown City Council on July 1 to delay any demolition of key downtown buildings until the city finishes and circulates a revised request for qualifications for downtown redevelopment.
The plea came during an extended public‑comment period in which speakers representing the Save Downtown Middletown Coalition, the South Main and Highlands Historic Associations, Downtown Middletown, Inc. and individual citizens described work with city staff on an updated RFQ and asked council to hold demolition votes until developers have had time to respond.
Why it matters: Council controls the fate of several landmark, city‑owned properties — including the Manchester Inn, First National/First Financial Bank building and the Sunshine/Snyder building — and demolition decisions could remove options for adaptive reuse. Several residents said an August demolition vote would chill developer interest and undercut ongoing…
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