Residents, preservation groups press Middletown council to save downtown’s historic buildings

Scores of Middletown residents and preservation advocates urged the Middletown City Council on June 3 to stop short of demolishing four city-owned, historically designated downtown buildings and instead pursue restoration and reuse.

At least eight callers and representatives of downtown organizations told council members that the Manchester Hotel, the Sunshine Building, the First National Bank building and the Knights of Columbus building are assets that can drive economic development if stabilized and reused. “Demolition is permanent, but history, once honored, can become the foundation of prosperity,” Jamie Steele told the council during the public-comment period.

The plea was repeated by Gabriel Shainline, who said he spoke on behalf of the Historic South Main Association and the Save Downtown Middletown group and argued that the council’s position favoring demolition “is in stark contrast to the stated preferences of Middletown citizens” and to city planning documents. Mary Johnson, chair of Downtown Middletown, Inc., described tours with preservation experts and urged the city to “fix the roof, clean them up” and set up a stabilization fund for donated buildings.

Several council members acknowledged the public comments. Councilman Lolli said the city has “done things in the direction to try to save what we can downtown,” and signaled a desire to resolve the issue by late summer: “Let's decide what we're doing. ... My suggestion at the last council meeting was to, let's decide what we're doing. ... Let's have a special council meeting on a Saturday in August and make a decision.”

Council member West emphasized that previous outside developers had studied the properties and “walked away,” and said the main hurdle is the financial gap to make rehabs feasible. He noted the city has been seeking partners and comparing examples such as Hamilton and other Ohio downtowns.

Council member Horn, who has professional experience with construction and historic projects, said the buildings require substantial investment: “When you open up a wall and you think it's load bearing and it's about to collapse, and now you have to rebuild that,” he said. He urged thorough public records and due diligence ahead of any final decision.

City staff did not present a new plan during public comment. The council has previously discussed potential demolition and, during the meeting, members repeatedly urged the community and the Downtown Refresh Committee to collaborate on options before the August target for a formal decision.

For now, no formal vote on demolition or preservation was taken during the June 3 meeting. Council members voted earlier in the meeting on unrelated items. The council scheduled a special discussion and asked staff to continue engagement with preservation experts and developers to present feasibility and financing options for restoration by the end of summer.

If the council moves forward with a demolition timeline, speakers warned the change would be permanent and could foreclose opportunities for state and federal historic tax credits and grant funding that preservation advocates said would be available for rehabilitation projects.