Middletown holds town hall on downtown “refresh”; staff to compile public input, pursue RFQ process

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — City staff on March 11 gathered residents, business owners and university partners at a public town hall to collect input for a planned downtown “refresh,” laying out project boundaries, timelines for a combined sewer overflow basin and related amenities while flagging next steps on developer outreach and vacant-property enforcement.

The meeting matters because the city is seeking both private developers and community buy-in to repurpose large vacant parcels downtown and to attract housing, retail and public space that could change how people live, work and visit in Middletown.

The city’s director of community and economic development, Lisha Moreland, opened the session by summarizing past efforts and current assets and timelines. She told the room, “We’ve not had a very good track record. Let’s just be honest. We haven't had a good track record,” and described a consolidated department intended to deliver a more coordinated redevelopment effort.

Staff presented an existing boundary for the downtown refresh — roughly railroad to the river and Rhineard(s) to First Street — and described several near-term projects meant to support placemaking. The combined sewer overflow (CSO) basin across…