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Port Authority likely to own Renaissance Point event center; commissioners want clearer oversight
Summary
Staff updated the Warren County Board of Commissioners on a proposed 50‑acre Renaissance Point campus in Middletown, saying the Port Authority would likely own just the event center while private developers would build surrounding uses; commissioners asked for more frequent updates and clarity about financing and any public funds.
Warren County staff told commissioners on an informational update that an event center proposed at Renaissance Point in Middletown would be owned by the Warren County Port Authority while surrounding retail, hotel and mixed‑use development would be privately developed.
Matt (project presenter, speaker 3) said the site is about 50 acres at the southeast corner of Union and State Route 122 near I‑75’s Exit 32 and that the city of Middletown, the Port Authority, Miller Valentine Construction and Woodard Development are principal partners. "We're going to uproot this development and put it on the other side of the highway because of the indicators that came back so strongly on feasibility," he said, describing why the project moved from the Town Mall site to the current parcel.
The county previously funded a feasibility study, Matt said, and a firm named Hundon (Chicago) found positive indicators for uses including retail, food and beverage, hotel and an arena designed for hockey and other indoor events. Staff said the Port Authority could act as the financing and ownership vehicle for the arena — using tools like fee ownership and an operations agreement with the local convention and visitors bureau — while Woodard would handle private improvements on other parcels.
Staff emphasized the Port Authority’s likely role would be limited to the event center. "There'll be no Port Authority issued bonds for anything beyond the event center," a Port representative said, noting other campus infrastructure is being financed by the city and private developer through bonds, TIF and other mechanisms.
The presentation also explained why state‑level grant figures (commonly reported at $12–15 million) emerged: a TMUD (Transformational Mixed Use District) request considered up to roughly 10% of an estimated $150 million total development. Officials said the Port pursued TMUD and other existing programs but that the TMUD application was denied; they also said no formal county capital appropriation has been requested.
Staff described a draft underwriting review for the event center's business pro forma, prepared for the underwriter Barclays, and said the team is evaluating whether projected operating revenue and newly formed community authority charges (property millage and on‑site sales tax) will support debt service. Work on other site improvements is under way and could start in the fall; whether higher‑caliber regional tenants commit will depend on the arena coming forward.
Multiple commissioners said they had not been adequately briefed about the project's shift from a private‑led model to one where the Port Authority would own the arena, and they asked for more frequent updates and a work session before any formal county action. One commissioner asked who exactly "we" referred to when staff discussed project partners and financing, and another urged that board members be given the opportunity to vet any capital requests or formal asks to the legislature before they are submitted.
No formal county decision or vote was requested at the meeting; staff characterized the item as an informational update.
