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Old Middletown Paperboard property |
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Mike_Presta
MUSA Council Joined: Apr 20 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3483 |
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Posted: Apr 18 2012 at 1:50am |
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Company buys former Middletown, Franklin paper factoriesBy Ed Richter, Staff Writer
6:28 PM Tuesday, April 17, 2012 A demolition company has purchased the buildings of two former paper companies in Middletown and Franklin and wants to sell the facilities to expanding industries. Christopher Logan of Strikler Metals & Demolition of Canton, Mass., said his group recently purchased the former Middletown Paper Board and Franklin Boxboard facilities that were formerly owned by the Newark Group. He declined to release what the final purchase price was for both facilities, but Middletown officials are encouraged the unsightly property will be cleaned up. He said 99 percent of the equipment was removed at the Middletown site when it closed in 2004. Franklin Boxboard ended production of recycled paperboard last August where 81 people lost their hourly or salaried jobs. The plant had been in operation for 100 years. “The Middletown and Franklin buildings are in good shape and we’re working with both cities to work with expanding companies,” Logan said. He said they’d be looking at manufacturing companies that are in the service side of the paper, auto or steel industries. “There may be a market to do processing in the future,” he said. The Middletown site is between 400,000 and 600,000 square feet and the Franklin site is between 170,000 and 200,000 square feet. Denise Hamet, Middletown’s economic development director, said the city’s interest is to clean up the site and said the city may be able to assist Logan with a Clean Ohio grant. In addition, Hamet said there may be a company which might be interested in working with Logan, “but it may take a while to flesh that out.” (To read the entire story, click here: http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/company-buys-former-middletown-franklin-paper-factories-1361553.html) |
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“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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Mike_Presta
MUSA Council Joined: Apr 20 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3483 |
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This sounds like great news, on the face of it. For those of you who may not be familiar, the Middletown
Paperboard Plant is the group of large industrial buildings on the west side of
Verity Parkway, roughly between Girard and Yankee Road. This complex has been empty for a number of
years. All attempts at using it as it is
zoned (heavy industrial) or even light industrial or commercial have been
stymied by certain interests at City Hall. City Hall will never allow this site to be used for anything
but high-end, luxury carriage homes ($750,000 and up). The problem is that if the mayor’s mother leans out of her
back attic window, hangs by her knees, and looks though binoculars at a mirror
being held in the out-stretched arms of Marty Kohler (while he is standing on
his tippy-toes on top of his chimney), she can see the reflection of the edge
of a steam vent pipe on the very top of one of the buildings in the Middletown Paperboard
plant. This means that it is a "blight" to the South Main Street Historic District, and that the Middletown
Historic Commission will NEVER issue a “Certificate of Appropriateness” for any
use of this property for anything less than the aforementioned luxury units. (This will be true even if the new owner
promises to replace the siding on the buildings using junk auto hoods, and install olde tyme phoney gas street lamps outside the front door!!!) |
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“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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VietVet
MUSA Council Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008 |
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Mike, I, and I'm sure many others, would certainly pay $750 thou for a luxury "carriage" old tyme residence in that part of town. I can see it now, as I go out to my top floor balcony with a cup of coffee, looking at the U-Haul place (the old Liberal grocery store to those who don't know), the Dollar General, the Wade E Miller Gym and Middletown High School (yes, I know it's Vail, but it'll always be Middletown High to me ) Hey! How about the other direction looking over the now vacant Armco General offices and Research on down to the old Taft school site and Barnitz? Who knows, on a clear day, you might even see Woodside Cemetery around the bend from Rosa Parks as you look south. Nice views from the penthouse! Kinda "New Yorkish"
There is some "happy juice" additive in the kool-aid at City Hall if they are thinking as you say. What else would explain the surreal visions they come up with? |
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Mike_Presta
MUSA Council Joined: Apr 20 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3483 |
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Vet,
And it will be just a short jaunt up the buggy-way to the cultural center to rub elbows with the rest of the elites every First Friday!!! Sounds like an ideal location for you!!! But, alas, I doubt that Wade E. Miller Gym and the ol' high school will be there for long...Gotta spend $90 to $100 million for a new middle school and to revamp the high school, ya know.
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“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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swohio75
MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 13 2008 Status: Offline Points: 820 |
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For those of you who may not be familiar, the Middletown Paperboard Plant is the group of large industrial buildings on the west side of Verity Parkway, roughly between Girard and Yankee Road. This complex has been empty for a number of years. All attempts at using it as it is zoned (heavy industrial) or even light industrial or commercial have been stymied by certain interests at City Hall. è Can you please provide me one concrete example of attempts to use it as currently zoned that have been turned down by the city? I don’t buy what this guy is saying for a single minute. The site will be cleared. It is only a matter of time. Question is will remediation happen? How do you dismantle a complex and then attempt to reuse it? The whole place is full of wood that the owner plans to auction off: Old Growth Western Red Ceadar FOR SALE Large Quanity of Old Growth Western Red Cedar, 1 Million to 4 Million Board Feet. Also Maple Flooring, 400,000 Sq Ft,. Strikler is Partnering with Charlie Griffin from Wood Processing in Alabama to Market, Sell Material. You can see pictures of the complex. Quite amazing if you ask me.
https://plus.google.com/photos/100295427752623744463/albums/5730214108130861281 |
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chmoore1
MUSA Resident Joined: Jan 25 2012 Status: Offline Points: 230 |
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swohio75: I think that you may be on to something. Why else would a "demolition company" be interested in 100 year old factory that was "still in good shape"? "There may be a market to do processing in the future,” he said. May be? I think we'll buy this old factory because there "may be" a market? I doubt it. By the way, where did the photos come from? In other words, why the extensive focus on all of the oversized posts and beams, with a tape measure showing the 14" wood beams and posts? And, the reference to the property being "cleaned up"? The interior looks pretty clean from all the pictures. If a grant ends up being used just to have the building recycled for a profit, then I agree that something is rotten, and it ain't the posts and beams! chmoore
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swohio75
MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 13 2008 Status: Offline Points: 820 |
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The pictures are from Charlie Griffin from Wood Processing—the company Strikler is working with to auction the wood. The links are from the Strikler website previously provided. While the facility might be “clean” the property is likely a brownfield and will need remediation--similar to the old Aeronca, Wrenn Paper, Miami Packaging and Black Clawson properties. At times it involves a complete demo and property clean up; others a portion is demoed and cleaned up. This is how the Clean Ohio Grant would be used to remediate the site. The Middletown Paperboard complex, since becoming vacant, has always been a targeted brownfield site for the city. What’s likely to happen is Strikler will dismantle and remove anything of value in the property that could be resold and will demo the rest. The question becomes---will the site be remediated. For example, Wausau demoed part of the old Sorg Paper Company at their own expense. But what is unknown is if the site was remediated in the process. I am going to guess no. So it is unsuitable for development at the moment. I checked the Butler County property records. It appears BP Logan, LCC, acquired 50 plus parcels. Each have a transaction $ of $5,000. What is unknown is if the $5,000 is the total purchase price for all parcels or $250,000 plus when added all together. I’ve seen records noted both ways. Depends on how the sale was structured. |
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Mike_Presta
MUSA Council Joined: Apr 20 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3483 |
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"è Can you please provide me one concrete example of attempts to use it as currently zoned that have been turned down by the city?"
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“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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TonyB
MUSA Citizen Joined: Jan 12 2011 Location: Middletown, OH Status: Offline Points: 631 |
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I have a few questions about this property. 1) Why can a company get a grant (tax payer money) and make a profit off the sale of the demolished property? I know that tax dollars support private industry to a much greater extent than individual citizens but I thought the purpose of a grant was because there was no profit in the demolition and remediation. Did I miss something? 2) Didn't the city just approve a 216 unit "high end" development on Towne Blvd? How many "high end" developments can this city support considering the economic situation? 3) If this property is zoned "heavy industry", how are they going to build housing on the site?
Things are certainly "moving forward" in Middletown; I guess it's a matter of whether you have a forward facing seat! |
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chmoore1
MUSA Resident Joined: Jan 25 2012 Status: Offline Points: 230 |
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What's this smokescreen about:
“The Middletown and Franklin buildings are in good shape and we’re working with both cities to work with expanding companies,” Logan said. He said they’d be looking at manufacturing companies that are in the service side of the paper, auto or steel industries. “There may be a market to do processing in the future,” he said.? Is it to be reused or recycled for the wood? Just a smokescreen, I imagine. chmoore |
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swohio75
MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 13 2008 Status: Offline Points: 820 |
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Well now isn’t that an interesting story. Fact: Perry Thatcher was elected to the Middletown City Council in November 2011 Given this, Mr. Thatcher was elected to City Council nearly 12 months prior to the announcement that Middletown Paperboard was closing. Which conflicts with some of the details of your account above. The city’s Master Plan which was developed released in the 2006-2007 does call for redevelopment of this site for housing. But only if it is remediated. Mr. Kohler himself acknowledged at a Planning Commission meeting last year discussing an industrial-use expansion of a business located directly behind this mill that was passed by the Planning Commission as recommended by city staff. |
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swohio75
MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 13 2008 Status: Offline Points: 820 |
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1) Why can a company get a grant (tax payer money) and make a profit off the sale of the demolished property? It’s my understanding that grants are awarded to the municipality for a specific property not to private entity. No specific redevelopment project is always needed (i.e. old hospital site, Aeronca, Wrenn) 2) Didn't the city just approve a 216 unit "high end" development on Towne Blvd? How many "high end" developments can this city support considering the economic situation? They approved a 216-unit market rate development. 3) If this property is zoned "heavy industry", how are they going to build housing on the site? Would require re-zoning of the property. 4) Things are certainly "moving forward" in Middletown; I guess it's a matter of whether you have a forward facing seat! The are some good things happen in terms of economic development. Sadly, very little of it on the east end in Renaissance. |
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swohio75
MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 13 2008 Status: Offline Points: 820 |
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Mike_Presta
MUSA Council Joined: Apr 20 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3483 |
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Fact: Mr. Thatcher
passed away in January of 2010 so he could NOT have run for city council in
November of 2011.
Fact: Your memory
may be worse than mine…and I am old and have been hit in the head a lot!!!
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“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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SupportMiddletown
MUSA Resident Joined: Nov 01 2009 Status: Offline Points: 181 |
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Um...the city just permitted the expansion of an industrial operation right across the street. I would be surprised if a legitimate industrial operation with jobs came along that the city would prevent it, assuming it met exisitng zoning code.
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swohio75
MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 13 2008 Status: Offline Points: 820 |
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Mine was not a lapse of memory but I typo. I did my research to make sure I had my dates right |
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Mike_Presta
MUSA Council Joined: Apr 20 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3483 |
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So mine may have been due to a lapse of memory…so what do
you want me to do, pay a fine or go to prison??? (Please do your research to make sure that I
prefaced my remarks as being from memory!!!
Did ya notice the phrases “I can’t recall exactly”, “if memory serves”, “I
don’t remember all the details”, and “I believe”???) Next time please warn me if you want a sworn affidavit and I’ll be much more careful. Now, on to the case you seem so proud of: I must assume that you mean the machining
operation on Vanderveer Street (near Liberty Ave.) that wanted to expand and
hire more people. Did you actually watch
the hearings on that??? The property was
indeed already zoned INDUSTRIAL!!! They
were willing to DOWN-zone it to LIGHT industrial because there was so much
opposition at city hall. People from
South Main Street showed up to speak AGAINST it. Kohler was there because he HAD to be there,
and if you watched it you could see that it was killing him to “do his job”. They threw everything they could at those
good citizens who owned it, and who were trying to cooperate because they realized that there
were residences nearby. (Remember, this
land was already zoned INDUSTRIAL, so what was the real reason for a hearing
in the first place???) They were forced
to plant trees and change the color scheme all because if some of the South
Main Street folks took step ladders up onto their roofs and sat on the top rung
in the winter when the trees were bare, they could look across Old South Park
and see one end of the ridge-line of the roof.
Kohler ultimately HAD to “recommend” it because he ran
out of things to object to, since the owners kept bending over backwards and
accepting his unreasonable demands. |
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“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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SupportMiddletown
MUSA Resident Joined: Nov 01 2009 Status: Offline Points: 181 |
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Sounds like what is supposed to happen. A compromise was struck that allowed the investment to happen while mitigating some of the impact on the surrounding uses. Any smart property owner knows that industrial property surrounded by residential uses is going to bring additional regulations and, at times, objections from neighbors. Middletown has a number of these former industrial sites scattered in residential neighorhoods, and the city must balance the redevelopment/reuse of the sites while considering how the neighborhood will be impacted. Look at the recent article about the reuse of the Miami Packaging plant--that site is less challenging then some, but I would call that a win for the city, something to give city hall kudos for pulling off.
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Mike_Presta
MUSA Council Joined: Apr 20 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3483 |
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That is strange. I admit that my memory may be faulty again, but I don’t recall the proposed purchaser of the Miami Packaging property having to jump through hoops; DOWN-zone the site from “Industrial” to something more restrictive; screen the property from view by planting tall trees; or subject the color scheme for review, etc. Remediation was required, something that I think the EPA requires precedent to sale if I am not mistaken. (But that is separate and apart from ANYTHING required by the city). And in this case the City ASSISTED, instead of trying to hinder. PLEASE...remind me of the "compromise" to which the new company agreed. Of course, even though both these industrial sites are about
the same distance from the corner of Central and Broad, the Miami Packaging site is AWAY from the Kohler’s and Mulligans’ property, while the machine
shop was TOWARDS them…but we all are
certain THAT made NO DIFFERENCE, aren’t we??? |
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“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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swohio75
MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 13 2008 Status: Offline Points: 820 |
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There is a big difference between the project on Vanderveer and the Miami Packaging project. The Vanderveer project consisted of new construction and vacation of part of an alley way. The city should have been concerned about additional heavy industrial use of the site even though the petitioners were not planning on heavy industrial use. Because once it’s zoned and a building constructed, should the petitioner sell or lease the property, a new user/owner could use the site for heavy industry—which I believe the city was trying to avoid. The Miami Packaging project—at least to my knowledge—does not include new building construction. The city owns the site—it was gifted as part of the Perry Thatcher “estate bailout.” U.S. EPA grant money was used to evaluate the property. Monies from the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund are being used to clean up the property—which may involve demolishing a portion of the facility (similar to the Vail Rubber Works project on the old Black Clawson site)—and a 12 percent local match that Advanced Design will likely pay. Once the property is cleaned up, AD has indicated they will purchase the property. |
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409
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Mar 27 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1014 |
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From MJ:Sale of businesses focus on court actionBy Ed Richter, Staff Writer 8:37 PM Wednesday, June 6, 2012 A man who purchased the former Franklin Boxboard and Middletown Paperboard facilities from The Newark Group is in a legal action in the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court after the seller said the equipment in the building was not part of the sale. Christopher Logan said the purchase and sales agreement he signed was for everything on the property — including the buildings and equipment. Logan, of Canton, Mass., is claiming that The Newark Group added the list of excluded property after the agreement was signed. “They’re trying to state the equipment left at the Middletown and Franklin properties is theirs,” Logan said. Logan said the agreement he signed Jan. 17 is completely different than what was presented by The Newark Group in court. “The sale went through and I’ve owned it since Feb. 29,” he said. “Now 97 days later, The Newark Group is saying they own the equipment.” The company received a two-week temporary restraining order keeping Logan from selling the equipment. Court documents also stated that the company entered a contract to sell equipment to a third party and that they believe and have information from some of its prospective buyers that Logan is also selling the same equipment. The Newark Group is seeking a permanent injunction against Logan from marketing and selling the equipment. It is also seeking an order to allow them to remove their equipment. In its pleading, the company alleges several claims, including breach of contract, conversion (of assets such as equipment), and trespass to chattel. The Cranford, N.J.-based company is also seeking damages of no less than $25,000 plus pre- and post-judgment interest, attorneys fees and court costs; the awarding of other court costs to initiate the suit and all other relief allowed by Ohio law. Logan said the case was filed Monday in Montgomery County because that is where the purchase and sale agreement was signed. The parties appeared in court on Tuesday morning and the next court date has been set for June 19. Benjamin Helwig, an attorney for The Newark Group, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Franklin Boxboard ended production of recycled paperboard last August, when 81 people lost their hourly or salaried jobs. The plant had been in operation for 100 years. The Middletown site is between 400,000 and 600,000 square feet and the Franklin site is between 170,000 and 200,000 square feet. |
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VietVet
MUSA Council Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008 |
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"Christopher Logan said the purchase and sales agreement he signed was for everything on the property — including the buildings and equipment"
IF THAT'S TRUE, DON'T SEE WHERE THE NEWARK GROUP HAS A POSITION ON THIS. CAN'T COME BACK AND CHANGE THE AGREEMENT 97 DAYS LATER. BUT, KNOWING THE LEGAL SYSTEM NOWADAYS, WHAT LOOKS LIKE A SLAM DUNK NEVER PLAYS OUT IN COURT THE WAY YOU BELIEVE IT WILL. |
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