Downtown’s future linked to Cincinnati State

Businesses, residents look toward campus for downtown’s next phase

By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer 1:12 PM Sunday, April 15, 2012

    MIDDLETOWN — Potential is what those who are invested in downtown now see since Cincinnati State Technical & Community College will open its first branch campus in August.
    Property owner Simon Kiniyalocts saw the potential when he purchased property at 1201 Central Ave. at an auction.
    “It will hopefully add more people,” said Kiniyalocts. “Middletown needs it. Middletown needs these businesses to come in. Downtown Middletown is going down and we’re just now starting to rise and going back up.”
    If Cincinnati State wasn’t coming, Kiniyalocts said he wouldn’t have purchased the property.
    “Hopefully it will bring some good tenants that will want to start something in downtown Middletown,” he said.
    Downtown Middletown Inc. Director Patrick Kay is also here because of Cincinnati State.
    “I took the job because Cincinnati State was going to be coming here,” he said. “That would be another major stepping stone to push Middletown into that next phase.”
    And to have a destination location, like a college, will bring people downtown, Kay said. Cincinnati State officials anticipate that more than 200 students will enroll for the fall semester, and project more than 3,000 students within five years.
    “Having a college downtown is like putting an amusement park right in the middle of your downtown,” Kay said. “You really can’t ask for much more to have a college in your downtown. It pushes the direction of the downtown in a positive direction. It’s definitely going to spring board (economic development) a lot faster.”
    Earlier this month, officials with Cincinnati State and Higher Education Partners agreed to a 20-year contract to open the branch campus of the community college in the former CG&E building.
    On Friday, City Manager Judy Gilleland signed the contract to sell the building at the corner of Central Avenue and Main Street to Higher Education Partners, which will develop and pay for the renovations.
    “We envision Cincinnati State is going to grow,” said acting Economic Development Director Denise Hamet. “Our next phase is working with them on how they would like to use the senior center building. We also image they’d like to have some presence with their workforce development in downtown.”
    Higher Education Partners CEO Michael Perik said last week that the former senior center could be used for a physical therapy program.
    Gilleland sees downtown developing in several stages, anchored by those who are already invested in downtown.
    “We should recognize the past efforts of many volunteers and organizations over the past decades, because of their work in previous downtown efforts, our work is easier,” she said.
    The Middletown Art Center and many religious and organizational mainstays have been downtown for decades, Gilleland said. And there are newer pieces, she said, that have become synonymous with downtown — BeauVerre Stained Glass and the Pendleton Art Center, a public-private joint venture.
    But Gilleland said Cincinnati State “will have the most ability to significantly affect the downtown; perhaps the entire city.”
    The typical needs of many college students, she said, will likely spur development, such as coffee shops, small retail stores and restaurants.
    “I envision a thriving downtown area centered around education, entertainment and the arts,” Gilleland said. “There will be people walking around the streets visiting the many shops and restaurants. This energy will spill over into the entire city, which will make Middletown a more attractive place for young people and families.”
    Hamet said there already has been some interest in food and food-related services coming downtown, and envisions some downtown buildings being mixed-use.
    “Bringing back downtown as a place to live for all different occupations and all different income levels,” she said.
    There are a number of vacant buildings downtown, some of which are owned by the city. Hamet said the city will examine the city-owned buildings and look at their structural integrity before assessing their fates.
    Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc.com. Follow at twitter.com/mdpitman.

After you tell us what courses are being offered at Cinci State Middletown Campus this fall, perhaps you should go for an eye exam!!!  You seem to have missed the “question marks” in my posts.

I simply pointed out that, amidst all of the hoopla regarding the enrolling of the first student, no where was it mentioned in which course he enrolled.  In fact, no where have I been able to find ANY information about what courses will be taught IN MIDDLETOWN, yet much is being made about the college being “open for business here”, and “place of employment and filling a building”!!!

I have simply been asking one obvious question: 

“How can they be enrolling students in courses to be taught here, when they have not publicly announced what courses will be offered here???”

It’s a pretty simple, obvious question…so answer it, Mr./Ms. Know-it-all!!!

spiderjohn wrote: Rumor being that the relationship between city admin and Neyer is over, and that admin has considering suing Neyer as one of their options. Not sure how we could gain anything by that. Maybe  someone in the know could clarify the status of the situation. East end progress seems to be a forgotten subject. Anyone heard anything regarding Towne Mall?   SWO75---rumor that I heard was that the new version of Red Onion might be located on the 2nd floor of the Pendleton building. Have heard yes--have heard no--somaybe I should shut up.   Any comments on the failed Duncan Oil project, the cash/man-hours wasted and how we displaced functioning businesses with nothing, and made a very poor land swap?

Hmmm.  Interesting.  That doesn’t make a lot of sense because from what I can tell, there is not a separate entrance upstairs, and the location does allow for great visibility.  Perhaps they are looking to replace All About You as the caterer for the upstairs event center?  That would make more sense.

The whole Renaissance commercial end has been a disaster since Great Midwest/Clayton went belly up.  Thankfully Fischer was able to step in and breathe new life into the residential component when GM/Clayton and Dixon failed.  The mutli-family owner-occupied piece of the equation seems to have fallen off as well. Victims of the housing market, I suppose.  The whole area feels so scattered with various pieces here and there.   And Neyer has been a disappointment.

Part Deux.  What is Duncan Oil’s deal?  Hopefully the city has learned its lesson with them.  Thankfully we did see the new UDF come to fruition and business seems to be quite good for them.

Gee, it seems that it will be taking a while for Spout-offMiddletown to return and tell us which courses will be taught by Cinci State here at their Middletown campus this fall.

I’m sure that he/she will be doing it…right after he/she:

Lists the historic events that occurred in downtown Middletown, and

Quotes the post wherein anyone who posts on this forum was “celebrating” the demise of the restaurant and catering business at the PAC, and cites the source, and

Backs up the other silly claims he/she has made here.