Another thing that is greatly effecting our property values is our city's direction of buying deteriorating un-used properties for high sums, then PAYING others to take them, with little to no contingencies or conditions towards their use, job creation or contribution to the taxed base.

 

In essence, city admin has determined that business property(particularly in the former downtown area) has no $$ value at all. Someone would be crazy to purchase anything down there, when everything else is given away + subsidized. This factor kept me from buying a very nice piece that I really wanted. It was sold privately very low, and has been very poorly developed imo. Just imagine anyone down there with a desire to divest their properties--the city has hardly been their friend.

 

This also affects residential real estate prices.

But hey--it keeps people from selling and leaving!

 

I also believe that until the basic things are taken care of crime, infrastructure, taxes, etc business will not locate in Middletown and Middletown won't start to turn the corner.  It will take business and not art and other government type programs.  Not sexy or glamorous or easy or quick, but basic blocking, tackling and work is the only way I know to start to make a difference to the city.

 

Thanks for clarifying your earlier comment.

 

1.PAST manipulation of city demographics concerning the glut of Section 8 forced on the community by design.

I AGREE with the current effort at reduction, however the damage has been done, and the effects will linger for quite a while IF we ever reduce the concentration. Too many admins/commissions/councils have ignored this issue and played along in order to use the funding possibly not to the best overall community interest imo. I lay the blame on city managers, economic development directors, ccommission and council members.

 

2. The declaration of the entire city being a 54% poverty zone, and declaring my current business location area as the highest crime area + blight within the city, and "beyond repair" justifying nothing being done to remedy the situation + virtually no houses coming down in this area SO FAR. The damage has been done.

 

3. We have spent too much $$ supporting "art" and driving our economically depressed population OUT of the former downtown area(you know that Hope House will be next with the Rose deal happening). This has only shifted these people into the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. "Art" has brought few jobs to the city, and has contributed little to the income/payroll/property tax bases. Could we get some real #s on Pendleton's contributions vs. our cash/property outlays to them? A nice little weekend entertainment disctrict and "bashes" have done little to realistically bring our community back.

 

4. Area crime is out of control and broadcast nightly on area news feeds. We have a horrible reputation among nearby community residents. 60 theft ring suspects arrested in the I75 busts--32 living in Middletown(all probably back on the streets already). Retail businesses are reluctant to consider our city due the publicity and hard #s supporting the same. Higher-paying employers are challenged by our available work force.

 

Here I also take issue to Sgt.Ream's comment in today's MJ stating:

"They(retailers) are spending pennies to save thousands"

Many small retailers locally now spend more on security than they actually lose by theft.

SAFETY--business-worker-customer-neighborhood--is now an equal or higher priority. Everyone must feel safe working and shopping in a business and neighborhood(along with in their homes!). That cost to provide that safety is prohibitive in small independant businesses. The big box retailers are spending more now because they HAVE to do so, and they are still being raped locally by the zombie junkie thieves, which feed our over-saturation of swap shops and flea markets(soon to be the only businesses left within our "inner city". We can make all of the arrests and headlines, however these people end up back on the streets quickly back to doing what they do.

 

Do I have quality answers to this?

Some--however I am out of the local decision-making mix, only working on my neighborhood, business property and co-worker situations. We have a mess on our hands, brought on largely(hardly exclusively)by the past leaderships.

 

Hope that I have not gone on too long or harshly, processor, since you seem to be calm, well-informed and constructive. I look forward to reading your thoughts on my comments.

What do you mean by "city admin manipulation of our demographics"?  Isn't section 8 and all of the other subsidized housing in Middletown "manipulation of our demographic"?