Posted: 6:00 a.m.Monday, Oct. 12, 2015

River Center project remains on track for 2016

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

Negotiationshave begun to acquire property along the Great Miami River for a proposed riverrecreation facility near downtown Middletown,which officials hope to begin constructing next spring.

MetroParksof Butler County and the Miami Conservancy District, which controls the landalong the river, are working out details so that the project can move forward,said Kelly Barkley, MetroParks senior manager of community relations.

Shesaid a problem has arisen with the title to the land because part of the riverhas moved about 1,000 feet since the Great Flood of 1913.

“It’sbeen hard to figure out who owns what property,” she said. “Everyone is workingcooperatively and in good faith. We have to go through all the steps to makesure our ‘T’s’ are crossed and ‘I’s’ are dotted.

BrendaGibson, MCD’s spokeswoman, said she could not comment at this time because ofthe negotiations.

However,Middletown cityofficials said earlier this year that the city holds perpetual recreationeasements along the river from MCD.

LastFebruary, MetroParks announced it received $2 million in state capital fundingfor two strategic projects, one of which was putting $1 million toward theconstruction of the Middletown River Center,to be located along the 90-mile Great Miami Recreation River Trail. Theremainder of the funding was to be used for the installation of artificial turffor two of the 22 existing grass fields at the Voice of America Park AthleticComplex in West Chester Twp.

Barkleysaid the presence of the Great Miami River andits trail are tremendous assets that are currently underutilized by the generalpopulation, both locally and regionally. The trail system serves a populationof about two million people, she said.

“Theconcept design is still being refined to enhance connectivity to the trail, theriver and downtown area,” she said. “We’re still planning to do what wepromised to do…. This is will be an economic development driver for theregion.”

The3,100 square-foot River Center will have drinkingwater stations, restrooms, public meeting space that can be reserved and aranger substation that could also accommodate volunteer trail monitors. Thefacility’s features will support programming and trail based recreation,Barkley said.

Shesaid the actual site for the River Center has yet to bedetermined but is expected to built just south of the AK Pavilion. While thereis no specific timeline for the project, including groundbreaking, the targetedgrand opening is set for sometime in 2016, she said.

Inthe city’s 2004 master plan, that included a strategic plan for downtown Middletown, it envisioneda Riverfront District that transitioned from the existing industrial area to aresidential use after the Downtown Core District was revitalized. The plannoted the Riverfront District would be ideal for residential developmentoverlooking the river to connect people to the river, bike path and downtown.It also said green space or an expanded Smith Parkwould be preferable to its current use.

Whilethe city has envisioned in its long-term planning that the area near theriverfront could evolve into a mixed-use zone complete with residential andcommercial uses, a number of challenges remain, city officials have said in thepast. The city has rezoned part of the area along the river, but there areportions that are still zoned as an industrial area and work has been done toremediate various environmental issues at the former Wrenn Paper nearby.