It is a political giveaway.
The problem is the Art Central group has no money.
The Moormans wanted to buy the building but Gilliland would not sell it.

Middletown29
Please provide proof  that the Moormans wanted to buy this building and the City refused to sell.
I would just love to have a signed document stating this fact.

    Hmmm…The ink wasn’t even dry on the deeds where the City had purchased all these properties from the estate that the Middletown Historical Society requested the Bank One building and Art Central requested the Masonic Temple building. So are MHS next in line for the property giveaway?
    Please remember that Ms Judy assured us that the City needed ALL the buildings from the estate even the Manchester Inn for Cincy State. Have any of the properties in question been offered for sale by any local real estate company? Did the city refuse any offers to sell these properties?
    Hmmm…Now we are being told that the Masonic Temple building has no value? What was the value and taxes on this building the day the City purchased this building from the estate?

How much money has the City REALLY lost on this little real estate deal for “Their Downtown”?

City may donate building to Art Central Foundation

By Michael D. Pitman

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN —

City council is expected to hold the first of two readings Nov. 6 that will donate the former Masonic Temple Building, also known as the Temple Arts Building, to the Art Central Foundation.

The Art Central Foundation has leased the former Masonic Temple Building since it set up a downtown location several years ago.

“We believe that our downtown should be focused on the arts, education and entertainment,” said City Manager Judy Gilleland. “The Art Central Foundation fits well within our vision for downtown.”

Art Central Foundation president Sue Wittman said immediate plans are to fix a gutter issue in the rear of the building and to rent the first floor to a retail or restaurant business.

An endowment is going to be formed to help with building maintenance and operations, and this year’s foundation art auction and wine tasting — which is set for 6 to 9 p.m. today at Forest Hills Country Club, 791 Fourth St. — will help with that, she said.

The $30 admission price will allow patrons to bid on art and taste more than a dozen French wines. The event will be catered by Brio’s at The Greene in Beavercreek and Mockingbird Cafe and @ the Square in downtown Middletown. There will be about 14 types of French wine to taste

About $5,000 is raised annually, Wittman said .

“We’re hoping that with some of the donations we’ve got, we’ll exceed that this year,” she said.

Gilleland said it’s “very important” the city preserves the downtown’s historic structures, such as the Masonic Arts Building, and “if we can return a historic structure to productive use, that’s a win-win for everyone.

Wittman said she feels the eight-year-old organization has “had a large part in downtown’s revitalization efforts.”

“Our mission is making arts accessible to everybody downtown,” she said.

The city purchased the former Masonic Temple, the former CG&E; Bank One and First National buildings for $300,000 in 2010. In February 2011, the city purchased the former Manchester Inn & Conference Center for $175,000.

The city sold the former CG&E; building and donated the former senior center for $200,000 earlier this year for Cincinnati State Middletown developer Higher Education Partners.