City: Downtown Middletown building close to collapsing

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

The city is pursuing legal action to force the owner of a downtown building to make repairs to the structure that it says is close to collapsing.

The former Reed-Klopp building at the corner of Verity Parkway and Central Avenue is unsafe for occupancy and there is imminent danger of falling bricks and other debris, according to the city’s chief building officer, Larry Tuttle.

A notice posted Aug. 13 has ordered the building’s owner, Daniyal LLC, to do the work necessary to make the structure temporarily safe and to get the building back into compliance with the city’s building codes.

Middletown has also hired a structural engineer to evaluate the best way to keep the area surrounding the building safe, according to Kyle Fuchs, the city’s community revitalization director.

“The fate of the building will be dependent on what his report says and how much the owner is willing to cooperate and spend to get it safe,” Fuchs said in an email. “We will use all legal channels available to get the owner to comply. However, if he does nothing, the city may have to step in and do what is needed to keep the public safe from falling items.”

Fuchs said due to the imminent danger of falling bricks and debris, the city hired a contractor to erect a sturdy barrier out of pressure treated plywood to contain any objects from falling in the street.

Daniyal LLC purchased the land and building for $40,000 in 2013, according to online records from the Butler County Auditor’s Office.

The five-story brick building, which also has a basement, was built in 1917 and opened in 1919 as the Reed-Klopp Furniture Store.

In 2009, an early morning fire destroyed the building that at the time housed a Jackson Hewitt tax preparation office, causing an estimated $250,000 in damages.