Towne Mall’s looming rebirth
Middletown’s Towne Mall opened in 1975 with its first anchor store, McAlpin’s. The grand-opening festivities emceed by Bob Braun two years later presented the city with a vital retail hub. At its peak in the early 1990s, Towne Mall’s concourse housed 38 stores with three anchor tenants, with Sears and Elder-Beerman joining McAlpin’s. However, Middletown’s population decrease and economic challenges led to the mall’s persistent decline. The Great Recession served as its effective death knell.

With only a Planet Fitness open within the mall’s core footprint, and discount retailers Burlington and Gabe’s occupying an outparcel, Towne Mall stands as a forlorn testament to lost opportunity. S.A. Mary and Bless Properties purchased the property and proposed a $20 million renovation. It never materialized.

The city purchased the 32-acre property and its 380,000 sq. ft. of retail space in August for $10 million, allocating $3 million in cash for the transaction and another $7 million through issuing bond anticipation notes. Possessing such a large property, the city reached out to residents during November and December for what types of business and amenities Middletown residents would like to see operate within a revitalized Towne Mall.

The survey’s 632 responses conveyed enthusiasm for replicating mixed-use destinations such as Miamisburg’s Austin Landing or Liberty Township’s Liberty Center, with tenants representing a mix of retail, restaurant, and entertainment establishments. Another consideration is complementing, rather than replicating, the occupants of Renaissance Pointe, another imminent $200-million-plus Middletown development slated to open in 2026 that will include a performing-arts center, eateries, hotels, retail, and other attractions.

Jacob Schulte, a program manager for the city’s economic development department, said that speculation would be premature until Towne Mall’s development plan is evolved further. He said that the plan is to begin demolition sometime during the second quarter of this year, and to issue an RFP for development plans sometime during the third quarter of this year. The timeframe to complete development would depend upon the complexity of plans.

“We’re hoping to receive a minimum of three competing bids, so we can compare and contrast multiple proposals,” Schulte said. “Receiving six bids would be the sweet spot.”

He appreciates the community’s aspirational wish list for what could occupy Towne Mall, but acknowledged that the best usage of the property given the surrounding amenities may entail a broad mix of retailers and service providers, with a few restaurants to serve busy patrons, as well as the possibility of a sizable recreation area. He said that it’s possible that the city might retain the Towne Mall property long-term, but is more likely to complete a transaction with a private developer.

“It’s possible there could be a variance to permit a small number of residential units, but there are a lot of possibilities. We’re excited to receive RFPs,” Schulte said.

Economic development and job creation were also factors residents cited as important for Towne Mall’s redevelopment. Schulte noted that there could be many variables in plans presented, but he said that property could sustain roughly 15 retail entities and would create hundreds of jobs for the community.

Students at Middletown HS and the other high schools located within the city will benefit from the Middletown Rising program. Studies demonstrate that cities with higher concentrations of college graduates enjoy greater quality of life.

Middletown Rising, a community-wide education partnership
Providing a vigorous, supportive educational environment is the hallmark of a thriving community. The Middletown Public Schools system partners with local businesses to provide educational and mentorship support that begins in elementary grades. The Middletown City Council, Middletown Community Foundation, Middletown Public Schools, and Miami University’s regional campuses collaborated to develop the Middletown Rising scholarship program.

Middletown Rising offers graduates of the community’s high schools including Middletown, Marshall, Middletown Christian, and Bishop Fenwick, or Middletown residents who’ve attended Butler Tech, the opportunity to have their tuition and fees paid if they attend the Miami University-Middletown branch campus as full-time students. Additional requirements are demonstrating financial need and a 2.5 or better grade-point average (GPA).

The scholarship is renewable for up to eight consecutive semesters if the student maintains at least a 2.0 GPA while maintaining Pell Grant eligibility. Students may attend classes on Miami’s Oxford main campus, but a majority of classes must be taken in Middletown. All applications and ACT/SAT test scores must be submitted by April 1.

Jennifer Clark, senior external relations and communications director for Miami’s regional campuses, noted that the anticipated expenditure amounts to $3,000 per student, with 20 students anticipated to participate in the program’s first year. Approximately $16,000 has been appropriated by Miami Regionals, $20,000 allocated through the Middletown Rising endowment, and the remaining $27,000-plus provided by the Middletown Community Foundation (MCF).

The initial commitment made by the stakeholders is five years. A significant commitment from Middletown City Council established the $400,000 endowment, and, there’s anticipation of a longer-term commitment if the program succeeds. Miami Regionals is offering a similar program for its Hamilton campus titled "Hamilton Promise." To create the program’s template, they referenced a plan implemented by Kalamazoo, Michigan city government, Kalamazoo College and local Kalamazoo schools to provide educational opportunities.

The threshold for financial need, based on Pell Grant guidelines, is a household income of $31,000 for a family of four for full eligibility, and operating on a sliding scale up to 225% of household income relative to the poverty line.

Clark said that Miami Regionals’ leadership, spearheaded by its vice president, Ande Durojaiye, initiated the program to enhance its enrollment, access to local residents, community engagement, and student retention. After an initial meeting to map out the program, they engaged Middletown’s city manager and council, who enthusiastically voted for the plan in September.

“As a council, we believe in investing in youth in our community in multiple ways,” Middletown City Council member Steven West said. “By partnering with other organizations [to sponsor] this endowment, many children in our city will have the opportunity to attend [college] without cost being an inhibitor.”

He said that he hoped Middletown Rising would inspire corporate involvement to allow these students to pursue internship opportunities to enrich their studies.

Sarah Nathan, MCF’s executive director, highlighted the multifaceted benefits that increasing a community’s college-educated population provides: better health, higher income, increased homeownership, higher civic engagement, and a stronger tax base. She noted that this is one of the many education initiatives that MCF supports. The organization funds literacy and educational preparedness efforts from pre-kindergarten though high school, and supports Miami Regionals’ Early College Academy, which enables qualified high-school juniors and seniors to study on campus and earn college credits with the possibility of being able to simultaneously earn an associate’s degree and a high-school diploma.

Clark noted that only 15% of Middletown’s residents possess a four-year college degree; Hamilton stands at 16%. By contrast, 33% of Lebanon residents have bachelor’s degrees, as do 52% of West Chester residents. The benefit of these organizations joining forces to provide greater educational opportunities may not translate to an elevated quality of life in the short term. Improving the social fabric requires patience, foresight, and follow-through.

Middletown will replace all four of its firehouses during 2025 with new, state-of-the-art facilities that will improve firefighter safety, training, and emergency response times.
Elevating public safety
The common perception of firefighters as heroes is well justified. They risk their lives and health to protect residents’ families and property, and they must be primed to mobilize at a moment’s notice. However, their life-saving capabilities span beyond battling conflagrations. Tom Snively, Middletown's fire chief who’s been on the job for more than 30 years, noted that approximately 80% of its calls (the department logged 12,800 calls for service in 2024) entailed providing emergency medical services and transport.

Snively, who’s been chief since 2022, said that firefighting and emergency-medical technology have been markedly upgraded during his career, and that prevention and disaster-planning efforts have improved. Examples that he cited include incorporating trucks with onboard computers to efficiently manage equipment and firefighting plans, the development of the Lucas Device, which mechanically performs CPR on unconscious patients while the firefighter attends to other emergency needs, and electronic, self-lifting, 700-lb. gurneys that help make emergency transport safer.

However, effectively optimizing available tech upgrades to improve firefighting and emergency medical service requires facilities with adequate size and resources. The noxious materials firefighters encounter battling flames, smoke, and charred construction and household items requires safe environs.

Middletown’s firefighters will be able to perform their duties more effectively and safely thanks to the construction of four new, state-of-the-art firehouses that will open throughout Middletown this year. The first two are slated to open later this year month: the headquarters on Yankee Road, and a second at the intersection of Route 122 and Atrium Rd. near the Atrium Medical Center and I-75. The other forthcoming stations, located at the intersections of Sophie Ave. and Stolz Dr. and the junction of Charles St. and Henry Ave., are slated to open in June. All four firehouses will be built at a cost of $26.5 million, with a staffing target of at least 21 persons spread over the four facilities. Dayton-based App Architecture is the architect of record, and Cincinnati-based Pepper Construction serves as the project’s general contractor.

“In the post-COVID world, construction prices keep rising, and finding enough workers, even paying the prevailing wage, has been a challenge,” Snively said. “So, it was a prior to finish construction as quickly as possible to manage costs.”

One key benefit of the new headquarters, which, at more than 24,000 sq. ft. is roughly double the size of previous digs, is a training facility with a 40-person capacity. The current amenities, which were built in 1977 and renovated 20 years later, accommodate only training in shifts. Snively noted the new facility will allow more natural light, improving firefighters’ surroundings by reducing feelings of isolation and stress. More tangibly, the firehouses’ design enables better air quality by separating the noxious air brought back from fires from well-ventilated, separate firefighters’ quarters. Also, the additional space makes it easier to incorporate a decontamination unit to cleanse used firefighting equipment.

The new plan will benefit Middletown residents by configuring the firehouses to follow computer-generated models that reflect the city’s populations shifts and decrease response times. This is particularly important for new developments on the city’s east side. Snively said the target response time is four minutes, and that new locations will facilitate meeting that goal.

To further enhance the Fire Department’s capacity, Middletown is planning to apply for FEMA-administered SAFER grants, a $450 million nationwide fund that provides additional financial resources for additional firefighting manpower. The grant application requests $2.1 million over three years. Snively’s target number is sufficient funding to staff its four houses with 28 firefighters at all times.

“It can be a challenge for smaller cities to get funding,” he said. “For example, Philadelphia recently received $20 million, which takes up a huge chunk of SAFER grant funds.”

Snively plans to retire June 16, and his department has a succession plan in place. His assistant chief and several deputy chiefs have prepared for and plan to take the fire chief’s exam to complete their qualification to fill his role.

“I’ve been delegating several of my tasks to them over the past year to help them prepare, so they’ve been doing chief-level work for a while,” he said. “I’m confident that we have a plan in place that will help keep the city of Middletown safe for years to come.”

You can read earlier articles in the Soapbox Partner City Middletown series here.

The Soapbox Partner City Middletown series is made possible with support from Cincinnati Commercial Contracting (CCC) and the Middletown Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.