In a letter sent to Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. and City Manager Shelley Dickstein, Turner said several of his constituents contacted him since the building at 34 N. Main St. — formerly the KeyBank office tower — saw the partial collapse of its facade in March.
Turner told this news outlet that the tower is in a critical place in Dayton’s downtown. Although the site comes with great opportunities, it also comes with risk.
Dayton purchased the 14-story property, also called Paru Tower, in 2016, with ownership transferring to the Montgomery County LandBank the next year, according to Montgomery County Auditor’s Office records.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Stratache Tower is on the building’s left and the building that houses the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and CityWide Development Corporation is on its right. Stratache was damaged by debris that fell from the former KeyBank tower in March.
The Dayton city commission recently approved nearly $5 million for emergency repairs and stabilization work to the tower, and the building has been a point of contention among Dayton city commissioners in the past month.
“The city will work with the committee and continue an objective, data-driven analysis related to the redevelopment opportunity at 34 N Main St.,” said City Manager Dickstein. “Preserving the scale and architecture of the one-of-a-kind Main Street corridor is important to downtown Dayton’s value proposition.”
The committee consists of Gosiger Inc. CEO John Haley, Economy Linen CEO Bruce Feldman, Synergy CEO Jerad Barnett, Henny Penny Executive Chairman Rob Connelly, CDO Technologies President Al Wofford, PNC Bank Regional President Dave Melin and Thompson Hine Senior Counsel Robert Curry.
“We have a banker, a lawyer, a government contractor, community leaders, developers, each of which has a great perspective on trying to help the city and advance the community,” Turner said. “The expertise that has been assembled in this committee represents a great contribution to our community and an opportunity for the city to get some great additional perspective as they’re moving forward.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
The committee members invited by Turner’s office will explore the ownership history of the building, public dollars put into the building, structural integrity of the building, costs related to the building and development options for the property.
In his letter to the city, Turner also states the committee is requesting documents that outline the physical condition of the building, including any damage reports or analyses of repair, replacement and removal options related to the building’s damage in March 2025.
The committee is also requesting documents related to past and current ownership and repair responsibility, records that outline public investment in the building over the past 20 years, and reports related to reuse options for the property and more.
KeyBank/Paru Tower has a history with many twists and turns. A self-proclaimed Hindu guru, Annamalai Annamalai, who called himself Dr. Commander Selvam, bought the building for $525,000 in cash in 2010. After legal troubles, which resulted in a 27-year federal prison sentence for Annamalai, the building accumulated back taxes and sat vacant before the city paid off the property’s tax debt and purchased the building.
Turner said the committee looks forward to working with this city, and he expects a “positive conversation” to result from the collaboration.
