May business news in Dayton: The Greene lawsuit, ‘Project Crispy’ and more

Shoppers walk from store to store at The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek on Tuesday, May 16, 2024. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF

Shoppers walk from store to store at The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek on Tuesday, May 16, 2024. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF

Here is a look at the latest news on business and development projects planned or ongoing in the Dayton area.


The Greene responds to lawsuit: Open for business, negotiating with lender

Wells Fargo Bank has filed foreclosure on The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

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Wells Fargo Bank filed a foreclosure complaint against The Greene Town Center, claiming that the popular Beavercreek outdoor mall, apartment and office complex owes the bank tens of millions of dollars in loan payments.

Representatives of The Greene responded.

“The Greene Town Center has been actively engaged with its lender, negotiating in good faith and over a period of time, to find a reasonable and mutually agreeable outcome,” a spokesperson for the Greene said Tuesday evening. “While we are disappointed with the recent actions of the lender, it is our intention to continue to work with them to find a resolution.”

The spokesperson added that the Greene remains open for business, and “is excited to announce new and first-to-market tenants to the Dayton market.”

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21 people charged with stealing nearly $7M from USAA bank and its customers

USAA returning $520 million to policyholders due to coronavirus

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A federal grand jury in Louisiana indicted 21 people in connection with stealing millions of dollars from military service members and other customers banking with USAA.

The scheme used customer information, including names, ages, and account numbers and balances to steal almost $7 million from USAA and its customers, U.S. Attorney Brandon Brown told The Shreveport Times.

The group gained access to those banking details through three workers employed by a call center in Shreveport, La., that provided customer service for USAA, according to a 10-page indictment filed in the U.S. Western District Court of Louisiana. The stolen bank information was used to issue counterfeit checks, typically from the accounts of older customers with high bank balances.

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Dayton installs hostile landscaping by RTA bus hub to fight loitering, incivility

A downtown Dayton ambassador picks up trash in flower beds along South Jefferson Street near the Greater Dayton RTA bus hub downtown. The city paid to install new landscaping that is designed to try to prevent loitering and other problems. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

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The city of Dayton says significant new landscaping work on South Jefferson Street is nearly complete, part of an effort to prevent people from loitering and causing problems near the Greater Dayton RTA bus hub in downtown.

The city last year hired Grunder Landscaping Co. to install raised concrete flowerbeds and make other “beautification” upgrades to a section of Jefferson Street immediately south of the RTA’s Wright Stop Plaza Transit Center.

For years, large groups of people have gathered in front of a couple of storefronts on Jefferson Street, which sometimes has led to problems. Dayton police have responded to many calls for service about disturbances and public safety concerns near and around the transit hub.

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Hilltop Homes, DeSoto Bass apartments in West Dayton slated for 2024 demolition

A worker stands outside of one of the Hilltop Homes apartment units in West Dayton. Greater Dayton Premier Management (GDPM) plans to demolish all 150 units in the public housing development. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

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Greater Dayton Premier Management, the local public housing authority, hopes to demolish all of the Hilltop Homes apartment complex and some of the DeSoto Bass housing development in West Dayton later this year.

The 150-unit Hilltop Homes site could become something similar to a natural park, while GDPM plans to replace the 84 DeSoto Bass units it knocks down with new flats and townhomes.

GDPM ultimately plans to tear down and replace all of the 350 units in DeSoto Bass, which is Dayton’s oldest and largest public housing project.

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Beavercreek insurance agent accused of defrauding clients out of $235,000

Greene County Courthouse

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A Beavercreek insurance agent is facing dozens of charges after she reportedly convinced clients to invest at least $235,000 and then took the money for her personal use.

A Greene County grand jury indicted 65-year-old Beverly Ann Kirk on 36 counts of securities fraud, unlicensed securities activity, theft, theft from a person in a protected class and securing writings by deception, according to the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office.

One of her reported victims is a senior citizen.

Kirk is accused of convincing three of her clients to invest at least $235,000 over the last five years in different investments, including non-existent jumbo certificates of deposit and investments reportedly issued by an insurance writer. She misappropriated the investments and used the funds for her personal use, according to the prosecutor’s office.

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‘Project Crispy’ addition would represent near-100% usage of former GM plant

The final stage of rehabilitation to the former GM Moraine Assembly is the last unoccupied building, a 392,000-square-foot facility located across West Stroop Road from the plant now owned by Fuyao Glass America. CONTRIBUTED

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If a snack food company makes a new home at what was once an empty General Motors plant off Stroop Road, it will mark a new milestone in the long history of that industrial complex.

An Ohio Tax Credit Authority meeting agenda identifies Shearer’s Foods, LLC, based in Massillon, as a company seeking a tax credit to begin operations in Moraine.

When GM ended SUV assembly work at the plant in late December, 2008, about 1,000 employees immediately lost their jobs. The huge, multi-building complex was essentially empty.

But only temporarily.

If the business sets up shop at the plant with a food manufacturing operation, the plant will be all but full.

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Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe turns 90: What to know about its iconic $2.80 sandwiches

From the Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe in Greenville to Crabill’s Hamburger Shoppe in Urbana, these are the nostalgic restaurants located in the Northern Miami Valley.

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The Maid-Rite Sandwich Shoppe, a popular drive-in in Greenville, is celebrating its 90th birthday operating under the same family.

Louise Maher bought the business, located at 125 N. Broadway, for $500 when she was just 20 years old back on May 25, 1934.

All the time that she owned it, she kept the recipe for her famous Maid-Rite sandwiches a secret. They have been described as “on the order of a hamburger, but better meat.” The beef was “cooked loose” rather than being shaped into patties and had a special blend of seasonings.

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Best Buds pushes back on marijuana sale claims, threatens Trotwood with legal action

Trotwood police served a search warrant at Best Buds Depot on Salem Avenue on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, as part of an investigation into illegal marijuana sales. MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

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Operators of the Best Buds Depot store at 4655 Salem Ave. — where Trotwood police said they recovered marijuana and 18 firearms while executing a search warrant in April — are pushing back against the allegation that they were illegally selling marijuana to customers.

In a May 17 letter addressed to city of Trotwood leaders and the police department on behalf of Best Buds Depot, corporate attorney Ted Ramirez refutes claims by police that merchandise confiscated during the search was marijuana, further asserting that the search itself was improper.

“To be clear at the outset: No ‘marijuana’ is or has been sold at the Goldwasser (Best Buds) business,” the letter reads. “... The false, misleading, erroneous, and confused statements submitted by the affiant in the sworn affidavit to support the warrant issued ... are based upon misinformation and misunderstandings of the basic distinctions among ‘Cannabis,’ ‘Hemp,’ and ‘Marijuana.’”

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Cornerstone of Centerville South project clears zoning hurdle at I-675 and Wilmington Pike

Cornerstone of Centerville South is planned to be a mixed-use development just east of Wilmington Pike and south of Interstate 675. It is expected to include restaurants, hotels, office buildings, retail buildings and an entertainment venue.

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A mixed-use project on the southeast corner of Interstate 675 and Wilmington Pike is a step closer to reality after it earned approval of a rezoning request.

Cornerstone of Centerville South is planned to be a mixed-use development stretching back to Clyo Road. A concept plan for the 72-acre site shows 16 buildings, including three restaurants, two hotels, multiple office/retail buildings and an “entertainment site area.”

It represents a $93 million investment, according to developer Oberer Companies.

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Restaurant planned at former site of live music venue closed by court order

Riverside police want a liquor license hearing for a Linden Avenue business while the city plans to drop one of two liquor permits it opposes at Burkhart Road bar. FILE

Credit: FILE

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Credit: FILE

A Mexican restaurant wants to locate in a Riverside shopping center at the former site of a music entertainment business shut down by a court order last year.

El Rey Micheladas has applied for a liquor permit with hopes of opening in June at 5418 Burkhardt Road in the Spin Kemp Shopping Center, operator Nelson Gonzalez-Lopez said.

The business, which will include a bar and a music stage, has received zoning approval from the city for the site formerly occupied by Oddbody’s Music Room.

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