Vandalia schools enters agreement with Dayton-based developer for sale of former Murlin Heights site

Pending the developer’s due diligence steps, at closing, the sale will result in a one-time payment of $700,000 to the district for 10 buildable acres, with additional buildable acreage at $60,000 per acre, documents show.

“The sale of this 15-acre property aims to achieve three goals: to bring value to and enhance the quality of life in the community; to add value to the surrounding residential properties; and to generate as much profit as possible for the district,” Vandalia-Butler City Schools Superintendent Rob O’Leary said in a statement.

Murlin Heights Elementary School closed at the end of the 2012-2013 school year, sitting vacant until its demolition in 2018.

The school board in 2020 determined that the district no longer needed the property, approving a plan to list the site for sale.

The district in 2023 entered into a purchase agreement with Horizon Line Development, which planned to redevelop the site.

But Horizon Line terminated the agreement during the due diligence period after the Butler Twp. zoning board voted to recommend denial of the developer’s request to rezone the property.

In 2021, the district collaborated with the township to create a concept plan for what was dubbed the Sudachi Gateway Project. This gateway encompasses 20 acres of land centered at North Dixie and Sudachi drives and includes the 15-acre Murlin Heights site, just north of the Dayton Memorial Park cemetery.

The concept plan includes the potential for development of retail, restaurant, office, and residential properties.

Todd Duplain of Woodard Development said the company plans to spend the upcoming months working with the township to determine the best use of the property.

“We don’t have a predetermined plan at this point; we intend to take the spring and into the summer to work closely with the township leadership to evaluate what type of development would best serve the community. It will be a very collaborative approach,” he said.

Duplain said the process will also include public meetings where the community can be involved.