And city officials say millions more of investment and renovation dollars are still to come.
A good portion of that investment and renovation will come from either Cincinnati State or its developer, Boston-based Higher Education Partners.
City Council is expected to vote on donating the First National Bank building to Cincinnati State at its Jan. 8 meeting. This would be the second of two buildings the city owns that it will be giving away. In November, the city gave the former Masonic Temple building on Main Street to the Art Central Foundation. These two buildings were part of a $300,000 purchase of four buildings (which included the former Bank One and CG&E buildings) in anticipation of Cincinnati State coming to Middletown.
The city made back two-thirds of its money when it sold the CG&E building for $202,000 to Higher Education Partners to develop the Cincinnati State Middletown campus. It still can make up the difference if it sells the former Bank One building, which is caddy-corner to Cincinnati State Middletown, for the remainder. No offers, however, have been made, according to city officials.
There are a number of next steps for Cincinnati State. The remainder of its downtown campus at 1 N. Main St. is to be renovated, and school officials need to figure out what to do with its two other buildings — the former senior citizens center (which was included in the sale of the CG&E building) and the former First National Bank. Cincinnati State would also need to determine a use for the former Job & Family Services office on Central Avenue, if Butler County commissioners agree to donate that building to the city of Middletown, which in turn would give it to the community college.
Whatever those plans are, significant dollars could be spent.
The school hopes it will be investing the state funding it anticipates receiving into Middletown.
It was announced earlier this week that Cincinnati State is in line to receive $123,000 from the Ohio Higher Ed department. School officials say the downtown Middletown campus will benefit since part of the money will be used to develop co-op opportunities in the city. Approval will be known in January if the State of Ohio Controlling Board approves it at its next meeting.
In Cincinnati State’s application for the grant, the college cited several objectives, including:
- Creating 51 new or expanded co-op positions in six industries – advanced manufacturing, aerospace/aviation, bio-health, consumer products, financial services, and information technology;
- Recruiting, orienting and supporting new co-op business partners in the region surrounding the Middletown campus;
- Enhancing the college-wide co-op website and database to create a seamless experience for employers, students and educators that builds upon Cincinnati State's co-op programs, and can serve as a model for other post-secondary co-op programs;
- Increasing the number of students completing an associate's degree by establishing a career pathway model that includes early contact with students for co-op preparation and planning, beginning from the point of admission; and
- Working closely with business partners throughout the region to align our curriculum to meet the needs of businesses and close the "skills gap" in our region and in the state.
Middletown looks a lot different than it did just a few years ago. BeauVerre at the Square has increased its presence, and that includes the recent investment of Stained 1054 Bistro, which is expected to open early next year. And Pendleton Art Center is 18 months into its existence.
But Cincinnati State is a big reason major strides have been made in downtown redevelopment. Since its deal to come to downtown was signed in April and the school opened in August, there are less vacant store fronts and more people traversing the streets of downtown Middletown.
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