Proposed reuses of Dayton Arcade
First floor: Dine in/out, 5,088 square feet; pop-up retail, 18,816 square feet; club-n-pub, 3,672; long-term retail, 8,428; anti-mall (off Third Street entrance), 13,860 square feet
Second floor: dine in/out, 5,600 square feet; lifestyle, 5, 660 square feet; Daytosphere, 4,000 square feet; professional office: 14,440 square feet
Third floor: professional office, 30,428 square feet; luxury hotel, 3,000 square feet
source: Dayton Arcade LLC
DAYTON — The owners of downtown’s historic Arcade are showing “concept drawings” of floor plans for the complex at the Third Street entrance Friday, May 14, as part of Urban Nights.
“We want to show people what we have in mind,” said owner Gunther Berg. “This will not be what you find in a mall.”
The plans will be on display from 5 to 10 p.m. Berg will also showcase other restoration projects he has completed.
The Wisconsin developer has spent a year lining up financing for the $35 million restoration project and to pay the $131,544 currently owned on property taxes. He says he is close.
“I wish we were several steps further, but I feel comfortable enough with our financials to talk about the ideas with the public,” he said.
The arcade will not be open for tours tonight. Tickets will be on sale for the Jewels of the Gem City Open House on June 5, featuring the Arcade built in 1904, the Dayton Woman’s Club circa 1847 and the 1914 YMCA Dayton.
Berg said his priority for the Arcade is to repair the roof and the façade of the building. Restoration — provided financing is finalized — is expected to begin this summer, starting with the Flemish architecture on Third Street.
Replacement safety glass for the Arcade’s rotunda will allow light to bleed through, but will camouflage surrounding buildings in shadow. Berg will have a sample of the glass on display during Urban Nights.
Phase One of the interior renovation covers three floors of the complex, from Third to Fourth streets.
Downtown developer Robert Shiffler, who owns and has restored two buildings, said he is working with Berg, because of his own interest in downtown.
“I support this project. I believe in it,” Shiffler said. “We are much closer, but still not everyone has signed on the line. We’re making sure there is a strategy in place to get everyone excited and to make sure it is sustainable.”
Proposed uses include: Pop-up retail that changes frequently to attract returning patrons.
“Clearly for the Arcade to be sustainable, it has to have a uniqueness that doesn’t compete with a mall experience,” Shiffler said.
About the Author