He had hoped to have several tenants inside the 50,000-square-foot by now, but each of the businesses fell through for various reasons, he said. Two years ago, Montesi said he wanted to build an apartment for himself and his two sons, and there was talk about opening an antique shop, a hot yoga studio, a fitness gym and possibly a dance studio.
At the time, he predicted the building would be 80 percent occupied within one year.
But now, since the building is located in the city’s entertainment district, Montesi said there has been discussion about opening a bar, restaurant or micro-brewery in one section of the building.
Middletown’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, called a DORA, was the first in Ohio.
The DORA district allows patrons of several establishments in the half-mile section of downtown to purchase alcoholic beverages in specially marked plastic containers and consume them outside from 6 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Those times can be adjusted with the approval of the police chief and Middletown City Council for special events. Anyone consuming alcoholic beverages not purchased from the licensed establishments could be cited for open container violations, and city officials have said public intoxication laws would be enforced.
Middletown’s DORA district went into effect on Dec. 31, 2015.
Finding a tenant for the building, Montesi said, would help fund the rest of the renovations.
He believes once renovations are completed he’ll have about $1 million invested in the project.
Montesi, 45, owner of a construction company, said he bought out his real estate business partner and is doing all of the renovations himself. He recently was seen restoring and painting many of the 9-foot by 8-foot exterior windows. He hopes to have all the windows finished by the end of the month.
He said when people find out he owns the property, they always ask: “What are you going to go with this?”
Those who drive by may not realize it, but Montesi said the project “is closer than it seems.”
His goal is for the building to blend in with the other downtown businesses. He said there are many “downtown cheerleaders” who are leading projects, something he didn’t see just three years ago.
“There are a lot of people into what’s happening down here,” he said.
He mentioned the Triple Moon Coffee Shop, the Canal House, Murphy’s Landing and BeauVerre Riordan Stained Glass Studios.
“Things are looking up,” he said.
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