dfly

I-75 ramp relocation plan to shut down some Main Street businesses By Anthony Gottschlich Dayton Daily News DAYTON | For 35 years, shaggy-haired, hungry customers have filed into the Chili King Restaurant on North Main Street for a bellyful of biscuits and gravy or a bowl of chili, then strolled a few steps next door for a haircut and jokes with Bob Bowman at Bowman's Hair Design. Those days are coming to an end for the Chili King and Bowman's, as well as several other businesses just north of downtown that lie in the way of the proposed Interstate 75 widening and realignment project, which is slated to begin in 2007. An Ohio Department of Transportation official said Wednesday the building housing Chili King and Bowman's at 614-616 N. Main St. would have to come down. Under the state's eminent domain laws, the government can seize private property for public use and compensate the owner. The same fate awaits the 34,000-square-foot building across the street at 635-637 N. Main St., home to Burhill Leasing Corp. and the Dayton Wasserstrom Superstore, a restaurant supply company. "I feel like an empty shell, just sick to my stomach," said Bowman, 61, owner of the two-story, brick and frame building just north of Harmon Cadillac and the White-Allen automobile dealerships. "This is the saddest thing that's happened to me since my wife died."

Historic rehab under way By Benjamin Kline Dayton Daily News DAYTON | A leading preservation architect and the developer of a downtown loft housing project are partners in a commercial-residential venture that would transform two empty old buildings into a spectacular commercial-residential site named "the Merc." Architect Jeffrey Wray, best known for the Old Court House restoration, and developer Matt Stoermer of the Cooper Lofts have acquired and are clearing out the Lotz Paper Co. building at 607 E. Third St. and the abandoned Dayton Power and Light Co. steam plant east of it. The DP&L building was built in 1907 with additions in 1917 and 1948. It served as a backup for the utility's downtown steam-heating system.

Although often overlooked, the University of Dayton Research Institute is the number two university in the nation for materials research. http://www.udri.udayton.edu/NR/exeres/71DB6B59-BF2F-45E9-9D00-6BFE4FA7CA96.htm UDRI, which is nearing its 50th year as a self-supporting division of the University of Dayton, specializes in structures, fuels and energy, aerospace mechanics, information technology, materials and, in recent years, materials nanotechnology.

Umm...I think he meant to say make a lot of money.

NewPage born with MeadWestvaco division's sale By Jason Roberson www.daytondailynews.com DAYTON | MeadWestvaco Corp. on Monday completed the sale of its paper division for $2.3 billion to NewPage Corp., a Dayton-based company controlled by Cereberus Capital Management L.P., a private New-York investment firm. At the closing, MeadWestvaco received cash proceeds of approximately $2.2 billion and a promissory note of $100 million. The company expects to use $900 million to $1.1 billion of the proceeds to pay down debt and between $500 million and $700 million to return value to shareholders through stock repurchases. NewPage was scheduled to launch its Web site Monday at www.newpagecorp.com.

It seems really dumb to close the park at dark, especially with Drees Pavillion or whatever it is called there. I'm sure they have plenty of events that go until way after dusk.

Also, it seems like everyone at the "Lima Chemical Campus" is changing names these days... A butanediol unit was sold by BP Chemicals to International Specialty Products in March. BP Chemicals this month became part of Innovene, an offshoot of BP Global. And the refinery... Solar. Sohio. BP. Clark. Premcor. and now Valero. Seems like lately they've been changing their name more often than a bank.

That seems to be what everyone is assuming. However, it sounds like some people feel Valero has paid too much for Premcor, which will affect its debt rating--making it more difficult and expensive to borrow money. So who knows how this will play out. Overall, it does sound good for Lima though because Valero is very much into refining heavy crude, which is what the Lima upgrade is for. Also, the plan was a partnership with EnCana so it sounds like they may continue with the partnership or Valero says they may persue it on their own. The acquisition would make Valero the largest refiner in North America with a capacity of 138.6 million gallons per day, moving it ahead of Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, Shell and BP. Valero will have total assets of $25 billion and annual revenues of nearly $70 billion, which would rank it 15th on the FORTUNE 500 listing of the nation’s largest publicly traded companies.

P&G interested in sites in Bath and Jackson townships By HEATHER RUTZ [email protected] BATH TOWNSHIP — Procter & Gamble is actively pursuing two sites, one in Jackson Township and another in Bath Township, for a possible warehouse project. The company has not decided on a site, said Phil Gordon, a human resources manager at the Lima plant, but is nearing offering landowners options for purchase. On Wednesday, Gordon confirmed P&G is doing survey and soil sample work on property along Reservoir and McClure roads in Jackson Township before it offers an option, but he would not comment otherwise on specific properties or which land in the two townships the company is considering. More at www.limaohio.com

RiverScape plans to add whitewater park By Steve Bennish Dayton Daily News Plans are under way for an urban whitewater park that could soon delight kayakers and canoeists who visit downtown's RiverScape. There's no timetable for construction and no funds have been secured, but Five Rivers MetroParks is working on plans for what could be a 1,200-foot water-filled raceway — the length of four football fields — along the Great Miami River bank near the Interstate 75 overpass. Charlie Shoemaker, Metro-Parks executive director, said the raceway could cost $2 million to $4 million to build. The project would also involve placing boulders at the low dam to eliminate deadly hazards to boaters from the dam's wash. The raceway would be built as a channel along the riverbank and bypass the Monument Avenue low dam, Shoemaker said. Read full article here: http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0428riverscape.html

Some "extreme" ideas are coming to the Miami Valley. Developers want to bring a lot more entertainment to downtown including a block of fire and a raging river. It's a drawing now but soon white water rafting in Riverscape could become a major draw to downtown. “I think it would be an excellent thing to have." Turning the flow of the river into fun is a little out there for some. “Interesting. Wouldn't that be brown water floating?" “People like to get in the river and we have a beautiful river." So, Maureen Pero and the Downtown Dayton Partnership along with Five Rivers Metro Parks want to make waves. It means the Conservancy District will adjust the dams and water flow. It’s designed to be a whitewater experience. Read full article here: http://www.wdtn.com/index.cfm?action=dsp_story&storyid=66013

Some readers of the "Downtowner" offer their suggestions for the Arcade (along with my comments)... The city could partner with a grocery chain such as Kroger (suggested because of their community connection and resources available) to develop a full-service grocery in the rotunda with a retro street market theme. Provide a secure, reasonably priced downtown shopping experience by offering discounted parking in the adjacent parking garage above Kinkos, with baggers providing free delivery of groceries to cars parked there. Once the anchor store is in place, the upper levels could successfully be marketed as office, retail, restaurant space. - Valerie Buedel, Dayton. - If Cincinnati, the hometown of Kroger, can't get a Kroger downtown, there's no way Dayton will. I think a children's museum like the one at the Union Terminal in Cincinnati should be considered! They really do seem to pull in the crowds. We are always looking for something new, fun and also educational for our children. I truly think it would draw people back to downtown, at least during the day, as it would probably close at 5:00. - Janet Van Arsdale, Kettering. - Don't we already have the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery? The Arcade needs a discount factory outlet store, a buffet restaurant, offices and security for Arcade business. - Don Hapner, Dayton. - Sounds like suburban hell to me. The Arcade would make a perfect location for a gambling casino. A casino would mean restaurants and motels. Motels would bring in top-notch entertainment. There would be a need for specialty stores for shopping, creating a need for parking lots and public transportation. Gambling casinos create more jobs, bringing in more taxes. - Beverly Ossege, Dayton. - Sure, but casino gambling is still illegal in Ohio. My idea would be to use part of the space for a living arts center. Soho and Tribeca in New York City were old, rough neighborhoods that artists went into. These areas were fixed up as artist lofts and then later gentrined for people who raised the rents and pushed the original folks out. There is another area in Alexandria, Va. called The Torpedo Factory that has been redeveloped as artist studios and coop galleries. It is the anchor for revitalizing a whole area. People are curious about what artists are doing, and we are very resourceful with money and materials. - Jeff Rutledge, Dayton. - Interesting, but this is Dayton, not NYC or DC. Maybe it could be an aspect of whatever they do, though.

More casino talk...wake me when there's actual new news on this... Secret investors fund casino effort; no money from tribe Are grandmas funding high rollers? By Jaclyn Giovis and Ben Sutherly Dayton Daily News DAYTON | Investors hoping to bring Indian casinos to Ohio have hired lobbyists, lawyers and architects in a high-stakes bid to convince government officials and the public that more gambling would be good for the state. But the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, whose interest in Ohio triggered the massive lobbying effort, hasn't spent any of its own money. Instead, 45 unidentified investors — most of them from west and central Ohio — each have contributed between $10,000 and $50,000, said Tom Schnippel, a general contractor from Botkins and president of National Capital I, the Delaware-based company exploring the Shawnees' opportunities in Ohio. He described the investors as grandmas, firefighters and school teachers. Some observers question the suggestion that grandmas and such are bankrolling the Shawnees' lobbying efforts. "I'm suspicious," said Blake Watson, a University of Dayton law professor and former U.S. Justice Department attorney who handled cases involving Indian gaming. Individuals who invest in such efforts tend to be "incredibly wealthy people," he said. Full story at http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0424casino.html

I wondered what all the "Honor Your Promise" signs around Hyde Park were about.

“In addition to providing great homes for our sports programs, the Arena Sports Complex improves the University’s ability to continue to host community, regional and national events, such as high school and college tournaments,” said Ted Kissell, vice president and director of athletics. “The hotel will make the Arena Sports Complex an even more attractive site for sporting events in Dayton.” When the 2008 NCAA tournament is over, UD Arena will have been an NCAA site in 22 of the last 39 years, and will have hosted 74 NCAA tournament games. That will make UD Arena the third-most prolific NCAA tournament venue behind Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City (83) and the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City (81). Although I'm sure money is a big reason behind this project, adding amenities like this will make the arena and other facilites more marketable for big events, like the NCAA, Winterguard International Championships, etc.

I think they need more surface parking

Me bored outta my mind . . .

Also, here is a video of a presentation about the project at one of the Dayton City Commission Meetings. Sounds like they had a lot of good things to say...some small surface lots but mostly parking garages, committed to an urban design opposed to a suburban office park type design, etc. (although IMHO it's difficult to see some of this on the rendering) http://rrcs-24-123-76-219.central.biz.rr.com/~cdtn/html/Presentation1High.html

'Tech Town' vision revealed By Jim Bebbington Dayton Daily News DAYTON | The city is preparing to move from the industrial-era to the high-tech era. Dayton this week is unveiling its proposed vision for a 30-acre industrial site east of downtown called "Tech Town." The campus would include 500,000 square feet of office space in environmentally friendly buildings, parking for 1,500 employees and tree-lined streets. The high-tech cluster would be built around a small park along the Mad River. The development would be a stark change from the empty industrial complex there now, and it won't come cheap. The city has estimated it will cost $23.5 million just to clear the land, begin reclamation of the one building that will not be razed, and put in utilities and roads. The city is marketing the site as a perfect locale for contractors doing work at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. It will also try to entice companies that got their start at the Entrepreneur's Center, a business incubator on Monument Avenue, to move across the street and join the site. Read More...

I completely agree. It certainly seems like the location would be better suited for a more public building. When I first visited Toledo, I was surpised that to see that it hadn't already been redeveloped and incorporated into the surrounding park. I guess I should just be happy that it is being redeveloped rather than torn down.

$9.2 million dollars seems like a lot of money to be spenting on this for not a whole lot in return. Granted, a lot of that is "free money" that would end up somewhere else if Cincinnati didnt' use it--but still.

Thanks for the pics, monte. It's always great to see pictures of lovely Mariemont. What's the deal with the buildings in second to last picture? I always wondered about the buildings at that intersection. Did it used to be the "downtown" area? How did the Emery family make their money; because they are also the same family that built Carew Tower, correct?

Tax and spend policies aren’t usually considered fiscally conservative, are they? But I guess it is gaining in popularity with Republicans at the state and federal (at least the spend part) levels. Fiddling While Ohio Burns By Gerard Valentino CNSNews.com Commentary February 18, 2005 Guided by Chairman Bob Bennett, Ohio Republicans have controlled the House, Senate and governor's office for the past sixteen years. The Party is also still basking in the glow of election 2004 when they delivered the state, and therefore the presidency, to George Bush. Bennett's design for success is based on avoiding expensive and damaging primary races. With regularity he talks candidates that have their sights set on the governor's seat to run for lesser offices and "wait their turn." Current Governor Bob Taft is the most recent recipient of Bennett's uncanny ability to pull the puppet strings. Taft was hand picked to run for governor in 1998 due to his name recognition and as a reward for his loyalty to the state party. Taft easily won reelection in 2002 and after delivering Ohio to President Bush was mentioned as a possible cabinet position nominee. Full article at http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=%5CCommentary%5Carchive%5C200502%5CCOM20050218c.html