An early glimpse at UD's proposed arts center near OnMain

 

The University of Dayton has submitted updated plans for a proposed arts center near the former Montgomery County Fairgrounds — a project the university has envisioned for years.

 

New renderings filed with the Dayton Plan Board offer a closer look at the proposed UD Center for the Arts, which would contain a concert hall, experimental black-box theater, TV studio, an audio production lab and studio, editing and office areas, galleries and space for UD's independent student newspaper, Flyer News.

 

"The University of Dayton has long wanted to build a facility dedicated to providing our students with first-rate gallery, studio and performance space," university officials said in a statement to DBJ. "The arts help foster creativity, critical thinking, cultural competency and community engagement."

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2021/06/04/ud-center-for-the-arts.html

 

Plans revealed for first new facility at onMain district near downtown Dayton

 

 

A nonprofit corporation leading redevelopment of the former Montgomery County Fairgrounds is planning to jump start the $72.3 million project with a new facility that would mark the first employment-related building on the property.

 

onMain Inc., an organization formed by the project's anchor institutions Premier Health and the University of Dayton (UD), seeks funding for the "Think Dayton" building at the former fairgrounds site, which is located at the intersection of South Main Street and West Stewart Street near downtown Dayton. The property is now known as "onMain: Dayton's Imagination District."

 

Funding is sought for phase one site development improvements and the new facility, which would house a Technology Training and Employment Center (TTEC) and Digital Engineering Applied Learning onMain (The DEAL). onMain is in preliminary conversations with a TTEC company called Bitwise Industries, a Fresno, California-based technology and software firm that provides workforce training and apprenticeship programs targeted to minority populations and other low-income individuals who desire good-paying jobs in the tech industry.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2021/11/17/onmain-daytons-imagination-district.html

 

Three Dayton institutions sign tax abatement plan for onMain project

 

Three Dayton institutions have joined together to provide students with scholarships, internships and more as part of a long-term tax sharing plan.

 

Dayton Public Schools (DPS), the University of Dayton and Premier Health approved a property tax sharing plan at the Dayton Public Schools board meeting April 16 for the development of onMain, Dayton’s Imagination District, on the former Montgomery County fairgrounds property.

 

“We appreciate the Dayton Public Schools board approving this crucial step in the long-range planning and vision for onMain, a development that aligns with the University’s and Premier Health’s institutional missions and values,” said Eric Spina, UD president. “It builds on the longstanding relationship the university has with Dayton Public Schools. We look forward to growing the number of talented DPS students who will learn, lead and serve as part of our UD community.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2024/04/23/university-dayton-public-schools-premier-health.html

 

Glad to see talk about OnMain happening again. With all of the other development that has happened recently around downtown Dayton, the glacial speed this is moving forward at hasn't seemed to be a concern for much of anyone in the area. Sure, the fairgrounds are an eyesore now, but not much more of an eyesore than they were when they were fairgrounds IMO. So it seems people are continuing to ignore the site, just like they have for many decades before.

 

I don't know if there will be enough interest or justification for an urban market, like a small format Meijer (Bridge Street Market) or a small format Kroger to replace Wayne Ave. Enticing one of those retailers historically seemed to be a big incentive this getting built, but figured the combo of UD + Premier would be enough to get it done. Kind of surprised there hasn't even been much talk about it for, what, close to 3 years? That's a long time, even with COVID making things weird at the start of that timeline. 

 

Major project set for former Montgomery County Fairgrounds site

 

The Dayton region has been tapped as an innovation hub in the state of Ohio. Supported with $35 million in state funding from the Ohio Innovation Hubs Program, the new onMain Innovation Hub will bring together government, academia, and private sector industry partners to make Dayton a global leader in the research and development of digital transformation technologies. The project also is supported with a local match of at least $23 million and a private sector investment of up to $37 million.

 

State funding will primarily be used to construct the onMain Innovation Hub's Digital Transformation Center (DTC) on the former Montgomery County fairgrounds site in the greater downtown Dayton area.

 

The DTC will serve as the hub's headquarters, where partners will collaborate to create digital technology that will drive advancements in aviation and national defense. Among its top priorities, the onMain Innovation Hub will support the digital transformation of the U.S. Air Force to revolutionize how it designs and manufactures everything from airplanes and missiles to sensors, hardware, software, and more.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2024/08/19/dayton-innovation-hib-fairgrounds.html

 

New innovation hub sparks future development in Dayton

 

A long-discussed development may have just gotten a large kick start from the state.

 

The onMain project just received a new spark in the form of a new innovation center coming to Dayton. The onMain Innovation Hub’s Digital Transformation Center (DTC) was discussed Monday at an event held by state officials and local organizations.

 

onMain is a nonprofit working to transform the old Montgomery County fairgrounds into a new high-tech, mixed-use neighborhood. The effort was announced in 2018. Since then, more and more projects have been announced as part of the redevelopment, but no work has started on the 38-acre site. According to onMain’s CEO, they were waiting for the innovation hub to be finalized before they could begin work.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2024/08/19/new-project-sparks-future-development-dayton.html

 

I'm still excited for this, but given the speed UD and Premier work at (and their past destructive transgressions around Midtown), I'll believe it when I see shovels in the dirt. 

$100M-plus former Montgomery County Fairgrounds project receives critical local support

 

One of the region's upcoming largest developments has secured city funding to help advance the project forward and support infrastructure improvements.

 

onMain's redevelopment of the former Montgomery County Fairgrounds site took a major step this week due to legislation approved by the Dayton City Commission. The legislation completes important tax agreements with the city of Dayton and Dayton Public Schools, along with a funding commitment of $7.8 million by 2026.

 

The tax agreements include:

• 15-year Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) ordinance and agreement
• 30-year Tax Increment Financing (TIF) ordinance and agreement
• Development agreement with onMain Inc.

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2024/12/19/onmain-fairgrounds-redevelopment-project-dayton.html

 

$87M project could provide ‘affordable’ approach to specialized facilities in Dayton

 

Small to mid-tier manufacturers and contractors in the Dayton region could benefit from the project. Find out more.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2025/01/08/dayton-collaborative-secure-facility-onmain.html

 

onMain announces renovation plans to historic Roundhouse in former fairgrounds site

 

Work will soon begin on an iconic facility near downtown Dayton. The building is located in one of the region's largest upcoming developments.

 

onMain — the firm behind the redevelopment of the former Montgomery County Fairgrounds site — will begin major improvements and renovations this week to the Exposition Building, which is more commonly known as the Roundhouse.

 

This marks the kickoff of visible work the community will see as onMain begins its redevelopment of the 38-acre site just south of downtown Dayton.

...

At full buildout, the site is projected to include 900,000 square feet of commercial space to support up to 3,000 jobs, 1,600 housing units, complementary retail space, unique community spaces and three parking garages.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2025/03/11/onmain-montgomery-fairgrounds-roundhouse-project.html

 

OnMain project moves forward with first building proposed at former Montgomery County Fairgrounds site

One of the region's largest upcoming developments is moving forward with plans for the first of many facilities to come taking shape. The transformative facility will combine research, creative design, collaboration and more to activate development on the site.

Last year, the Dayton region was tapped as an innovation hub in the state of Ohio.

Supported with $35 million in state funding from the Ohio Innovation Hubs Program, the new OnMain Innovation Hub will bring together government, academia and private sector industry partners to make Dayton a global leader in the research and development of digital transformation technologies.

The project is also supported with a local match of at least $23 million and a private sector investment of up to $37 million.

Next week, Dayton's city plan board will convene to review and potentially approve an application for the first building of the OnMain development, as well as Phase I infrastructure.

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2025/06/05/onmain-fairgrounds-redevelopment-project-dayton.html