The intent of the event was to give “everyone the same message at the same time from the same people,” according to Morlan.
“We're open, we have opportunity...we're planning the future."
The event featured two panels of city staff members. The first panel focused on Middletown’s past and present, and the second panel was focused on “forging ahead,” according to Morlan.
“We are an industrial community and we are embracing that,” Morlan said.
She added that “classic” economic development wasn’t focused on workforce or housing, but Middletown has to focus on these things.
Middletown owns several hundred infill lots and various downtown buildings — areas that were a major focus of the forum.
“Staff is working on consolidating some of those parcels to make them more marketable, valuable lots. And then, as well, we will work with builders to build homes on them,” Morlan said.
The city doesn’t plan on making money from those lots, according to Morlan.
“Our net gain at the end is really repurposing blighted areas with new construction and adding to our housing stock, so that we have a more diversified residential portfolio.”
The city is also working with local employers to use new housing as a business retention and attraction tool, who in turn can use new housing as an employee retention and attraction tool.
“It may be an epic fail, but what we’re doing now isn’t working,” Morlan said. “There’s not a municipality in the entire nation that doesn’t have a shortage of housing.”.
New housing prices are aimed around $150,000 to $275,000, attainable housing for the workforce Middletown has, or the “missing middle,” as Morlan refers to it.
In February, the average sales price for a home across Ohio reached $284,191, according to Ohio REALTORS. The average sale price for homes in Cincinnati during this time was $335,972; the average sales price for homes in Dayton was $274,684.
The forum also focused on the amount of developable property in Middletown.
“Being between two saturated markets and having the last of the available developable property on I-75 puts us in a very strategic geographic location in the region,” Morlan said.
She added the event was more than “residential,” focusing on industrial development. Recent openings of major industrial suppliers like Intel, Honda, Toyota and Anduril give Middletown the opportunity to add to its industrial employment base.
“Those organizations don’t want their suppliers less than 90 miles from them...because then you have workforce challenges,” Morlan said. “The sprawl is right down I-75 toward Middletown because Dayton and Cincinnati are saturated ... that’s why our geographic location is so strategic to this region.”
Rick Pierce, Middletown Chamber of Commerce president, moderated the event’s panels, and Jennifer Thomas from REDI Cincinnati was the keynote speaker.
Todd Duplain of Woodard Development shared his congratulations with Morlan after the forum, citing the content, location and speakers as high points.
In the fall, Middletown will conduct a manufacturing forum.
“These are really two forums that...you don’t see very often,” Clayton Castle, communications manager for Middletown, said.
Morlan said many attendees hadn’t been to a city or municipality where the city conducted a real estate or manufacturing forum.
“To me, it just makes sense,” she said.
About the Author
