Here’s the latest on Woodard Development’s $200M mixed-use development in Middletown
$200M mixed-use development in Middletown Ohio
A massive $200 million mixed-use project announced last year in the Dayton region is making strides toward groundbreaking. The development in MIddletown is expected to create hundreds of jobs on site once completed.
The development, led by Dayton-based Woodard Development, sits on part of 50.8 acres at the southeast corner of State Route 122 and Union Road and is anticipated to create nearly 700,000 square feet of new development.
“From our perspective, we view this development as a regional asset that will draw from Dayton, Middletown and Cincinnati, but even beyond that, in large part because of the potential arena,” said Todd Duplain, partner at Woodard Development. “…This is meant to be a fairly unique type of development that has a regional draw that benefits certainly the city of Middletown residents, but much, much beyond that.”
The preliminary development plan for the 50-acre site has been approved by the city of Middletown. Duplain said each individual building will now go through its own approval process before construction begins. In the meantime, a $15 million to $17 million public infrastructure package for the site will go to bid sometime in April, with construction beginning in late spring.
The development is likely to have a seven-to-10-year buildout. Duplain said it is still to be determined as to what buildings are likely to break ground and be completed first.
“I certainly believe some of the food and beverage operators will be under construction next year,” he said. “We certainly hope that both the arena and some of the residential portions will be coming out of ground next summer as well. So, I think the first phase of construction will certainly include food and beverage, residential and hopefully the arena.”
Duplain estimates between 200-250 new jobs will be created on the mixed-use campus once operational.
At the heart of the development is a $110 million event center with multiple linked but separate playing and performance areas. On the sports side, the center allows for ice events, hockey, arena football, soccer and lacrosse. Entertainment opportunities include concerts, family shows, graduations, community events, trade shows and exhibitions. Details on specifics for the arena are still under consideration.
On the residential side, Woodard plans to work with three builders who Duplain said are “well experienced in the market.” He was unable to disclose company names, but said the residential projects aren’t likely to break ground until summer 2025.
On the commercial side, Duplain intends to allow end-users for spaces to bring along a contractor for construction of the retail and restaurant sectors. Retail uses would mainly be eater-tainment” establishments, or food concepts that incorporate some kind of entertainment aspect.
“We get a tremendous amount of calls from food and beverage operators who want to be on the campus,” Duplain said. “We generally hear from the same people over and over again and we (recently) got two new concepts, so we feel very confident about the food and beverage side of this… Everything’s going really well.”
$200M mixed-use development in Middletown Ohio