Middletown To Tear Down Towne Mall Galleria!

The fate of the Towne Mall Galleria hangs in the balance.

An anticipated demolishing of a former mall to make way for a proposed mixed used retail housing development.

When you exit Interstate 75 to Ohio State Route 122, you enter the city of Middletown, the hometown of James Donald Berman (JD Vance).

The city has not introduced any longstanding memorial to the 50th Vice President of the United States. I mean why should they?

There has not been any improvements to the city since President Donald J. Trump returned to office. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) is a lazy lawmaker. He opposed the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Recovery and Investment Act.

The city of Middletown got a portion of the infrastructure law and is using it to make the community a little bit better.

The long-vacant Towne Mall Galleria in Middletown is set for a transformation as city leaders collaborate with a private development firm to revitalize the site.

The 32-acre property, owned by the city, has been unused since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our main focus here is to find something that, again, kind of brings some vibrancy to the site," Middletown Economic Development Program Manager Jacob Schulte said.

This week, city officials entered a pre-development agreement with Midland Atlantic Properties to determine the future of the space.

Schulte emphasized the community's desire for local shopping and entertainment options within the community.

Middletown has plans for a new lifestyle town center since 2024.

"One of the biggest things we hear from our community time and time again is that they so often leave the city of Middletown to go do their shopping and to go do their entertainment. That's something that we definitely want to focus in on to make sure that we provide the retail and entertainment amenities that the community would like to see here."

The city has allocated $7.9 million to the project, with an additional $2.5 million from the state for demolition. While still in the early stages, the project aims to include restaurants, shops, entertainment options, and possibly apartments.

"The city is still excited and interested to hear from the citizens and the folks, all of our stakeholders, as to what exactly they would like to see here," Schulte said. "We hope that the best of our ability is to be able to kind of blend those two concepts between what the market is demanding as well as what the community would like to see into a great final product for the community."

Finalized plans and demolition are expected to commence early in 2026. Nearby businesses such as Planet Fitness, Gabe's, and Burlington will remain open and are not part of the redevelopment project.