Under the contract, UD and Premier will fork over $3 million when they close on the property, and the rest of the sales price when they take ownership of it.
But the institutions will only have to pay $1 million of the $3 million at closing if they commit to renovating or rehabbing the roundhouse building.
“One of the things we heard throughout the process was that people would like to keep the history in tact, particularly with the roundhouse,” said Dan Foley, president of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.
In May 2016, the county declared the fairgrounds was surplus property and issued a request for proposals to redevelop the 38-acre site.
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Two firms submitted proposals, but officials with the city of Dayton, county and fair board rejected them in late November, saying they failed to meet key criteria and asked for too much public money.
Less than two weeks later, UD and Premier announced plans to jointly buy the property, likely to create a mixed-use development.
On Dec. 9, Premier Health President and CEO Mary Boosalis and UD President Eric Spina signed a letter of intent to purchase the fairgrounds. A finalized purchase agreement was approved by commissioners Tuesday, and UD and Premier officials signed the document soon after.
“Along with our partners, UD and Premier will be starting a process to very carefully study development opportunities for the site,” the university said in a statement.
A due diligence period, which will last until the end of February, allows UD and Premier to terminate the agreement for any reason.
UD and Premier will redevelop the property after market analysis and community input, according to a news release from the county. The Montgomery County Fair and Dayton Horse Show planned for later this year will not be affected by the sale.
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The closing is supposed to take place no later than 15 days after the end of the due diligence period, which can be extended to the end of March if the buyers choose. UD and Premier will take possession of the property no later than Oct. 1, the letter states.
UD and Premier agreed to try to retain the historic roundhouse and incorporate it into their redevelopment plans.
In exchange, the county will provide them with a $2 million credit at the time of closing, which will be applied to the first and smaller of the two payments.
“We’re very pleased that as part of this deal the county is going to be able to contribute money to not only to keep that building where it is, but to improve it,” Commissioner Foley said.
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Under the agreement, UD and Premier will not be required to renovate the building by any specific date.
The institutions also can decide that the roundhouse should be taken apart and reassembled at a suitable site somewhere else. But the building has a historic designation and, if moved, would have to be reconstructed to meet historic rehab standards, officials said.
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Foley said he’s confident the development will create jobs, reshape the neighborhood and support two major anchor institutions.
“We’re excited that this next step has been accomplished. We look forward to working with our partners to develop plans for future,” said Premier Health in a statement.
The purchase agreement also says the city of Dayton will work to approve a memorandum of understanding outlining how it is prepared to participate in the construction of the infrastructure to benefit and support the redevelopment project.
The city also would be expected to take ownership of the title to the fairgrounds property to make the development eligible for tax increment financing incentives.
As for the financing, UD and Premier are expected to each pay $5.25 million of the sales price.
About $2.5 million is expected to come from a state grant that was previously awarded to the Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority. And the remaining $2 million is from the county.
A coalition of residents and leaders of neighborhood and business groups called on the city, county, fair board and future developers to follow certain development criteria to ensure the fairgrounds property "lives up to its potential."
Last year, they asked for the development to include a mix of housing, public space and connect with existing neighborhoods. They insisted that a suburban-style development would be unacceptable.
Ken Clarkston, president of the Rubicon Park Business Association, said local stakeholders want to work with UD and Premier to ensure a high-quality development is in the cards.
“I am optimistic that this can happen to meet everyone’s needs, by and large,” he said.
The sale of the Montgomery County Fairgrounds is a century in the making, and we’ve been your source of the latest news about efforts to remake the property. We broke the story of what developers sought the property, as well as the news that their proposals were rejected. We provide unmatched coverage on the past, present and future of this important site.
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