Numbers don’t lie: Downtown Dayton’s 2017 was HUGE

Downtown Dayton is experiencing the largest construction boom in decades, driven by colossal interest in urban living and the growing appetite for unique and authentic live, work and play opportunities.

New apartments are filling up fast, and new market-rate townhomes are selling long before they are ready for move-in.

Downtown is on track to get its first new office tower in years and its first new hotel in decades. The overhaul of the Dayton Metro Library has changed the face of East Third Street.

Also, a major Dayton employer is moving a large chunk of its local workforce into a previously struggling downtown skyscraper, giving nearby businesses hundreds of new potential customers.

These and other projects explain why the amount of investment in downtown has surpassed $932 million since 2010, according to data being shared today by the Downtown Dayton Partnership, during its annual special improvement district update.

What’s more, there are about $428 million worth of projects are under development in downtown, including the massive rehab of the Dayton Arcade and the construction of the Levitt Pavilion Dayton, a new outdoor music amphitheater.

RELATED STORY: Dayton Arcade: What’s really going on?

Signs of downtown’s rebirth are easy to come by.

There’s the towering construction crane at the site of the new CareSource building at Second and St. Clair streets. Expected to open in 2019, CareSource Center City will be the first large office tower built downtown since 2009, when the company unveiled its new headquarters at North Main and Monument streets a few blocks away.

It’s also hard to miss the heavy construction equipment and crews working on a new Fairfield Inn and Suites hotel at Monument Avenue and Patterson Boulevard.

The Fairfield Inn, downtown’s first new hotel in decades, will further expand the offerings and amenities in the Water Street District, which already boasts a healthy mix of housing, restaurants and office and commercial space.

It’s been a busy year for the Water Street District, fueling growth in the greater downtown area.

The 133 upscale apartments in the Delco Lofts opened up earlier this year, as did the Lock 27 Brewing on the ground level.

The developers are building 54 new apartments at the eastern end of the Water Street development along the Mad River. And the developers have now purchased a property east of Fifth Third Field with plans for new housing.

RELATED: Developers plan more housing for downtown Dayton

Downtown’s new, $64 million main Dayton Metro Library opened in August, reenergizing what was an aging and nondescript part of East Third Street.

A stone’s throw away, near Warped Wing Brewery’s parking lot, seven of the eight new City View townhomes that are currently under construction already have been sold.

The three-story town houses, with roof-top terraces and contemporary designs, start at about $350,000. Six more units are on the way.

RELATED: What it costs to buy 13 of the coolest homes and condos downtown

New restaurants and bars that have opened this year have spiced up downtown’s dining choices and night life, including the Mudlick Tap House at East Second and St. Clair streets and the Canal Street Arcade and Deli on the 300 block of East Third Street.

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