Troy City Council is considering an offer from the owner of the Tavern Building located on West Main Street to donate the property to the city of Troy.
Mike Ullery | Miami Valley Today
By Matt Clevenger
TROY — Members of the Troy City Council are currently considering an offer from the owner of the Tavern Building located on West Main Street to potentially donate the property to the city of Troy.
Council members heard the first reading of a resolution to accept the donation of the property, valued at approximately $485,000, during their regularly scheduled meeting held on Monday, June 5. The resolution was held over for a second reading at council members’ next meeting on Monday, June 19.
“The property owner first proposed acquisition by the city a few months ago,” Troy Director of Public Service and Safety Patrick Titterington said. “There have been several discussions that led to the most recent proposal.”
The extent of repairs needed for the building is still unknown, Titterington said, but several outstanding complaints against the owner from the city could be terminated as part of a donation agreement.
“We are still reviewing the full scope and extent of the repairs that will be required by the county,” Titterington said. “The disposition of the outstanding complaints would be part of any settlement, but since this is all very preliminary and we are still undecided as to whether we will recommend to council that the resolution be passed, that all remains to be seen.”
Lawyers representing the building’s owner and the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance (THPA) have not responded to requests for comment for this story.
Potential uses for the Tavern Building have been discussed, Titterington said.
“Nothing concrete, but we have discussed various community, non-profit or economic development-related uses that we would further explore,” he said.
The Tavern Building was damaged by tornadoes in 2020, and later approved for demolition by members of the Troy Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals. An appeal of that decision filed by the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance and neighboring property owners blocked the planned demolition, and was affirmed by the Ohio Second District Court of appeals in a decision issued in March.
Since then, the property has been the subject of several ongoing legal disputes, including misdemeanor charges filed by the city of Troy in March.
