The building at 735 Wayne Ave (located in between Buckeye and Hickory Streets) has been undergoing renovations as it awaits new commercial tenants.
The property listing states that the “flexible, open floorplan may be customized to suit single or multiple tenants” and would be perfect for retail, restaurant, office, or service businesses.
Historic South Park wrote that the neighborhood “continues to benefit from individuals who invest in our neighborhood and bring unused buildings back to life.” Volunteers from the neighborhood applied for a City of Dayton Mini-grant, and then worked with an artist to paint the mural visible here:
In 2021 the building was planned to become a food hall, but that project ultimately did not move forward.
The single-story structure was built in 1925. One of its tenants in the 1930s was the Haggerty-Van Lue Motor Company. It was later occupied by the Blommel Sign Co for a long stretch from the 1960s into the 2000s.
Before the current building was constructed, the corner site was occupied by the Wayne Street Brewery.
Dayton architect Matt Sauer shared some additional information about the building’s construction history: “The north wall of the building was built on a zig-zagging property line out of solid concrete to protect the (then) neighboring houses from any fires that might originate at the Motor Company. When the rest of the block was torn down for 35, that zigzag line gave Buckeye some room to intersect with Wayne. The shape of the building looks like it could be the result of 35 construction, but in reality it predates the highway.”
Prospective tenants would be in close proximity to a number of successful businesses, including coffee shops Wholly Grounds and Ghostlight, brewery Branch and Bone, grocery store International Halal Market, bar The Silver Slipper, restaurants Pizza Factory and South Park Tavern, and a number of other small businesses (Remember When Antiques, Custom Frame Services, Blue Byrd Tattoo, and more).
The Wayne Ave corridor has recently seen calls for a redesign (including a guest article posted here on Dayton Vistas) to help reduce car speeds and create a safer environment. The stretch of Wayne just north of 35 is slated for several traffic calming improvements.
I’d love to learn more about the “Wayne Market Hall” from the Sanborn map. Never knew such a structure or use existed there!!!
Very cool that the motor company built the one wall from concrete to save the residences from a potential fire. Hope that it finds a new owner soon.