• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Dayton Vistas

A Look at the Past, Present, and Future of the Gem City

Connect with Dayton Vistas

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Hire Me
  • Categories
    • Historical Dayton
    • New Developments
    • Dayton Culture
  • Article Archives
  • Catalog of Historic Dayton Buildings
  • My Dayton Book

Fidelity Building and Paru Tower: History and What’s Happening Now?

March 17, 2025 By Andrew Walsh Leave a Comment


Original article posted 11/27/2024

It’s been over five years since I wrote an article about what major downtown site could be next after the Dayton Arcade redevelopment had officially gotten underway.

Today, of course, the Arcade’s first phase has been a success and the second phase is nearing completion, but out of the many buildings I covered in that article, only one, the Grant Deneau Tower, has moved forward.

For the rest, the words I wrote then still apply: “These large vacant properties have put areas of the Central Business District into a state of limbo. Just a few getting redeveloped would seriously tip the scales for the whole downtown, but an inability to secure financing and continued deterioration could lead to demolitions. And the loss of any irreplaceable historic urban fabric would be a major blow to a city core that has already been gutted of so much.”

It’s certainly worth noting that since I wrote in 2019, many plans were upended by a global pandemic. But today I’ll write about two of those sites, the Fidelity Building and 34 North Main (The Paru Tower) and briefly cover their history as well as give an update on their redevelopment prospects.

Fidelity Building

Image courtesy of Dayton Metro Library


The Fidelity Building was built in 1918 at the SW corner of Fifth and Main Streets, replacing an old post office and federal building that only lasted a few decades there before being replaced.

The Fidelity was expanded in 1929 and for many years was the home of a variety of medical offices. It has been vacant since 2008 when a burst water pipe dealt a final blow and forced the remaining tenants to relocate.

Like the Centre City Building just up Main Street, it has been awarded millions in historic tax credits multiple times but has been unable to assemble the rest of the needed financing to begin in earnest.

In 2018, a redevelopment project won $4 million in state tax credits towards what was reported to be a $22 million dollar effort to create 94 housing units and first-floor retail. At the time it had raised $12 million in private financing and had also been awarded $3.3 million in federal tax credits, but it ultimately did not move forward.

Then in December 2023, the Fidelity again won millions in state tax credits, this time $4.9 million toward a $50.6 million total project cost that would bring 101 housing units and two food and entertainment tenants. At the time it was reported that “work is expected to begin in the summer of 2024 with an estimated completion date of May 2026.”

But in October 2024, the owner of the building pleaded guilty to a federal charge for failing to properly inspect and test for asbestos before beginning redevelopment activities.

And the developer announced for the project, Mayfair Hospitality, was also the group that brought the Est Est Est restaurant to the Dayton Arcade, which closed in July 2024 after only a year in business.

So it remains to be seen if anything can be resurrected from the latest development proposal.

34 N Main (Paru Tower, Third National Bank Building)

If we stay on Main Street and head north a few blocks to the block in between Second and Third, we come across another major former office building that has been vacant for some time.

34 North Main, originally known as the Third National Bank Building and later the Society Bank Building, is a 14-story structure built in 1926.

Photo courtesy of Dayton Metro Library
Photo credit: Steve Morgan

Later it became the KeyBank Building before that company moved across the street to the former Mead Tower.

KeyBank vacated the space in 2008 and two years later, the building was purchased by Dr. Commander Selvam, a self-proclaimed Hindu guru and mystic. But he ended up in legal troubles out of state and unpaid taxes piled up, and the building went into receivership and was foreclosed on in 2013.

The City of Dayton acquired the building in 2016, saying that “it’s right across from Courthouse Square and is really the center of our main street spine” and that “is imperative this building be given new life.”

The following year the city selected a preferred developer, Coon Restoration, which planned to seek historic tax credits towards a conversion to market-rate housing.

But no updates followed that announcement.

Finally in 2023, the tower was back in the news as it was reported that some of $11 million in grant money from the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program would go to asbestos remediation at 34 N Main.

The building is now owned by the Montgomery County Land Bank, and a recent social media post shared that “the scope of work was much larger than originally anticipated.”

But at least some visible work is being done, and hopefully once more remediation work has been completed the building will come back on the redevelopment radar.

The interior of 34 N Main once featured a stunning bank lobby.

Update March 2025:

Wind Damages Paru Tower / 34 N Main: “Partial Collapse”

On Saturday March 15, 2025, a windstorm brought strong gusts which caused part of the top facade of the NE corner of the building to fall off, which damaged several windows of the neighboring Stratacache (formerly Kettering) Tower.

Reports called the damage a “partial collapse” and said that “the fire department is concerned about the stability of the historic building.”

The Stratacache Tower was evacuated on Saturday afternoon and as of Monday morning Main Street was still closed off north of Third Street.

With the City of Dayton having just completed asbestos remediation, it appears as though the office tower may need new investment in order to stabilize it and protect if from further damage from facade debris or more catastrophic structural failure.

Related Posts:

  • Dayton Daily News Redevelopment Site
    The Arcade is a Go; What Pending Downtown…
  • centre city building
    Dayton Office Towers: New Proposals and Occupancy,…
  • price stores old building
    Uncovering Old Buildings in Downtown Dayton
  • dayton arcade third street north hotel
    Dayton Arcade Hotel, Retail Nearing Completion: Some…
Enjoying Dayton Vistas?
Take a look at Andrew's book Lost Dayton, Ohio. You can also subscribe to our newsletter for periodic updates of new articles.

Filed Under: New Developments Tagged With: 34 North Main, Coon Restoration, Downtown, Fidelity Building, KeyBank, Mayfair Hospitality, Paru Tower, Preservation, Third National Bank

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search the Dayton Vistas Archives

My book explores a diverse selection of retail, industrial, entertainment and residential sites from Dayton's disappearing legacy.
Read More

About Dayton Vistas

I'm Andrew Walsh, a writer and academic librarian. I research Dayton history, architecture, preservation, and urban redevelopment.

Read More

Get New Posts via Email


Latest Posts

901 keowee st

Award-Winning Architecture at the Corner of Keowee and Webster

historic building at washington and longworth dayton

Midtown Survivors at Washington and Longworth

historic view of east side of main street, downtown dayton

Urban Renewal and Lost Buildings at Main and 3rd

heritage coffeeshop university of dayton built 1903

Lesser-Known Historic Buildings of the University of Dayton

dayton masonic temple

Masonic Temple (Dayton Masonic Center) History

dayton commercial building during construction 1900s

The Commercial Building: Before and During Construction

Browse Historic Dayton

newcom tavern daytonA Catalog of Historic Dayton Buildings (with years, pics, type, area, status, etc.)

Recent Comments

  • Mollie Hauser on The Last Old Buildings on the West Side of Downtown
  • William "Rusty" Pietrzak on The Diner on St. Clair: a History and an Uncertain Future
  • Laura J Merrell on Historic Buildings on the University of Dayton Campus
  • Накрутка мобильными on Lost Commercial Buildings at Main and Franklin

Articles By Topic

Architecture Banking Brown Street Churches Commercial Building Dayton Arcade Dayton Daily News Delco Demolition Downtown East Dayton Features Fidelity Building Fire Blocks District Great Flood of 1913 Historic Homes House Histories Huffman Industrial Buildings John H Patterson NCR Old Dayton Maps Old North Dayton Oregon District Paul Laurence Dunbar Preservation Rare Dayton Photos Restaurants Retail Rike's Sanborn Maps Santa Clara South Park Sports St. Anne's Hill Then and Now Twin Towers University of Dayton Urban Planning Urban Renewal Wayne Avenue West Dayton Windsor Companies Wright-Dunbar Wright Brothers

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro On Genesis Framework · Affiliate Disclosure and Privacy Policy · WordPress · Log in