Renovation Will Add Commercial Space to Historic Salem and Grand

The Salem Ave Corridor has seen some activity in recent years, with the Gem City Market opening in 2021 and the upcoming redevelopment of the Longfellow School site.

Now a new $14 million project will upgrade housing at Salem and Grand Avenues and also reestablish 6,300 square feet of commercial space.

The city of Dayton has “approved an agreement that greenlighted $2.5 million in funds for the job,” which was scheduled to begin in February. The apartments and community spaces will be upgraded and reduced in number from 70 to 64.

The Gem City Market is a lifeline for what had been one of the largest food deserts in the city, and this new commercial space could also be a boon for the area by bringing retail and amenities closer to home.

Studies have shown that “residents who live within a several-mile radius of Salem and Grand avenues were spending more than $300 million annually outside of the service area.”

Looking at the beautiful terra-cotta facade of the Miller Building today, one would be surprised to learn that the interior was totally gutted by fire in the late 1980s and it’s a near-miracle that anything stands today.

It’s only natural to lament the many beautiful structures that have been demolished in Dayton, (a comparable example of a landmark corner building could be the Ecki Building at Wayne and Wyoming).

But it’s also important to recognize that incredible work that has gone into saving others. We’ve covered some of these, like the historic Victoria Theatre, and these Salem and Grand buildings are another great story.

These Salem Ave landmarks were originally known as the Grand Deluxe Apartments and the Miller Commercial Block Building when they were constructed in 1927.

The Miller also came to be known as the Salem Grand, and had a wide variety of commercial tenants over the years including the popular Lebensburger’s Drugs and the Salem Theater.

Both buildings began to decline with the increased suburban flight post World War II. The 1987 fire “almost completely consumed the Salem Grand, taking parts of the roof and completely demolishing its interior.”

The apartments next door were subsequently abandoned too “given the building’s fire, water, and weather-related damage next door.” By the early 90s, “they existed only as a boarded-up eyesore.”

In 2001, St. Mary Development Corp spearheaded an initiative to restore the Grand Deluxe and Miller Building and turn both into affordable senior housing.

As one could imagine given the buildings’ condition, the job was complex, and contractor Miller-Valentine “had to rebuild the permanent structural elements from the inside up, while steel supported the exterior walls. A ramp connecting the two buildings compensated for the elevation change between them … The outside retains its 1920s look. While a handful of new terra-cotta tiles did have to be cast for the renovation project, close to 45,000 of the original bricks and tiles were painstakingly removed, preserved, and replaced on the structure. The two buildings are some of the few in the city with this unique treatment” (source).

With this project, the apartments will see new amenities and it’s expected that the larger neighborhood will too.

Stakeholders are making sure that “whatever goes into the space is well-suited for the neighborhood” and they are “hoping to find a tenant that is going to enhance the revitalization that’s going on on that strip.”