The OddFellows building in downtown Midland will be commercial apartments
The oldest building in downtown Midland is undergoing renovation to include shopping and apartments at the corner of Main and Rod streets.
The Oddfellows Building has been many things, including a hotel, since its construction in the late 1800s. Currently, the first floor contains businesses while the second and third floors are vacant.
The building is now owned by RDS Management, which submitted its development plans to the Midland Downtown Development Authority on Wednesday.
Daniel Dimitroff, a partner at RDS, explained that this will be the organization’s first mixed-use development project in Midland, a city it has hoped to work in for years.
“You’re going in the right direction,” Dimitrov said. “We’re trying to do business in emerging markets that aren’t Chicago and Detroit. Our ideal market is something emerging that has some old buildings that we’d like to preserve. That’s our bread and butter.”
The RDS has taken an interest in the Oddfellows Building in particular due to its historical importance. The developers plan to keep the exterior relatively intact — though removing the fire escape — while renovating the interior.
“Preserving the historical heritage with reference to modern needs,” Dimitrov said. “We would like to restore these buildings and keep them as safe as possible.”
The first floor will remain a commercial space, while the upper two floors will contain five residential apartments. Mitzi Dimitroff, also of RDS, said they plan to build a two-story townhouse that will use the hotel’s original staircase that is still intact between the second and third floors.
Current tenants will remain on the first floor, including Swae’ the Detox and Wellness Spa.
This is a $3.5 million investment for the company, and the goal is to open in the spring of 2025, Daniel Dimitrov said.
The developers plan to take advantage of various tax credits and incentives, including the Old Properties Rehabilitation Act, Brownfield Redevelopment, and Historic Tax Credit.
New Events Coordinator
Downtown Midland’s new events coordinator, Christina Loeffler, was also introduced at Wednesday’s meeting.
It provided downtown events for the rest of the year, including Taste of Midland on September 28, Boo’s Bash (a remake of the previous Boo Bash) on October 28, Cocoa Crawl and Santa Parade on November 18, and The Ugly Sweater. Bar crawl on December 1 and more.
Other business
Director of Community Affairs Selena Harris announced that the pedestrian plaza will soon be closed for this year, with the closure beginning on October 1 and ending on October 4.
The long-term strategic plan will provide two additional opportunities for input with roundtable meetings on September 20-21.
The DDA voted to support a two-way conversion of Ashman and Rodd and sent that recommendation to the City Council.
