CENTERVILLE PLANNER SEES GOOD IN SINCLAIR PURCHASE
College considers buying church, land for learning center.
— Sinclair Community College’s planned acquisition of a 100,000-square-foot church in Centerville could have a pos
itive effect on the area, Centerville City Planner Andrew Rodney said.
Sinclair is considering spending $6 million to $10 million to buy 40 acres of land, including the building at 5800 Clyo Road in Centerville, Sinclair officials told
the Dayton Daily News. The building is currently home to Far Hills Church. The church was built in 2002 for $13.5 million.
Rodney said the city stands to benefit by welcoming Sinclair to the area, anchored by commercial development Cornerstone of Centerville, Miami Valley Hospital South and future multi-residential properties and single-family developments.
“Sinclair is astrong educational institution,” he said. “It would be a net positive for the community for sure.”
Sinclair has signed a refundable purchase option, giving it first right of refusal on the sale of the property, according to president and CEO Steve Johnson. Rodney said the purchase is still in the preliminary stages and, if the purchase goes through, the property would still have to go through a zoning change, development plan process and possible re-platting of the land to meet what he called an aggressive schedule. “I’ll be interested to see what
they come up with,” Rodney said. Sinclair trustees are expected to vote on the purchase of the land at a Sept. 19 meeting. If the purchase is approved, the school is expected to have a “soft open” in January.
Requests to speak to Tom Kretz, the Far Hills Church broker and representative, were not immediately returned.
When asked if he’s been told of the church’s intentions after a potential sale, Rodney said he was informed by representatives of the church they were looking to implement a “different model” to reach parishioners.