MILFORD, Ohio — Milford's downtown is full of shoppers and restaurants on any given day.
But some storefronts are empty, and residents hope that can change.
“I think that it’s important that those things that are eyesores don’t stay there, that we can clean those up," Milford resident Anne Kuhn said.
Kuhn and her husband, Ed, were two of the Milford residents who attended our "Let's Talk" event at Cincinnati Distilling last week.
“So, it really is a destination place," Anne Kuhn said.
Watch to see why residents are hoping empty buildings can soon find a new owner:
The Kuhns expressed their concern about empty stores, which we heard from multiple people during last week's event.
“We do like the artsy type thing, but it could also be like, there’s room for something like technology, for example," one resident said.
Anne Kuhn told us she's more concerned with abandoned storefronts outside the major downtown district.
“I think the vision that the city has for the old downtown area is fantastic," she said. “I worry about the ones on Lila Avenue, on 50. Like, Frisch’s recently went out, Toomey's recently went out.”
City leaders presented potential development ideas to residents during their State of the City event in April.
WCPO spoke with Mayor Ralph Vilardo during our event to ask about empty properties.
“We do actively try to make sure that they’re marketed, but again we don’t control some of those empty buildings," Vilardo said.
The city's mayor shared his message to potential developers and business owners who could move into some of these spaces.
“We hope people realize what an incredible community Milford is and they want to invest here. We've got an incredible city staff who is willing to work with them to make sure that they can go through all the proper permitting process and they want to come here," Vilardo said.
