On the Market: Old Carnegie library for sale in Middletown for just under $125K

One of thousands of public libraries that 19th-century industrialist Andrew Carnegie financed is listed for sale in Middletown for $124,900.

Between 1886 and 1920, Carnegie donated more than $55 million to help pay for more than 2,500 libraries in America and overseas, according to the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the charitable foundation he founded in 1911.

The Carnegie Library in Middletown received $25,000 in funding from Carnegie in the early 1900s, according to the National Park Service, which has designated many of the old libraries national historic landmarks.

Dan Mayzum, a historic preservation architect from the village of Glendale, purchased the old library building at 1320 First Ave. in 2018 for $5,000. He said listing the property for sale was "bittersweet."

"I poured my blood, sweat and tears into that building," Mayzum told The Enquirer. "But I'm at a point now where I am choosing to spend more time with my family. The building needs a new champion ... someone ready to take the next step with the grand old lady."

Mayzum said he dedicated thousands of hours of his own professional architectural services and labor and tens of thousands of dollars of his own money trying to redevelop the building and attract new commercial tenants.

Mayzum had planned to turn the more than 15,000-square-foot building into a mixed-use development and said he secured signed letters of intent from restaurant and brewery operators to lease space there. He also had a space designated for a cooperative workspace.

Community volunteers "showed a ton of support" and helped Mayzum clean out the building and restore some of the original features, he said. Mayzum also worked with Middletown city leaders and others to have the Oakland Residential Historic District, where the library is located, added to the National Register of Historic Places last year.

Despite Mayzum's efforts, the building, which operated as the Middletown Public Library from 1913 to 1981, when it moved to its current location on South Broad Street, still needs major repairs.

Because of its historic designation, the building is eligible for multiple tax abatements, incentives and grants that could help a new owner continue the effort to turn it into an income-producing commercial building.

"The zoning is there. People can get tax credits. And it's in an area that's primed for redevelopment," Mayzum said. The old library "just needs someone to create a vision for her and save her."

Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who accumulated a vast fortune through the railroad and steel industries, built his first library in 1881 in his birthplace of Dunfermline, Scotland, before expanding his library mission to the United States. For his efforts, he's often remembered as "The Patron Saint of Libraries."

But Carnegie's philanthropic endeavors didn't stop there. In total, he gave away more than $350 million in charitable donations for myriad projects and causes.

Carnegie's foundation has supported everything from research that led to the discovery of insulin, the creation of Pell Grants for college students, and even the creation of the iconic children's program Sesame Street.

Take a look inside Middletown's Carnegie library building.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Want to buy a Carnegie library? There's one for sale in Ohio for $125K