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New tennis club owner aims to make it 'second to none'

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John Boone, left, and Aaron Madaris dig holes to plant trees outside of the Middletown Tennis Club Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 in Middletown, Ohio. The Middletown Tennis Club has a new owner. Roland Lutz, owner of the Forest Hills Golf Course, has purchased the tennis center. The investment preserves 32 jobs and with a planned future expansion will result in an additional 7-10 jobs. Inside the Tennis Club is Middletown Preparatory and Fitness Academy. The new owner plans to add another 12,000 square feet of classroom space.

Nick Graham/Staff photo John Boone, left, and Aaron Madaris dig holes to plant trees outside of the Middletown Tennis Club Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 in Middletown, Ohio. The Middletown Tennis Club has a new owner. Roland Lutz, owner of the Forest Hills Golf Course, has purchased the tennis center. The investment preserves 32 jobs and with a planned future expansion will result in an additional 7-10 jobs. Inside the Tennis Club is Middletown Preparatory and Fitness Academy. The new owner plans to add another 12,000 square feet of classroom space.

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10:29 PM Friday, December 16, 2011

By Andy Sedlak

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — A new owner has acquired the Middletown Tennis Club and more than 30 jobs have been preserved.

Roland Lutz, owner of the tennis club’s neighbor, the Forest Hills Country Club, recently purchased the property to, as he says, “create a sports complex second to none in the Midwest.”

It will be one complex that offers accommodations for tennis, golf, a swimming pool, soccer and a banquet facility will draw traffic and hopefully contribute positive spin-off activity, he said.

“With the country club already there and running successfully, this was a natural extension to the business,” he said. “This was actually my original plan ... to put the properties together. This just worked out perfect.”

Additionally, Lutz hopes to build another 12,000 square feet of classroom space for the charter school inside the Tennis Club, 800 2nd Ave. Middletown Preparatory and Fitness Academy houses 300 students and 12,000 square feet of classroom space. The school was rumored to move if the tennis club’s accommodations were not improved.

The change in ownership is said to have saved more than 30 teachers’ jobs at the school, and may result in the addition of another seven to 10 positions following the expansion, Lutz said.

“We saved 32 jobs,” he said. “That was pretty significant for Middletown.”

Perry Thatcher, a prominent businessman and humanitarian, had owned the tennis club since 1999. Lutz purchased the property from the Thatcher estate for $300,000.

Judy Bober, assistant to the Thatcher estate, said selling the tennis club to Lutz “just made sense.”

“The estate is thrilled Roland is doing exactly what is supposed to happen ... expanding it,” she said. “He’s in the back yard, with Forest Hills. Since (Thatcher) passed, Roland was really the only interested buyer that made sense per Perry’s wishes.”

Lutz said the expansion project “will take a while,” but the hope is to have everything finished in a couple years. Still, he said, it may be able to be completed within the next year.

The Middletown Tennis Club is located at 800 2nd Ave.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or andrew.sedlak@coxinc.com.

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