A vacant county-owned building could become a key piece in the expansion of Cincinnati State Middletown.

Middletown and Cincinnati State Community & Technical College officials asked Butler County commissioners Thursday to donate the former Job and Family Services building at 1021 Central Avenue to the city. Middletown officials would in turn give the building to Cincinnati State, which opened a branch campus at the corner of Central Avenue and Main Street in September.

“We are here to request that the commissioners consider donating the JFS building to the city of Middletown so we can continue with our goal of downtown redevelopment,” Middletown City Manager Judy Gilleland said during Thursday’s commission meeting. “While the city cannot afford to take the donation of the building and hold it indefinitely, we have an end user that advances our vision, not only in the downtown area but city-wide. Pending council approval, this building will be passed on to Cincinnati State for their future use.”

Dr. Odell Owens, president of Cincinnati State, said the community college’s vision is to create a campus atmosphere in downtown Middletown.

The campus opened with 200 new students and is striving for 150 more in January. Until Cincinnati State Middletown opened, Butler County was the largest county in Ohio without a community college.

Community colleges are different from traditional universities, such as Miami University, because “our charge is to focus on the local economy,” Owens said. He said the college has two major contracts with AK Steel to train employees and continues to focus on workforce and career development that makes graduates ready for employment throughout the region.

Commissioners Charles “Chuck” Furmon and Cindy Carpenter commended Middletown officials and Cincinnati State for moving ahead and developing a partnership.

“I see nothing but positives from this relationship,” said Furmon.

Commission President Don Dixon said, “Middletown is leading the way in changing how the county looks.”

Commissioners didn’t make a decision about the building, but they did unanimously authorized county administrator Charles Young to research and pursue talks about an ownership transfer.

The Central Avenue building was built in 1987 and has 12,293 square feet. It is empty due to layoffs and the closing of the Middletown office of Job and Family Services.

Randy Quisenberry, county purchasing manager, said the building has been declared as surplus by the county and could be sold through a bid process. But chances are the building, which is among many other vacant structures in downtown Middletown, would not bring a high price tag.

“It would pale in comparison to the economic development and workforce development we will reap over the next few years (from Cincinnati State),” Quisenberry said.

Donating the building to the city and ultimately to Cincinnati State is a “win-win for everyone. It is one less empty building in Middletown and one less empty building we have to maintain,” Quisenberry said.

Cincinnati State Middletown had been a multi-year deal in the making, involving the city, Cincinnati State and Boston-based Higher Education Partners.

Higher Education Partners signed a contract in April with Cincinnati State so it could be the developer of the downtown Middletown campus. A week before that contract, Higher Education Partners signed a deal with the city to purchase the former CG&E building at 1 N. Main St. for $202,000 and accept a donation of the former senior center.

In anticipation of the college making the commitment to the city, Middletown City Council agreed to purchase several downtown buildings in hopes the college would be interested. The city spent $300,000 for the former CG&E, First National, Bank One and Masonic Temple buildings, and $175,000 for the Manchester Inn.

Staff writer Mike Pitman contributed to this report