Growing up a bookworm, like me, you may have had the same thought I had: How cool would it be to live in a library? Especially an old library. And while the Middletown Carnegie Library no longer functions as a library, it is on the market, ready to be redeveloped.
This is not CityBeat’s typical real estate feature where we tell you how many bedrooms and amenities you’ll get for X price. If you look through these pictures, you’ll see how much TLC the library needs. You’ll also see how magical it once was – can almost see the gleaming black-and-white tile floors that were where cement now lies, or the arched entryway that led readers through a gateway to stories they may not otherwise be told. And there’s plenty of magic still there. Still stories in the walls. Still late-morning sun streaming in the windows to warm the pages of the ghost of an open book. Still an eerie beauty in the falling apart.
The Middletown Carnegie library will probably never be a library again. It’s sat vacant for about 20 years and passed hands from owner to owner several times in that span. When the building was purchased in 2018, there were talks of turning it into a brewery, a restaurant, a business incubator. In August, realtor Rebecca Weber told Journal-News she envisions the building being turned into affordable housing units. Whatever awaits the former Carnegie library remains to be seen, but it is part of the grander vision for Middletown as it looks toward revitalization.
According to the building’s listing, there are multiple tax abatements and incentives available due to its location in the historic Oakland neighborhood and historic designation. It falls in a TIF district, as well as an Enterprize zone and a Community Reinvestment Area, and it qualifies for an ARAPA Infusion Grant.
The former Carnegie library is located at 1320 1st Ave. in Middletown and is listed for $149,900. For more information on the property, contact Rebecca Weber with Comey & Shepherd Realtors at 859-468-2544. Contact the City of Middletown for more information on incentives. Find the full listing here.
