Dayton may sell land to British Transportation Museum, Mission of Mary
Jun. 1—The city of Dayton is considering selling land to the British Transportation Museum and the Mission of Mary Cooperative.
The British Transportation Museum at 321 Hopeland St. in the Carillon neighborhood plans to use the vacant, city-owned property to host new community events, says a memo from Todd Kinskey, Dayton's director of planning, neighborhoods and development.
The museum is the operating arm of a nonprofit that says it collects, preserves and displays British transportation vehicles, parts, memorabilia, photographs and other items that are used in the United States.
The museum is renovating its building, which is home to cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, a library and artifacts.
The memo from Kinskey says the museum already owns most of the land in the block bounded by Hopeland, Cincinnati, Concord and Durner streets. The city owns one of the other parcels, but the museum has been maintaining that city-owned parcel since 2018. The sale price is listed in city documents at $935.
The city also is considering selling land it owns at 234 Hawker St., which has been used as a garden since about 2013/2014, Kinskey's memo states.
The Mission of Mary nonprofit group manages six urban farming plots where more than 100 types of fruits and vegetables are grown, providing low-cost food to people in the Twin Towers neighborhood, the city said. The gardens can also provide experiential learning and applied research opportunities for students and young people.
Kinskey's memo says Mission of Mary already owns and maintains five adjacent parcels, and has been maintaining the city-owned parcel for years. The sale price is listed in city documents at $1,760.
The sales would "help reduce the number of city-owned parcels and help nonprofit organizations further their goals and mission in the community," according to Kinskey.
A first reading of the land sale ordinance occurred Wednesday, and city commission could approve the measure next week.
