Milo Arts is a community arts center and former public school building in the

Milo-Grogan Milo-Grogan is a neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The neighborhood was settled as the separate communities of Milo and Grogan in the late 1870s. Large-scale industrial development fueled the neighborhood's growth until the 1980s, when the last fa ...

neighborhood of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. The arts center was founded in 1988, and was considered a radical concept at the time. It is the longest-lasting artist live-work space in Columbus. It is, along with the former Columbus Railway, Power & Light office, one of the two most important historic structures in Milo-Grogan. It is a top priority for preservation for neighborhood leaders.https://www.columbus.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2147489233

History

The building was constructed in 1894, before Milo-Grogan's annexation into Columbus. It became home to a faith mission, which vacated the building in 1988. The current owners, Rick Mann and Russell Snider, purchased the building in 1983 and opened Milo Arts in 1988. The building was in disrepair when the current owners acquired it, and despite repairs, the building was almost forced to be closed due to code violations. Mann filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and 2009, though was helped through a fundraiser and family support. Milo Arts is seen as a holdout despite the area's gentrification. Despite rising neighborhood rents, Mann keeps rents in the building low. He blocks efforts from developers wishing to purchase the building. About 40 people live in the building. In 2012, a ''

Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 1 ...

'' investigation found that the building's tenants were living in hazardous conditions. Mann had not fixed code violations dating to 2001, and the city had failed to keep track of the issues. Mann has struggled to make repairs due to difficult finances, and tenants are often willing to live their despite its issues. In 2021, a worker repairing the building's roof fell to his death.

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External links

* * {{authority control Arts centers in Ohio Defunct schools in Ohio Schools in Columbus, Ohio 1894 establishments in Ohio Buildings and structures completed in 1894