Crawford Hoying has a notable recent history in Dayton, as part of the force behind the successful Water Street development, unfolding on the ground in partnership with developer Jason Woodard.

The purchase puts Crawford in place on all sides of Fifth Third Field downtown.

In the interview, Crawford said it’s early in the process, and simply planning for the development could take four to six months.

“Obviously, the sheer size of the building provides for a lot of opportunity,” he said. “So certainly, whether it be housing, office, restaurant and parking -- it will certainly probably all play a possibility there.”

According to Montgomery County records, Mendelson Realty Ltd. has sold the eight-story, 544,935-square-foot building at 340 E. First St. to a buyer for $7.325 million.

Records identify the buyer as Dayton Chy Acquisition II, LLC, which has the same Dublin, Ohio mailing address as Crawford Hoying Inc.

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The same buyer is also recorded as having purchased the warehouse and lot at 418 E. First St. for $400,000, also from Mendelson.

Sandy Mendelson has been a well known downtown Dayton dealer of surplus goods for decades. He has been careful about commenting on overtures made for his properties in recent years, but he told the Dayton Daily News in 2017: “If someone wants to come to talk with me, I’ll talk.”

Said Crawford: “We see it as being a pretty transformative and substantial development, but it’s certainly going to take us some additional time because of the complexities of what’s there.”

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He didn’t offer a precise value for the company’s plans for the site, but he did acknowledge the finished work could approach $100 million in value.

“I would say that’s a number that’s not going to be too difficult to get to,” he said.

“While we’re Dublin-based, we do have an affinity for Dayton,” he added.

We are also reaching out to Mendelson for comment. This story will be updated.