What's Happening in Lebanon, OH…

A Lebanon entrepreneur has plans for the old Lebanon fire station, including developing it as a co-working space, with part of the building available for lease for other purposes.

Ryan Powers, a local businessman, would like to transform the Lebanon Fire Station, located in the city's downtown, into a co-working center for the use of entrepreneurs and employees working remotely from their companies, regardless of where in the world those organizations may be located. A restaurant or brewpub could lease part of the building.

Powers has met with Patrick Williams, who works with COhatch, a company based in Columbus that establishes co-working, meeting, and office spaces in old buildings in communities' downtown areas. Powers likes the COhatch idea, and believes it could work in Lebanon, where no similar facility exists presently. Brochure printing can be used to describe amenities of projects like this to potential tenants.

The current main fire station is a converted laundromat that is slated to be sold, since a fire levy was approved last year to provide funding for construction of a new station. The current station's doors are too low for a new ladder truck to fit through them, and the building will be sold to the person or company with the highest bid. The new owner could tear it down, but Powers thinks his idea would be better for Lebanon.