The site is situated south of Inverness Avenue and west of the Dayton International Airport among a strip of businesses that includes Monkeys Smoke Shop, Vandalia Tactical, MPower Gym, and the now-shuttered Oscar’s Bar & Grill.
A residential neighborhood is located to the east of the site. The Vandalia Masonic Lodge and Airline Dairy Creme are located to the south of the business strip.
The currently vacant facility at 304 N. Dixie Drive is on a 0.24-acre site that falls within a designated neighborhood business district. Places of worship are a conditional use under this category, according to city officials.
Robert Hussong, senior pastor at North Point Community Church of the Nazarene, is seeking approval from council for the conditional use permit. The city’s planning commission recently recommended approval of the request.
Hussong’s congregation currently gathers at a temporary location at 7031 N. Main St. in Vandalia, according to the church’s Facebook page.
Just north of the church’s proposed new location, in the same North Dixie Drive business strip, the former Oscar’s Bar & Grill sits in disrepair following a fire that heavily damaged the restaurant’s interior in 2022.
The city of Vandalia issued a condemnation order for the business in early 2024. Since then, city officials say the building has sat idle.
“... (N)o work has been done on the structure since it was condemned,” said city spokesman Rich Hopkins. “At this point, city staff are consulting with our law director to consider next steps.”
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