The urbanized areas of Middletown, Monroe and Trenton, OH offer excellent home values for those working in northern Cincinnati. Middletown has a mix of older historic homes and newer construction. It has a planned 650-acre East End Renaissance project, to start in 2009, that will bring 300 upscale homes and 400 condo units in the next decade. Middletown features a YMCA, a satellite campus of Miami University, and Middletown Symphony. Middletown Regional Hospital is now Atrium Medical Center, a 250-bed facility with full range medical services. An institution here, the Sorg Opera House (which closed in 2005), is reopened and renamed Road Apple Music Sorg Theatre by its new owners, who will book everything from heavy metal to punk and rap concerts. It has a municipal airport that sits on 500 acres off Ohio 4. Monroe was established in 1817. Once a major stagecoach stop, it was platted by Cincinnati merchant John H. Piatt and Nathaniel Sackett Jr., the man who actually settled in Monroe. It was named in honor of President James Monroe, who took office the year it was founded. Monroe combines the attraction of family farms with large, rolling country land and affordable housing developments. The new Monroe Crossings, which contains 500 acres, is underway as a Planned Unit Development (P.U.D.). Residents are proud of their community, including their schools—a new $32.2-million K–12, and a new $2.3- million football stadium at Monroe High School seating 4,200. The city offers free Wi-Fi in several areas in and around the city buildings along South Main Street. There’s a proposed $100-million-plus outlet mall called Cincinnati Premium Outlet with 120 stores to open spring 2009 (it’s expected to employ 800). Some interesting spots here include Campbell House Doll Museum, a huge collection of antique and modern dolls in Monroe’s oldest home, circa 1821. Brandywine Inn is known for its outstanding prix-fixe special dinners plus a la carte dishes. And Traders World, the Midwest’s largest and most colorful market, draws thousands to Monroe on weekends. Trenton is a “Small Town with a Big Heart.” It was founded in 1799 by New Jersey native Michael Pearce, who platted 33 lots in 1816 and chose the name Bloomfield for the community. To avoid confusion with another Ohio town, Pearce changed it to Trenton, name of his birthplace. Trenton is a quiet, out-of-the-way community that has attracted substantial investment by industry, including Miller Brewing Company, Ohio’s largest brewery. Miller sits just outside the city limits in St. Clair Township and is on 1,056 acres with a plant production area of 1.4 million square feet under one roof (equivalent to 29 football fields laid end to end). Largest employer here is Magnode, Inc., which manufactures aluminum extrusion products for the automotive, defense and electronics industries. Buyers are drawn to the pretty, moderately priced houses in a country setting. Its community-minded citizens have participated since 2000 to “Make A Difference Day” in October by collecting blankets and toys, raking yards for the elderly and even painting a city park.