Josh Meeder, owner and founder of the Center of Harmony, said the historic venue will be changing hands.

“My era with the Center of Harmony has come to a close and is going on to a new one,” Meeder said.

The Center of Harmony is an event venue and collaborative business space operating in Harmony’s 1875 opera house.

And its owner is no stranger to change. A lifelong entrepeneur, Meeder bought what would become the Center of Harmony in late 2011 — on a whim.

“It’s a funny story,” he said. “At the time, I was dating someone, and I’d always done real estate. Well, we were traveling to Belize, and it was the Thursday evening before we left.”

Meeder was in Harmony at the time, looking to open up a yoga studio for his then-partner. By chance, he discovered the abandoned opera house.

“We were in the building across the street, and then I saw the ‘for sale’ sign on the center.” Meeder said. “We walked around it, and the owner happened to be there. I made them an offer.”

The deal was signed the next day. The day after that, Meeder was in Central America for a week-and-a-half trip.

“I don’t want to say ‘spur of the moment,’” he said, laughing. “But it was pretty spur of the moment.”

After returning from the trip, he immediately set to work.

“It had been vacant for several years before I got it, and it needed a lot of renovation,” he said. “But the first thing I did was develop the mission statement of the Center of Harmony.”

The center’s mission helped it take shape more than any remodeling crew could.

“It’s basically to bring the arts, community, economic development and social issues and environmental issues to the forefront,” Meeder explained. “That was kind of the guiding force, and I just started finding tenants that fit that mold.”

While the building’s refurbished opera hall acts as an event venue, the center hosts a variety of businesses.

In the main building, Wunderbar Cafe and Crepes and the Two Fraus Bakery sell locally-roasted coffee and organic pastries.

Along the rear of the building is a large addition that Meeder calls “the shop.”

“It’s still part of the main building, but it was added later,” Meeder said. “Murderingtowne Press was there for a while, I have some space open there, and then Darn Yarn Needle and Thread is there.”

The center also owns a separate building next door.

“The other building is the Healing House, which has all the wellness professionals,” Meeder said.

The Healing House features Bridges, which practices acupuncture and alternative medicine; Harmony Counseling Services, professional counseling and therapy; and FreshFace Skincare Boutique, a spa treatment studio.

“One of the things that’s been really a central point of the center of the years is the collaborative community that we’ve created within our own tenants group and the larger community,” Meeder said. “Everyone works together.”

The center opened on Jan. 14, 2012. It marked its 11th anniversary Saturday.

“For the last couple of years, I’ve been looking to find someone to take it on,” Meeder said.

After his son graduated from college a year and a half ago, Meeder decided to sell his home and travel.

“I traveled for almost a full year,” he said. “Then, I connected with someone and moved up to Anchorage (Alaska), where I was for almost all of last year.”

Meeder and his partner, Katy Jo, recently moved to Kentucky to renovate a farmhouse. The distance made managing the Center of Harmony difficult.

“It was hard to manage from the road, and I wanted someone to take care of the place and be a little more on-site,” Meeder said. “I wasn’t coming back to Harmony, and I wanted someone that would really love it and grow it.”

He found his ideal owners in John Angiolillo and Michelle Myrter, a local couple.

“Michelle had been coming to Wunderbar for years,” Meeder said. “She knew a lot of the tenants and just loved what the center was, and they want to keep it going how it is but also improve and grow it.”

Myrter will be responsible for the daily operations of the Center of Harmony moving forward.

“That just felt really good — to keep it local and to have someone who understood what it was,” Meeder said.

The decision gives Meeder the freedom to travel and pursue new projects.

“The Center of Harmony was owned by my company, Great Things LLC,” he said. “In Great Things, I do business and marketing consulting for small businesses — now I’m just doing that full time down here in Kentucky.”

And he can do it knowing that the spirit of the center lives on.

“One of the things that I’m really proud of, over the years, is that we’ve done it collaboratively to help businesses get started,” Meeder said. “That helped launch over 30 business from the center — over 90% of them have been women-owned — and the majority are still in business.”

He believes the events the center brings to Harmony are an important part of the community.

“We’ve had Billboard Top 40, we’ve had people that have flown from ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ to play us,” said Meeder. “And I’m really proud of the health and wellness workshops we’ve brought through there, it’s done a lot of good to the community.”

The Center of Harmony has become a landmark in the borough during the past 11 years. Even as Meeder moves on, and so too does the center, he hopes it remains a welcoming, supportive and creative hub.

“That was the kind of legacy I’m really proud of,” said Meeder. “I really hope that its sense of community, environmental awareness and entrepreneurial development continue for the community.”