NEOBuckeye

I guess it would take a much more aggressive public-private planning and investment approach to change this and do something about parking lots in general around Wallhaven, something that seems unlikely in the near future since the city isn't exactly growing by leaps and bounds these days.

Nope... Seems to me like a potential missed opportunity to really add some newer architecture and a streetwall to the Wallhaven area. A parking lot along a major street is just lazy and typical of a Baby Boomerish 1950s developer mindset. Put the damned cars behind the building, not out in front of it in open view from the street.

It does seem like Wallhaven is long overdue for some new investment and general TLC, similar to what Highland Square seems to be getting lately, although I hate to see it come at the expense of another local institution. But West Side Market might have been on borrowed time anyway, given the expansion of specialty grocers into the area. At least they are looking now at ways to keep the brand alive.

Boston Heights isn't exactly an exurb. More like a second/third ring Akron suburb, and one that should be annexed into a larger municipality (e.g. Hudson) to end its speed trap fetish. Regardless though, it is disappointing to see more sprawl in the Greater Akron area. As if the area really needs another retail district.

Stu Lichter mentioned in the article that they have already received a number of deposits for the first round of apartments, so I'm guessing that's a positive. Particularly considering that anything beyond a tiny studio is going to be out of range for all but some of the more established and successful professionals and well-to-do in the Greater Akron area, or else young professionals starting out that are willing to pair up and share a place together. Their target market seems to be established executives and professionals at area anchor institutions and companies, e.g. University of Akron, Akron Public Schools, First Energy, Akron GeneralCleveland Clinic, Summa and Gojo, successful doctors and attorneys, and maybe also the handful of empty nester Boomers who aren't terrified of the city and are looking to downsize from their McMansions in Stow, Green, Medina, Portage County, etc. In any case, it will be interesting to see how this progresses. I would love to see East End be successful and eventually extend that success throughout the old "Goodyear Valley/HQ district" and also into the gentrification and redevelopment of Middlebury, particularly around the Arlington/Market crossroads and Exchange terminus. A full-on renaissance for Middlebury is probably years down the road at this point, but you gotta start somewhere I guess.

Probably no one knows, and no one cares to know. He may still have a career somewhere waiting for him, but it likely won't be in Ohio politics.

The older generation (boomers, GIs remaning) will be out of power and fading into the very "history" (I used quotes, because it's often hyper-idealized) they so revere and cherish within the next 10 to 15 years. Whatever their concerns, and their intent on dragging their feet on desperately needed infrastructural reforms, they'll have a decreasing say in politics as their active numbers dwindle do to infirmity and death during this time. Personally, I'd rather not wait so long to act, but sometimes problems do take care of themselves if you can wait them out. On the other hand, if enough younger voters (Millennials and Gen-Xers) found reason enough to care and to vote, the numbers, voice, and power of seniors would be put in check now, and we could shift the agenda away from the ever-tired "culture wars" that have so dominated our politics in the U.S. for the past 40+ years, and get on with practical matters that have been put off for far too long.

Under Ohio's current governmental leadership, yes. I don't see the state of Ohio doing anything with rail for a long time to come, since the legislature is filled with rail critics and skeptics. Kasich will be gone one day, but they will remain. The best hope is to work with MPO's and localities in order to avoid the state. If the legislature is generational like Kasich is, then one day they will be gone, too. We just need to make sure somehow that they are replaced with people who aren't willfully ignorant and shortsighted when it comes to transportation needs and funding.

Every now and then I visit Pittsburgh for their art walks. They hold them quarterly--roughly about once a season--in the downtown Cultural District. http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/event/2522/gallery-crawl-in-the-cultural-district Downtown certainly can be quite lively then, but that seems to be about the extent of it, short of maybe during a concert or major convention, or just game night for the Pirates with spill-over foot traffic finding its way back across the bridges from PNC Park. Regrettably, Pittsburgh's city center in general doesn't really have anything on par with Over-the-Rhine in Cincy or even E 4th or the Warehouse District in Cleveland. There are a handful of bars and restaurants scattered around, but nothing as of yet that has managed to achieve critical mass as a destination entertainment zone. For that, you have to look to East Carson Street in Southside.

Not sure how I feel about this. For one thing, if the Browns sign off on a pre-season camp move to Columbus with the pretext of solidifying their fan base in Central Ohio, it will smack of desperation on their part, even if half of NE Ohio already lives there. In fact, it already comes off as desperate for the Browns. Management is more worried about losing market share to the Bengals and Steelers when they should just focus the bulk of their efforts on building and maintaining a winning and competitive Super Bowl-contending team on the field that will grow a loyal fan base on its own merits. As such, this comes off as a really lame marketing gimmick, no matter how well-intentioned it may be. On a similar note, while I love Columbus as a city, this is just more area in which the state capital city seems to be actively working to undermine the older and more established cities in the state through direct competition, by siphoning off assets, rather than supporting their efforts to keep them in place as a proper state capital should.

I may be dusting some cobwebs off this old thread, but with the grand opening of Portage Crossing and the new energy and interest it is injecting into this formerly popular and once well-traveled area of Cuyahoga Falls, I wonder if some developer might take another look at this tower and at finishing it? I'm sure it's a long shot now, and there would probably be some structural issues to address, but completing it and adding the rotating restaurant that was originally intended to go on top would certainly add a bit more character and culture to this revitalizing district. It certainly would become a unique destination and attract tourism as well.

Too conservative is more like it, Gramarye. Money can be budgeted and raised. It's all a matter of policy and priority.

^I had assumed that those would be reconstructed in some manner as well. If all they are doing is tearing up the Innerbelt highway pavement itself and then building on its present footprint, with all of the overhanging bridges and service roads still remaining intact, I can't see this really benefiting the city anywhere near to the extent that the mayor has long suggested it would. Really, what's the point if it's a half-step forward? I say go all in, gut it all out, and remake it into something that will transform downtown and get people to take a fresh look at the heart of the city.

^Some infill might be needed, but I don't think it would be all that big of a deal to demo the bridges over the Innerbelt and convert them into graded streets. Akron is a city of hills after all. We're not exactly intimidated by them. Plus it would add a whole new walkable section to downtown that could, if done properly, offer additional storefronts for shops, restaurants and entertainment as well, in addition to corporate offices, apartments/condos and medical facilities. I recall that the S. Broadway bridge was supposed to have been demoed the same time they took down S High St.'s, but the city didn't want to interrupt traffict to and from Gojo's loading dock. So it remains in place for now. Sooner or later they will have to repair it, however. Perhaps by then, Gojo might also be looking for a new building to move into.

This is exactly why the policy focus should have been on building new student housing along or adjacent to the East Exchange/Brown St. corridor, to update the housing stock there, strengthen the infrastructure of that neighborhood, and prevent or at least slow the general rot in housing stock from occurring, rather than building completely new housing for students where students did not previously reside. All the shiny new student housing construction Downtown has really accomplished is to pull students away from the traditional student housing neighborhood, accelerating the rot and decay of properties there. I'm not in any way arguing against downtown housing options for people in general, but the focus certainly should not have been exclusively directed towards students.

It's highly doubtful they will ever move back to Cleveland after their conflict with then-Mayor Kucinich. But Akron was more than willing to embrace them, to the point of reshaping its skyline into its near-present form. Maybe the Innerbelt demolition will pave the way for some new additions? Akron is long overdue for another skyscraper or two; but the commercial real estate market in the city will likely keep that from happening for at least another 10-15 years, if then.

^Totally agree with this assessment regarding BJs. It is definitely about 3 full steps above CrApplebee's in terms of food quality, atmosphere and experience, if Applebee's has become to the bar/restaurant dine-in experience what McDonalds has been to fast food. I've really been spoiled by the local dining options that are emerging around the region in my effort to support local businesses, but BJ's is a chain that I certainly don't mind patronizing once in awhile. It will be a nice addition to the Fairlawn/Montrose area.

Been here most of my life, Gramarye. I knew the layout of this town and its approach to land use long before Google was even a word. Private investment is one thing, but development focus and policy is at least partially a matter of city admin priorities. The outcome of Downtown Akron's recent wave of re-development could have indeed been different if such had been the concern of city leaders. They decided instead to ride the crest of the student housing development wave and milk it for all that it was worth. It worked out for them, but it didn't leave as much for UA to benefit from, hence the recent topic of discussion in this thread. With the moratorium they imposed on new developments, Akron city leaders were essentially signaling to UA and other developers looking to build even more student housing further up Exchange that they did not want to over-saturate the market. Read properly, don't threaten what we've built up that we also take credit for in the immediate vicinity of South Main Street and Exchange. As for those outlying communities, there are ways of supporting them that don't necessarily require the type of focus that Downtown Akron has received during Plusquellic's tenure. Akron could certainly do more to promote community development in a similar manner that Cleveland has through community development organizations run by the very communities they serve. Ohio City and Tremont have clearly been two of the more successful CDCs up there, but others are in motion, and the city is seeing its fortunes improve in places well beyond Public Square and Euclid/E 4th. Back in Akron, the West Hill/Highland Square community didn't wait on direct help from the city to get its act together. They have their own community development organization. Fairlawn Heights on the border with Fairlawn also seems to be setting something in motion as of late. Maybe a small push in this direction is what is needed in Goodyear Heights, Ellet, Firestone Park and Kenmore? I don't see how it could come to the detriment of the downtown focus if done properly, involving and empowering residents. It could go a long way towards improving the quality of life throughout Akron--not only in a few designated areas of interest.

I've been thinking for a few years now that they should tear out the whole thing and turn it into some kind of urban park/preserve, along the lines of Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, SC. It would do wonders for Akron to add ample green space and a functional public commons in the heart of the city--something like what Cascade Plaza could've been but failed epically in design and execution.

UA bought and demoed those buildings on Exchange as if new development on those lots was imminent. And for all we knew then, it was. I honestly don't think anyone a decade ago really anticipated that the engine would run out of steam, or that the UA Park initiative would completely fall apart, wheels and all. Now UA is trying to circle the wagons and assess its financial outlook, hence why they picked an uninspired--and uninspiring--bean counter from the University of Toledo for their current President. Meanwhile, Akron City leaders seem to be behaving as if the collapse of UA Park is no matter of urgency as far as the city's future is concerned. Downtown is gradually improving, and that is all that really seems to matter to them, as it has for years during the Plusquellic Era. I get that and all, but it's too bad we can't say the same about the rest of the city, except for maybe Highland Square. As in other places, our malls are dying. But unlike in other places, we're not replacing them with new walkable commercial-residential-entertainment districts in communities like Firestone Park, Kenmore, Ellet, Goodyear Heights, etc. Akron City officials have also undermined UA and UA Park by allowing student housing developers Downtown, siphoning attention and investment away from UA. Their priority instead should have been to develop Exchange along UA southern campus border into its full potential first and create a revitalized "Main Street" for University Park. Given the trend towards and desire for urban living, Downtown likely would've attracted development on its own merit at some point. It may have even been less student-focused, the lack of such a consideration being one of the key grievances of post-college adults looking to live in the city center. The new student housing complexes along South Main, High and Broadway could have just as easily been built on the vacant lots east of the stadium towards Rt. 8. There's no acceptable reason why Exchange shouldn't have become for UA what other main drags have become for their universities, given the proper attentiveness and coordination between their officials, developers, and local government officials. Akron dropped the ball on this one, and it doesn't look like it will be easy to recover from it.

Deli Ohio is wonderful. I usually try to stop in there at least a few times a month. :-D Did not know anything about the back lot conversion to a garden, but I'm glad to see it happening. It's definitely inspiring to see people taking an active interest in Downtown Canton. It would definitely benefit from having more green space and trees in place of some of the crumbling asphalt and concrete lots.

Interesting name change. It will take some time getting used to.

That's incredible! It is. All of the new Akron area hotels have gone up just beyond the city limits--in Montrose, on South Arlington in Springfield Township, etc. Of course, the city hasn't exactly been aggressive in attracting new ones. Even UA could probably benefit from having more near campus. Since it devoured Quaker Square, it doesn't have any designated campus hotels in proximity, which seems rather unusual for a university of its size.

Great news. There was talk that this beautiful building was a goner. I heard that, too, which would be a shame. It's a nice building for banquets and balls, with a character of formality that you just don't have and really can't create in the Student Center. I always thought that the area surrounding it could become something like a "Faculty Village" with townhomes taking up some of the empty lots, and the Martin Center and Hower House serving as cultural anchors. It would be something of a "pocket" neighborhood, but it would breathe life into what has long been a neglected part of campus. Probably little more than a pipe dream at this point, given the collapse of the University Park foundation initiative.

I still think the HoF museum & stadium complex would have a far more transformational impact for the region in Downtown Canton, not to mention amping up the city center considerably as a tourist attraction year round, as well as during the HoF festivities. But I guess that aspiration went out the window maybe for good when they committed to the remodel of the museum at its current site. The city and HoF appear to be "doubling down" now on that location, which I suppose is still a net positive for Canton. And perhaps it can truly become the anchor institution for a new or reinvigorated residential community. At the same time, I can't help but feel like a key historic opportunity is being overlooked akin to the one residents blew in the 1950s to create a "University of Canton" downtown. At least there's still the Arts District, which has been wonderful to watch as it grows. But Downtown Canton could definitely benefit from having more unique anchor institutions and the synergies that these would create.