audidave

^ Well that sounds like if there are 50-ish guys that use that train station everyday wouldn't that be close to the total usage? (50+ outbound riders, 50+ inbound riders?) Perhaps also employees of that facility may use it as well since it sounds fairly convenient to take the train practically to the front door of the center.. One community facility shouldn't be the only reason a station is kept in that location. I would think they should be able to use a shuttle bus to go the 4-5 blocks should they move the station.

Have not seen mention on this thread that there are a couple of other interesting downtown Akron openings. Where a "casual Italian" restaurant flamed out next to House of Hunan's is a new copycat of Chipotle's new pizza concept, Pizzeria Locale. It is called Pizza Fire. Essentially the idea is hand-picked ingredients while you wait for it to cook at super high temps for a few minutes. The owner is the same as Romeo's pizza. Also recently opened in the same building as Thirsty Dog is Aqueduct Brewing. Its pretty much in the back of the complex and they have a nicely conditioned space.

Ohio, third world country of rail. The only thing missing is water buffalos walking across the tracks

I don't think anyone has posted this. Not sure where this would go otherwise.. It is more development.. Essentially, they want to have the bike path go through downtown instead of finishing at the Northside due to "steep slopes". This is certainly better I would think for UA students or anyone in the Goodyear Heights/Tallmadge area that wants to bike downtown or bike to Kent for that matter.. http://www.summitmetroparks.org/News/ConstructionUpdates.aspx Construction began in summer 2012 on this new multipurpose trail on land owned by METRO Regional Transit Authority. It follows an unused railroad corridor and, when completed, will connect the cities of Akron and Kent. The first 4.2 miles of Phase I, from Middlebury Road in Kent to Southwest Avenue near Tallmadge Circle, were dedicated May 1, 2013. Phase II construction, two miles from Tallmadge Circle to Eastwood Avenue in Akron, will begin in summer '14. Freedom Trail: Public Comments Park planners have revised future plans for extending the Freedom Trail. Because this project is funded by a federal grant, the park district is required to offer the public a chance to comment or submit questions about the proposed plans for future extensions. Click here for proposed plans for additions to the Freedom Trail (1.5 MB)

I would think that this rent by the bed thing is absolutely maxed out in Akron. The Depot is opening very soon and I believe the other complex on Exchange is close to opening as well with a Chipotle. That is a lot of students paying a good chunk of change to live in posh surroundings. There should be plenty of good options for apartments in Highland Square area and more typical, in the valley. If anything, I'd say that the valley is standing out as the best, low-cost choice. Plus, its probably the most walkable community in Summit county. As far as LBJ re-investing back in Akron. I think he'll pick and choose where he invests. He's built playground basketball courts, expanded STVM gym, and money for housing projects. I would expect things along the line of that. Probably donating more to STVM, perhaps a youth center in Elizabeth Valley, perhaps helping out with the arena in downtown Akron. Getting back on topic, I noticed that new apartments are finally being framed out over the new complex next to the Library. It still looks awkward. To me it looks like the stores from that other plaza with 2 turtles and tattoo shop would be more its type of tenant than bars and restaurants. I'm hearing that Ray's might not be moving over. But we'll see.

Steelyard Commons isn't itself going to be the destination in its present state for folks coming from Summit county. The benefit to me would be being able to get off the train there with my bike and ride up to Tremont and over to Ohio City for the day. Or for people that live in Ohio City or Tremont to have better access to the Cuyahoga Valley. I think the stores would change over time and cater to people that are on the train or using the towpath. For example, an REI might go nicely in there and that could make it a fun stop for people to look over and test gear.

Reposting this. It more elegantly goes over the points i made a few posts up. Would Goodyear actually build its $500 million plant in Akron? By John Harper, Northeast Ohio Media Group Email the author on July 21, 2014 at 1:30 AM, updated July 21, 2014 at 5:15 PM AKRON, Ohio -- It has been decades since a brand new rubber or tire factory opened in the nation's once-esteemed rubber capital. Upon announcement of a proposed $500 Goodyear tire plant a community in South Carolina is already claiming dibs and is preparing tax incentives. That is not discouraging Akron city officials from opening their doors and arms to Goodyear. What's more, local economists believe Akron may have its best shot in decades at seeing a new tire plant open for business in Northeast Ohio. "That Akron is in the mix demonstrates to me a tremendous change in attitude," said Michael Jalbert, a labor attorney who has represented local labor groups."It is going to send a signal not just to Ohio or the rubber industry, but to a lot of major manufacturers who have departed to ports unknown." http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2014/07/would_goodyear_build_akron.html Report to moderator Logged “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood. " -- Daniel Burnham Read more: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5120.70#ixzz3891DHgWB

Why until then? With housing being hot in downtown (and adjacent neighborhoods), I could see this or similar projects being confirmed or going up before Phase 2. The building will be an ultra-luxury island. I'm referring to the ferarri branding. We don't know how well thought out the above apartments/condos are as far as pricing and level of luxury. I don't see that address being rewarding for uber wealthy unless there are other luxury shops in close proximity as is suggested by the casino phase 2 hype.

I don't see this moving forward until phase 2 of casino is confirmed. I consider this a nice vision of what could be.

^to get a half billion dollar plant in Akron would be huge. Akron area is doing ok and has been slowly moving forward the past 5-10 years. The big projects that have come along like the goodyear hq and firestone tech center have been just keeping in place what is already here. I can't recall a company adding more than 500 let alone 1500 jobs in Summit county in 20-30 years. Certainly companies have grown quickly like Summit Racing to add that many but that was over a long time period. The benefits of placing a factory like that in Akron besides going back to the roots nostalgia are many. • Akron built the tire industry and many of the related service companies are close by • Akron is close to the sources of energy needed to make tires aka shale deposits • The infrastructure of Akron was built to handle many large rubber factories. • Fairly easy access to a diverse experienced workforce. As we sit at the precipice of Decision 2.0, this to me also makes sense for tire building to come back to Akron.

It wouldn't be unusual to move world global hq downtown and keep the back office functions in the burbs. It would probably give them ability to consolidate some space and refocus the company. So, there's a chance.

Saw that this morning. Notice they pretty much had to have the water cleared out of other crafts. Really kind of weird riding a firehose of water. A vehicle with a heavy duty water pump must trail behind. I imagine its "place" will be in watershows.

Notice that Detroit, Chicago area, and some other highly populated counties of the midwest are highlighted as well. I would say it is the speed of the people talking that made the listener think they were hearing y'all. So that is fair enough to include people in big cities saying that since the words can become conjugated in the ear. Now if they were looking for "yawl" that would be very different.

Anecdotely, I'm noticing more people on campus from "shale oil" counties than previously. Or it could be i recognize the county names more readily than before. So it could be nothing. It could also mean that counties with newfound oil money in southeastern Ohio have potential university students going to KSU,UA, and OU.

My thought is to go with option A. I also live in a community with an HOA. I have in the past contemplated if there are other HOAs that might be a little more bike-friendly. So I think I understand your dilemma. That seems like a neat and picturesque blvd, i would feel it also is going to have more money thrown at it than it will be worth for option C. The issue I have is there are so many islands in your layout. If one is riding a bike in the median and there are multiple crossings, you have to be very aware of your surroundings. Maybe the scale is off and it isn't that bad. I would wonder how much use it would really get, especially since you said you are comfortable on the street, so likely are other people. Other thoughts are the volume of traffic. If a car goes by once every couple minutes, as in my community, this definitely doesn't seem to need a bike path. If it is like Broad boulevard in the Falls, than maybe yes this might be an idea to be pursued.

That's beautiful! Almost makes me want to buy a boat.

I'm not sure that the Greystone is a done deal. It took practically 8 years for the Marriott to be a done deal. The people backing the Greystone perhaps thought it really wouldn't get off the ground and they could be "first mover" of modern downtown hotels in Akron. It wouldn't surprise me if the Greystone gets delayed further to see what happens with the Mayflower.

There are apartments called Cascade Lofts about to come on-line down the street on North. Its in a former rubber plant and will be lofts as well with about 20 units plus retail. There's the forever expected apartments on South Main by the Civic and Lock 4. Not sure the status of that. I believe the asbestos has been removed but i think that took most of the renovation money. Whitespace, is consolidating in an old warehouse on Furnace. http://www.ohio.com/news/top-stories/whitespace-creative-owner-sees-vision-in-renovating-old-building-for-new-headquarters-1.425059 There's plenty of units available at Northside Lofts next to the Marriott. Part of the strategy was the buildings to be synergistic, I believe. A half sold luxury loft building with few of the retail/restaurant spaces filled or profitable need daily traffic a hotel would bring. Vegeteranean and I suspect now DBA are only filled Friday and Saturday nights. Additional services or access to services like a little market from the hotel next door would make the northside lofts more desirable and probably help sell the rest of the units. The Mayflower is the big question mark in downtown Akron. Does a developer come along and merge it with the arena project and make it another hotel? Will they make it luxury apartments? Perhaps a mix of both? That would pretty much doom the City hotel or whatever they are calling the Radisson. Perhaps that could be turned into apartments.

The future is now. http://www.ohio.com/news/local/ground-to-be-broken-on-downtown-akron-marriott-developer-testa-increases-number-of-rooms-1.486430 Developer Joel Testa will finally break ground on downtown Akron’s first new hotel in decades. The groundbreaking ceremony — a private event set for Friday evening — comes almost four years after Testa first publicly revealed plans for a 10-story tower-style Marriott hotel to be constructed beside the Northside Lofts, at the northern edge of downtown.

Hovercrafts are pretty versatile and robust. Lake Erie, from talking to sailors, can be as treacherous as an ocean when storms kick up. Here's a link from manufacturer of hovercrafts that brave the north sea. http://www.griffonhoverwork.com/products-services/hovercraft-range/bht-passenger-configuration.aspx Doubt you could take a jet express to London in February.

I would think for year-round dependability a hovercraft would be the better option. So that may be a little faster than the jet express. This would rival air travel especially getting to downtown Toronto.

I always assumed for this location that the primary parking would from the Polsky's deck with an obligatory skywalk. That should be good enough to serve the students. That plus students walking or taking their zippy trolley should be sufficient for 3-4000+ students that may attend an event. The Oneils parking deck is pretty expansive and likely will have good vacancy when the arena will be in use. On-street parking is fairly plentiful after 5pm as well. I guess a smallish parking deck behind the Mayflower could be helpful but not really needed. However, if they are assuming that a conversion of the Mayflower to a hotel with the arena, then yes, a parking deck will definitely be needed and this becomes a huge powerblock of arena/hotel/parking garage and like KJP stated leasable space on the outskirts. That would be pretty transformative on a street level basis if this were to happen.

Also that poll started when there were no details in the article. The article didn't list the rate hike amount and just made it sound like that was the whole purpose of the rate hike. I would expect the county to explain the need for this increase and highlight more what they plan to do with the increased funds. A knee jerk reaction of people feeling this is a give-away to the UofA certainly is understandable. Given that, i think that polling is fairly positive as the yes votes are above 40%. I've got to believe Lebron will have a hand in this at some point. Especially since he'll likely be a user of the facility. But its hard to have any real say in the matter if he's not putting some $ to the project. So that should be interesting to watch.

Solid article about this in the PD. I'm in favor of a .25 sales tax increase for the county. Summit is one of the lowest sales tax counties in the state and I think with how the state government is pushing back on local government to do things, this will be needed. 1/3 of this or less will be going to the new arena. That gives Summit County government a whole lot of leeway to move additional money to other projects and services that the county oversees like Metro RTA. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/04/sports_and_entertainment_arena.html#incart_m-rpt-1 AKRON, Ohio - A $79 million, 9,000-seat arena has been proposed for downtown Akron and it would be paid for by a 0.25 percent increase in Summit County’s sales tax. The University of Akron, the county, the city of Akron and the Development Finance Authority of Summit County (formerly the Summit County Port Authority) are working together to create the arena, which has been discussed for more than a decade.

An interesting admission in this article that indicates the city is still pushing and planning for a downtown arena. Yanni beat me by 12 seconds on posting the same thing.