zipsrifle

Wow, someone from Can't State put Akron in a good light!?!? Maybe you were scoping out somewhere to transfer...... :wink: Nice Job and thanks for the pics!

Lots of steel being slung around in Akron right now, and in the near future. Off the top of my head, here are some of the construction projects Infocision Stadium - Under Construction 22 Exchange - Under Construction UA dorms near stadum- Under Construction Inventors HOF - Under Construction Goodyear Headquarters - Planning Bridgestone Tech Center - Planning

Awesome! Akron doesn't get posted enough! Go Zips!

ABJ article on the 22 Exchange Housing project. Downtown Akron student housing, retail project on track By Beacon Journal staff POSTED: 12:12 p.m. EST, Mar 05, 2009 Work is on schedule for students to move into part of the $25 million private student housing and retail project being built on South Main Street in Akron by August, the developer said this week. The first phase of the project in the block bordered by Main, Cedar, High and Exchange streets will be ready with 141 bedrooms on the Main Street side in time for the University of Akron fall semester, said Martin Mehall, owner of the project. Mehall is majority owner and president of the firm that owns the project, Exchange Street Associates, the developer, Urban Dynamics and the management company, Richland Communities. About 50 of the bedrooms or 30 suites have already been leased, said Mehall. The total project will include 471 bedrooms in 142 units that are two, three and four bedroom units, he said. Mehall said the project is on track to have more than 50 percent of available units in August rented by Easter. http://www.ohio.com/news/40786072.html# For better pics go here: http://www.22exchange.com/

There is no doubt in my mind that when InfoCision opens it will be the best football stadium in the MAC. To my understanding, a lot of work has been put into making this a very fan friendly stadium. I've been to almost all the MAC stadiums and just don't see how any of them will come close to ICS. As for the JAR, I don't see UA building a replacement until we start selling out on a consistent basis. It's still structurally sound and I too have heard some rumors that there will be some upgrades to the JAR in the future. I agree that compared to other MAC venues, it feels like a HS gym, but that's what we've got. I would love something better, but I would rather see a new Soccer stadium before we build a new BB arena.

Though this isn't technically a UA project, it's basically private student housing so I consider this a good place for it. Anyway, this site has some good updated pictures of the 22exchange project on the corner of Main and Exchange Street. Coming along nicely! http://www.22exchange.com/

Wow, that arena looks great! I've never been to a BB game at BGSU, but I hear the current arena is pretty small. MAC schools are really throwing some cash at the athletic facilities right now. Rumor has it that Akron will be building a new BB arena downtown in the future. Lebron and Nike may be involved, but right now there are only renderings of the building, nothing official.

HORRAY!! :clap: :clap: This is HUGE!!!! I think $68 million is a small price to pay! It's a combined incentive package and works out to a bit over $100K incentive for every employee. They are white collar jobs, and this will pay back in a hurry for the Gov't parties involved. Hopefully the company agrees to the recommendation and Akron can hold onto what little remains of the Rubber Industry! Awesome, Awesome news!!!

I grew up just a couple miles from the Huron County Airport and have driven by the place hundreds of times. You know how many times I've actually seen a plane landing. Once for sure, maybe twice. Just close the thing for a new airport near NASA!

Personally, I think this is just smoke and mirrors. I think he actually has MORE issues with UofA now, but can't show it. Why? Well, University President Louis Proenza's dramatic transformation of the University gives him the aura of being able to make big things happen quickly, something the Don hasn't been able to do. This isn't a shot at the Don, actually, UofA had the advantage of being relatively large University shoehorned in the center of a Midwestern, rust belt has-been of a town. It has undergone the transformation by accumulating a mountain of debt and taking over the vacant and underutilized areas near campus. The University started its massive building program by razing many of the old buildings on campus and replacing them with dramatic results. This bolstered UofA and president Proenza as the community saw what a huge difference a few nice shiny buildings did to a very compact campus. The Don obviously approved of all of this as it made the downtown look a whole lot better. President Proenza then started the University Park Alliance with Summa, got some big grants from the Knight foundation and got some things rolling with some private proposals and actual construction projects just off campus This only added to the UofA's sway in downtown and, of course, The Don approved. Now, here's where it get interesting. Due to all the construction and excitement generated, UofA's enrollment was steadily increasing. An edict a few years earlier that all freshmen must stay in the dorms meant that there wasn't any room to house all the students so UofA started to expand off campus. Dr. Proenza, all but finished with his "New Landscape for Learning", looked for the next feather in his cap. The obvious choice was the crumbling (literally) Rubber Bowl 7 miles from campus. An on campus stadium would put the spotlight on UofA for another 3 years, but UofA was now landlocked. The location for the new stadium would require that 2 dorms be demolished and UofA would need a lot of housing quick. Under The Don's nose, UofA cut a deal to purchase Quaker Square, taking a Downtown Akron landmark and major hotel off the table. The Don was furious and to appease him, UofA gave part of the land back to the city for the future use for a new hotel. UofA's influence over downtown grew when a developer for South Main Street proposed a major redevelopment on the corner of Main and Exchange, which was centered on private, off campus housing for students. Unlike most proposals, this one actually materialized and you can see the results above. In addition, the proposed move of NEOCOM to Akron, linked to UofA, potentially gives the University more control of land near downtown. In the end, UofA has slowly been eroding The Don's control of Downtown and I think he really resents this. He can't show it because the East Side of Downtown is completely overhauled, there are lots of young people in the city and a brand spanking new stadium is opening in just over a year. The downtown of a city is its showcase, and after many years of involvement, UofA just waltzes in and, with a blank checkbook, takes over. Dr. Proenza has generated amazing results and as a result, his influence of what happens around the University is huge! Obviously I'm a huge fan of UofA, but I also try to see things realistically. UofA has done amazing things for the city, but they are WAY over extended and I think they need to focus on improving the education and not on building new sports facilities. The Don has also done amazing things. Look at Canal Park and the deal he put together to keep Goodyear in Akron! That deal alone is as big as all of the construction that has gone on at UofA. If he can keep Firestone in Akron he will have accomplished what few other Mayors of major Ohio city’s have been able to, actually expanding the white collar workforce of the old guard manufacturing giants! I think this battle has just started between Proenza and The Don for control of Downtown Akron. Dr. Proenza seems to be able to pull things out of a hat, while the Don has also done some amazing things in the past 15 years as well. It's only going to get more interesting.

Though there are renderings of the new arena, I think it is quite a few years off. The Zips aren't selling out the JAR consistenly and it isn't falling down (literally) like the Rubber Bowl is, so there just isn't anything forcing a new arena.

Hey, you've got my sister's old Apt building in those pics! I can't tell you how cool it is to live on the 20th floor in the center of Chicago. Awesome!

Nice! Glad to see someone get to the Northside of the city to get a few shots!

Summit's Glory - The University of Akron. Now onto the UofA I never knew. A UA with aesthetically pleasing buildings, trees, and open green spaces. A campus that is contiguous, not shoe-horned between city streets. A campus that brings conveniences to the students, not one that forces the students to adapt to what is lacking. It is a completely different place now compared to when I graduated a decade ago. Many of the new buildings and green spaces you are about to see were built on land "reclaimed" from gravel parking lots and streets that used to run through campus. Believe it or not, there are now places on campus where you can stand, or sit, and not hear a car, bus, or air conditioning unit....all you hear is the wind blowing through the trees. Truly amazing! Enjoy 1) Buchtel Hall 2) Statue of John R. Buchtel, founder of Buchtel College in 1870, now, The University of Akron 3) The original Buchtel Hall which burned down in 1899. I think they should tear down some more of those 60's era utilitarian buildings and build an exact replica! 4) After the fire.... 5) The back of the "New" Buchtel hall. This view was almost completely obstructed when I was in school, now it will be a focal point of the new Outdoor Living Room which is currently under construction. 6) View down College Street from the front of Buchtel Hall 7) Schrank South 8 ) Schrank North 9) Exchange Street Residence Hall 10) Exchange Street Residence Hall Courtyard 11) College of Buisness 12) Western End of Buchtel Commons. This was a street when I was in school. 13) Charles Knight, taught the worlds first class in rubber chemistry and interim president in 1896-1897 14) Bulger Hall from across Buchtel Common 15) Bulger Hall 16) Painting the rock in front of Crouse Hall. That thing is probably about a foot high underneath. 17) The Student Union 18) Student Union from Buchtel Hall 19) Student Union from The Outdoor Living Room. 10 years ago, you would be looking down Carroll street, probably with dumpsters along the side. 20) Coleman Commons, aka "The Outdoor Living Room" plans 21) The Outdoor Living Room under construction. Carroll Street used to run right through the middle of this space a decade ago. 22) Site of the former Carroll Hall, demolished this spring to make way for the OLR. Memorial Hall (left) and the massive Student Wellness Center (Right) 23) The massive, Student Wellness center and Fieldhouse. A full, student rec center with multiple gyms, olympic sized pool, weight room, rock climbing wall, full indoor football practice field and running track! 24) College of Arts and Sciences Amphitheatre...used to be a gravel parking lot 25) Columns salvaged from what I believe was North Hall, demolished around 1995. Makes a neat little discovery when winding through the new green space! 26) New greenspace behind Bierce Library to the College of Arts and Sciences. Also used to be a gravel parking lot. The next 4 shots are of what used to be the intersection of Buchtel Ave and Union streets. Buchtel Ave was rerouted by the time I started school, but I had to dodge cars crossing union street many times! Now, they are beautiful walkways! 27) Looking North (Union): 28) Looking East down Buchtel Common: 29) Looking South (Union): 30) Looking West down Buchtel Common to the heart of campus: That's all I've got for Akron! As you can tell, I got a bit wet at the end there, and opted to skip quite a few areas of campus, but hey, that leaves new material for my next trip to the city! Hope everyone enjoyed it! Go Zips!

Actually, Akron is one of 2 major cities in Ohio that has actually increased the number of jobs in the city in the past 10 years, and as mentioned last week, it has the lowest vacancy rate in downtown in the state. If anything, Akron has already adapted and things aren't looking too bad for Akron, relatively speaking.

The University of Akron - Summit's Glory. This is the 3rd thread from my photos taken this past weekend in Akron. I was very excited to post these pics as UofA has undergone a truly amazing transformation over the past decade! This thread deals with the urban side of UA, the UA I can relate to. With the dramatic transformation that UA has undergone in the past decade, there are now 2 sides to campus, the urban side, and the "Green" side. When I started school in the mid 90's, UA was a very compact urban campus. With 80% of the campus sandwiched between Buchtel ave and Carroll Street, I had to cross 2-3 active roads to get to class from my dorms. During my time there, I saw at least 2 people who had been hit by cars just minutes earlier. If you wanted to play basketball, you had your choice of about 10 hoops, outside, for the entire campus. In the winter, forget about it, as the JAR and Memorial hall were in use by the athletic teams. The campus weight room was smaller than the one at my small, rural high school. The focus of the campus was apparently to put as many parking lots as close to campus as possible, in the cheapest manner possible. The architecture on campus was a very utilitarian, very ugly, beige brick style that was apparently the cheapest thing to build back in the 60's when the state took over the Municipal University of Akron. Like UC and CSU, when I was at Akron, you had to develop some street smarts as you weren't in some small town whose existence was a result of the school. Today, UA is aggressively expanding to not only improve the campus, but also the neighborhoods around UofA and the city as a whole. UA now spans from Main Street, Downtown Akron in the West to Route 8 in the East. North to Market Street and South to Exchange street. Indeed, UA is now criticized by many for taking over the city. Recently acquired Quaker Square, land for a new on campus stadium, Infocision Stadium, and land for additional dorms shed light on the growing pains that the University is going through as it continues to shed it's former image of "Hilltop High" and takes on a new role as one of the primary driving forces within the city of Akron. I hope you enjoy the pics. UA Signs 1) Downtown on the Polskey Building 2) Quaker SqUAre 3) College of Buisness 4) EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall 5) From the Center of Campus 6) Honors Dorms near College of Arts and Sciences 7) Corner of Exchange and Union 8 ) Stainless Steel Zippy at the McDonalds on Exchange. Onto Campus! Keep in mind that it started raining about 1/2 way through my travel through campus, so I skipped quite a few buildings, but I still got pleanty of pics! 9) Polskey's 10) Polskey's From the Front 11) Polskey's and the Mayflower Hotel. Rumor has it that UA wants this property for more dorm space. 12) Schrank South 13) Foreground on...Schrank North, Auburn Engineering Center, Ayer Hall, Bulger Hall 14) Mary Gladwin College of Nursing, Aurburn Engineering Center, Knight Chemical Lab, Goodyear Polymer Center 15) College of Buisness 16) Grant Residence Hall 17) Exchange Street Dorms. Retail space at street level, residential above. 18) Turbine Research Facility 19) Quaker SqUAre 20) Looking down University Ave towards the Goodyear Polymer Center 21) Goodyear Polymer Center..up close 22) EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall 23) Knight Chemical Laboratory 24) Auburn Science and Engineering Center 25) Auburn Science and Engineering Center.....the backside 26) This Tesla Coil on the student union powers campus.......just kidding 27) Schrank North 28) John R. Buchtel's view of Downtown 29) Pedestrian Bridge over Buchtel Ave. 30) College of Arts and Sciences 31) James A Rhodes Arena (JAR) Hope you enjoyed the Urban side of UofA. Next up, the new, Green side of UofA.

Does anyone know what happened to that white apt. building in center field? That was a great atmosphere around the stadium and now it's all being torn down. You would think the developers are kicking themselves as the vacancy rate downtown is so low right now.

JM, that is an awesome picture of downtown. I had no idea that SVSM had the FB field facing that way. Unfortunately, I don't think the view of Downtown will be quite what I had hoped it would be from ICS.

Is this sarcasm, or are you really going to be working a UofA? Many people feel UofA is taking over the city. In reality, it is only the East Side of the city. :wink: Oh, and and some good video's of the house moving available here: http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/22717999.html

Continuing with my pics yesterday, I was amazed to see the amount of construction going on near downtown. Keep in mind that I think I missed some construction on Bowery street, just west of Main and none of the condo construction in University Park. Also, my tour was just a short trip down Main and into the University. Enjoy! 1: New Akron Bus Depot. I don't think it is a mistake that it is right next to the RR tracks. This is really needed as the busses now all but block Main Street as they park near Cascade Plaza. 2: Howe House, one of the first "Mansions" in Akron is to serve as a visitor's information center for residents and visitors to the Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway. It's being moved to make way for new residential and retail on the corner of Exchange and Main. 3: Slightly different angle. 4: Future site of the Howe House (extreme foreground). 5: Here's what will be on the corner of Main and Exchange: 6: An earlier rendering from the City of Akron site: 7: The construction Site: 8: More from the site: 9: Howe House being pushed out: 10: From the vantage point of the renderings: 11: I think US bank is a new building (Don't remember it) and I don't know what is going on next door, but it is a major rennovation. 12: Something going on behind The National Inventors HOF. Onto The University of Akron. For those of you who haven't been following what has been happening in the past decade at UA, there has been a dramatic transformation of campus! I don't think any area of campus has gone untouched! Just off the top of my head, I can think of 11 new buildings that have been constructed, 2 roads through campus that have been closed, and hundreds of trees that have been planted. The transformation continues.... 13: Engineering building getting more upgrades. Looks like they are closing down the parking deck and turning it into additional classrooms/labs/offices. 14: The view from just outside the new student union at the current hotbed of redevelopment. 15: Coleman Commons, aka The Outdoor Living Room. Plan courtesy of The University of Akron 16: View of the OLR from Buchtel Hall. 17: Former site of Carroll Hall, recently demolished to free up space for OLR. Oh, and don't worry about any beautiful old buildings being demolished. Just lots of drab, 60's era box buildings. 18: This view, 10 years ago would have shown 2 active roads, a parking lot, the old Spicer Elementary School, and a few BB courts. 19: Past, Present, and Future.. Arches saved from the old Spicer School now lead up to the new Student Wellness Center and are at the edge of the most recent phase of construction. 20: From another angle. 21: View across the new Softball field, back towards the new Student Union and Buchtel Hall: Onto what REALLY gets me pumped, the new, on Campus Football Stadium....Infocision Stadium! 22: First, a few renderings courtesy of the University of Akron: 23: 24: 25: Structural Steel anyone?? 26: Here's where my seats will be, about 1/3 of the way from the top of the picture! 27: This is ONE BIG HOLE! Pictures don't do it justice. 28: The home side: 29: Only a small portion of the steel is vertical right now. 30: That's a pretty big crane. Hope you enjoyed. More to come in the future too. New Dorms along Exchange Street near stadium, Goodyear HQ down East Market, hopefully an new Bridgestone NA HQ, and possibly a new UA Basketball Arena Downtown??

I've been wanting to have a day to spend in Akron, to snap shots of the City for about 2 years now. Today was the long awaited day! My Brother-In-Law will probably never hang out with me again, but I sure did have a good time. WARNING: I have a cheap digital and am a novice at photography...I did my best. Enjoy! 1: 2: Old BF Goodrich complex. Partially demolished, partially renovated. 3: Old BFG HQ, new GOJO HQ 4: This factory was HUGE at one point in time. I estimate it was probably about 1/4 mile long, 1/8 mile wide, and 6 floors! 5: More BFG, now Canal Place 6: Side of building that used to be hidden by part of the factory 7: Advanced Elastomer Systems. Another rennovated part of the BFG factory. 8: First of many Downtown Shots 9: I'll reserve pics of UofA for other posts, but I think this is a good Urban pic 10: Skyline 11: Notice the Stealth Fighter.....UofA Turbine Research Facility...don't know the link with a Stealth Fighter though. 12: Exchange and Main 13: Exchange and Main with Ballpark lights 14: Exchange and Main....I just like this building 15: Final Exchange and Main. In a future thread, you'll see the construction project, that is underway, that will completely change this corner! 16: Looking down Exchange towards Childrens Hospital 17: What started it all! Ohio Canal with YMCA bulding in background. Akron was the highest point, The Summit, on the canal with the greatest density of locks. The rest is history! 18: Childrens Hospital. I wish I had more time as more great buildings are hidden behind this one. 19: Canal #2. You can see one of the restored locks in the photo. 20: "Canal Entrance" to Canal Park, home of the Akron Aeros, AA Minor League team to the Cleveland Indians. 21: More Canal Park. I really love the atmosphere of this place, really feels like you're nestled inside the city. 22: Was able to get inside the stadium. There was a game tonight. 23: Straight Away Center. It just occurred to me that there used to be a 10-15 story, white apartment building out there....now it's gone! 24: Left Field: 25: Front Entrance...Last Canal Park photo I promise! 26: Requisite Akron Shot. Storms rolling in. 27: Better view of Cascade Plaza 28: Polskey's (Left) and the Mayflower Hotel (Right). One a UA owned building, the other is rumored to be a target for future UA dorms. 29: I like these shots.... 30: Lock 3 park. For those of you who haven't been to Akron much in the past...this vantage point used to show a bunch of empty store fronts. 31: The Civic Theater. The most amazing interior I've ever seen in a theater! 32: Lots of people out today all over town. Highland square (not shown) was hoppin! 33: Key Bank building and another 34: Keep your eye out for pedestrian bridges. Lots of them in downtown and personally, they are eyesores. 35: The East Side of the heart of Downtown. Didn't go that far as I wanted to get lots of shots of the University! 36: First Energy HQ and First National Bank Tower 37: Don't know the name of this building, but I used to look at it a lot while daydreaming in class. 38: First National Bank Tower 39: Cascade Plaza 40: A look down Bowery Street. I think there is some construction on new shops just around the bend! 41: I love this shot. 42: Who thought this was a good idea??? 43: North side of town. Too bad I couldn't make it down there....didn't have the time. John S. Night Convention center, Akron Art Museum, Cigar Building, Federal Building, Chophouse......... 44: The controversial acquiring of Quaker Square by UofA. The historic hotel has been converted to dorms. You want my 2 cents??? UofA is on a roll, get on the train or get off the tracks! 45: Home to Akron's Finest! 46: Home to National Inventors Hall of Fame. I think UofA will end up taking this over at some point in the future, it isn't really much more than a neat looking building right now. Hope you enjoyed the pics. Akron doesn't get many posts here, but I love the place. I think you'll be suprised with what is going on in the City right now. There is a reason it's been adding jobs and has the lowest downtown vacancy rates of any Major Ohio City! Look for more posts in the near future.

I imagine that University employees would count as "Government employees". Many people in Akron complain that most of the development going on downtown is directly through The University of Akron. Though UA is expanding rapidly, it really says something for Akron if this study didn't include UA employees. Another thing to keep in mind for Akron is that the city did land the new Goodyear World Headquarters complex outside of Downtown, which will turn the existing HQ on E. Market into a mixed use facility. Another thing that may be a big boost to Akron is if Bridgestone opts to stay in Akron for their new NA Tech Center. This would also, I believe, be outside of downtown.

Good article about Fuel Cells, though I'm not completely convinced that it will never happen. I took a class on fuel cell technology during my Masters Studies, and he did hit on some of the existing drawbacks to using Hydrogen as a fuel source. One thing he did not point out, that is at least as important, is that existing Hydrogen fuel cells can be "Poisoned" very easily. The hydrogen must be very pure (99.98%, I think) to avoid poisoning or damaging the fuel cell. Even then, with current technology, don't expect to have your Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicle be useful for 10+ years as what little impurities are in the fuel will eventually damage it to the point it will need to be replaced. I was always curious about what the "EROI" would be for using hydrogen, and though it will vary depending on how you generate and implement your hydrogen usage, 20% seems like a reasonable ballpark number. Still, despite these obstacles, I'm not as pessimistic as the author. Yes, there are many hurdles to be overcome, but there are also lots of very intelligent people working on the in vehicle application problems such as storage, Fuel Cell efficiency, etc. I think the real issues, which he pointed out, are how will we make and distribute all the hydrogen? As someone pointed out earlier, I don't think any single power source will dominate in the future, and we may have vehicles that utilize multiple energy sources to get us where we want to go. Personally, I am disappointed that more emphasis has not been put into energy storage, such as batteries and super-capacitors. When you are driving your vehicle, and have to stop or go downhill, there is energy there to be captured. Current Hybrids do capture a little bit of this energy, but there are constraints as to how much of that energy can be captured. There is a lot more there we are wasting! Good article.

What a great topic!! Lots of great thoughts here too! Here's my take. First, I am amazed that a focus on overall energy conservation has been but a passing comment. In my mind, the crisis for my generation (Gen Y) is not oil, but ENERGY. As India and China emerge, we now have 2-3 billion people aspiring to live an American lifestyle, which is essentially to live easy with a LOT of waste. I for one don't think that things will come crashing down as oil supplies tighten. There are just too many well educated people on this planet not to come up with viable solutions. I think we will be able to move away from oil, but the ENERGY needed will only continue to increase! What happens in 10 years when everyone goes to plug in their cars at night?? What is the price of electricity going to do? This topic really hits home for me. I recently moved back near Cleveland after working on Hybrids in Detroit. People need to start thinking of conserving first in everything they do! There are huge fuel economy gains that can be made. For example, accelerating more slowly in your vehicle, and driving slower on the highway can result in big gains! I'm not asking for anyone to go 35 mph on the freeway, but slowdown to 65 from 70. In the cities, timed traffic lights don't take into account the actual traffic flow. Put some logic into them and replace some of the intersections with traffic circles. I can go on and on, but I think everyone gets the idea. Oh, and C-Dawg, I have to throw this in... I have a 4 cyl., 5-spd Chevy Colorado Crew cab....27 mpg :angel: People can do many things at home such as turning off lights when they don't need them, take shorter showers, use less pre-packaged food, turn down the heat in the winter and put on a sweater, etc. I'm a big believer in the cumulative impact of these small, seemingly minscule changes. It isn't just moving closer to where you work, it is a lifestyle change. I firmly believe that the FIRST step to address the looming energy crisis is to focus on energy CONSERVATION while working to make other technological improvements. I also agree that we waste a lot of our resources. The bottom line here in my mind is that money talks and BS walks. How many people invest in the stock of a company because instead of building a new building for $30 million it refurbished an old building for $50 million? True, a few people, but they are in the minority. Few people care about they type of corporate citizen a company is when the look to invest, rather they look at how much profit they are likely to make. Money is usually the overriding factor in many decisions, not what the action does to the environment or how much energy it takes. You just have to look above at what the focus of Detroit was for many, many years. As for the housing crisis, this also hits home. I just lost a LOT of money when I sold my house in Michigan, and there is no end in sight to the housing skid there. We purchased the home because even as an Engineer for an auto company, I couldn't afford to buy even a small ranch near work. We had to buy 20-30 miles from where I worked and I believe the housing bubble in Detroit was a function of many things. Fundamental to the housing crisis and, actually, many of these issues, is the American mindset of entitlement. We believed that we were entitled to a house. We had to have a house because everyone else had a house. Sure, the lenders fueled the housing bubble my making money available to almost anyone, even if they obviously couldn't afford it, but we were the ones who applied for the loan. Personally, I think that the housing downturn is just one of those painful market adjustments that happens once or twice a century. IMO, Americans buying houses and the lending companies in the 90's-00's, in general, had not been through a recent, painful experience related to over-extending themselves financially. Now, that reality has hit home and we all see what the lenders and consumers doing. Additionally, I do think that the increasing price of oil will result in some changes in how our urban centers evolve in the future. Temperate cities probably have an advantge over those in more extreme environments. Rail and shipping will likely increase. I don't know if the urban centers will return to their former, high density glory though. The places of employment are well dispersed now, and it will take some time for companies to ditch their existing locations in favor of a more centralized location as expenses associated with potentially having to move employees and equipment will likely be high. I don't believe that the "Skilled Labor" of the rust belt is key, on the contrary, I think that is the worst direction we could want to go! First off, Many of these people are at or near retirement age and will be moving to some type of government support (Medicare, SS, etc.) as they age, further incrasing the financial demand on the younger generations. What I think is needed is EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION. The world is a much more competitive place and though some manufacturing may return to the US due to the energy crisis, the real money is going to be in further innovation! Not only are the days of a HS diploma getting you a good job gone, but the days of a Bachelor's degree giving you job security are under attack as well! It will be interesting to see what happens. I for one am at a bit of a crossroads now. I am looking for a new place to live and want to live close to work to minimize my commute, but I also don't want my children to attend a troubled school district with crime, drugs, and an overall apathy towards education. I want my kids to have land to run and play and I don't want to worry about the stuff happening a few blocks away spilling over into my neighborhood. This is a great topic and there are a lot of great ideas here. :clap:

With respect to the new student housing construction downtown, I agree that it is sad to see perfectly good, old buildings being destroyed. That is character that cannot be replaced is something that draws people to an area if it is refurbished properly. On the other hand, there is something to be said about downsizing. I will never forget my first experience in Downtown Akron, being "chased" by bums as I strolled past vacant store fronts and strip joints. I don't think I went back downtown for a year. Since that time in the early 90's, Akron has actively worked to eliminate these eyesores to revitalize downtown. IMO, the old buildings are nice if someone with $$$ is willing to come in and pour a lot of money into the structures. But, unfortunately, people would rather build something from scratch than fight with an existing building. Many times, it is less expensive and just plain easier. I don't think anyone was willing to throw a lot of money into the old, essentially run-of-the-mill buildings in Akron. I think Akron made the right choice in deciding to ditch it's architectural past to try to revitalize downtown. They began to demolish the buildings to free up space for new structures about 15 years ago now. The old BF Goodrich factory was partially salvaged, and partially remodeled. Several older buildings of significant height on North Main were demolished and Canal Park was built on South Main. Lock 3 Park was created by demolishing a row of old, vacant storefronts. What we are seeing with Jillians is just the continuation of the direction Akron chose 15 years ago. I think it has done a lot to help revitalize downtown. Though I would like to see more professional residential housing downtown, I think putting any kind of residential housing downtown is a step in the right direction. This is a private venture, not sponsored by UofA, and should help to make downtown feel more alive. As for the arena, I agree that it is not needed at this point in time. UA isn't selling out the JAR and it is not falling down like the Rubber Bowl was. When they do start selling out the JAR, raise the ticket price! The new football stadium is being constructed because it was simply a question of where to put 50+ million dollars. It could either have been put into the collapsing Rubber Bowl, 7 miles from campus, or it could be used on campus. I think they made the right decision.