A new job has me interested in moving to Akron.  I have very little familiarity with the area... I've driven through it a million times on the way to other places but I've rarely been in the city itself.  What sort of apartment options are downtown, or nearby?  Apart from Highland Square, what other walkable neighborhoods are in or around Akron?

The valley is biggest area of apartments.  By valley I mean the Merriman Valley which is maybe a mile or 2 from Highland Square.  Mostly its college kids but i think there is great diversity in the area.  Walkable with several nice restaurants and bars in area. 1 grocery maybe 2 right there.  There could very likely be train service there to downtown akron and to goodyear and maybe cak within a few years.  Thats basically it for now. Downtown there is some new apartments going in at Lock 4 in several months.  Otherwise its suburbia for apartments.

  The valley is part of the Cuyahoga valley so it doesn't have an urban feel at all.  But I enjoy being down there for both bar hopping and biking the towpath from there.

I'm not really aware of downtown living options other than the student housing on Exchange and Main and the Northside Lofts. I think the Civic Theater block is being rehabbed for residential, but who knows how long that will take. I believe Gramarye lives in DT Akron, so perhaps he can help in that area. As far as other walkable neighborhoods, other than Highland Square (which is where I live), there is Firestone Park, Ellet, North Akron, and Spicer Village. However, depending on what criteria you have, these neighborhoods may not be considered that walkable. Also, Spicer Village is more college oriented (it's south of UofA) and North Akron isn't really that safe. Outside of Akron, the most walkable suburb is probably Cuyahoga Falls. There is also Kent, but that's a bit of a drive from Akron and a big college town as well.

 

If you gave us some more information on what you are looking for in a neighborhood, we could give better suggestions. The housing type you prefer as well as how important access to entertainment venues, bars, restaurants, libraries, ect. is to you and whether or not you are looking for good schools or a grocery store within walking distance, could really help narrow things down. Also, your budget and whether or not you plan to rent or buy would also help.

 

Edit: In response to audiodave; there are plenty of other neighborhoods that offer apartment living that also aren't as isolated as Merriman Valley and still just as walkable (if not more so) and also provide access to the Towpath. Not to mention bus service, if that is a factor, isn't that great for the valley.

Thanks for the info!  Places I've lived include Tremont, Coventry, Shaker Square and Lakewood.  I prefer older apartment buildings.  I'm a long way from college at this point but I still enjoy living like a student.  I like old-school urbanity, I like bars and concerts, I like walking to the grocery. 

 

I will be checking out Highland Square for sure.  Where exactly is this Merriman Valley?  That sounds pretty cool too.  Over the past decade I've really prioritized transit-oriented living, but that's no longer possible with this job.  Office is in North Canton and the work itself involves a lot of driving.  I'm attracted to Akron mainly because it's centrally located in the region.

Honestly, Highland Square will probably be you're best bet. It sort of reminds me of Coventry but with less hipsters and less artsy, although there are still a high number of hipsters here. The neighborhood is filled with prewar apartments and houses (most of which have been subdivided into apartments). The main business district (W. Market St.) has several bars and restaurants, a Walgreens, and the Highland Theater. There are plans for a grocery store, Mustard Seed, but I'm not really sure what happened with that. However, there is a farmer's market in the summer months. You can go through this photo thread for a better idea of what Highland Square is.

 

Merriman Valley is in the metro parks where Merriman Rd and Portage Path meet.

 

http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.134161,-81.550097&spn=0.019684,0.038581&t=h&z=15&vpsrc=6

 

The housing types are all post WWII up to some newer apartment complexes. Unless you live in the complexes that are actually on the valley floor (so, none of the complexes on the hills) the area isn't really that walkable. If you are looking for a more urban experience, I would stay away from the valley.

 

Another neighborhood to consider would be Ellet.

 

http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.051622,-81.437144&spn=0.019709,0.038581&t=h&z=15&vpsrc=6

 

The architecture is similar to Highland Sqaure and there are two grocery stores that are within walking distance (depending on where you live). However, there's not really much in terms of restaurants and bars and I'm not really familiar with the rental market there. Perhaps others can chime in on this neighborhood as well as provide information on Firestone Park and Cuyahoga Falls.

Merriman Valley is a bit secluded which is why most Clevelanders aren't aware of it since there is such lousy freeway access to the Valley.  Its basically the southern part of the Cuyahoga Valley proper as the Cuyahoga river comes in from a narrow gorge and meets up with the Little Cuyahoga.  It is about a 7-10 minute drive to downtown Akron from there.  If you were working in downtown Akron I wouldn't have a problem recommending this.  As you are now saying you could be working in North Canton I don't recommend..  Its definitely not old school in the Valley.  However, if you enjoy driving in the Cuyahoga Valley and will be driving in Northern Summit county mainly then it might not be a bad spot to take a look. 

 

There is a study that starts very soon in regards to utilizing the train tracks that currently are plied by the CVSR.  The idea is to look at using the tracks for a Metro train to downtown Akron and the new Goodyear HQ complex and further south.  There currently is no train station in the Merriman Valley.  That would have to be built first.  One could bike 2 miles north on the towpath to hop on a CVSR train to go to downtown Akron or Independence in the summer..

 

Highland Square sounds more like what you'll be comfortable with.  A lot of variety of apartments and houses.  People from all walks of life.  Very much an urban community.  It is maybe a mile to two phenomenal supermarkets down the street on Market in West Point Market and Acme No. 1.  I suppose you could look at living in Wallhaven there if you really needed to walk to a grocery store. 

327, if you like older apartment buildings, then Highland Square is your best bet. It will remain you of Lakewood or Cleveland/Shaker/University Heights. The Merriman Valley is newer (1970s-present) construction. But you may also like some of the areas at the north and south ends of downtown, which include some older commercial buildings converted into housing. Check out the areas around Market & Main/High/Broadway, and Exchange & Main/High/Broadway. The latter is more of a work in progress with more surface parking lots, but the infill keeps coming with the university close by. I really like what's happening in and around downtown Akron these days.

Unless you are a student or a senior citizen, the only apartment building downtown that I am aware of is the old ymca building behing lock 3 next to childrens hospital.  There were some new townhome condos built on howard near the northside and I heard that those may be turned into rentals, but I am not entirely sure of that.  Highland Square sounds most like what you are looking for.  I would check out N Portage Path just north of West Market.  That stretch of road has a lot of old 1920's era apartment buildings and is a very walkable area.  I agree with the comparison to Clifton in Lakewood, but Portage has much less traffic.  Temple Square in North Hill is an up and coming area with some similarities to Highland Square, but the area is still pretty rough around the edges.  I lived in the valley for a year.  It is not a bad place to live.  The built environment is 1980's suburbia, but if you like the outdoors, there are a lot of parks close by.  Firestone Park is a nice area, but it is more of a quiet, family oriented neighborhood.  University Park/Spicertown has seen a lot of new investment the past few years, and the area looks to be on the upswing, but it is still a college student oriented neighborhood and I wouldn't suggest living there unless you are comfortable with the possibility that your neighbors may have 50 twenty year olds hanging out on the porch until  3 am every weekend.  I am not sure you would like Ellet.  It is Akron's version of Parma, but located within the city limits.

I moved to a place on N Portage Path and it's everything I hoped for.  What a great area.  Rents seem a little high in Akron, but not ridiculously so.

I had lunch yesterday at Bricco at Exchange and Main on the south side of downtown. A very nice neighborhood is developing there on what used to be a large swath of windswept parking lots.

Welcome to the AK!  A lot of cool things in that neighborhood. But also a lot to explore in the city itself.  A good website to keep you up on the goings on is www.downtownakron.com. 

I moved to a place on N Portage Path and it's everything I hoped for.  What a great area. 

First of all, welcome to my neck of the woods! I've probably walked down North Portage Path hundreds of times.

 

Rents seem a little high in Akron, but not ridiculously so.

 

Funny you mention that, as my rent was recently increased. I wonder if rents are on the rise in HS?

I had lunch yesterday at Bricco at Exchange and Main on the south side of downtown. A very nice neighborhood is developing there on what used to be a large swath of windswept parking lots.

Definitely agree. I have watched the Canal Park/South Main district go from being a couple of loosely associated bars and clubs constituting a desperate downtown nightlife scene during the 90s and early 00s, to a fairly vibrant community with energy, life and activity throughout the day and night thanks to Canal Park and events at Lock 3. UA student housing, of course, has also been no small contributor here. I'd love to eventually see more housing options for non-students as well as perhaps small grocery and hardware stores once the downtown population is large enough to support them. Maybe Testa or some other developer can do something about those empty parcels used for parking directly across Main from Canal Park?

 

The other downtown district I'm watching is the "Main-Market" arts district. It seems ripe for new development and/or the conversion of existing underused buildings over to residential and additional creative use space. The vibe here is definitely an artsy-creative one, whereas South Main is  college and young professional. I would love to see some sort of tunnel connecting Main-Market with Northside under MLK Jr. Blvd.

I am not sure you would like Ellet.  It is Akron's version of Parma, but located within the city limits.

Ah yes... Ellet. I actually consider Cuyahoga Falls to be Akron's equivalent of Parma, which it is in terms of size--both are second in size only to their respective county seat cities--as well as in terms of diversity, or the lack thereof in both places. Ellet is similar in that it is one of Akron's whitest communities. It is a working middle class suburb that was voluntarily annexed into Akron just before the Great Depression but has largely managed to maintain a strong sense of its own identity separate from that of the city.

 

What constitutes "Downtown Ellet" runs the length of Canton Road between Wedgewood Dr and Triplett Blvd. It is quite walkable on a very basic level, but other than the Ellet Meat Market and a single bar, there isn't actually much to see or do here, and so you don't see anyone walking around much at all. You won't find a vibrant community culture in Ellet. What you may find is a quiet if uneventful place to live.