November 27, 2024Nov 27 Can they (whoever that is) finally bring back the iconic antenna?!?! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 28, 2024Nov 28 19 hours ago, ColDayMan said: Can they (whoever that is) finally bring back the iconic antenna?!?! I'd rather see the building properly lit at night.
December 2, 2024Dec 2 Author On 11/27/2024 at 11:09 AM, Luke_S said: Huntington Bank announces pending sale of Akron's Huntington Tower, Cascade Building Jeremy Nobile November 27, 2024 Huntington Bank has announced that it is under contract to sell what has long been branded as Huntington Tower, Akron’s tallest building, as well as the nearby Cascade Building to a yet-to-be-disclosed real estate developer. ... Kris Dahl, spokesperson for the Columbus-based bank, said the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025. Dahl said that there is no worker displacement expected as part of the pending relocation of staff from those buildings to its nearby operations center. That relocation is expected to take place sometime during the second quarter of 2025. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/huntington-bank-selling-akrons-huntington-tower-cascade-building Interesting that this is happening at the same time as the other tower.
December 2, 2024Dec 2 4 minutes ago, yanni_gogolak said: Interesting that this is happening at the same time as the other tower. Agree. If each are thoughtfully redeveloped there is a lot of potential from a change in use to change the dynamic of Downtown Akron, especially after the shift to work-from home. But to have all of these buildings turning over increases the risk that any one of these building's redevelopment plan fails. If each include a significant conversion to residential and they come online around the same time I would think that would also over saturate the Akron market. Remaining cautiously optimistic.
December 3, 2024Dec 3 Author 22 hours ago, Luke_S said: Agree. If each are thoughtfully redeveloped there is a lot of potential from a change in use to change the dynamic of Downtown Akron, especially after the shift to work-from home. But to have all of these buildings turning over increases the risk that any one of these building's redevelopment plan fails. If each include a significant conversion to residential and they come online around the same time I would think that would also over saturate the Akron market. Remaining cautiously optimistic. I think the Huntington Bldg would be a tremendous undertaking for conversion to residential. The structure does not make it a good candidate.
December 3, 2024Dec 3 Author Akron’s Lock 3 opens for winter fun after $17M in renovations (photos) Published: Dec. 02, 2024, 3:08 p.m. By Megan Becka, special to cleveland.com AKRON, Ohio – After nearly two years of construction, Akron celebrated the completion of the renovated Lock 3 venue in downtown Akron on Friday. Located at 200 S. Main St., the 3.2-acre space has been reimagined as a year-round park that is accessible and welcoming for residents and visitors. https://www.cleveland.com/akron/2024/12/akrons-lock-3-opens-for-winter-fun-after-17m-in-renovations-photos.html
December 17, 2024Dec 17 Akron City Council approves funding for new Downtown development corporation Ideastream Public Media By Abigail Bottar Published December 16, 2024 Akron City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve funding for the new Downtown Akron Development Corporation. Its goal is to attract businesses, jobs and development to Downtown. The funding will build on the promise to start a Downtown community development corporation made by Mayor Shammas Malik during his state of the city address in April. ... The ordinance authorizes $150,000 to the Downtown development corporation over three years. https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2024-12-16/akron-city-council-to-vote-on-funding-for-new-downtown-development-corporation
December 17, 2024Dec 17 In other Akron development news: Why Cascade Plaza’s redevelopment may lure more residents to downtown Akron: ‘That drives investment’ Plan to open up downtown Akron’s Polsky Building to Main Street moves forward
December 17, 2024Dec 17 6 hours ago, Luke_S said: In other Akron development news: Why Cascade Plaza’s redevelopment may lure more residents to downtown Akron: ‘That drives investment’ Plan to open up downtown Akron’s Polsky Building to Main Street moves forward We actually used that hotel, when it was still the Ramada (the Signal article says Radisson, but it was a Ramada then, and I don't remember it ever being a Radisson) as the hotel for our guests at our wedding. I think it was clear even then that the property was on the downturn and would need to find another use, and a residential conversion was an obvious such option. I didn't know that the Brennans were part of the acquisition team and that their deaths were part of the obstacles to redevelopment there, though. That's interesting.
December 17, 2024Dec 17 1 hour ago, Gramarye said: We actually used that hotel, when it was still the Ramada (the Signal article says Radisson, but it was a Ramada then, and I don't remember it ever being a Radisson) It was a Radisson while we were in college. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 17, 2024Dec 17 Author On 8/25/2023 at 6:57 AM, Luke_S said: Don Taylor is planning to convert the YWCA building at 146 S. High St in Akron to 114 luxury apartments. He thinks he'll likely apply for a historic tax credit for the project, which it sounds like he did for the Bowery project but did not end up using. Taylor also alludes to purchasing an adjacent, city owned parking deck and building over top of that. He also mentioned that the Bowery apartments have been very popular and has a waiting list, promoting this complimentary project. Given that, Taylor has been looking for other candidates for residential conversion, hopefully that means that the First Energy and Center Plaza buildings are converted relatively quickly. More downtown apartments planned for Akron Dan Shingler | August 25th 2023 "Welty Building Co. CEO Don Taylor recently told Crain’s, “I like being the voice of optimism for downtown Akron.” True to his word as well as to his recent history, Taylor’s backing that up with investment dollars. This time, he plans to spend more than $25 million turning the city’s historic YWCA building, known in recent years as the CitiCenter building, at 146 S. High St., into at least 114 luxury apartments. ... Taylor said Welty is working to buy the buildings from the city of Akron, which had been using part of the building’s 114,000 square feet of what was then office space before the pandemic. Since then, when the city vacated it, the building has sat vacant, Taylor said." https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/developer-hopes-again-tap-luxury-apartment-market-akron The historic Akron YWCA at the corner of High and Bowery streets. The 10-story building is vacant. Welty Development plans to revamp it as 114 apartments while turning the old swimming pool into a unique gathering space for residents. The project won state historic tax credits last year, but the developer went back to the Ohio Department of Development this fall with a larger request because of escalating costs. The new award is $4.2 million. https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/housing-at-rhodes-tower-and-a-hotel-at-the-rose-building-projects-win-state-tax-credits
December 19, 2024Dec 19 Author This project is not approved / awarded...yet. They won't know until June 2025 or so. But, they did just yesterday get invited to move to the next phase. Residences at Ascend https://ohiohome.org/ppd/proposals/2025/OLIHTC/ResidencesAscend.pdf Testa Enterprises, Inc. is proposing the development of the Residences at Ascend, a 71 modern apartment community in downtown Akron. The development will be part of the Ascend Akron redevelopment of the former Akron City Centre Hotel, originally constructed as a Holiday Inn in 1971. Residences of Ascend will provide 71 one-, two- , & three bedroom apartments on floors 4-11 of the 19-story building. The remaining portions of the building will be developed for market rate apartments and community amenities. Residents of Ascend Akron will have free access to all amenities of the Ascend Akron residential community, including a 19th floor pool with panoramic views of Akron, an underground parking deck with 225 dedicated spaces, a 2000 ft2 fitness center, recreation room, and a plaza level restaurant.
January 9Jan 9 It appears Akron met the grant funding submission deadline. Akron wins $10 million federal grant to remake milelong stretch of Innerbelt by Arielle Kass January 9, 2025 In addition to the $10 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, the city will put up a $10 million match. The city was aspirational in its ask while also being realistic about what it would be able to put forward, said Suzie Graham Moore, Akron’s director of economic development. The award matched the city’s request. ... The mayor acknowledged that the money wouldn’t go far enough to implement every idea the planning team will come up with. But he said he sees it as a catalyst to begin the process of healing the community. https://signalakron.org/akron-wins-10-million-federal-grant-to-remake-milelong-stretch-of-innerbelt/
January 9Jan 9 Maybe I’m not digging deep enough, but after every story I’ve read, I still don’t know what they’re actually going to do in the place where the inner belt was.
January 9Jan 9 14 minutes ago, JohnSummit said: Maybe I’m not digging deep enough, but after every story I’ve read, I still don’t know what they’re actually going to do in the place where the inner belt was. I don't think that's any fault of yours, I think the city doesn't have a clear idea of what the inner belt will be either. Akron hired Sasaki to develop the master plan, in Ideastream's write up they mention that Sasaki expects to share the master plan publicly by the summer of 2025.
January 10Jan 10 ‘The sky’s the limit’ — Mayor announces plans for Downtown Akron Development Corporation by Arielle Kass January 9, 2025 Akron leaders announced Thursday that they had raised $360,000 for each of the next three years from 17 partners to start the Downtown Akron Development Corp. and hire an executive director. The funding will pay for the executive director’s salary and benefits as well as leave some money for the organization to hold events to connect developers or do pre-development work. On top of that, Kyle Kutuchief, the program director in Akron for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, announced that his organization would contribute an additional $1.5 million over three years if the new executive director could raise $3 million to match it two-to-one. That money, he said, was to “get stuff done.” ... [Suzie] Graham Moore[, Akron’s economic development director] said there are three priorities for the person hired into the role: • Increasing the amount of residential development downtown. • Helping with the development of a convention center hotel. • Creating more dense retail in the city center. https://signalakron.org/the-skys-the-limit-mayor-announces-plans-for-downtown-akron-development-corporation-shammas-malik-kyle-kutuchief/
February 13Feb 13 One of Akron's iconic downtown buildings sold to out-of-town buyer February 13, 2025 Dan Shingler L. Jayson Lemberg and his firm, Rye, New York-based Pioneer Acquisitions, have made a $4.5 million bet on downtown Akron’s office market. Pioneer purchased Akron City Centre (50 S. Main Street), one of the city’s “big five” downtown office buildings, on Sept. 20, 2024, Lemberg said. And with 195,000 square feet of space and an occupancy rate of 74%, Lemberg said his cap rate on the building is an astounding 27%. ... Unlike other developers who have purchased major downtown office buildings in Akron and Cleveland, Pioneer will not spend ten times or more of what it paid for the building. The building won’t be converted — like apartments or a hotel — and will primarily remain an office building with some retail and restaurants on the first floor, as it has been since it was built in 1982, Lemberg said. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/akron-city-centre-office-building-finds-new-york-buyer
February 24Feb 24 Another one of Akron's 'Big 5' downtown buildings sold February 24, 2025 Dan Shingler PVC Cascade One, a “locally owned real estate development company with roots in the community for over 45 years,” announced Monday, Feb. 24, that it has purchased the PNC Center building. ... Pleasant Valley did not provide details on the transaction, including what it paid to acquire the building, but it said it worked with the Development Finance Authority (DFA) of Summit County, the county, and the City of Akron on the transaction. ... The PNC building is 23 stories tall and has about 220,000 square feet of space. For a little more than a year, it has been owned by the Summit County Land Bank and managed by the DFA. The DFA is the building’s master tenant, occupying about 10,000 square feet of space. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/akron-pnc-center-sold-local-investor
March 8Mar 8 Akron’s Innerbelt project at risk of losing $10 million in federal funds by Arielle Kass March 7, 2025 A $10 million federal grant to help redevelop a decommissioned portion of Akron’s Innerbelt is at risk of being recalled. The money, awarded in January from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, is meant to help the city implement its redevelopment ideas for the Innerbelt, which former Mayor Dan Horrigan said caused “lasting harm” to a once-vibrant Black community. Friday, a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, who championed the grant, said the DOT confirmed that any projects that did not have a grant agreement in place prior to 2025 were subject to review. The Reconnecting Communities grant was announced Jan. 8. No further information about the review process was available. https://signalakron.org/akrons-innerbelt-project-at-risk-of-losing-10-million-in-federal-funds/
March 12Mar 12 Akron announces new effort to bolster the city's entrepreneurs and small businesses Ideastream Public Media | By Sean Fitzgerald Published March 10, 2025 Entrepreneurs in Akron will soon have new resources to tap for help in financially propelling their small businesses. The city announced Monday it 's received a $90,000 grant from the Cities for Financial Empowerment fund, a national nonprofit which works to support financial empowerment efforts by local governments. Akron is one of seven municipalities selected to participate in a new round of the fund's Small Business Boost Initiative. Funding will go to support new efforts by the Akron Financial Empowerment Center, a service provided by United Way of Summit and Medina Counties, which offers a range of financial counseling services. "Our small businesses are the heart of our community," said Akron Mayor Shammas Malik. "We want to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses as well as manage their own personal financial journeys. We saw success with the Small Business Boost pilot program and are looking forward to continuing that growth.” https://www.ideastream.org/economy/2025-03-10/akron-announces-new-effort-to-bolster-the-citys-entrepreneurs-and-small-businesses
March 12Mar 12 Quaker Square complex to be sold by University of Akron, if state approves agreement by Arielle Kass March 12, 2025 The University of Akron has a signed agreement to sell Quaker Square, the oats mill-turned-hotel and shopping center that was most recently used to house students. ... Quaker Square’s property listing, which says it is under contract, lists six buildings that are connected by a galleria and a separate conference center. All told, the complex — built in 1900 and converted to hotel/retail use in 1981 — is 411,000 square feet, the listing says, with a 65-room hotel. Kimberly Beckett, president of the Downtown Akron Partnership, said using the property as a hotel could help the John S. Knight Center book more conventions by having an adjacent property where people could spend the night. https://signalakron.org/quaker-square-complex-in-process-of-being-sold-by-university-of-akron-if-state-approves/
March 14Mar 14 Well that was quick; Akron business partners to buy historic Quaker Square, plan to reopen hotel and renovate complex by Arielle Kass March 13, 2025 The University of Akron will sell Quaker Square for $800,000 to three local business partners who plan to reopen the hotel, where rooms are built into round, Quaker Oats grain silos, and renovate the rest of the complex, which has been largely empty for years. Kyle Craven, the vice president of Akron-based Craven Construction, said he is planning to purchase Quaker Square along with partners Steve Dimengo and Joe Scaccio. Dimengo is a tax attorney and the managing partner of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLC, a business law firm. Scaccio is the president and owner of Akron-based J-RS Cos. and previously made an offer to buy the PNC Center at 1 Cascade Plaza. ... Adding a hotel adjacent to the John S. Knight Center has been a priority for years, said Kyle Kutuchief, the program director in Akron for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. https://signalakron.org/akron-business-partners-to-buy-historic-quaker-square-complex-plan-to-reopen-hotel-and-renovate-complex-kyle-craven-steve-dimengo-joe-scaccio/
March 14Mar 14 43 minutes ago, Luke_S said: Well that was quick; Akron business partners to buy historic Quaker Square, plan to reopen hotel and renovate complex by Arielle Kass March 13, 2025 The University of Akron will sell Quaker Square for $800,000 to three local business partners who plan to reopen the hotel, where rooms are built into round, Quaker Oats grain silos, and renovate the rest of the complex, which has been largely empty for years. Kyle Craven, the vice president of Akron-based Craven Construction, said he is planning to purchase Quaker Square along with partners Steve Dimengo and Joe Scaccio. Dimengo is a tax attorney and the managing partner of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLC, a business law firm. Scaccio is the president and owner of Akron-based J-RS Cos. and previously made an offer to buy the PNC Center at 1 Cascade Plaza. ... Adding a hotel adjacent to the John S. Knight Center has been a priority for years, said Kyle Kutuchief, the program director in Akron for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. https://signalakron.org/akron-business-partners-to-buy-historic-quaker-square-complex-plan-to-reopen-hotel-and-renovate-complex-kyle-craven-steve-dimengo-joe-scaccio/ I went to a party in the late ‘90s in the hotel that used to be at Quaker Square. It was interesting being in the round rooms.
March 14Mar 14 That place was pretty amazing in the early 90's when it was a Hilton. The mall was really fun, especially around Christmas time. Because this was pretty much pre-internet it's almost as if that once upon a time, lively version of the place never happened.
March 14Mar 14 So so happy to see Quaker Square get some love. It was certainly a highlight of mine as a kid. We had a lot of family up for the holidays and they always stayed there. It was so fun to visit. If memory serves me right, it also had a second floor pool? Maybe that was taken out when the university owned it though.
April 7Apr 7 Author Visitors enjoy first look inside Akron History Center The center features three floors of curated local history that is free to the public. by Andrew Keiper April 6, 2025 Did you know that during World War II, Akron was likely the biggest producer of condoms for U.S. troops? Or that Emmer Lancaster, an Akron native born in 1900, was the first Black member of the Akron Bar Association? These nuggets of history are among those now on display at the Akron History Center. On Saturday morning, the long-awaited attraction in downtown Akron opened to visitors following the cutting of a “Ribbon of Rubber.” https://signalakron.org/visitors-enjoy-first-look-inside-akron-history-center/?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_v6j_Csn6-DTjoir6PvsYH5t1-Cqqk-alsyY5FXaCaG7jfN6vDOA9eeoBPia5bN6KRpQZtC7iobC-8hZGElnoFyf-eMQ&_hsmi=355453618
April 9Apr 9 Author Quaker Square sale in Akron moves forward with state board approval State leaders ask questions before approving request to sell iconic hotel complex owned by the University of Akron by Arielle Kass April 7, 2025 A state board approved the sale of University of Akron-owned Quaker Square to a trio of developers Monday, the next step in the process to get the oat mill-turned-hotel complex into private hands to be repurposed. The approval, by the Ohio Controlling Board, didn’t come without questions. https://signalakron.org/quaker-square-sale-in-akron-moves-forward/?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_bJgGJvtQn2zLGyYKM0ccA2-YJSJvUIsx15P1MSc_raLfCQZKBPvBdufry8KlantXQcFIqUPaGDgOAqUzFZI_-yLMaCA&_hsmi=355842993
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