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| Downtown, the sequel |
| The job of renewal never ends. In Akron, the signs of new life are expanding. |
| Beacon Journal staff writer |
For all the talk about downtown revitalization, there is a point to the question: Toward what end? Certainly, it is essential for a city to have a vibrant, revenue-generating center, full of commerce, culture and entertainment. Still, shouldn't more than the immediate downtown benefit?
In Akron, the answer is, so far, a resounding yes, $151 million worth. The pebbles steadily dropped downtown -- Canal Park, the Civic Theatre, the new Main Library, the new Akron Art Museum, the refurbished O'Neil's and other historic office buildings -- have cast rings that are spreading in all directions. The curtain is lifting on Act II of Akron's resurgence. Look around. Signs of new life abound.
To the east is the University of Akron, itself entirely transformed. Spurred by that on-campus growth is a $32 million project on the south side of school promising new housing, office and retail space along East Exchange Street, aptly named Spicer Village. On UA's northern edge two historic churches -- Trinity Lutheran and First Congregational -- have invested more than $5 million in restoring their century-old structures to meet a new century.
To the north of downtown, cranes announce the $35 million Northside Lofts, offering market-rate condominiums and townhomes built to take advantage of the view and proximity to the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad and the burgeoning arts and entertainment district from which the development takes its name. But that's not all. Once complete, more than $50 million will have gone into the transformation of the former Elizabeth Park public housing complex into Cascade Village, a mixture of owner-occupied and rental units on the banks of the Little Cuyahoga River. And let's not forget Hickory, the development at Memorial Parkway that will add 70 homes to Akron's new housing inventory.
Perhaps most exciting is the activity on West Market Street, where St. Vincent-St. Mary High School is planning a $12 million expansion to its campus. Tony Troppe, the developer with more fingers in this city's redevelopment pie than hands to hold them, has taken on another project, restoration of old Fire Station No. 3 a block from the high school on South Maple Street. Add in the expansion of the Akron Family Restaurant, Access Inc., the Better Business Bureau, VanDevere Oldsmobile and addition of Bennett Construction along West Market Street, and the wave of new faith in an old neighborhood begins to carry everyone along.
Certainly, old issues such as crime do not disappear overnight. Setbacks surface in larger and smaller ways. Still, new energies take hold. That always has been the promise of renewing downtown. A promise now in its next chapter of fulfillment. In this case, the city can do its part by taking one visible and very dramatic alternative out of play. |
| Re-printed
from the Akron Beacon Journal |
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