The vacant CitiCenter building could be sold for $1 million to local developer Welty, if approved by Akron City Council in the coming weeks.
More than 100 apartments are expected to be built in the tower.
The proposal was due to be considered Monday, but Jeff Fusco, an at-large member and vice president of City Council, asked in a committee meeting that the vote be delayed so the council could “take time” on the decision. He called it a “huge development” and said it was very exciting.
A vote is now expected next week.
“I believe in downtown; I believe this is the direction Akron needs to go,” said Donzell Taylor, the CEO of Welty. “If we don’t do something, it’s going to be really bad. It isn’t going to fix itself.”
Taylor expects to spend about $35 million to build out 117 apartments in the 10-story building at 146 S. High St., across East Bowery Street from Akron City Hall. The agreement with the city would only require 100 apartments.
The 1931 building, formerly the home of the Young Women’s Christian Association, is just a tenth of a mile from The Bowery, another project Taylor developed. That building, with 92 units, is fully leased and often has a waiting list, he said. Taylor said he expects there to be demand for the CitiCenter project, which will primarily have one-bedroom apartments that will lease at market rate, between $1,100 and $1,450 a month.
Those apartments will be around 600 square feet in size, Taylor said. The building, which will be completely residential, will also have some studio apartments and some two-bedroom units.
Project will help fill need for housing downtown
The CitiCenter building once held the Akron employee credit union and various city offices, including property billing and the fire chief, said Sean Vollman, Akron’s deputy director of economic development.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Vollman said, the city was working with another developer on a project that never came to fruition. Two rounds of requests for ideas for the space were needed before the Welty project was proposed.
There’s a need for housing downtown, Vollman said, something the project will go a long way toward providing.
“Density is the solution for downtown,” he said. “It puts a smile on my face every time I see a dog being walked on Main Street. The success of downtown is going to be having people here.”
The project will use $3.1 million in historic preservation tax credits from the state to help offset some of the construction costs. Taylor said he also received about $6 million in federal historic tax credits. He expects to figure out the rest of the financing for the project by the end of the year and to begin work immediately upon doing so.
As part of the historic tax credit approval, Welty has to retain historic decorative plaster ceilings, among other requirements.
Aside from determining what to do with a historic pool in the building — the part of the project that has given him the most “consternation” and which will not be used as a swimming pool, Taylor said — the plans for the project are complete and ready to submit to the city for a building permit.
Residents of CitiCenter, The Bowery to share amenities
The building will have attached parking in a city-owned lot, Taylor said, and a number of amenities, including a co-working space for about 10 people, a seventh-floor terrace that looks over downtown, a pickleball court, a fitness center and separate areas for large and small dogs.
He said residents in The Bowery will have access to the new building’s amenities and vice-versa. Taylor expects to hire one new employee to help manage the pair of buildings.
Fusco said the project is evidence that “good things are happening” downtown.
There’s a lot of excitement for the CitiCenter project, Vollman said. He said he expects people to be moving into the building in 2026. Taylor said he thinks it will make a “really cool” apartment building.
And as more people move into downtown, Taylor said, he expects the jobs — and other development — to follow. He said restaurants, bars and other retailers will continue to benefit from increased residential growth.
“The economic impact we think will be very positive,” he said. “It’s creating amazing opportunities.”