The City of Akron has confirmed it intends to demolish Firestone Plant #1 in its entirety after rejecting a proposal to turn it into the new police headquarters.
The police headquarters proposal was the only one the city received in a last-ditch effort to find someone willing to redevelop the 115-year-old building. That idea came in after the deadline city officials set for proposals to be received, Stephanie Marsh, a spokesperson for Akron, said in an email.
Although the proposal by Amerimar Realty was non-responsive to Akron’s request, the city made a good-faith attempt to consider the proposal and review its feasibility, Marsh said. She said the project was not possible.
The rejection means demolition of the building, which is due to begin Dec. 8, will continue to the front bay in March, with the entire building razed in April.
That’s despite the fact that the plant has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2014.
This summer, members of Akron’s Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission rejected a request from city officials that would have allowed them to demolish the property. The commission had originally agreed to let most of the plant be demolished but required the front bay, including the clocktower, to be saved.
Planning officials appealed that decision to members of City Council, who granted their request to demolish the whole building in September. But the City Council approval came with a caveat — officials were to spend two months looking for someone to save the property. A request for proposals had a late October deadline; council gave until Nov. 21 for a final determination.
“I hate to speak in absolutes, but the city has no plans to issue another RFP [request for proposals] or accept other proposals,” Marsh wrote. “Efforts to redevelop this property have spanned over many years and multiple administrations without a viable option. Due to the limitations of the space and the cost associated [with trying to] save pieces of it, we believe that demolition is the best course of action and we are moving forward with that plan.”
City balks at taxpayers paying to redevelop Firestone plant
Three members of the Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission declined requests for comment about the planned demolition; four did not respond to requests for comment.
Dana Noel, the advocacy chair for Progress Through Preservation, said previously he thought it was short-sighted of the city to tear down the building. When it’s standing, it’s eligible for tax credits that could help incentivize someone to develop it.
Jim Loveman, a partner with Amerimar Realty, said previously that demolishing part of the building but leaving the front bay standing would make it more viable for developers to consider. As-is, the building is massive, and there aren’t obvious uses. The front bay alone would be about 200,000 square feet.
“I would continue to push to keep the front portion standing,” Loveman said. “There could be some other user.”
Loveman, who developed a former Firestone warehouse into the Russell M. Pry building next door, previously had an option to purchase Plant #1, but it lapsed, he said.
In her email, Marsh said Amerimar representatives, in a Wednesday meeting with city officials, said they “did not see a path forward for privately redeveloping this property without significant public support and risk.” The proposal declined a requirement to put $5 million in escrow, to be returned if the project was completed, and Loveman reiterated in the meeting that the company would not be willing to provide that payment, both he and Marsh said.
Marsh said the proposal suffered from multiple issues. Those included the rejection of the escrow as well as a lack of specificity on an expected rate to lease the building back to the city as the police headquarters.
She also said taxpayers would be assuming the risk of the project — including potential cost overruns. And the broad range of cost estimates made it difficult to know the project’s true cost, along with its feasibility.
Additionally, Marsh said, Firestone Plant #1 is outside the geography the city requested when it asked for proposals for a new police headquarters.
“Any consideration of Amerimar’s proposal to develop a new police station outside the location parameters previously provided would create an unfair exception that was not available to others during the RFP process,” Marsh wrote.
She said the proposal was not in the best interest of taxpayers.
Noel said previously that rejecting the proposal to save the front of the building has the potential to harm the redevelopment opportunities for other Firestone Park buildings, like the Firestone Elementary School, which could be turned into housing.
“I don’t think they’re being fair to the community,” Noel said. “There are other buildings at stake.”
