About a year after Jim Loveman’s Amerimar Realty Co. finished converting an old Willoughby school into 40 apartments — saving it from demolition — Loveman wants to use the same playbook to transform downtown Akron’s 110-year-old Bowen School into housing.
“I genuinely would love to turn around an old building like this,” Loveman said of his proposal to build 46 apartments into the 1916 building at 70 N. Broadway St. “In a city like Akron, rehabilitating a building like this really, I feel, makes a difference.”
The City of Akron asked for new ideas for transformation of the former Akron Public Schools headquarters this summer, after an earlier proposal to turn the building into a hotel fell through. Loveman’s proposal was one of four responses the city received.
In addition to Amerimar’s plan, DESIGNA CEO Andrew Rulnick suggested a mix of a high-performing computing cluster, public art gallery, high-end lofts and retail space. Sam Calhoun, who called himself a local resident “deeply concerned” by the ongoing tendency of Akron schools to be demolished by neglect, proposed a mixed-use project with apartments, commercial space and tenant amenities. And Nick Janigian proposed a “last resort” removal of two historic murals in the building. If they stayed in the building as the city decided what to do with them, he said, they would be at risk of deterioration.
“It’s better than nothing,” Janigian said of the removal option. “Any damage is going to total these paintings.”
Stephanie Marsh, a spokesperson for the City of Akron, said there is no requirement that the city respond to the proposals in any kind of time frame. Responses were due July 24, and all four respondents said they had not heard from the city about their ideas.
“There wouldn’t be a scenario where we would just never respond,” Marsh said. “We’re just not in a place yet to have more of a timeline when.”
Some costs are unclear in development proposals
Signal Akron received the proposals in response to a public records request. Janigian, who also made a records request for the proposals, said he thought the Amerimar proposal was the only valid one.
Calhoun’s proposal had no accounting for the cost of development, and he did not answer emailed questions about his financing plans. Rulnick requested $800,000 from the city from funds that were previously earmarked for demolition of the school, $1 million in a “public enrichment grant” and $2 million from the state. In an interview, Rulnick said he planned to start raising his first round of capital and would be willing to put his own money into the project if he was successful.
“I’m not shooting for Mars yet,” he said. “I’m just shooting for the moon and back, and that’s achievable today.”
Loveman’s proposal has a financing gap of $2.3 million on an expected project cost of $11.8 million. The proposal suggests the project could receive more than $2.5 million in state and federal historic tax credits and $1.5 million in state brownfield grants.
“We know what it takes to do a building like this,” Loveman said. “It’s going to need additional grants, public support.”
He said he does not normally like to submit a proposal with such a large funding gap, but “the city did not give a whole lot of time.”
“We’ll work hard to make this happen,” he said.
Financing among considerations for Akron to choose developer
Marsh, in an email, said there are a number of factors the city considers when they evaluate proposals for the redevelopment of older buildings, including the condition of the property, the level of private investment, the proposed mix of uses and the alignment with the city’s broad development goals.
The city also considers public benefits of any proposals, including creating housing or supporting nearby businesses, and the overall financial and practical feasibility of a project, she said. Additionally, Director of Planning Kyle Julien added, the city tries to balance the historic importance of a structure against the economic viability of saving it.
Marsh said over email that the city’s economic development professionals weren’t comfortable talking about the existing proposals because they’re still under consideration.
Amerimar previously developed an old Firestone warehouse next to the Firestone plant into the Russell M. Pry Building on South Main Street. It now houses Summit County government operations. Loveman previously suggested turning Firestone Plant #1 into Akron’s police headquarters, a proposal the city rejected.
In his proposal, Loveman said the Bowen School building “shares many characteristics” with the Willoughby project.
“We know what it takes to complete [a] project just like this in compliance with federal standards and we know how to manage the historic tax credit landscape,” he wrote. “In 70 N. Broadway we see an opportunity to simultaneously preserve a part of downtown Akron’s past and contribute to its future as a vibrant 24-hour urban residential environment. As a partnership, our commitment to preserving history and enhancing walkable downtowns is more than just an aesthetic issue: We see it as a cornerstone of a solid, long-term investment.”
Proposals call for apartments in old Bowen School building
Loveman said because the rents in Akron are lower than they are in Willoughby, “we really need to squeeze rent out of every rentable foot of apartment space.” The proposal suggests rents would be, on average, $1,285 per month.
The Amerimar proposal calls for 13 studio apartments, 31 one bedrooms and two two-bedroom units across the building’s five floors. The proposal also calls for a land swap with United Way for parking areas for both buildings.
“Physically speaking, it lays out really well,” Loveman said of the old school. “It’s so similar in so many ways” to the Willoughby project.
Loveman said he wasn’t going to “sugarcoat” how difficult it would be to convert the building but said he was excited about the possibility. The Bowen School has “tremendous views,” he said, and a good location.
“It’s right on the edge of the valley; it’s a really interesting place to be,” he said. “It’s like being in a 15- or 20-story building when you’re up there.”
The other proposals have fewer details available. Calhoun, in an email, said he wanted to attract independent, local, essential businesses and mixed-income apartments on upper floors, with the exact unit count to be determined.
Rulnick’s proposal suggested 10 long-term luxury lofts and five corporate, short-term suites in addition to the computing cluster and art gallery. In an interview, he said he was drawn to the building because he thought it has the “right foundation and structural sort of bones.”
“It needs a lot of work and TLC,” he said. “I’m the kind of person in management who likes to roll up my sleeves and get dirty.”
Rulnick said he sees his proposal as being a driver of commerce and helping to build an economic hub for the city.
What could happen to the New Deal-era murals in the school?
In addition to the building itself, the Bowen School has two historic murals that date back to the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal-era agency that existed between 1935 and 1943.
The murals are by Louis Grebenak and William Sommer. The city said previously it had reached out to the federal General Services Administration for advice on whether the murals could be deaccessioned, or removed and donated or sold, if they could not be incorporated into a project.
The Amerimar proposal suggests working with the State Historic Preservation Office to remove the murals and reinstall them elsewhere. Calhoun’s plan suggests preserving the murals and turning them into a centerpiece of the project. Rulnick proposes preserving them and turning the building lobby into a public gallery, with rotating art installations and seasonal art auctions.
Janigian’s proposal, which deals solely with the murals, recommends they be removed and preserved. He estimated it would cost between $10,000 and $30,000 to do so, and as much as $100,000 for them to be reinstalled elsewhere.
Janigian, who said he has 20 small-scale Sommer paintings and has studied the artist’s work, said the mural in the old school is a familiar image to collectors because Sommer also painted studies of it.
“He’s a talent on par with Cézanne,” Janigian said. “It’s really been an afterthought, from the very beginning.”
