Central-Hower High School to be sold to Quaker Square owners for redevelopment

The developers behind the reimagination of Quaker Square have agreed to buy Central-Hower High School from the University of Akron to turn it into studio, office and maker spaces.

Kyle Craven, the developer who is leading the effort, said he plans to model the old school building after the Bok in Philadelphia, another former school that was repurposed into a small business, community gathering space and resource center. It features more than 200 businesses in more than 340,000 square feet, including artists, nonprofits, a daycare and a coffee shop.

The $2.25 million purchase must be approved by the state Controlling Board, which governs the sale of property owned by universities. That approval is expected in late July or early August.

Chris Hardesty, the executive director of the Downtown Akron Development Corp., traveled to Philadelphia with Craven and partners to see that project and said he thought the developers’ vision “could be a really good complement for Akron.”

“People always crave a place for the community,” he said. “Reactivating an old school which used to be that community space … not only will it help lift up the university, it’s going to impact downtown positively.”

The Central-Hower project will be known as H+ART and could include a school on the building’s second floor, Craven said, as well as businesses and artists throughout. The area is part of the Lincoln-Mill Redevelopment area, a plan approved by City Council to direct development to an area primed for innovation as part of the Polymer Industry Cluster.

Any kind of redevelopment in that area will be reenergizing, said Misty Villers, UA’s CFO and vice president of business and finance, but with a polymer pilot facility planned nearby, Villers said she expects overflow businesses from that building to seek space in Central-Hower.

Villers said she’s already been sending interested parties Craven’s way. 

“We’re super excited for the revitalization,” Villers said. “It’s a win-win for the city and the university and the businesses.”

A space that reflects the community

Craven said he does not expect H+ART to compete with Summit Artspace, which has artist studios, or Bounce Innovation Hub, which has offices and other workspace for startups. 

Hardesty, with the Downtown Akron Development Corp., said he doesn’t see H+ART as filling the same space as Bounce and he thinks there can never be too much room for the arts.

“People are always looking for a space that’s about the community they’re in,” Hardesty said. 

He said the project will need an anchor to attract other businesses and community-facing spaces to attract residents. Hardesty said he could see people with home businesses, at the early stages, growing into H+ART as they mature.

Craven hopes that, with a variety of classrooms already set up for art classes, science lessons and other technical and non-technical subjects, H+ART will attract a variety of entrepreneurs.

One who is considering moving in is Zack Buzzelli-Andes, a friend of Craven’s from high school and the principal/owner of the commercial furniture and interior design firm Contract Source Inc. Buzzelli-Andes, who has visited Bok, said Central-Hower can offer everything that project does.

“If the space was right, I think it could be a cool place to have a showroom,” he said. “It could bring business back to Akron.”

Craven said it was the proximity to Quaker Square that made him want to take on the new building. He said he could see the projects, which are blocks apart, working together. 

Buzzelli-Andes said he envisions a building where he could rent an office space, work out in a gym and eat without ever leaving the Central-Hower campus.

“It’s the right development group to do it,” he said.

Developers want Central-Hower to continue to look like a school

In addition to Craven, the development group includes Joe Scaccio, Steve Dimengo and Gary Didado, who created an entity called Hower Property Group. Craven said he doesn’t envision many changes to the school to turn it into H+ART — the feeling of the old high school is part of the charm, he said.

“We want to leave it the way it is,” he said. Bok, he said, “looks like a school and people love it.”

Central-Hower has three floors of classrooms with wide, locker-lined halls. There are empty trophy and display cases and quotes from Abraham Lincoln on some walls. Ceiling tiles have fallen in some areas, but the building, which was used as a high school until Akron Public Schools’ STEM High School decamped in 2024, is largely in good shape.

The building needs a new heating and cooling system as well as a fire alarm and sprinkler system. Craven said he will rip up the carpet in some areas to expose terrazzo floors, but the lockers will stay. He plans to add extensive wayfinding, a sign outside and some paint.

The project is likely to cost between $2 million and $8 million, on top of the purchase price. He and Villers both said the $2.25 million sale price is what the building was appraised for. 

Although the building is eligible for historic tax credits, Craven said he doesn’t anticipate applying for them because it would delay the project. The partners are currently in a six-month due diligence period that began when a sales contract with the university was signed in mid-June; Craven said he could see businesses begin to move in in January.

Historic auditorium would get new life under plan

Central-Hower, at 237,000 square feet, includes an auditorium and two gymnasiums. 

Craven said he doesn’t yet know what he’ll charge for space but the intention is that the project will make money. With the gym space, he’s considering a gymnastics or dance studio; he also suggested workshops for kids might be part of the project’s offerings.

The auditorium dates to the 1920s, said Dane C.T. Leasure, the executive artistic director of Rubber City Theatre, who was himself eyeing the building.

Dave Lieberth, president of the Akron History Center, said the auditorium was often used for community events. It seats about 1,100 people.

“This might get renovated and get a new life, which would be awesome,” Leasure said of the auditorium, which has been used as a theater. “Even if it’s not us, I really hope there’s another life for the auditorium.”

When he toured the space, Leasure said, it was in exceptional shape.

“We would definitely be interested,” he said.

Akron’s first high school

Central-Hower stands on the site of the original Akron High School, the first in the country to offer a free high school education to its residents, Lieberth said. As Akron grew and more high schools were built, the downtown school became Central High School. It became Central-Hower following a merger in 1970 with Hower Vocational High School, named after the cereal and farm industrialist John Henry Hower, whose 1871 home became today’s Hower House Museum, located around the corner from the school on Fir Hill. 

In addition to the 1920s auditorium, the classrooms date to the 1970s and a second gym was added in the 1990s. The University of Akron acquired it in 2013; the university has recently been divesting of buildings in an effort to shrink its footprint.

The cereal connection tickled Craven, who has been collecting Quaker Oats memorabilia since purchasing Quaker Square two blocks away. He said the purchase wasn’t logical, but he thinks the timing is right.

“If this was anywhere else in Akron, I would not have looked at it,” he said. “It makes sense to do a couple projects at once.”

Craven said he hopes the project will help revitalize the area and contribute to the excitement around the polymer cluster, a distinction he said he’s banking on to help fill the space.

“The neighborhood is on the upswing,” he said. “I think if we’re successful here, other places will pick up.”