The vacant CitiCenter building, slated to be turned into more than 100 apartments, got a boost Wednesday when the project was awarded a second round of historic preservation state tax credits.
The award brings the total in historic preservation state tax credits for the 1931 building at 146 S. High St. to $5 million, coming on top of a previous award of $3.1 million. The CitiCenter building, which once housed the Young Women’s Christian Association, has also received about $6 million in federal historic tax credits. It will be redeveloped by Welty, which has now received the maximum available state historic preservation tax credit award for the project.
The CitiCenter project is one of several development projects seeking to bring more residents downtown. Others include the Cascade Plaza hotel and the two Huntington buildings.
“We continue to see a need for residential,” Welty CEO Donzell Taylor said of Akron’s downtown. “How are we going to take a million square feet of office buildings and fit in live-work-play?”
Taylor said in addition to the tax credits the project received, he’s also hoping to get brownfield money from Summit County or the state to help offset the costs of internal demolition, and he’s asking Akron for a tax break to help bring costs down.
The historic preservation award for CitiCenter was the only one in Summit County among 33 statewide projects that received a total of $75 million in tax credits.
Welty purchased the CitiCenter building from the City of Akron last September for $1 million. At the time, Taylor told Signal Akron it would cost about $35 million to turn the building into 117 apartments. On Wednesday, he said the costs have gone up and the project has been redesigned. Taylor now expects the former YWCA will cost $45.5 million to rehabilitate and will be turned into 114 apartments.
“It’s gotten very expensive,” Taylor said.
Downtown Akron project will preserve historic features
The new design decreases the size of some apartments to try to lower the cost for renters. Taylor said he expects rents to be between $1,100 and $1,800 a month for what will mostly be one-bedroom apartments between 450 and 700 square feet.
There will also be some lofts and two-bedroom apartments, but the two-bedrooms will be designed for people who intend to use the second bedroom as an office.
“We want it to be affordable for young professionals,” he said.
Taylor previously told Signal Akron he intends to retain decorative plaster ceilings — a requirement of the tax credits. The existing swimming pool will be demolished. Other existing components of the building included an auditorium, chapel, gym and lounge and club spaces for women.
The redevelopment will include a coworking space, a pickleball court, a fitness center, a seventh-floor terrace that overlooks downtown and separate areas for large and small dogs, Taylor said.
Governor DeWine: ‘Breathing new life into iconic buildings’
CitiCenter was converted to offices in 1982. The building most recently housed the Akron employee credit union and various city offices, including property billing and the fire chief.
The award was part of the state’s 35th round of historic preservation tax credits. In a statement, Ohio officials said the awards were expected to preserve 45 buildings statewide and leverage about $681 million in private investment.
“Through this program, we are breathing new life into iconic buildings so they can drive economic growth in Ohio, all while honoring the craftsmanship and character that make our state so special,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in the statement. “Once restored, these buildings will create jobs by housing new businesses and will lead to additional investment and revitalization in surrounding areas.”
Taylor said he sees the project as part of an overarching plan to bring more people — and jobs — downtown. He’s been in discussions with Gino Faciana, the co-CEO of NAI Pleasant Valley, about what could go in the former FirstEnergy headquarters that company owns, and said the men have also discussed Huntington’s Akron Tower, which Taylor called “prime for residential.”
Construction on the CitiCenter building will begin at the end of the first quarter of 2026, Taylor said, with financing set in the following three months. Taylor said tearing out the portions of the building that won’t be used, like the pool, and replacing windows and the elevator will be the first steps.
The project has gotten harder as costs have risen and interest rates have gone up, but Taylor said the additional tax credits and other government money will make a difference in moving the development forward.
“It’s very helpful in filling parts of the gap,” he said.