For families with preschool children, infants and toddlers in East Akron, two boarded-up buildings will soon be refurbished to provide Head Start and Early Head Start programming.
Community Action Akron Summit, which owns properties at 839 S. Arlington St. and 1037 Wyley Ave., will use $4 million in federal funds to renovate the buildings — both formerly used as day care facilities. The money will also support expansion of the parking lot and additional services for families who participate in the nonprofit’s programs, said Malcolm Costa, its president and CEO.
Community Action Akron Summit funds Head Start and Early Head Start services in Summit County.
Allyson James, the Head Start director with Community Action, said Head Start has been in operation for 60 years, and Early Head Start for 35 years, providing “the services in the communities where the services are needed … we know there are eligible children and families in the area and we are there to help provide the support.”
The neighborhood near the buildings (ZIP code 44306) has a 10% higher poverty rate than the rest of Summit County, according to Community Action.
The organization requested that Akron City Council approve a conditional-use permit to expand the parking lot for the two facilities and change the lot’s zoning from single family residential to retail business. The two buildings are already zoned for day care use.
Akron Zoning Division Manager Jim Hosbach explained in an April 6 public meeting that the two vacant buildings were last used as day care businesses and will be renovated with secure entry vestibules, a larger commercial kitchen, laundry room and new restrooms.
The exteriors will have new doors and windows, security cameras and card readers.
Renovating Arlington Street building
The exterior walls of the two-story Arlington Street building, which currently has graffiti on it, will be cleaned and repainted. It will house three Head Start classrooms for up to 40 preschool-age children and 14 staff members.
It will run Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with dropoff at 7 a.m. and pickup at 3 p.m. The current parking lot will be reconfigured to include 18 parking spaces at the rear of the property.
Hosbach explained the increase in parking spots, which exceeds code requirements, is necessary because Head Start programs require parents or guardians to escort children to the door and sign them in before passing them on to a staff member.
Renovating Wyley Avenue building
The one-story Wyley Avenue building will be reclad with prefinished PVC board and batten siding. It will house five Early Head Start classrooms for up to 51 infants and toddlers and 12 staff members.
It will be open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with dropoff at 7:15 a.m. and pickup at 3:15 p.m. The parking lot will have 14 additional parking spaces, for a total of 25 spaces.
An existing landscaped bed on nearby Forbes Avenue will remain, and a new bed will be added at the corner of the property. Shade trees will be planted, and the current outdoor play areas will be cleaned and installed with new play equipment, mulch and fencing.
For safety and privacy, a six-foot-high vinyl fence will be installed along the eastern property line and to the rear of the Wyley Avenue building.
Akron architect ‘excited to get started’
Akron’s Planning Department staff and Planning Commission recommended approval of the project.
Hosbach said the improvements to “the buildings and site will better serve the needs of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs.”
Jim Presutto, an architect with Akron-based Four Points Architectural Services Inc., which did the design work for the refurbishments, presented the committee a proposed site plan.
Presutto added that his firm is “excited to get started.”
