Had Matt Lerner stepped inside this century-old Akron house four years ago, he probably wouldn’t have bought it.
“It was in pretty bad shape,” Lerner said of the property at 74 Maplewood Ave. “When we got there, the place was really decrepit.”
He’s since emptied the 5,000-square-foot, three-story home, replaced the roof and ripped out the kitchen. Now, he’s hoping someone will take the property off his hands.
The Highland Square home, built in 1912, will be auctioned off Friday afternoon after being on the market for about two years. Before this week, other potential buyers have fallen through — one, who wanted to turn the mansion into an assisted living facility, couldn’t raise the capital. But with no reserve, Lerner hopes someone else will be caught up in the possibilities of saving a historic house. Just like he was.
“Every time I go out there, I still kind of fall in love with it, to tell you the truth,” Lerner said. “Hopefully, someone will buy it and restore it to some glory.”
The auction for the seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom house will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, onsite and online. An open house before the bidding will start at 1 p.m.
What’s the history of 74 Maplewood Ave. in Akron?
The home was built by Mahlon S. Long, whose 1923 obituary in the Akron Beacon Journal called him one of the city’s “leading merchants and citizens.” Long was responsible for erecting Akron’s Flatiron building in 1907 (it was demolished 60 years later). He also helped create a park and the Summit County fairgrounds. He was president of the Akron merchants’ association and Portage Rubber Co.
After his death, a series of Beacon Journal articles reported that Long’s widow held fundraisers for the Akron overseas women’s league and other groups at the house. In 1930, she hosted Grace Divine of the Metropolitan Opera Co. and Jean Teslof, her husband, who conducted “a course of vocal study for Akron musicians.”
Later, the home was owned by Murray Parker, a one-time state senator and Summit County commissioner who was both a cowboy and a grocer.
After Parker’s 1987 death, the residence was contested as part of his will, according to a Beacon Journal article. The dispute pitted a daughter who cared for her 99-year-old father against a son who was his law partner. The son, Charles Parker, was later suspended from his law practice after being accused of trying to cheat his sister, Edna Parker, out of the home.
She owned it until 2013, following a lengthy court battle. Later, it went into a trust. Bob Crawford, a property manager and Mensa member (a society for those with high IQs), lived in the home until his death in 2021.
From there, the house was purchased at auction by Lerner and a business partner in 2021. He paid $412,500 for it.
What kind of condition is the Akron house in?
The best owner of the property is “someone who’s not afraid of putting some money into it,” Lerner said. He estimated it could cost between $150,000 and $300,000 to bring the house back to livability — depending on how grand the new owner wants to make it — although his projection was made before tariffs raised prices on many goods.
Now, the mansion on 1.76 boot-shaped acres in Highland Square is dilapidated. Vandals have broken into the home and smashed leaded windows, stolen copper and other metals and graffitied fireplaces and walls.
“They’ve already taken everything that is valuable,” said Dave Stroh, a real estate agent who listed the home. “There is a special place in hell for the people who broke those windows.”
A bad leak in the roof led part of the floor and ceiling in the three-story home to collapse, an area that Irene Stroh, another real estate agent, said would make a good elevator shaft. The roof replacement — asphalt instead of slate — is now keeping the water out.
The heating system is rusted, the pipes and electricity need to be replaced, the kitchen has been gutted. The real estate agents called one upstairs bedroom the raccoon room, based on its one-time inhabitants.
“It’s a project,” said Jared Dutton, the auctioneer. “You’ve got to have a game plan. If you don’t, you end up like this.”
Some hints of the home’s splendor remain, in the many large rooms and the bell system that let inhabitants summon servants across floors. In the basement, some artwork remains on the walls, including a painting of dancing elephants. There’s a stage downstairs, and Irene Stroh said the oak and red gum wood in the house is in good shape.
The home’s listing says the architects were Hagloch & Potter and notes its carved staircase, its pocket doors and the carriage house that’s part of the property.
“It’s actually quite a house,” said Jack Davis, another auctioneer. “It’s a solid house. It has good bones.”
Why an auction?
Auctioning off the house allows the team to advertise to everyone, without a price, Davis said. While the seller has the option to reject the winning bid, Davis said he expects the home to sell, no matter what it goes for.
“My job is to get a competitive bidding situation,” Davis said. “Auctions work best in unique situations, unique properties because they’re hard to comp. The buyers determine the value.”
He said he’s identified four or five potential buyers who have gone through an open house and could take on the project. Several have come through with a contractor.
An auction, he said, guarantees a timeline. Owners can pick a date to sell and close 30 days later.
At the last auction, where Lerner purchased the property, his business partner got caught up in the excitement of the event and got involved in a bidding war. The house went for more than anyone expected, Dave Stroh said.
“Looking back in hindsight, yeah, this was kind of dumb,” Lerner said of his purchase. “We’re not going to get what we put into it.” Still, he said, he was able to stabilize the property. “We did nothing but make it better,” Lerner said.
Lerner said he’s made bigger mistakes in business, but he’s looking forward to no longer being responsible for this one. Now, the purpose of the auction, Davis said, is to find someone who has a dream. It isn’t to get the highest possible price.
“I still think the house has a lot of potential,” Lerner said. “I hope whoever gets it lets me come in and see it.”