The University of Akron plans to sell the Martin Center, a 107-year-old former resident club for men, to the owner of a Tallmadge shopping center for $272,000.
The buyer, Mark Tiedemann, is the owner of More Plaza — formerly known as Midway Plaza. Tiedemann did not respond to several calls and emails seeking comment about his plans for the Martin Center. His company is based in Alden, New York, outside of Buffalo.
In a statement, University of Akron vice president and CFO Misty Villers said she was pleased the Martin Center would be getting a new owner “who will care for it and restore it to its former grandeur.”
“Its history, beauty, and role as home to our development and alumni offices make it a true landmark, and we are excited to see it continue to serve the community in meaningful ways,” she said.
Tiedemann’s More Plaza website says the 1955 shopping center is undergoing “a major makeover and expansion to create an exciting unique and dynamic destination.”
The Martin Center’s future, though, may present a challenge.
Two other potential redevelopments haven’t come to fruition
The university vacated the building in 2013, and two previous developers, one of which planned to turn the property into a boutique hotel, have walked away from their plans, according to a June appraisal of the building by Sours, Buie and Associates, LLC.
The Martin Center’s roof has failed, parts of the ceiling have fallen in, and the structural integrity of the building is not clear, the report says. The appraiser, Sharon G. Buie, described the building’s condition as poor.
One possible developer, Paran Realty Group, had a ground lease on the property beginning in March of 2019 with plans to turn the building into a boutique hotel.
Dimit Architects in Cleveland created plans for a 74-room hotel with a full-service restaurant, coffee shop/bar, meeting space, event space, historic ballroom and fitness center, according to its website. The project received federal and state historic tax credits. A June 2019 Akron Beacon Journal story said the project received nearly $1.6 million from the state; Crain’s Cleveland Business reported the same amount came from the federal government.
Developers Joe Shafran and former Hiram College President Tom Chema told the Beacon Journal they estimated it would cost $15.6 million to open the hotel, and Chema said he expected it to be ready in February 2021. At the time, the partners were still lining up financing.
But in February 2021, Crain’s reported the developers lost their financing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ground lease ended in 2022 due to noncompliance with the terms of the ground lease.
Another developer, Liberty Development Co., planned to buy the building in 2023 for $325,000. But in February of 2024, the company told the university it would back out of the agreement because of an inability to “make a reuse of the building viable based on the condition of the property, current lending, and the [Akron rental sub] market.”
No one from Paran or Liberty Development responded to multiple requests for comment about why their original plans didn’t proceed. The letter of intent for the new buyer was signed this May.
As University Club, building was, for a time, the center of the Akron world
The University Club started in 1909, Akron History Center President Dave Lieberth said, and the building now known as the Martin Center dates to 1918. The top two floors had apartments for single men and the building included handball courts and a grill room, he said. It also had the only clay tennis courts in the Akron area.
Residents included Jackson Morris, a former assistant Summit County prosecutor and amateur actor who lived there for more than 50 years, and Akron Municipal Court Judge Thomas Powers, who sat on the bench for more than 30 years.
The Georgian Revival-style building was a men’s club tailored to the rubber industry, the appraisal said. A northeast banquet wing was added in 1952.
A 1957 Akron Beacon Journal story said the club spent $150,000 to build the 105 Fir Hill building. At the time of the story, it was considered the most successful university club in the nation.
The University of Akron Foundation leased the building for several years beginning in 1978, then deeded it to the Board of Trustees in 1985. Beginning in 1978, Lieberth said, the building was showing signs of age. Then it was renovated, the apartments were cleared out, and the university’s alumni relations and development departments moved in.
It was opened up to public uses after an $800,000 remodel in 1989, Lieberth said. At the time, it was home to the Akron Press Club, which held lunches in the building. It became the Martin Center in 1992, after a gift from Paul Martin, a UA graduate and car dealer.
Women weren’t permitted to join the University Club until the early 1980s, Lieberth said, and even then, they weren’t able to use the amenities that came with memberships for men.
“It was the center of life for a segment of time for a segment of the Akron population, namely, decision-makers,” Lieberth said.
Selling Martin Center part of ongoing university strategy
Lieberth said the building “still has some good bones in it worth preserving,” but it’s in bad shape. He noted the other potential developers passed on redoing the building.
“I don’t know what the future is for this,” Lieberth said.
The appraisal put its value at $250,000, the middle of a $225,000 to $275,000 range.
Ohio’s Controlling Board approved the sale of the 2.92-acres property at an Aug. 25 meeting. It’s one of several buildings the university has prioritized offloading in order to align its physical footprint with its needs. Others include the Quaker Square complex, which was sold in June, and the Wonder Bread building, which was demolished in February of 2024.
The university estimated it would cost $1 million to demolish the University Club building, the Controlling Board said. Deferred maintenance is estimated to be $18 million, according to the appraisal, which said that no contractor estimate had been provided.
The three-story building could be a successful adaptive reuse project, the appraisal said, “perhaps as a luxury apartment or condominium property serving faculty and graduate students at The University or as a museum highlighting Akron’s past as the ‘rubber capital of the world.’”
Cristine Boyd, a university spokesperson, said she expected the sale to close in October.