The City of Akron, which last summer sought developers for the former Akron Public Schools headquarters before state-granted demolition money expired, this week asked again for someone who was willing to find a new use for the 110-year-old building.
The previous respondent, Walt Zielinski, said Tuesday his plan to redevelop the onetime Bowen School Building into a hotel came up $3 million short. He said his vision for a 42-room hotel with a restaurant and spa “would’ve been so good,” but he couldn’t bridge the gap for what he estimated was a $17 million project.
“If anybody can save that building, I hope they do,” he said. “It deserves saving.”
The city hopes that’s what happens, said Sean Vollman, Akron’s deputy director of economic development.
“We’re not looking to have it demolished,” he said.
In its last effort, the city required a minimum purchase price of $800,000 for the old school building, to cover the demolition grant if the project didn’t succeed. This time around, there’s no minimum bid; the demolition grant has expired.
Proposals are due July 24 for adaptive reuse of the building at 70 N. Broad St., which has three floors, a basement and a sub-basement. The old school building could house retail, residential or commercial uses, or a combination.
The city also owns two parking lots on the east side of North Broadway Street and an acre of vacant land adjacent to the school, all of which could be part of the sale — though not the sole focus of any project.
While several potential developers toured the building last year, Zielinski was the only one who submitted a proposal. Vollman said he expects more of a response with a more traditional sales process, and no minimum.
“It’s thrust more into the spotlight now,” he said. “The right developer could do it. The administration would think residential would be great, but we’re not the experts.”
Dana Noel, the advocacy chair for Progress Through Preservation, said last year that he thought the building would be perfect for apartments. The addition of more housing, too, could encourage other downtown development and the adaptive reuse of more buildings, he said.
Already, downtown is getting more grocery and restaurant options.
In addition to the desire for adaptive reuse, whoever buys the building will have to tell the city what they plan to do with two historic murals, both from Works Progress Administration artists.
The WPA was a New Deal-era agency from 1935 to 1943; the murals are by Louis Grebenak and William Sommer. The city said it had reached out to the federal General Services Administration for advice on whether the murals could be deaccessioned, or removed and donated or sold, if they could not be incorporated into a project.
Zielinski said it broke his heart not to be able to move forward with the project. He said the building is beautiful, with flexible space that could be turned into a number of different projects.
“Maybe we will get something we never thought of,” Vollman said of the development possibilities. “If we don’t get a use for it, it’ll deteriorate. That’s not what we want to do.”
