Two years. Email after email. And one vacant house that was set afire, vandalized and the cause of mounting frustration for nearby residents in Kenmore.
Brent Wood, a former Kenmore resident, did everything he could think of, including emailing Akron Mayor Shammas Malik — and the white frame house at 1139 Kenmore Blvd. was still standing.
Until today, when it is expected to be torn down as one of 71 houses meeting that fate on the city’s demolition list.
The house sat vacant for a decade, Wood said and is nearly $38,000 behind in taxes — according to the Summit County Fiscal Officer’s website, the house has been owned by Barry Keith Moore since 2008 and is in foreclosure.
The delinquent building sits just feet from where elementary school children step off the bus.
When the house caught fire in November of 2024, Wood said, he had hoped it would burn completely and finally be torn down. Since last summer, he said, he has repeatedly been told the house was being reviewed or scheduled for action.
For some nearby Kenmore residents, the issue is about more than one deteriorating structure. They say the house has become a magnet for trespassers and theft and creates other potential dangers in the area, undermining years of work to improve their neighborhood. The time it’s taken to tear down also raises broader questions about the city’s ability to address blight.
This week, Akron City Council Member Tina Boyes emailed Wood to say the property will be demolished on Friday. The structure’s address appears on a request for proposals issued by the city in November to hire a contractor to tear down derelict houses this year.
Neighbors say problems have increased in recent years
Mike Plancsak, who lives across the street, said the problems at the house have intensified over the past three years. He estimates that he and his wife have contacted the city about 15 times.
“We grew up here and went to kindergarten together,” he said. “I never thought it would be like this around here.”
He recalled that their barbeque grill was stolen and used outside the vacant home. “They’d bring it out and cook and take it back in,” he said.
The house sat relatively quiet at first, said his wife, Melanie Plancsak. “The first couple years weren’t so bad,” she said. “And then after that, it was just hardcore.”
Despite repeated police responses to trespassing and theft calls, the activity continued. “We would literally sit here and laugh because the cops would go in one door, and [the vandals would] run out the back door,” she said.
Local business owner says house creates a bad first impression
People staying inside the house have stolen water from neighbors and left trash and even worse in nearby yards. Melanie Plancsak understands officers are limited in what they can do, she said. “Their hands are tied, too. They have to follow protocol.” But after the house caught fire, officers were no longer allowed inside for safety reasons.
For her, the house isn’t just another vacant structure. Her grandmother once lived there, and she remembers its beautiful windows and the time she spent in the house as a child.
“We’re from Kenmore. We’ve been here since we were little,” she said. “It’s hard to see what it’s turned into.”
The vacant house has created safety hazards and also affected Kenmore’s 111-year-old Prentice Funeral Home, which is located across the street. Fires, trespassing and vandalism at the property have made it a constant headache for the business.
“It makes my business look bad,” said owner Lori Prentice. “People drive by and see that house, and it’s not a good first impression.”
When firefighters responded to the blaze in November of 2024, some of their equipment was staged in her parking lot. Prentice saw someone enter the house the day before.
“I was scared to death that someone might still be in there,” she said.
She remembers what the home used to be like. “It was a lovely home,” she said. “Before someone broke out the windows, it looked like it was still lived in.”
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How the city addresses blighted house complaints
Addressing blighted houses requires balancing neighborhood concerns with legal requirements and limited funding.
Eufrancia Lash, Akron’s director of neighborhood assistance, said most complaints start with the city’s 311 system, triggering an investigation. If it’s confirmed that a property is abandoned or in disrepair, the city must notify the owner and follow due process before moving toward demolition.
“We want to be responsible in this process,” Lash said. “Even if the owner isn’t present, due process has to be followed before a property is deemed demolishable.”
Residential properties go before the city’s Housing Appeals Board; commercial buildings are handled by the Vacant Building Registry board. Owners are given the opportunity to appear at hearings and present repair plans.
If an owner appears at a hearing and says they plan to fix the property within 30 or 60 days, the board may give them that time to make repairs, Lash said. But if the deadline passes and no progress is made, the board can move forward with demolition.
If no owner appears, the city can proceed.
Lash said properties are prioritized based on safety risks and conditions. Burned-out homes, structures left open to trespassers or properties frequently occupied illegally move higher up on the demolition list.
Funding is a major constraint in addressing vacant and fire-damaged homes like this one. The city’s capital investment plan includes about $400,000 each year for demolition of vacant, abandoned or deteriorated properties, including in 2026 — a figure that must be spread across all of the city’s demolition needs.
Demolishing a house typically costs between $8,000 and $15,000, depending on whether asbestos removal is required.
A state grant last year allowed the city to demolish 96 structures, clearing long-standing blight from neighborhoods. But Lash said the need still far exceeds available resources.
“Our main goal is to remove the blight and to make sure that our neighborhoods are as safe as possible,” Lash said. “If we could take care of every single blighted home that was out there, we would make an attempt to do that. But there are a lot of other facets attached to that.”