After more than 22 months of formal searching for a new headquarters for the Akron Police Department, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik announced in a news release on Friday that the department will remain in the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center downtown.

The large 59-year-old building that looms over South High Street, in frequent disrepair with out-of-order elevator banks, will undergo extensive renovations in the coming years. 

The mayor’s office anticipates the renovations will cost $67 million, with work beginning next year. Malik said that in 2026, the city will replace two public elevators at the front of the building and the employee elevator in the back and install new heating and cooling lines as it finalizes designs for the rest of the renovations.

“This renovation is going to take a number of years, but in the end, we will have a much more modern and welcoming home for our Akron Police Department,” Malik said in a statement.

Determining the future of the police headquarters was one of the first major initiatives announced by the mayor’s office after Malik was sworn in at the beginning of 2024. In February of 2024, the city sought proposals from property owners and developers for potential new sites as well as engineering and architectural firms to analyze the buildings up for consideration.

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Phased approach will allow renovation costs to be spread out over time

Remaining at the Stubbs building had been an option from the start. 

In July last year, the city announced it had received 23 building proposals and narrowed it down to three finalists, including the Stubbs building, a West Bowery Street building owned by Akron Children’s, and the site of the demolished Wonder Bread buildingon South Forge Street on the University of Akron campus. The decision, announced on Friday, comes 18 months later than Malik initially anticipated. 

The mayor’s office said it picked the Stubbs building because it allows for a “phased approach” to renovation “which will spread costs out over several budget cycles.” Staying put also “prevents another building in the downtown footprint from becoming a vacant structure in need of repurposing or demolition,” and means the city won’t have to pay to “secure” another vacant building.

Government Reporter (he/him)
Doug Brown covers all things connected to the government in the city. He strives to hold elected officials and other powerful figures accountable to the community through easily digestible stories about complex issues. Prior to joining Signal Akron, Doug was a communications staffer at the ACLU of Oregon, news reporter for the Portland Mercury, staff writer for Cleveland Scene, and writer for Deadspin.com, among other roles. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Hiram College and a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University.