Akron is receiving $10 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to reimagine the decommissioned section of the Innerbelt.
Built beginning in the 1970s, the Innerbelt cut through a predominantly Black neighborhood, displacing families and businesses. Although the project was meant to redevelop an underserved area, it ultimately fell short of its projected use and cut off connections between Downtown and West Akron. In 2016, the Ohio Department of Transportation decommissioned about 30 acres of the highway adjacent to Downtown and gave it to the city.
At a community workshop Wednesday night, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik announced the city won funding through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Grant Program founded by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The $10 million grant will be matched by $10 million in city funding, he said.
“The City of Akron’s efforts to strategically rectify its missteps, while creating a stronger, more connected community and creating jobs and economic opportunity is needed for our future success," Rep. Emilia Sykes said in statement.
Urban planning firm Sasaki, which was hired by the city in the summer of 2024 to develop a master plan for the decommissioned Innerbelt, presented its research and analysis on the community, from availability of outdoor spaces to the economic impact of the Innerbelt. For example, researchers found that the rate of Bachelor's degrees are "notably lower" around the Innerbelt, 14% versus 23% citywide, and the unemployment rate around the Innerbelt is slightly higher than the rest of the city.
Residents were able to discuss the firm's findings with the researchers themselves, while also offering feedback on what they need more of in their community and what they'd like to see happen to the Innerbelt.
Sasaki plans to release a master plan with community led refinement this summer, but community members already have plenty of ideas.
"I'm hoping to see a lot of community gardens, flower gardens, treescapes, all kinds of pop-up fruit stands - much like a Parisian boulevard," Akron resident Pat Sheahan said.
Other residents, like Mary King of West Akron, would like the space to be used for more community centers.
"I would like to see some community recreation centers, several of them," she said. "There are so many problems with young people who have nothing to do and nowhere to go, so they hang out in parking lots, they get guns, they shoot at each other, they drink. If there was some supervised recreation that would be a big help."
King lived through construction of the Innerbelt, she said.
"I knew many of the people who were displaced," she said. "I knew some of the businesses that were destroyed, so I'm tremendously happy to have this happen."
Community Action Akron Summit President and CEO Malcolm Costa also lived through the Innerbelt project, he said.
"It just tore the fabric apart of certain communities," he said, "and people had to move into areas that were very, very different from what they were used to."
His family was actually displaced by another roadway project, he said.
"My family was moved from North Akron to West Akron as a result of the building of the high level bridge," Costa said.
He's excited about the engagement the city is doing with residents on the Innerbelt and hopes that the city can next address other projects that tore apart communities like his, he said.
For King, this project feels like the first time the city is listening to what residents want and need, she said.
"There was a lot of protests, but nobody cared," she said. "Now, somebody wants to hear what we have to say, and it's wonderful."
North Hill resident Candace Love grew up near the Innerbelt, and she's excited to see the city engage with the public so much on this project, she said.
"I'm excited to see how intentional it all has been," Love said. "Everything seems well thought out, very intentional to have the impact on the community that we're going for."
This engagement has been central to the project, Malik said.
"We have to be intentional," he said, "because the story of the Innerbelt is the story of not being intentional, by deliberately excluding voices."
