The planners charged with imagining how Akron’s downtown will grow and change over the next 10 years held their third and final gathering Wednesday night at the Akron Civic Theatre.
Vibrant, livable, connected, pro-active: Consultants working on the Downtown Akron Vision and Redevelopment Plan say that’s what months of studies show Akron citizens want downtown to be. The planners also did a presentation on making that happen.
Craig Sampsell of Akron was in the audience.
“I think the people that really value downtown and now look forward to that change, and letting people outside city see what it has to offer, we can be a vibrant downtown”
Richard King, also of Akron, also likes the plan, but says the presentation needed one more thing.
“I didn’t have that feeling that there is enough emphasis on what’s been done so far, and that we can actually do this. “
Akron Mayor Dan Mayor Dan Horrigan, who took to the stage at the end of the formal presentation added a comment addressing that idea.
“Downtown must more than just a destination for work. It must become a thriving neighborhood and this plan gives us a map to get there. We have already started to implement many of the recommendations and seized upon opportunities identified in Phase One and Two. With 200 new housing units in the pipeline for 2018 and 2019 we are working very hard to create a new residential downtown.”
After taking into account feedback from this last of the public meetings, the consultants will put the plan into final form and deliver it early next year.
