![]() ![]() The team has also considered demolishing some parts of the building, rather than the entire 230,000 square-foot facility, Murphy said.Īkron City Council Vice President Jeff Fusco The building had been for sale for several years before the purchase, Murphy added. Mouron bought the building in 2020, after the newspaper had moved to its new location on South Main Street a year before. The Akron Times-Press built the facility in 1929, and it became the headquarters of the Beacon Journal when the two newspapers merged in 1938. “Unless the team can make one of those ideas financially viable within the time frame as expected by the ODOD, that offer will be the only one on the table.” The building's history. “The team does not want this building to go down, however, there is an active offer on the property that does not include the building,” she said. Speaking on behalf of Mouron in city council’s planning committee meeting Monday, Murphy added that historic tax credits issued by the Ohio Department of Development are expiring soon, which means there’s less incentive for developers to invest in the building in the future. Residents and city officials have proposed ideas for the building, such as apartments or a new Akron police station, but none have come to fruition. He has been granted both state and federal historic tax credits to help maintain the massive building, but he has not been able to secure any offers for new uses for it - except for the parking lot, Murphy said. Mouron’s representatives agreed that the building does not meet the demolition requirements because it is a historic landmark however, they said Mouron has exhausted all options for economic viability. is 94 years old and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. To be demolished, a building must meet the commission’s four criteria: its integrity has deteriorated it lacks historic or architectural significance maintaining the historic landmark is not technically or economically feasible, and the commission determines there’s no feasible alternative to demolition. “We also know that we have to be patient with it.” “We, as a city, know it takes time in order for a legacy city with buildings like this that were built for a specific use to be readapted in modern times,” Fusco said. Mouron had requested demolition because the massive building is expensive to maintain and he had not received many offers for new uses for it – except for the parking lot, Murphy said.įusco, chair of the council’s planning committee, said these projects can take time, and it’s too soon to declare there are no other options. "I believe it's in the city's best interest to preserve that, that history." “This is an important building in terms of pride within our city,” Vice President of Council Jeff Fusco said during Monday’s council meeting. Mouron appealed UDHP’s denial, asking council for an exception on the basis of the building’s lack of economic feasibility, said Elizabeth Corbin Murphy, an architect involved with the project.Ĭity Council issued an adverse report on Mouron’s appeal. That request was denied by the city’s Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission (UDHP) in May. The current owner of the building, Michael Mouron, had previously asked the city for demolition to make way for a parking lot. The former Akron Beacon Journal building in Downtown Akron has once again avoided the threat of the wrecking ball.Īkron councilmembers unanimously denied the owner’s request to demolish the building Monday night.
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