UA in the news

[WeRise225]

15 hours ago, GP1 said:

Akron has a couple good hotels downtown now if you consider by Luigi's downtown. Demolish the Quake Hotel and build apartments for young professionals. Get people living downtown again. 

There are a ton of new apartments coming downtown in the next few years. There is no reason to bulldoze the awesome and unique Quaker. Just renovate and turn it back into hotel. 

[Hilltopper]

The sale price is $800,000. They are spending $500,000 in operating expenses.

[LZIp]

7 minutes ago, Hilltopper said:

The sale price is $800,000. They are spending $500,000 in operating expenses.

$800k seems like a bargain purchase price. 

[zippy5]

probably needs millions in reno work

[Reslife4Life]

21 hours ago, akzipper said:

The Trackside Grill was probably my favorite place to eat on campus when I was at UA. There used to be some decent stores in there too. But it was usually a ghost town. 

 

Were any of those places still open the past few years?

Trackside closed in 2018. The only thing there was there was a UA dining convenience store during the last couple years of it being used as a res hall

[Blue & Gold]

2 hours ago, Hilltopper said:

The sale price is $800,000. They are spending $500,000 in operating expenses.

That's virtually giving it away.  Quaker is gorgeous and has so much potential. 🤞🤞

[ZippyRulz]

4 hours ago, LZIp said:

$800k seems like a bargain purchase price. 

 

Not a great flip but they did get some use out of it over 18 years. 

 

[GP1]

13 hours ago, WeRise225 said:

There are a ton of new apartments coming downtown in the next few years. There is no reason to bulldoze the awesome and unique Quaker. Just renovate and turn it back into hotel. 

Of course there is. The reason is it is a historical failure as a hotel and it's time to put the property to better use. 

Edited March 15 by GP1

[ClevelandZip]

10 hours ago, GP1 said:

Of course there is. The reason is it is a historical failure as a hotel and it's time to put the property to better use. 

Bulldozing Akron’s most unique building just to slap up some generic apartments is certainly a take lol. The convention center next door to Quaker is begging for more hotel rooms so they can book more conventions. EJ Thomas, Musica, and the Civic also benefit from Quaker being a hotel. As someone who is about to have a wedding in downtown, I can say there really aren’t enough hotel rooms currently between Blu-Tique and the Courtyard. I do agree they need more residents and apartments downtown, but they are converting other downtown buildings to apartments, and there are plenty of surface parking lots begging for new structures.

[GP1]

1 hour ago, ClevelandZip said:

Bulldozing Akron’s most unique building just to slap up some generic apartments is certainly a take lol. The convention center next door to Quaker is begging for more hotel rooms so they can book more conventions. EJ Thomas, Musica, and the Civic also benefit from Quaker being a hotel. As someone who is about to have a wedding in downtown, I can say there really aren’t enough hotel rooms currently between Blu-Tique and the Courtyard. I do agree they need more residents and apartments downtown, but they are converting other downtown buildings to apartments, and there are plenty of surface parking lots begging for new structures.

I don't know how many people you are having at your wedding, but those two hotels a large enough for a decent size wedding. 

 

One idea people in Akron need to get in their heads is, Akron isn't a convention city for too many reasons to list. More hotel rooms isn't going to change that. 

 

How are the Civic, EJ and Musica suffering from not enough hotel rooms in Akron?  Do these event venues have any proof that more hotels would draw more people. My memory tells me almost everyone who attends events there lives within an hour drive. 

 

Time after time after time after time Akron makes the mistake of trying to be a place people want to come and visit then go home to the suburbs. Really successful cities in 2025 are executing on plans to bring young people into their cities to live and work. It's what Akron needs to do. 

 

When I moved to Charlotte 19 years ago, the part of the city known as the South End was a dump. It's the area between South Blvd and Tryon Street outside of the inner belt down to Woodlawn Road. About 4 miles. A former mayor of Charlotte once called it The Corridor Of Crap. They tore down old buildings and built one apartment building after another the past 15 years and the area is thriving with young people enjoying plenty of new restaurants, bars, live music venues, breweries, etc. Akron can do this on a smaller scale, but they can't let nostalgia for old, bad ideas hold them back. 

 

"Well GP1, if they build these apartments, there is nothing to do"...  Well, build multi use apartments/entertainment like on the South End. Young people want to live in places where access to fun is easily accessible. Make it so. 

[Hilltopper]

2 hours ago, GP1 said:

I don't know how many people you are having at your wedding, but those two hotels a large enough for a decent size wedding. 

 

One idea people in Akron need to get in their heads is, Akron isn't a convention city for too many reasons to list. More hotel rooms isn't going to change that. 

 

How are the Civic, EJ and Musica suffering from not enough hotel rooms in Akron?  Do these event venues have any proof that more hotels would draw more people. My memory tells me almost everyone who attends events there lives within an hour drive. 

 

Time after time after time after time Akron makes the mistake of trying to be a place people want to come and visit then go home to the suburbs. Really successful cities in 2025 are executing on plans to bring young people into their cities to live and work. It's what Akron needs to do. 

 

When I moved to Charlotte 19 years ago, the part of the city known as the South End was a dump. It's the area between South Blvd and Tryon Street outside of the inner belt down to Woodlawn Road. About 4 miles. A former mayor of Charlotte once called it The Corridor Of Crap. They tore down old buildings and built one apartment building after another the past 15 years and the area is thriving with young people enjoying plenty of new restaurants, bars, live music venues, breweries, etc. Akron can do this on a smaller scale, but they can't let nostalgia for old, bad ideas hold them back. 

 

"Well GP1, if they build these apartments, there is nothing to do"...  Well, build multi use apartments/entertainment like on the South End. Young people want to live in places where access to fun is easily accessible. Make it so. 

If Akron is smart they will take the space where the inner belt was and turn it into a park with some amenities. Kind of like a mini central park.Right now there is a faction who thinks it should be some kind of reparations project to right a precieved wrong from 60 years ago. If you want to attract young people to live downtown there needs to be someplace for recreation. Charlotte has a big advantage with the nice year round weather. But Akron has nice enough weather to make it useful for 9 months of the year.

[ZipCat]

5 hours ago, ClevelandZip said:

Bulldozing Akron’s most unique building just to slap up some generic apartments is certainly a take lol. The convention center next door to Quaker is begging for more hotel rooms so they can book more conventions. EJ Thomas, Musica, and the Civic also benefit from Quaker being a hotel. As someone who is about to have a wedding in downtown, I can say there really aren’t enough hotel rooms currently between Blu-Tique and the Courtyard. I do agree they need more residents and apartments downtown, but they are converting other downtown buildings to apartments, and there are plenty of surface parking lots begging for new structures.

 

Most Iconic? Uh well...there's the Huntington Tower and EJ Thomas Hall for starters...

[ClevelandZip]

1 hour ago, ZipCat said:

 

Most Iconic? Uh well...there's the Huntington Tower and EJ Thomas Hall for starters...

I said most unique, not most iconic. How many buildings have circular rooms? It can be a cool attraction again if done right.

[GP1]

2 hours ago, Hilltopper said:

If Akron is smart they will take the space where the inner belt was and turn it into a park with some amenities. Kind of like a mini central park.Right now there is a faction who thinks it should be some kind of reparations project to right a precieved wrong from 60 years ago. If you want to attract young people to live downtown there needs to be someplace for recreation. Charlotte has a big advantage with the nice year round weather. But Akron has nice enough weather to make it useful for 9 months of the year.

This will play out interestingly. If the leaders don't have the courage to tell people who are endlessly looking in the past "no", they won't have the courage to police a large outside park It will become infested with bums and undesirables. Charlotte bulldozed one low-income housing project after another in the South End and replaced them with apartments for taxpaying adults. The success has been on purpose. If Akron fails, it will be on purpose as well. 

 

For the record, young people don't want parks anymore. They want bars and breweries to drink, stare at their phones, maybe play some arcade games and generally be boring. They will not use a large outdoor park. Too much sun. 

[WeRise225]

5 hours ago, GP1 said:

I don't know how many people you are having at your wedding, but those two hotels a large enough for a decent size wedding. 

 

One idea people in Akron need to get in their heads is, Akron isn't a convention city for too many reasons to list. More hotel rooms isn't going to change that. 

 

How are the Civic, EJ and Musica suffering from not enough hotel rooms in Akron?  Do these event venues have any proof that more hotels would draw more people. My memory tells me almost everyone who attends events there lives within an hour drive. 

 

Time after time after time after time Akron makes the mistake of trying to be a place people want to come and visit then go home to the suburbs. Really successful cities in 2025 are executing on plans to bring young people into their cities to live and work. It's what Akron needs to do. 

 

When I moved to Charlotte 19 years ago, the part of the city known as the South End was a dump. It's the area between South Blvd and Tryon Street outside of the inner belt down to Woodlawn Road. About 4 miles. A former mayor of Charlotte once called it The Corridor Of Crap. They tore down old buildings and built one apartment building after another the past 15 years and the area is thriving with young people enjoying plenty of new restaurants, bars, live music venues, breweries, etc. Akron can do this on a smaller scale, but they can't let nostalgia for old, bad ideas hold them back. 

 

"Well GP1, if they build these apartments, there is nothing to do"...  Well, build multi use apartments/entertainment like on the South End. Young people want to live in places where access to fun is easily accessible. Make it so. 

Seems you don't know what Quaker was, it literally was a multi use facility with food, shops, and other events lmao. 

[GP1]

1 minute ago, WeRise225 said:

Seems you don't know what Quaker was, it literally was a multi use facility with food, shops, and other events lmao. 

It was a former factory turned into a mediocre hotel with some retail. How an I doing so far?

 

It wasn't multi use with retail and permanent living. The problem with cities like Akron that can't get things going is they simply can't look around successful places and try to apply those lessons to their cities. Instead, they live in the past and fail over and over again. The failure is on purpose. 

[ClevelandZip]

7 hours ago, GP1 said:

How an I doing so far?

You clearly haven’t been to Akron in a long time. No one wants your Applebee’s North Carolina crap in a downtown area. We have Montrose and Howe for that, or we could move to Columbus. Like I said, there are plenty of surface parking lots if you want to build more generic apartments with thin walls and floors. We already have some of those with 22 Exchange, 401 Lofts, and the Depot, but we could use more. We need Quaker to go back to what it was before the University ruined it, and that’s what we may be getting. Something for those who live an hour+ away to have a reason to visit for. Yes, when I was a kid, we lived 2 hours away from Akron and visited Quaker Square as something to do.

 

Anyway, we’re going dancing, so go Zips.

[GP1]

8 hours ago, ClevelandZip said:

You clearly haven’t been to Akron in a long time. No one wants your Applebee’s North Carolina crap in a downtown area.

There are no sit down chain restaurants in the South End like you are thinking. If Akron could pull off something like that, it would be a boom for the city and local business owners. 

 

I understand people want to try a different version of the same thing hoping it will somehow work the next time. It won't. These are the same people who believe if the Browns could just draft a QB in the first round their problems would be solved. 

[UA1996MAENG]

On 3/12/2025 at 8:13 PM, Blue & Gold said:

 

It's a good thing UA has parted ways with this facility; the next burden to get rid of is old Central Hower HS. 

[UA1996MAENG]

On 3/15/2025 at 11:38 PM, ClevelandZip said:

You clearly haven’t been to Akron in a long time. No one wants your Applebee’s North Carolina crap in a downtown area. We have Montrose and Howe for that, or we could move to Columbus. Like I said, there are plenty of surface parking lots if you want to build more generic apartments with thin walls and floors. We already have some of those with 22 Exchange, 401 Lofts, and the Depot, but we could use more. We need Quaker to go back to what it was before the University ruined it, and that’s what we may be getting. Something for those who live an hour+ away to have a reason to visit for. Yes, when I was a kid, we lived 2 hours away from Akron and visited Quaker Square as something to do.

 

Anyway, we’re going dancing, so go Zips.

I'm not sure that you can blame UA for ruining Quaker Square. QS was already a wasteland a decade or more before UA bought it.   

[ZippyRulz]

It's too bad the Quaker Oats Co. isn't interested in preserving that part of its history. But it's true that more / decent / affordable housing in walkable settings is needed.

 

[clarkwgriswold]

Looks like the University is looking to outsource housing-

 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/education/2025/03/19/university-of-akron-outsource-on-campus-housing/82543348007/

[kreed5120]

6 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Looks like the University is looking to outsource housing-

 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/education/2025/03/19/university-of-akron-outsource-on-campus-housing/82543348007/

 

The article doesn't spell out the details so it's really hard to say whether or not it's a good deal. 

[kreed5120]

10 hours ago, ZippyRulz said:

It's too bad the Quaker Oats Co. isn't interested in preserving that part of its history. But it's true that more / decent / affordable housing in walkable settings is needed.

 

 

I don't live far away from the area, but I also don't make it to downtown Akron often these days. I'm assuming post covid there has to be some under utilized office space that could be converted to living space if the demand was there. 

 

The last I heard the Depot and 22 Exchange had lots of empty occupancy. I'm just not sure there is enough happening in downtown Akron to attract the 22-28 crowd who might prefer downtown living. I guess part of it is the what came first the chicken or egg situation. You need more people living downtown to attract more trendy businesses, but young people don't want to live in the area without those amenities in place.

[GP1]

6 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

I don't live far away from the area, but I also don't make it to downtown Akron often these days. I'm assuming post covid there has to be some under utilized office space that could be converted to living space if the demand was there. 

 

The last I heard the Depot and 22 Exchange had lots of empty occupancy. I'm just not sure there is enough happening in downtown Akron to attract the 22-28 crowd who might prefer downtown living. I guess part of it is the what came first the chicken or egg situation. You need more people living downtown to attract more trendy businesses, but young people don't want to live in the area without those amenities in place.

These two apartment buildings stand as monuments to the City of Akron's failure to think of anything to rejuvenate the City other than waiting for the University to do it for them. If I was a new college graduate, the last thing I would want to do is share an apartment building with undergrads that was designed for undergrads. Also, with the cost of buying a house now, young professionals are living in apartments into their 30s. Living spaces have to reflect their needs. 

 

Akron needs rental living and activities for young professionals. It's better for the City because these people have a bit more money to spend than undergrads. They bring a good energy to the City. It works everywhere else it's tried. It can work in Akron.