stadium dorms & parking deck

[ziptrumpet87]

new stadium complex dorms approved along with other capital projects including expanding the Exchange St. parking deck

[mccracken]

So is the dorm replacing the Greek Village idea? Doesn't seem like there would be an extra 12 acres next to the proposed greek place.The Exchange deck expansion is probably good for the new stadium- people going to the games that parked there would be walking right up Carroll Commons and past the Union.

[ziptrumpet87]

So is the dorm replacing the Greek Village idea? Doesn't seem like there would be an extra 12 acres next to the proposed greek place.

No, the dorms are the ones shown in the renderings for the stadium. They were not included in the original $55 million for the stadium. The Greek Village is across Spicer from the stadium.

[LosAngelesZipFan]

I am not a huge fan of the dorms in the rendering-- obscures the view of the stadium. I wish they would clear out another slum area with new dorms.

[ZachTheZip]

Here's an interesting store brought up in the ABJ about some property bought where the new dorms are planned.http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/10908881.htmlA blanket land acquisition for the University of Akron's new stadium has turned out to include a house owned by the son of a UA trustee who stands to make a 40 percent increase on his September 2006 purchase.The purchase was approved in June by the UA Board of Trustees with Trustee Jack Morrison abstaining though the resolution did not give details of the individual properties.One of those properties was a 118-year-old home at 334 Spicer St. purchased from Jack W. Morrison Jr.'s Braymor Development.The son purchased the three-bedroom, two-bath home in September 2006 for $77,000 and sold it to the university in August for $110,000.The transaction came to light this week when it was discovered among those the university submitted to the Ohio Controlling Board for approval.UA spokesman Paul Herold said trustees gave the purchase authority to the administration in June to speed up the process of acquiring land for a new stadium.''I think the intent was to move quickly on all the properties within the project area footprint,'' he said. ''The parcels did not require additional board action.''But the purchase raised eyebrows at the seven-member Controlling Board meeting Monday, with Sen. Ray Miller, D-Columbus, and Rep. Jay Hottinger, R-Neward, voting against it.Hottinger said the purchase ''certainly doesn't look or smell good.''I'm at a loss to explain this. I hope it was just poor judgment and lack of foresight on the part of the university,'' he said.He questioned why the university did not purchase the property itself a year ago and how it could justify paying such a steep increase in a declining real estate market.The younger Morrison could not be reached for comment. Both son and father are attorneys who work for Amer Cunningham in Akron.The son's property was one of 14 the university submitted to the Controlling Board on Monday as part of its ongoing efforts to amass land for a stadium east of campus and west of state Route 8.Many of the properties were covered by the June resolution and were not independently voted on by trustees.In the case of the Morrison property, the university hired appraisers John W. Emig and Howard Myers, both of whom put the value at $110,000, which is the price UA agreed to pay.That was more than 40 percent higher than the $77,000 that Morrison paid for the home in September 2006.The university justified that with a list of the many improvements it said Morrison made during the year he owned the house.That included repairing the ceramic tile in the kitchen, installing plumbing and a new washer and dryer in the laundry room, installing new fixtures in the bathroom and installing a new furnace.According to Myers' appraisal, Morrison spent $28,000 on improvements, excluding his own labor or contractor skills. In his report, Emig said Morrison was leasing out the home for $900 a month at $300 a bedroom plus utilities and that he had put in $34,000 in improvements.This was the second time the Controlling Board has raised questions about a UA purchase.In August, it questioned UA's $22.7 million purchase of Quaker Square because the value set by the Summit County Fiscal Office was only $9.8 million.The purchase of the hotel, shopping and dining complex for a residence hall leaves the Radisson, owned by David Brennan, husband of UA Trustee Ann Amer Brennan, the only hotel in downtown Akron.Jack W. Morrison Jr. owns 10 other properties south of the university all purchased this year on Rankin, Power, Kling and Brown streets.Herold, the UA spokesman, said he did not think the university had plans to purchase them.''At this point we are not in negotiation with him, and I don't believe we are trying to buy anything,'' he said.The Controlling Board is composed of six state legislators and one state official who evaluate purchases valued at more than $25,000 by public agencies and institutions.

[Captain Kangaroo]

The son purchased the three-bedroom, two-bath home in September 2006 for $77,000 and sold it to the university in August for $110,000.

That dirtbag son should give back the cash asap. Everyone and their brother knew that area was where the stadium was going to be located last year. Gotta love a trustee that tells his son - "Pssst...hey, I know a great area where you can purchase some land that will skyrocket in value within a year." Hope he got a nice Father's Day present from his son for that "tip." If the guy really added $40,000 worth of improvements to a 113 year old house in that area within the past 12 months, he's the biggest idiot in Summit County.

[zen]

what is worse is the fact that the house was probably not even worth 77 Grand in the first place. Most of them are not worth that much. He probably pressured the previous property owner and climbed the ladder until he got it with the express purpose of holding against the UA land aquisition for a profit. I mean, you could say that because he probably paid more than it was probably worth means he didn't turn as much of a profit, but the problem is that it stands as evidence that he had conscious intent.