Akron Innerbelt project has national interest. But more community input is key, city says

Urban design consultant firms and sub-consultants from around the U.S. converged at Akron's House Three Thirty Thursday night to share their qualifications and ideas for revitalizing the decommissioned section of the Akron Innerbelt.

Presentations and conversations were grounded in the topic of equity — how the area can be a safe, inviting space for all Akron residents.

Hundreds of majority-Black-owned homes and businesses and many houses of worship and community institutions were demolished , and people were displaced because of the Innerbelt. Construction started on the highway in 1970, and within 50 years of that, a quarter of the underused, 4-mile Innerbelt was decommissioned.

Esther Thomas, the city of Akron's director of diversity, equity and inclusion, asked event attendees to "contemplate joy, to contemplate our hope for the future."

"We are not inheritors of this land; we are shepherds of this land, custodians," Thomas said. "And so, we're asking everyone to think about, what is the legacy that we can collectively leave as a community to this city? Dr. Martin Luther King talked about the beloved community, and Akron's pretty beloved."

More details about the firms interested in the Innerbelt project

Representatives from the four firms − PORT , Sasaki , Agency and Cooper Carry − and sub-consultant firms talked about how they would like to gain the community's trust and bring people together. They also shared their accomplishments in other parts of the country.

The firms did not present specific plans or renderings, as they and city of Akron seek to gather more community input.

PORT, which has offices in Philadelphia and Chicago, presented an Akron-centric approach in its Innerbelt-area pitch. PORT partner Christopher Marcinkoski was born in Akron and is now working with local partners such as Roger Riddle of Roger Riddle Consulting; Charlee Harris, creative director of the East Ave Market and Gallery; and Theron Brown, jazz pianist and founder of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival.

Brown said: "Planning for a neighborhood like this needs the insight and expertise of the residents and of the previous neighborhood. We also need Akronites who want to see our city live up to its fullest potential. And we need Akron's creative community helping designers, engineers and architects to envision a story for a new neighborhood that provides for its residents and businesses and shares all that makes it special with the rest of Akron."

Sasaki has offices in Boston, Denver, New York and Shanghai. Siqi Zhu, Sasaki associate principal urban planner, said the firm strives to help Akronites comfortably gather and benefit from multiple opportunities, whether they be jobs, community services, or housing.

"This also means asking, 'What does it mean to build a place that looks and feels like Akron?'" Siqi said. "We don't just want to take someplace else and dump it on this site."

Nancy Lyon-Stadler is a civil engineer at engineering consulting firm WSP, a partner on Sasaki's Innerbelt proposal. She said WSP has expertise in making sure that transportation is tied into "the fabric of the community" in a way that is accessible for everybody, not just drivers.

"Since 2009, our specific team that focuses on grant-funding opportunities has successfully worked with 310 communities, landing $50 billion ... for infrastructure projects," Lyon-Stadler said.

Brie Hensold, principal, urban planner and co-founder of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Agency, discussed some of that firm's bona fides. One revitalization project Agency is working on is in a section of Portland, Oregon, where Interstate 5 tore through the lower Albina neighborhood, displacing residents and businesses.

According to Agency's site , "The vision is anchored by equitable public park spaces that seamlessly connect to the [Willamette River] and its surrounding neighborhoods."

Hensold said the Portland project has "galvanized not only state funding [and] federal funding but $400 million in private philanthropy that's going to be invested in the community."

Nicolia Robinson, principal of the Urban Design and Planning Studio at Atlanta-based Cooper Carry, said: "Quite frankly, our whole process starts and is built on this notion of equity because agency is given to every person in this room from day one of our process, and that's super important."

Carter Coleman, real estate development associate at APD Urban Planning and Management , is working with Cooper Carry. Coleman said the Cooper Carry-led team envisions the Innerbelt project to take a total of 10 to 15 years before it's completed.

"So, you need to have a partner in place that's going to be longer than administrations, longer than funding policies and that's going to make sure that it is ... being accountable to the community," Coleman said.

Mayor Shammas Malik's office livestreamed the presentations on Facebook and requested further input in the comment section. The stream and comment section can be viewed at bit.ly/3LFzd9t.

What residents, others had to say about the Akron Innerbelt presentations

Liz Ogbu , designer and spatial justice activist, has been working on various elements of the project since 2020, such as interviewing residents and community members and compiling statistics and historical records.

"I thought they were four really strong teams, and I felt like all the teams definitely seemed like they took the time to get to know Akron to the degree that you can when you're preparing for these kinds of things," Ogbu said.

Akron resident Louise Bane co-founded the East Ave Market and Gallery with her mother, Jacqueline Harris, and sister Charlee Harris, who presented with PORT. Bane, an artist and a baker, also owns Weezie Cakes Bakery.

Bane said her family has ties to the Innerbelt area. She grew up near there, attended Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts and held her first job in that area. Her father worked nearby at BFGoodrich.

She said she is behind the PORT initiative because "the majority of people involved in this are Akron-based."

Bane said she would like to see a "neighborhood feel" in the Innerbelt area with affordable housing and parks, adding that one thing that would not be suited to the area is $1 million homes.

"Put back what you took," she said.

West Akron resident Ayesha Nurruddin said she would like the people who were displaced by the Innerbelt to have homes there again.

She said she was impressed by all of the presentations and would like to see the various firms work together. And she told them that after their presentations.

Some sub-consultants are working with more than one of the four firms, said Akron Zoning Manager Michael Antenucci.

Planning and funding for the Innerbelt project

Each of the four finalist firms have met or plan to meet with city staff and walk the Innerbelt this week, Ogbu said.

City of Akron Planning Director Kyle Julien said this process is unique because the city didn't present the community with a decision but is instead asking for community input.

Various city officials, Ogbu, the Innerbelt advisory group and the community will select one of the four firms by mid-August, Julien said.

Malik said the final firm will be selected based on multiple criteria, including ability to gain trust and build relationships, understanding of equity and ability to create "equitable outcomes" and technical knowledge.

"And then finally [is] their ability to help us on the implementation side and their ability to help us find the money to do all of this work because sadly, if it was cheap, we would have already been able to do it," Malik said.

The federal government has issued some funding for the project. In early 2023, the city received a $960,000 Reconnecting Communities grant from President Joe Biden’s administration, which was used to seek requests for qualifications for the project, city spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh previously told the Beacon Journal.

The selected firm will plan through 2024 and 2025, releasing its plan in late 2025, Marsh previously said. Then, she said, the city "will be able to pursue a Reconnecting Communities implementation grant, seeking funding to implement the recommendations of the plan."

Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at pwilliams@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pwilliamsOH.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Innerbelt project has national interest. But more community input is key, city says