Akron economic development details polymer cluster support, Lock 3 expansion and Summit Lake projects

Susie Graham Moore, director of economic development, briefed council on the office’s 2025 work plan and budget, highlighting support for the region’s polymer industry cluster, downtown and neighborhood projects, Lock 3 programming and a pilot childcare workforce program.

Moore said the city pledged $750,000 of support over three years for a polymer research facility in partnership with the University of Akron; the 2025 budget is year two of that commitment. She described the city’s ongoing role in Elevate Greater Akron business retention visits and reported that recent partnership work helped leverage more than $13 million in investment and $24 million in added payroll for the city.

Downtown efforts include a multi-year $50,000-a-year city commitment to the Downtown Akron Development Corp, which helped secure a $1.5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Moore said the office and its partners will continue work on stabilizing challenged downtown properties, combating commercial vacancy, and investing in parking, residential reuse and hospitality.

Lock 3 programming finished construction in late 2024 and the office plans to increase spending on national and regional acts to boost attendance. Moore said the budget reflects a $600,000 increase in programming with a built-in revenue target to offset $200,000 of that cost in the pilot year; Lock 3 produced roughly $374,000 in revenue last year, she said.

Moore reviewed neighborhood and infrastructure work: the Summit Lake North Shore activity site building package was bid and construction is set to begin under a contract with Kavanaugh Construction, she said. The economic development budget also includes demolition funding: $13,873,000 for commercial demolition (with a $3,700,000 local match) and $1,314,000 for residential demolition. Identified commercial sites include 1200 Firestone, the Kenmore Annex, the former Rankin building and Goodrich Middle School.

On small-business supports, Moore said the Great Streets program conducted outreach throughout 13 business districts in 2024 and that 2025 plans include a matching façade grant and a small-business assistance grant program contingent on CDBG funding. Moore also described a childcare pilot focused on workforce supports; city funds will cover the workforce component of that pilot.

Council members asked for metrics and operational detail. When asked about downtown residential growth, Moore said there are “about 2,800 residents in downtown now, between 2,831,” and cited a longer-term goal to increase downtown residency. Councillors asked about grocery retail and measurement of Lock 3 economic impacts; Moore said point-of-sale systems and ticketing partnerships will improve downtown revenue tracking.

Moore said the office is monitoring state and federal funding sources that support many of its programs and emphasized that some allocations remain contingent until awards are final.