Highland Square project closing in on completion
By Stephanie Kist
HIGHLAND SQUARE — Progress continues to be made on a new addition to the distinctive West Akron neighborhood Highland Square.
The Highland Square Redevelopment Project, which began last summer after years of discussion, is a joint effort among Albrecht Inc., the city of Akron, the Akron-Summit County Public Library (ASCPL) and FirstMerit Bank.
“In general, the project is going extremely well,” said Joe Albrecht, manager of retail properties for Albrecht Inc. “If you look at what we had a year ago, at this point in time the transformation is really starting to take place.”
The project includes the construction of three retail buildings, a new West Hill Branch Library and new parking.
Albrecht said two of the three retail buildings are nearly complete. A third building, which is intended to be a grocery store, has not yet been constructed, as Albrecht Inc. works to secure an operator for the store.
Albrecht said the grocery building, which will be about 6,400 square feet, is build-to-suit, so the building won’t be constructed until a deal is completed with an operator.
“Although it seems like we haven’t been doing anything there on that corner, we’ve been putting in a tremendous amount of work to try to get a deal done,” he said. “On a build-to-suit, you don’t see [the building] until the actual deal’s been done.”
He added Albrecht Inc. is “in serious discussions with two different operators right now.”
He hopes construction of the third building will take place this spring, but “giving a date would be tough.”
The joint development agreement among Albrecht Inc., the city, FirstMerit and the ASCPL stipulates that Albrecht Inc. must use its “commercially reasonable best efforts” to find a grocer to lease the building.
“We’re using our commercially reasonable best efforts to bring a grocery store [to the area],” he said. “That describes what we’re doing.”
A grocery store that fits the area is a definite need for the neighborhood, said Lisa Bostwick, president of the Highland Square Neighborhood Association.
“We don’t need a gourmet store, but we do need something where everybody can get their needs met,” she said.
Further east, Chipotle is ready to open to the public tomorrow, March 30, at 825 W. Market St. The rest of the retail space is yet to be filled.
“It’s finally good to see at least one business going in,” Bostwick said.
She said the manager of the new Chipotle is a Highland Square resident. If any other “chain” businesses are brought into the new plaza, Bostwick said, she hopes they, too, are conscious of the neighborhood character of Highland Square.
As one of the partners in the Highland Square Redevelopment Project, the city of Akron is developing parking behind the new plaza.
“The parking lot is open and available for use,” said James Weber, city of Akron Construction Division manager. “It’s basically done.”
Weber said there are a total of 187 parking spaces, with 106 spaces in the “central site” behind Chipotle and 81 spaces in the “triangle site” west of Conger Avenue, where the grocery store is planned.
He said there will be some landscaping done in late April or early May, including buffering between the parking lot and neighboring residences, street trees, islands and grass planting.
The added parking will be great for the new library opening up, said ASCPL Marketing Director Carla Davis. “The parking that we’ll have available will be a huge, huge upgrade,” she said.
Construction of the library branch is on schedule, and the ASCPL anticipates opening the new branch in July or August, Davis said.
“We’re very excited,”
she said, adding the staff members
who have been scattered among different locations are
especially glad to be coming “back home.”
Albrecht said there is a lot
of interest in the retail space available, but leasing
isn’t something that happens overnight.
“Leasing a retail space
is a complicated, long-term arrangement that really
needs to be thought through very well and then executed,”
he said.
Albrecht said the company is
happy to have Chipotle in the new space. He said Albrecht
Inc. is in serious discussions with numerous potential
tenants and has another signed letter of intent with
a company, which he declined to identify.
“It’s something that’s
going to fit in very, very well with Highland
Square,” he said. “It’s
an exciting use, something that is a use that is not
in Highland Square or in the area in general.”
Though he declined to identify
them, Albrecht said they also have turned down prospective
tenants.
“We’re being selective,”
he said, adding later, “We’re looking for
unique businesses that can add to that artistic feel
that Highland Square already has.”
He said the location —
on Akron’s busiest street with high visibility
and plenty of parking — is tremendous.
Bostwick said she doesn’t
care for referring to the new buildings as a “plaza”
because of a suburban connotation. She hopes future
tenants will be locally owned and operated.
“I’d like to see
something that you can’t
get anywhere else,” she said, adding she would
like to see uses such as a locally owned art gallery,
bookstore or computer store.
The new retail development in Highland Square includes two new buildings that are nearly complete. Chipotle opens there this weekend, and efforts are being made by Albrecht Inc. to secure tenants for the rest of the space. A third building, intended to house a grocery store, also is planned.
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