On March 8, 2018, Mayor Daniel Horrigan announced that his city of Akron, Ohio has been awarded an $8 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for Phase II of the Downtown Akron Promenade Project.
The goal is to undo earlier urban planning mistakes to revitalize the long-struggling city center by reconnecting residents and visitors to its centers of education, employment, innovation, entrepreneurship, culture, entertainment and recreation. (This process has been document in several previous articles in REVITALIZATION.)
The City of Akron’s 2017 TIGER grant proposal to complete the transformation of Main Street received strong, diverse support from dozens of local businesses, agencies, and offices – including bi-partisan backing from Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Rob Portman, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, Congressman Tim Ryan, Congressman Jim Renacci, and Congressman David Joyce.
TIGER discretionary grants assist cities with capital investment funds addressing road, rail transit and port projects. “I extend my deepest and most sincere gratitude to our congressional delegation including Rep. Tim Ryan and Rep. Marcia Fudge, and to our local business and community leaders who helped champion this effort,” Mayor Horrigan said. “It is truly an honor to be the only community in Ohio to a receive a TIGER grant this year, and to experience the extremely rare honor of being awarded two multi-million dollar TIGER grants in the span of two years.”
Building on the momentum of the Phase I, Phase II of the Downtown Promenade Project is a strategic investment that will transform a 1,700-foot segment of Main Street from Mill Street to Perkins Street (SR-59) as the second phase of a 1.4-mile “Green and Complete Street” corridor through the heart of the City’s urban core.
“As we continue our efforts to ensure Akron is a thriving city, this grant will allow us to realize the concepts of the recently completed Downtown Vision and Redevelopment Plan, by connecting nodes of activity all the way up to and including the Northside District,” Horrigan continued. “Once completed, the revitalized Downtown Promenade will welcome workers, pedestrians, artists, business owners, and innovators to our great City, and enable us to breathe new life into our urban core and better connect downtown to our neighborhoods.”
The project proposal successfully highlighted the following benefits:
- Promoting economic competitiveness by providing “Ladders of Opportunity” for those striving to enter the middle class by increasing access to education, jobs and opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship in the heart of the Downtown Akron Innovation District, particularly through BOUNCE, Akron’s Innovation Hub; the Akron Biomedical Corridor; and the University of Akron – all key partners located right on South Main Street.
- Enhancing livability by improving access to all modes of transportation and providing direct linkages to greenspace amenities.
- Bringing existing transportation assets into a state of good repair.
- Ensuring environmental sustainability through the installation of green infrastructure.
- Improving ADA accessible facilities, skid-resistant pavement and lighting.
- Demonstrating project readiness.
- Inspiring innovation and fostering collaborative partnership in a city with a storied history of invention and industry.
“We are both thrilled and grateful for the recognition of the importance of our Main Street at the federal level,” said Suzie Graham, President of the Downtown Akron Partnership. “The City has worked tirelessly to maximize each dollar dedicated to Phase I, including the plans to rebuild the State Street bridge. Their admirable flexibility and willingness to develop these projects alongside downtown constituents is transformational for the neighborhood.”
“The alignment of the City with downtown stakeholders, City Council and County government through the downtown plan positions our community beautifully for reinvestment, and we are so excited to see it continue to take shape on Main Street. This is a tremendous opportunity for Akron,” she concluded.
Back in 2016, downtown Akron was already looking and feeling better than it had in many decades. But the downtown needed much more work. It was then that Mayor Horrigan unveiled Phase One of the city’s Downtown Akron Vision and Redevelopment Plan. It was the work of three dozen stakeholders, with the Downtown Akron Partnership at the lead. Now, Phase Two has arrived with an $8 million bang.
Photo of downtown Akron by DriveAkron.