Akron’s plans to revitalize an abandoned part of a freeway have received the green light.
Akron City Council unanimously adopted the Innerbelt Master Plan on Monday. The plan was approved by Akron’s planning commission in early April.
The freeway decimated a predominantly Black neighborhood and business district when it was constructed in the 1970s.
For the past few years, the city has conducted numerous community input sessions to determine what to do with a previously decommissioned 50-acre section of the road.
The plan includes projects scheduled for completion this year, like landscaping and changing the zoning for new affordable housing in the future. Akron allocated $500,000 in its capital budget this year to fund some of the short-term improvements, including beautification projects and resurfacing Vernon Odom Boulevard near the Innerbelt.
Long-term projects include a commercial corridor and removing some of the highway to make way for new development, according to the proposal.
The long-term plans won’t be possible without additional funding, city planning director Kyle Julien said.
The city previously received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, but it was paused when the Trump administration froze funding for diversity, equity and inclusion projects last year.
“We are not going to be able to decommission more of the innerbelt, as badly as it’s needed, without federal dollars. Full stop,” Julien said. “But, we have to be ready when that opportunity presents itself.”
Julien is hopeful the grant will be reinstated. Monday’s approval of the plan will allow city officials to prepare for the future projects now, so they can get started as soon as additional funding is secured.
Some community leaders are already generating interest in the project across Akron’s neighborhoods, said Esther Thomas, a director in Mayor Shammas Malik’s cabinet.
“[We’re looking at] what are the things we can do to activate the space to bring people there, so we can cultivate a slow burn of interest,” Thomas said.
A group of residents who used to live in the neighborhoods near Howard Street and Wooster Avenue serve on an advisory board for the project and will continue to have input as the project is implemented, according to the proposal.
