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Old furniture store property's new owner says land will be ready to market for redevelopment in two to three months
By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Friday, Aug 08, 2008
The former Sokol's building on East Market Street in Akron is coming down — but not all at once.
Ten years after the Sokol family closed the 73-year-old furniture store, the building and property has a new owner.
Scaccio Ltd., a new company formed by businessman Joseph R. Scaccio and his brother, John, purchased the property for $390,000 in the spring and recently began slow demolition of the building.
Joseph R. Scaccio, who also is the president of Carmen Construction and owns other development businesses with his family, said the property will be ready to market for redevelopment within two to three months. While he has no specifics yet, Scaccio said he believes the parcel of land would make a good spot for a drugstore since it has frontage on three streets — Market, Broad and Kent.
Scaccio said he purchased the approximately 13/4-acre parcel as an investment. The planned $900 million Goodyear headquarters and revitalization a few blocks away can only help, he said.
''I'm hoping that the momentum of what Goodyear is doing is going to carry through to that whole area,'' he said.
The purchase of the former Sokol's lot is another exciting step in the rebuilding of that East Akron neighborhood, said Ward 10 City Councilwoman Kelli Crawford.
''We don't see this a lot. This revitalization on our side [of town] is Please see Sokol's, C8
Continued from Page C7
humongous. Everyone is just buzzing,'' she said.
David Sokol, whose father Abe, opened a business on South Main in 1925 before the furniture and carpet business moved to the East Market spot in the 1950s, said he was glad he was able to sell the property after 10 years. Sokol spent nearly 50 years at the building before closing in 1998.
Seeing the building come down is bittersweet, he said.
''I wouldn't want to use the term sad. It's part of an evolution. Maybe melancholy,'' he said. ''I certainly have some of that. I spent the better part of my life there. But on the other hand, I chose to close and I chose to sell it. I'm glad it has come to a conclusion.''
Building deterioration
Scaccio has been eyeing the former Sokol's building for the last few years, but there were concerns about the asking price and asbestos removal costs, he said. He has spent $60,000 to remove asbestos before the demolition began. The city also has offered assistance toward asbestos and demolition cleanup.
The building had deteriorated over the years after the store closed and is unsafe, Scaccio said. Parts of the roof had caved in, which meant there was standing water and dead animals. The floor also had become unsafe, Scaccio said.
''Literally in the front showroom, there was grass growing on the floor — a really deep, mossy grass because there was so much dirt coming in and the sun and the rain that it was actually growing grass. I'd never seen anything like it. That's how humid and moldy and musty it was in there,'' he said.
Sokol said he had minor upkeep of the property, but did not invest a lot in the building while it was for sale since he wasn't sure if the next buyer would keep it or demolish it.
He continued to pay utilities, insurance and real estate taxes, he said.
Scaccio said he's unsure how much it will cost to demolish the building, but he's hoping it won't cost as much as some estimates since his Carmen Construction company is doing the job.
Slower process
He's opted to systematically demolish the building from the back to recycle and resell some materials, such as block, wood and steel.
''The drawback is that it takes you a lot longer. You could knock the building down in a huge pile and scoop it up and truck it all to a landfill. We chose to separate it as we go,'' he said. ''Basically we'll be eating away at the back of it. We'll be working our way straight down Market Street.''
A newer addition in the back of the building that is structurally sound could remain, though Scaccio said he's unsure about that.
Once the main part of the more than 100,000-square-foot-building is down, ''it's going to look drastically different,'' Scaccio said. ''All of the sudden you'll see the good. You've got this big monster and its not exactly attractive. It's just deteriorated. It'll change that whole corner.''
Crawford said she hopes the purchase of the former Sokol's lot will be the revitalization of the general area. In May, lawyers for the city of Akron and Lisa's Cabaret, down the street from the former Sokol's, reached an out-of-court agreement to close the club.
Scaccio said he might have some interest in other properties near Sokol's, but he's not actively pursuing any now.
For now, Scaccio said he's hopeful he's made a good investment.
''We may end up sitting on it for 10 years. I hope not. That's the chance you take,'' Scaccio said. On the other hand, ''it could be a million-dollar property.''
Scaccio said he understands there might be some community members who are sad to see the former furniture store building go.
''Everybody's parents seemed to have shopped there back in the day,'' he said. ''To some people, it's probably sad but at the same time, when it's unsalvageable, what are you going to do?''
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
The former Sokol's building on East Market Street in Akron is coming down — but not all at once.
Get the full article here.
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