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3-story town houses giving Akron area a new lease on life
By Carol Biliczky
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, May 11, 2008
The doors have swung open for the model town homes at the long-awaited Spicer Village in Akron's University Park.
Developer Philip Maynard of ASW Properties Ltd. is showcasing two units, with 23 more in construction and 75 others planned.
Sales representative Mike Wiant believes that these are the right products at the right time for young professionals who work at the nearby University of Akron and Summa Health System.
''Finally we have a product to show,'' he said. ''I've had six-seven people show really solid interest. This is a unique concept and design.''
Spicer Village is an urban development in the 40-block University Park area west and south of the university and south of Summa. It is the first owner-occupied housing project to be built there in decades.
The complex took three years to get off the ground because of the complexity of developing in an urban area with multiple property owners.
Until now, the area has consisted largely of modest, single-family homes, many built
near the turn of the 20th century and now rented to students.
The new three-story town homes are evidence the area is getting a new lease on life, said Ken Stapleton, executive director of the nonprofit University Park Alliance, which is trying to revitalize the area.
''Spicer Village is a signal that stability is coming back to this neighborhood,'' he said. ''I think it's going to help people understand not just the potential of the neighborhood but the strong commitment by two major institutions in Akron.''
UA is helping its employees to buy there with offers to pay $10,000 of the purchase price. The university has set aside $200,000 in down payment assistance.
One of those buyers could be UA President Luis Proenza, who has said he is ''very interested'' in buying a unit. It likely would not be his primary residence as he lives in a 7,000-square-foot colonial on West Akron's Burning Tree Drive that the university provides.
Through a spokesman, he said he would not take advantage of the university's down payment assistance if he buys a unit.
On Friday, Summa spokesman Mike Bernstein said that the hospital system has discussed the possibility of providing mortgage assistance to employees, ''but we have yet to make any final decisions.''
No matter who buys them, the two- and three-bedroom condos at Brown and Power streets start in the $170,000's and come with 1,121 to 2,175 square feet over a two-car garage.
The models are decorated with trendy Ikea furnishings and pricey upgrades that include granite counter tops and stainless steel kitchen appliances. Each unit can be customized to suit the buyer's tastes.
Units have as many as three outside areas — a front patio, a deck off the kitchen on the second floor and a rooftop retreat that by this fall will overlook a spiffed up neighborhood, thanks to the city of Akron.
It is providing $2.1 million in improvements that include underground utilities, new street surfaces and lighting on Brown and Power streets and is extending Kirn Street south to Power.
The city contribution will include a first for Akron — a 30-foot wide pedestrian right-of-way between Kirn and Brown streets with sidewalks and green space, said Jerry Egan, comprehensive planning administrator for the city of Akron.
In addition, Wiant, the Spicer sales agent, is eyeing ways to make the complex more appealing to buyers who want to rely less on their vehicles.
He envisions the homeowners association buying an electric vehicle, four bicycles and a two-wheeled electric Segway Personal Transporter that residents could share.
Eventually, he suggests that residents might take part in a car-sharing plan: after an initial membership payment, the residents would pay an hourly rate to use a shared community car.
He envisions creating a culture in which weekend cookouts and trips to downtown concerts build a feeling of community, he said.
The project is debuting in an economic downturn, but that shouldn't pose too much of a problem, according to another Akron developer, Tony Troppe.
Troppe has sold only one of the 70 condominiums in his fledgling Hickory Street development in North Akron. But he views his project and the Spicer Village as great neighborhood ''nodes'' that will be magnets when economic conditions improve.
''One node appeals to one group of people, another node to another,'' he said. ''Spicer Village makes good sense for graduate students, for professionals. My node is for people who are more recreationally-oriented because we're on the Towpath Trail, who want to be close to King School.''
Spicer Village is unlikely to appeal to two giant slices of the market — families with young children, as the complex will offer no recreational facilities, and older adults because of the extensive steps in each unit, Wiant said.
Instead, the ideal buyer will be someone who wants to live close to their work, to be close to downtown, in a diverse neighborhood.
Spicer Village is targeting a small sliver of the market, said Carmine Torio, executive vice president of the Homebuilders Association of Summit and Portage Counties: ''It's looking for an urban buyer. I'm hoping it attracts some of them.''
Wiant is plying would-be buyers with freshly made cookies and offers to provide meeting space, throwing in free lunches, pastries and tours into the mix.
''There are 1 million people in the Greater Akron area. We only need 25,'' he said.
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com.
The doors have swung open for the model town homes at the long-awaited Spicer Village in Akron's University Park.
Get the full article here.
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