By Jennifer Conn, Akron reporter, cleveland.com

Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance is working alongside the city and the Knight Foundation to bring business back to the Kenmore business district by boosting walkability and bikeability while populating empty storefronts. (Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance)

AKRON, Ohio – Efforts to return Kenmore Boulevard to a bustling business district are gaining momentum.

Akron City Council Planning Committee is considering changes to the boulevard’s zoning to add special development conditions for new construction and building renovation. The proposed zoning would regulate types of businesses allowed on the main strip through Kenmore, as well as their dimensions and proximity to the street.

A public hearing is planned for May 14 on the proposed Kenmore Urban Overlay Area, which would include the north and south sides of Kenmore Boulevard from 12th to 17th streets.

“It’s meant to protect the integrity of the main boulevard district and the community, to maintain the character of it,” said Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance Director Tina Boyes.

Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance is working alongside the city and the Knight Foundation to bring business back to the Kenmore business district by boosting walkability and bikeability while populating empty storefronts.

Structures along the boulevard were built at the turn of last century and designed with businesses downstairs and residences above. Most are three stories or less, built close to the sidewalk.

The proposed zoning would regulate the height and distance from the street for new construction. It would prohibit gas stations, parking lots as businesses and boulevard-facing drive-thru windows or parking lots.

“Parking lots break up the continuity and are discouraging to pedestrians and bike traffic,” Boyes said.

Developed about 60 years ago, Akron’s Zoning Code is based on shaping development to have a “suburban” feel with street-facing parking and buildings set back from the sidewalk. It isn’t compatible with Kenmore’s much older business district.

The city’s Great Streets program is also targeting Kenmore along with nine other Akron neighborhoods to help revitalize their small business districts.

In addition to revamping Kenmore’s zoning, the city, through Great Streets, plans to resurface Kenmore Boulevard and install a new roof at the Kenmore Community Center, which offers year-round programming on the boulevard.

The city also plans to look at improvements to the crosswalks on the boulevard and offer competitive facade grants to the business owners, said Akron Planning Director Jason Segedy.

 The Great Streets initiative brings together the essential components of economic development, urban planning and engineering.

“It’s about doing lots of little things that are the details that add up to more than the  sum of their parts,” Segedy said.

Without a populated central business district, Kenmore is losing local dollars to nearby shopping areas in Green and Montrose. The Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance is awaiting results of a study conducted by KM Date Community Planning. Initial findings estimate more than 80 percent of patrons to the boulevard businesses come from outside the neighborhood, Boyes said.

The study will shed light on the spending power of the neighborhood and 10 miles beyond its borders, and on the types of new businesses that would complement existing ones.

Kenmore hosts a growing music industry, with the Rialto Theatre, a live-music venue and studio, the Guitar Department, a new and used consignment shop that offers music lessons, on the Boulevard. Also on the strip, Lays Guitar Shop has been known since the ’60s for quality repairs and restoration, and is frequented by Black Keysguitarist Dan Auerbach and Cleveland native Joe Walsh.

Efforts are also underway to have the boulevard added to the National Register of Historic Places. The State Historic Preservation Office has indicated the Kenmore Boulevard business district is a viable district for successful nomination to the National Register.

“We have not yet had a site visit or pursued it with the national parks, but this approval from the state is the first step in the process,” Boyes said.

The Knight Foundation has supported Akron’s efforts to bring back its small business districts by funding Strong Towns, a nonprofit that’s working to help smaller cities like Akron bring economic stability back through incremental investments in key neighborhoods.

Working with Knight, Strong Town representatives plan to invest time and energy over the next year in Akron’s community development corporations in North Akron and Middlebury, and the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance.

In late September, the Knight Foundation invested $720,000 in the work of those same three neighborhood groups, which are considered ripe for growth. All three neighborhoods hosted successful Knight-funded Better Block festivals, showcasing the potential the neighborhoods have to become vibrant centers through community input and creativity.

The organizations will work together to come up with best practices for their own challenges, while supporting one another.

Akron Community Blog

By Jennifer Conn, Akron reporter, cleveland.com

jconn@cleveland.com

Strong Towns President Charles Marohn presents at the 2016 Canadian Institute of Planners Conference. Marohn will speak in Akron at 5:45 p.m., April 17 at the Akron Civic Theatre. (Rob McMorris)

AKRON, Ohio – A new initiative launching this month is expected to help Akron boost its economic vitality while laying the groundwork for similar cities across the nation.

Strong Towns, a Minnesota-based nonprofit, is working to help smaller cities like Akron bring economic stability back through incremental investments in key neighborhoods.

The year-long project in Akron, funded in part through a $120,000 Knight Foundation grant, will be groundbreaking for Strong Towns.

While the group will continue to work with other cities, it plans to invest a majority of time and energy in partnerships with the Knight Foundation and Akron’s community development groups in North Akron, Middlebury and Kenmore, said Rachel Quenau, Strong Towns Communications Director.

“We see so much possibility, if people redirected their efforts to small-scale incremental investments that focus on the city’s core neighborhoods,” Quenau said.

Strong Towns will conduct a tax analysis of key areas of the city to identify where Akron would gain the most through investment. It also will share examples of similar cities that had success through initiatives that could be tailored for Akron.

The outcome of the work could be a model for other similar cities.

By AMANDA RABINOWITZ

Lay’s Guitar Shop Co-Owner Joel Shinn shows his custom guitars to national touring musician Ray Goren. Photo by Amanda Rabinowitz

Editor’s note: This story originally incorrectly stated that Marc Lee Shannon is the former guitarist for Michael Stanley. Shannon is still with the band  

A few city blocks in east Akron are coming back to life with the help of musicians. For this week’s Shuffle, WKSU’s Amanda Rabinowitz walked Kenmore Boulevard to hear how the community is rebuilding a music district.  

Listen here

When you make the turn off the I-76 exit ramp and onto Akron’s Kenmore Boulevard, it’s hard to tell at first glance that this is the site of a renaissance. The busy street is riddled with potholes. The brick buildings are old, and many are vacant. But if you look closer — or rather listen closer — there’s life.

A music district

Kenmore Boulevard now has two live music venues, recording studios and guitar shops along the three-block downtown district. It’s largely the work of the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance that’s been trying to overcome the area’s reputation as abandoned and unsafe. The Alliance’s director, Tina Boyes, says working with musicians captures the neighborhood’s working-class history.

“You see them on the stage and you look up to them, but man, these are salt of the earth people — these are people who have hustled their entire lives. I feel like that’s what we’re doing as the neighborhood organization. We’re hustling.”

The new and the old Boyes says Kenmore’s music revitalization is a combination of the new and the old. Our first visit is to Lays Guitar Shop, which has been in business for more than 50 years. Joel Shin and his brother are known worldwide for their work restoring and building guitars. 

“We’re trying to bring this community back to where people want to walk along the streets and feel safe again,” Shinn says. 

The colorful Rialto Theater in Kenmore’s music district. Photo by Amanda Rabinowitz

The Rialto Theater The hub of Kenmore’s music district, is the Rialto Theater, which used to be a movie theater. 

Musician brothers Seth and Nate Vaill took over this 100-year-old building in 2010 at first to open a couple recording studios. Now, it’s also a music venue that books local and national musicians three nights a week.

“Every time we’d get a little money we would finish something else. We did a lot of traveling and a lot of the music venues you would play in say, New York City, would be warm, intimate places. And we thought once we painted the walls, we could start fulfilling that here. It morphed into that, pretty much.”

‘I call it sprinkling fairy dust.’

Seth and Nate built an apartment on the building’s second floor and lived there while they worked on getting the venue ready. They’ve since moved out, but stayed in Kenmore.

“People who have lived here longer than Nate and I — I mean we’ve only lived here for seven years — that have lived here their whole lives. They have a lot of pride here. And they are open arms wanting to see this place be successful.”

Live Music Now is a pop-venue that will book shows through May, with the idea that someone will take it over permanently. Photo by Amanda Rabinowitz

Pop-up Venue Live Music Now The Rialto has been so successful, that it’s needed help meeting demand booking events. Enter Live Music Now, a pop-up venue that opened earlier this year down the street. 

“Seth and Nate down at the Rialto were feeling like an island,” Boyes says. “We felt the burden to help them out, but also to show that there’s more than just one trick in this neighborhood.”

‘We’re the sons and daughters of steel and rubber workers. And our work ethic was always deeply embedded in us. … This neighborhood just represents to me the essence of that lost America.’

Tina Boyes and the Neighborhood Alliance have leased this former bar that was in shambles just six months ago. They got volunteers to paint the walls, add custom lighting and rebuild the small stage. They have local musicians and others booking shows. The Alliance has the lease through May, with the hopes that someone will take it over.

“I call it sprinkling fairy dust,” Boyes says. “Showcase something and get people thinking. Because honestly you can say things all day long, but until people experience, it, they need to know what it feels like. And this feels good.”

Former Michael Stanley guitarist Marc Lee Shannon recently performed at Kenmore’s Live Music Now. Photo by Amanda Rabinowitz.

A grassroots revival On this night, Marc Lee Shannon is performing. The guitarist for Cleveland rocker Michael Stanley, Shannon lives in Akron and is launching a solo career. He says he wants to support Kenmore’s revival.

“We’re the sons and daughters, grandchildren of steel and rubber workers. And our work ethic was always deeply embedded in us when we grew up. This neighborhood just represents to me the essence of that lost America. And I think that I can do anything to be a part of a revitalization of that heritage, I don’t think there’s anything more that America needs right now.”

And that’s the overall model of Kenmore’s music district: Community. Back out on the Boulevard, it’s still pretty quiet with the exception of the busy traffic. Boyes says she wants to keep working to have more people feeling comfortable walking the streets, by adding coffee shops and more businesses. And she thinks they’ll get there, one beat at a time.

Updated: Feb 16, 2018

By Katie Hickman

Students are being transformed into musicians every week right here in Kenmore.

Open Tone Music Academy began just two years ago with a simple idea: to offer tuition-free music lessons to fifth- through eighth-grade students. What started as a word-of-mouth opportunity has grown to an over 20-student program, featuring three total hours of weekly music training that includes theory, piano, sectionals and group lessons.

“This is no free babysitting service,” said Dennis Reynolds, one of the program’s directors. “This is a conservatory for students who are serious about music and want to study it on a high level.”

Reynolds said students are dedicated to their music; giving up their Saturday morning to go to Open Tone Academy because they want to.

Additionally, their learning extends far beyond simple As and Bs.;

“It’s more than just reading music. It’s learning integrity. Learning how to work together. Learning how to empathize in a way other disciplines don’t teach. These kids are gaining character,” said Matt Garrett, the program’s director.

Between Open Tone and Live Music Now, music opportunities are erupting in Kenmore, bringing a little extra “soul” to the Boulevard District. When asked the impact music can have on Kenmore, Dennis responded, “Revitalization in the Kenmore community starts with these kids.”

Open Tone Music plans to expand this unique opportunity in the next few years, starting with an intense summer music camp in June, potential programing for high school students, a recital series, expanding the academy’s size and even branching out into other art areas.

For now, join Matt Garrett and his horn-blowing friends, the Open Tone All-Stars, every first Thursday of the month at Live Music Now!, 952 Kenmore Blvd. For more information, visit Facebook.com/KenmoreLiveMusicNow.

Updated: Feb 16, 2018

By Katie Hickman

On Saturday, January 27, Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, Summit Metro Parks and the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coaltion welcomed Kenmore residents’ ideas for making Summit Lake a place of pride and play.

Reimagining the Civic Commons is a national initiative in which the five cities of Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Memphis and Akron were chosen as a platform for the development of civic commons areas. By creating and improving upon public spaces for communities to gather, the lines of racial, educational, and economic segregation begin to blur, and cities have opportunities to unite like never before.

In Akron, Reimagining the Civic Commons is in the thick of year two, with it’s current focus being Summit Lake. What used to be a lively and booming “million-dollar playground” has slowly declined at the hands of industrial pollution.The goal is to invest in this full-of-potential area so the surrounding community can enjoy shared prosperity as well as continued revitalization, which is already beginning on Kenmore Boulevard.

With coffee in hand, the diverse group of heart-of-Kenmore meeting attendees set out to narrow down what restoration would look like at Summit Lake. Based off of feedback from the previous meeting in December, ideas were listed into four main categories: Infrastructure, Economic, Programs, and Safety/Beautification.

Although it was not a definitive vote, each attendee expressed their voice with red and green stickers, both representing how important an option was for them. To these residents, whom many call Summit Lake their front or back yard, it was clear that neighborhood isn’t just a place to live, it’s part of them. To see the future of vast possiblies in their beloved community created an aura of excitement felt strongly felt within the Kenmore Community Center.

The “straw vote” resulted in clear favorites throughout each category:

Top Infrastructure results: seating areas, tables, shelters, and grills available near the lake, biking and hiking trail around the lake, boat ramp access/dock on the lake, a walking connection between 6th St. S.W. to Manchester Rd., and a Kenmore way station with kiosks.

Top Economic results: places to get food and/or coffee, bike rental depot, boat rentals, history museum, bait & tackle shop, and a trail level bridge to connect both sides of the lake.

Top program and event results: watercraft show, fishing tournament, 5k around the lake, weekend farmer’s market, hiking spree stop, and fireworks.

Top Safety/Beautification results: clean up shoreline, scenic trail encircling Summit Lake, artwork along Summit Lake Rd., lighting, fountains, park setting with trees in the field, and to demolish/clean up empty buildings near highway.

The event came as residents await the results of EPA study commissioned of the 100-acre lake by the Trust for Public Land and John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Results are due in the coming months, although according to Dan Rice, the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition’s executive, the initial findings have been “better than expected.” The report will be the first comprehensive look at Summit Lake’s environmental issues in 40 years, according to project supporters.

As the prepping stages of Reimagining Summit Lake continue, a steering committee of neighborhood residents will be assembled to further prioritize the proposed ideas and narrow them down. For more information about the effort or joining the steering committee, contact Tina Boyes, executive director of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, at betterkenmore@gmail.com

January 4, 2018 by Jennifer Conn, Akron reporter, cleveland.com

Managed by the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance with support from The Big Love Network, Open Tone Music, Jim Ballard Skylyne Productions and Studio 1008, Live Music Now! hosts shows on the first and third Thursdays and Fridays of each month at 952 Kenmore Blvd. (Live Music Now!)

Live Music Now! will open its doors at 952 Kenmore Blvd. on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. for a show aptly titled “Songs & Stories of the Beloved Community.” The inaugural show is fitting, because Live Music Now! is managed by the community-focused Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, with support from The Big Love Network, Open Tone Music, Jim Ballard Skylyne Productions and Studio 1008. Read more

January 31, 2017 by Kyle Cochrun

Kenmore is Akron’s underappreciated little sibling. At least this is how some residents feel. Although the neighborhood has been part of the city since its annexation in 1928, it has the essence of a place left to itself.  People talk of Kenmore as if there’s nothing here besides a steady crime rate and abandoned buildings, which isn’t true.

Kenmore Boulevard, with its enduring brick storefronts crammed against the sidewalk, is a classic American thoroughfare; at night, it resembles vintage city blocks preserved in black-and-white photographs. Some Akronites recall the golden days of Summit Beach: ballroom dances, rollerskating, a massive outdoor swimming pool, fair rides – or the soda fountain at McDowell’s Pharmacy, where teenagers hung around after movie showings. The “silver screen,” both the movie theater invention and the popular phrase, originated in Kenmore. The neighborhood historical society has a lot to be proud of.

There’s more than just history, though; people here care about the community and are working to move the neighborhood past its has-been status. There are wide-eyed business owners like the Vaill brothers, who have reopened and revitalized the Rialto Theater into a vibrant live theater and music venue.

Kenmore (shown here in its heydey in 1950) has changed considerably, with a decline in population and an exodus from the schools here, but a number of people and groups are contributing to its revitalization. (Photo: Kenmore Historical Society)

There’s the Kenmore Community Center, which supports the area’s elderly, and the First Glance youth center, which helps guide the local kids. There are unique, long-running businesses like Kenmore Komics and Games, Magic City Sports Cards and E&S Hobbies. Lifelong inhabitants regard the neighborhood as a collective of friends looking out for each other, as they always have. Some believe Kenmore is going through a revitalization; others think the neighborhood has been falling apart for years and will lose its sense of identity with the eventual closing of Kenmore High School. One thing that seems certain is that the neighborhood is going through a transition, and we should pay attention.

The Kenmore trolley (shown here in 1936) is an iconic part of this neighborhood’s identity. (Photo: Kenmore Historical Society)

First Glance Youth Center Have you stood in a room packed with a hundred unrestrained adolescents? This is a typical Thursday night (“Rec Night”) at the First Glance youth center, a stimuli overload. There’s basketball, video games, awkward teenage dancing (both the Whip and the Nae-Nae) and cheap pizza from Pierre’s across the street. Downstairs is a skate park where you can watch pubescent kids in knee pads and helmets tumble and eat floor. There are cliques and your quiet, shy types, but overall the atmosphere is friendly and accepting. That same air holds a faint scent of aggregate adolescent body odor.

First Glance youth center is one of a number of nonprofits and community organizations lending a hand toward the revitalization of the Kenmore neighborhood. (Photo: First Glance)

Noelle Beck, co-founder and executive director, explains that the center’s function is “to provide a safe place for students where we meet physical, emotional and spiritual needs.”

First Glance provides nine programs, including a night for teen mothers (which “guides teen and young mothers through parenting classes while encouraging independence and self-sufficiency”), Man Up (which “allows volunteers to encourage the young men of our community to be men of character”), Ladies’ Night Out (which “guides teen girls through tough issues such as relationships, gossip, sex, and self worth”) and the free-for-all Rec Night.

“There’s not a ton to do for teenagers in Kenmore,” Beck says. She wears thick-rimmed glasses, Converse sneakers and tight-fitting jeans, not unlike a hiply dressed teenager. She says that the staff and volunteers encourage the potential they see in each of the teens.

“The students we work with are never projects to us. We see them as our family. They become our family; we become theirs.”

The family aspect seems accurate. Walking into the center, I was hugged by a jovial high school kid named Christian whom I’d never met before. Many of the current volunteers attended the center regularly as teenagers and wanted to stay involved with the program after graduating high school. Of the 90 volunteers, 43 currently live in the neighborhood. Some of them have recently moved in to be part of the community. Beck has shown up to her students’ sporting events, plays, graduations and baby showers. She taught one girl how to drive in the parking lot of the abandoned Rolling Acres mall.

Seventeen year-old Jon Marshall, one of the center’s lovable troublemakers, informs me that he’s two months away from being considered a “student leader.” He tells me that the center helps him with his anger issues, and that the place is “pretty dope.” Kids do windmill dunks on hoops barely six feet high in the low-ceilinged basketball court room we’re standing in. One boy continually throws a soccer ball as close to our faces as possible without actually hitting our faces. Another kid hands me his hat while he playfully punches his brother’s arm. Not one person in the room seems mean-spirited. When the event ends at nine, the teens stream out onto the Boulevard and saunter home in noisy cliques, and I find myself wishing, for a moment, that I’d grown up near a place like this.