2025

By ElevateGreaterAkron | February 12, 2025

Awarded $6.4M in federal and local funding to support workforce training for good jobs in the advanced manufacturing and polymer industries
April: Ohio state board approved the sale of University of Akron-owned Quaker Square to Ohio River Investments LLC, who plan to reopen the hotel and renovate its surrounding six building, 411,000-square-foot complex.
June: Summit County awarded $1.2 Million for Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant in partnership with The City of Akron, City of Cuyahoga Falls, East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation and Ohio and Erie Canalway for environmental site assessments in preparation for sustainable redevelopment.
June: University of Akron is once again the world’s #1 university for polymer science and plastics engineering. They lead a global top 10 filled with the world’s most prestigious institutions.
July: Christopher Hardesty is announced as the first Executive Director of the Downtown Akron Development Corporation (DADC). The DADC is charged with accelerating the progress of some of the most challenging development projects downtown, including a convention-center adjacent hotel, mixed use residential development, and a dense and vibrant retail corridor in the center of the city.
July: Bounce Innovation Hub (Bounce) and Akron Urban League (AUL) announce the transition of the MORTAR Entrepreneurship Academy program from Bounce to AUL.