Akron, Ohio, August 15, 2024 - Today, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik is announcing the city has selected Sasaki as the lead planning firm which will partner with the city on the next phase of planning for the future of the decommissioned Akron Innerbelt. Sasaki was chosen after a community engagement event held at House 330 in late July which allowed residents to hear directly from the four finalists and submit feedback. To learn more about the city's work on the Innerbelt, click here.

"Our administration is excited to partner with the planners at Sasaki on the next phase of the Innerbelt development," said Mayor Malik. "Sasaki has a level of experience and expertise that really impressed our team during the interview process. They also prioritized community involvement and have included several local experts in the design of their group, so they know the history and importance of the work to be done here. The Innerbelt created a scar on the face of our community and as we take the next steps to determine the future of this area, we can hopefully begin to heal that wound and repair what was damaged."In March 2023, the City of Akron was awarded $960,000 from the U.S. Department of Transporation's Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative to reconnect communities that are cut off from opportunity and burdened by past transportation infrastructure decisions. The grant will fund the creation of a community-based master plan to guide the transformation of a vacated mile-long section of Akron's Innerbelt.

The master plan will identify interventions that can be immediately implemented to have positive impacts on residents' lives. It will also look at longer-term opportunities to re-purpose this land to improve the future resilience and vitality of the city. The city hopes to get a more detailed look at how the existing infrastructure (streets, ramps, bridges), topography, and land use could be altered and leveraged to create a usable space that could be an asset for all of Akron and provide value back to the neighborhoods that experienced the greatest harm.

Implementation funding for the plan will require pursuing many different sources over time. The city intends to apply for another grant through the Reconnecting Communities program to help with the implementation of the master plan. Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation moved up the deadline for those grant applications to Sept. 30, 2024. The city intends to work with Sasaki to complete a preliminary plan to meet that application deadline.

"Sasaki is honored to be selected to lead the Innerbelt Master Planning process for Akron. This is an opportunity to confront the racist legacies of urban renewal, reconnect divided communities, and create equitable access to new opportunities for all Akronites. We will collaborate closely with the community, especially those impacted by the Innerbelt, to ensure that the solutions we propose look and feel like Akron. Together, we can turn a symbol of historical harm into one of healing and opportunity for the future." - Siqi Zhu, Associate Principal, Director of Planning & Urban Technology

Sasaki

Sasaki is a global design firm that integrates urban design, architecture, planning, engineering, and landscape architecture to envision and implement transformative ideas for neighborhoods, public spaces, and infrastructure -- including the Chicago Riverwalk, Cleveland's Healthline BRT, and Cleveland's Nord Family Greenway. At Sasaki, designing places for people must be a collective, contextual, and values-driven exercise for projects of all scales and types - whether a complex regional infrastructure project like the BQ Green in New York or an intimate community park.

Reflecting the complex nature of the Innerbelt site and the need for an integrated community design process, Sasaki has brought together an interdisciplinary team including WSP, one of the world's leading engineering firms, ThirdSpace Action Lab, a Cleveland-based consulting firm and minority business enterprise, Ideas and Action, a minority business enterprise who will assess real estate, economic development and community wealth building, City Architecture, a local Urban Design and community based architecture firm, and Vista Site Selection, an Ohio-based company specializing in economic development. An important aspect of the Sasaki proposal is the inclusion of local voices to help steward the work. They will begin the process of identifying those voices this fall. This team's collective experience includes an unparalleled record of success in positioning transformative projects for implementation and funding, including The Stitch in Atlanta, Hudson Yards in New York, and over $35 billion through federal grant and loan programs like the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program.