Housing and
Real Estate
I’ve covered housing issues including tenants’ rights, rental assistance, residential developments, lead and water safety, programs to address vacant lots and improving access to homeownership.
I’ve also written about major real estate deals across Northeast Ohio including the redevelopment of Akron’s Rolling Acres Mall into an Amazon distribution center and the Chapel Hill Mall into an industrial park, as well as expansions of GOJO (the company that makes Purell hand sanitizer), the Akron Executive Airport, Akron Children’s Hospital, and the University of Akron.
Homeless Clevelanders Die on the Streets Every Year. Advocates Say a New City Program Could Stem the Tide (Cleveland Scene | January 2, 2025)
Cuyahoga County considering adding 2 or 3 temporary boards of revision to review avalanche of property appraisal challenges (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | November 1, 2021)
Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition says its $17.5M request from Cleveland’s stimulus could be ‘game-changer’ in effort to make all homes lead-safe (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | October 25, 2021)
Akron’s source-of-income discrimination proposal could make housing accessible for hundreds of Akron-area voucher holders (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | April 12, 2021)
Akron seeks to help renters with ‘pay-to-stay,’ source-of-income discrimination laws (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | April 6, 2021)
Crews break ground on $12 million housing development in West Akron (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | March 25, 2021)
Akron’s Chapel Hill Mall to become business park under new ownership (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | March 17, 2021)
University of Akron will not raise tuition, will reduce on-campus housing rates by 30% (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | March 16, 2021)
University of Akron looks to sell, lease or repurpose 1 million square feet of space (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | February 12, 2021)
Akron launches online tool for residents to review city-owned lots for sale with aim to increase homeownership (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | February 10, 2021)
Akron seeks to rezone, redevelop struggling Chapel Hill Mall (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | February 8, 2021)
Akron Children’s Hospital expands into Lorain County with two pediatric centers and plans for more (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | December 15, 2020)
Akron City Council postpones decision on upscale townhouses at former Riverwoods Golf Course near Cuyahoga Valley National Park (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | December 14, 2020)
Amazon opens distribution center at former Rolling Acres Mall in Akron (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | November 10, 2020)
Summit County to offer second round of rent, mortgage, utility assistance (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | September 16, 2020)
Akron City Council approves improvements to Akron Executive Airport, paving way for development on nearby land (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | September 15, 2020)
LeBron James Family Foundation opens transitional housing in Akron for I Promise School students and families (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | July 28, 2020)
Akron City Council approves plan for 82-home development at former Perkins Middle School (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | July 20, 2020)
’Walkable’ neighborhood with 80 homes proposed at former Perkins Middle School in West Akron (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | July 14, 2020)
Akron Municipal Court to resume evictions Monday, but out of public view (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | July 1, 2020)
Summit County offering $6.5 million in rent, mortgage assistance for residents impacted by coronavirus pandemic (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | June 30, 2020)
GOJO, maker of Purell, to open $25 million production facility in Maple Heights (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | June 9, 2020)
Akron Children’s Hospital to open Ravenna pediatric center on June 2 (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | May 28, 2020)
Akron developer awarded $10 million in tax credits toward building affordable apartments for I Promise School families (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | May 27, 2020)
Akron approves $2.5 million Penske truck center at former Donzell’s Garden Center (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | May 19, 2020)
Akron launches ‘Mow to Own’ program for vacant city-owned lots (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | May 18, 2020)
GOJO Industries, maker of Purell, to open warehouse in Stark County for sanitizers in high demand due to coronavirus crisis (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | May 6, 2020)
Akron Municipal Court votes against creating process for tenants to seal eviction records (The Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com | March 9, 2020)