Demolition planned for former Goodyear building near East End development in Akron

A building that has stood for more than 100 years in the former Goodyear headquarters area could be demolished next year. Until then, the vacant structure has attracted trespassers who at the end of March left three fires burning on the structure’s sixth floor.

The former rubber mixing plant at 1080 River St. is within a couple hundred feet of the complex that is now the East End office, retail, residential and recreational development on East Market Street.

National Register of Historic Places: Goodyear’s old headquarters recommended for National Register of Historic Places

The fires reported at about 11:30 a.m. March 29 were found by contractors. It took about an hour to clear the building, according to the Akron Fire Department.

Department public information officer Lt. Sierjie Lash said she did not have full details as of April 8, but said the fires were likely started by “just people trying to stay warm. They were not there when we got there.”

Temperatures in Akron that morning were in the upper 30s.

Demolition plan in the works

The trespassing and related concerns shouldn’t be an issue in the long term, said Paul Harris, general manager of the East End development.

Even as the East End project is still leasing apartments and office space, plans are to demolish the former mixing plant and leave the space as a green buffer, though the land could be repurposed at some future date, Harris said.

He said an application is pending in partnership with the Development Finance Authority of Summit County to get funding through the state brownfield remediation program.

“If we’re successful, the goal is to remediate and demolish the property and turn it into basically greenfield for now until there’s a future need or future use,” he said.

“It’s been there since about 1915 and ceased operations in 2016,” he said. “After about a year and a half of decommissioning, it’s been vacant since February of 2018.

“Quite a bit of work will need to be done because of the time it was built and the activities there,” he added, explaining the chemical-intensive process of rubber mixing makes the propedifferent from others in the East End development.

Innovation Way: Goodyear's new Ohio headquarters opens in 2013

If the funding application is approved, he said the goal for the building’s demolition would be by the end of 2023.

Regarding the fires, Harris said the building has 24-hour security and cameras, so he does not believe people had been living there for very long.

“They come in and out. We continuously re-secure the building,” he said. “It’s a continual thing we deal with. It’s not something we that want to continue doing forever. It’s another reason to get this demolition done and clean it up.”

The East End still growing

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. began operations at the East Market Street site around 1909. The complex served as a manufacturing facility until 1962, when it was transformed into the company’s world headquarters.

Goodyear's headquarters, with 2,000 employees, moved to its new 639,000-square-foot Innovation Way facility in 2013, following the purchase of the East Market Street complex by California developer Stuart Lichter and his company, Industrial Realty Group.

There are no long-term plans for the mix-plant property, as the East End development is still under way, Harris said.

Goodyear Theater complements downtown venue: Akron Civic Theatre to run Goodyear Theater in East End

The East End complex is home to a Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, as well as offices, apartments, restaurants and entertainment venues including the 1,458-seat Goodyear Theater. It is also home to the Rubber City Sports Group and features Goodyear Hall, a 3,500-seat arena, and the Goodyear Gym, where futsal and volleyball leagues compete.

"We do have quite a bit of space available," he said. "We're working on office leases and we're building more apartments and lofts. We just opened 66 loft units in November."

The Gallery: Inaugural exhibit brightens former Goodyear headquarters

Harrisaid there are now 172 apartments in the complex, including the 66 that recently opened.

"We also have some land units as well," he said, referring to available building lots on the 400-acre site.

Eric Marotta can be reached at 330-541-9433, or emarotta@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Former Goodyear building near East End complex to be razed