Jason Segedy still in planning state of mind in move from city to University of Akron role

After working for the city of Akron for nearly 25 years, most recently as its planning director, Jason Segedy is celebrating a homecoming with his college alma mater — while continuing to advocate for downtown growth and development.

Segedy, who recently left Mayor Dan Horrigan's administration to work for the University of Akron, said the chance was too good to pass up when he was hired to work on what UA President Gary Miller called a "generational opportunity for the university and the city to come together."

Segedy is serving as a project manager for renovations to the Polsky Building — a Main Street landmark that got its start as a department store during the city's rubber boom and later connected an expanding UA campus to the heart of downtown.

The renovation, announced in September, represents an ambitious investment in downtown bricks and mortar spaces at a time when the city is struggling to regain occupancy after the COVID-19 pandemic transformed many workplaces into at-home or hybrid office-and-home employers.

"The Polsky Building renovation acts as a kind of gateway between civic life and academic life here at the university, and the opportunity to lead that was very appealing to me — because it takes advantage of some of my background and experience with the city," Segedy said.

The university is receiving $20 million for the project from the Knight Foundation, and is seeking to at least match that amount through private and corporate donors.

Segedy said the renovation is at least two or three years away from the construction phase, and the goal is to work around classes in the building.

Jason Segedy's impact on growth throughout Akron

Segedy said some of his most significant contributions as city planning director were to help grow Akron's population — one of Horrigan's highest priorities — and incentivize the development of new housing. Segedy said the development of the citywide residential tax abatement program was a major step.

"When the mayor took office in early 2016, in the previous year and the years before (the city of Akron) had very little housing construction," Segedy said. "Over the time I was there, we saw a lot of interest in actual investment in new housing, and I'm very proud of that. I would say that's probably the number one thing I'm glad I got a chance to help with."

Segedy said he understands why critics of the tax-abatement program feel it only encourages the construction of high-end housing, but he argues the program nonetheless increases affordable housing options.

"The tax abatement is not a panacea, and when it comes to affordable housing, that is a systemic challenge in every city in the nation," Segedy said. "Whether it's San Francisco or Flint, Michigan, inherently there are challenges at being able to rent at any level, and federal policy should be involved with as far as helping people with lower incomes be able to have affordable housing."

A guiding hand in updating Akron's neighborhood map

One of the first projects that the planning department tackled after Horrigan took office was updating Akron's neighborhood map — a task that Segedy called a collaboration with community members.

Neighbors were invited to draw their neighborhood online on a map, and describe whether the existing names or boundaries were a good fit.

Sherbondy Hill, for example, replaced the moniker Lane-Wooster to describe a portion of the city's near west side. Elizabeth Park Valley, on the city's near north side, was reclassified as part of Cascade Valley. And newer designations such as Coventry Crossing and High Hampton on the city's outer reaches were formalized as community names alongside long-standing neighborhoods such as Ellet, Goodyear Heights, North Hill and Highland Square.

"I would say overall that it was very successful, and in many ways we didn't change too much from the previous map — but I think people appreciated the opportunity to weigh in," Segedy said. "It seems like a lot of the boundaries and names have been embraced pretty well, and I think it's healthy in a city when neighbors debate about street names and what the boundaries of a neighborhood are."

What's next: Jason Segedy's vision for Polsky Building and downtown

In his new position, Segedy said, he'll be serving as Miller's eyes and the ears on the Polsky Building renovation — but he noted that he'll be part of a wide group involved with the project.

"Although I'll be the president's representative managing the project, I think it's fair to say there's a lot of people that'll be working hard on renovating this building," Segedy said.

The Polsky Building currently houses classes for UA students as well as high school students in Akron Public Schools' Early College program. The university's renovation plan calls for putting retail space into the mix and possibly a space for artistic performances.

The hope, Segedy said, is for the renovated Polsky to drive people and businesses back downtown. He noted how much the building depends on the surrounding community. He said while the city absorbs the impact of FirstEnergy, one of its legacy large employers, planning to move out of downtown, projects like Polsky offer hope for sustaining Main Street and its immediate surroundings.

"A reinvigorated and renovated Polsky Building certainly is a big help to downtown, and conversely, downtown doing well is a big help to the Polsky Building," Segedy said. "As Polsky is renovated, it becomes more full of activity that'll help Lock 3 — and I think events at Lock 3 will benefit our building as well."

Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter, at ajthompson@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jason Segedy takes a leading role in UA's Polsky Building renovation