AKRON, Ohio — Akron lawmakers and residents met Tuesday night to discuss the development of public wetlands in the city known as White Pond.
Alan Gaffney, the managing partner at Triton Property Ventures, believes the development would be good for the city.
“This will be a beautiful community, with walking paths and trails." Gaffney said. "I think it will be high-quality housing for Akron. I think it will bring in 250 new families potentially, if that (are) the units we end up with, both for Akron residents and residents from outside. I think increasing the population growth has been with the goals of the city and then adding some commercial amenities plus the White Pond area. I think it will be a great enhancement for the area that has been desolate for quite some time.”
Many people, including Akron resident Julie Caruso, have been vocal about their opposition to this project.
Caruso helped collect hundreds of signatures online asking city council members to slow down and take their time on the proposed development of White Pond.
They hope that the city will halt the sale until April 2023
“I live directly across the street from the proposed development, and so in my tenure of living in Akron, I used that space as a green space," Caruso said. "It is the only walkable green space from my house. Living so close to it, I have a lot of concerns with the traffic, tax abatement, my already rising income tax and property tax, utilities. For a young person living in Akron, it is not easy.“
Akron Councilman Russ Neal announced at the end of the meeting that he believes that city council will be taking more time to really consider what residents had to say before moving forward on a vote to sell and develop the area.