AKRON ASSETS Civic Gateway, Park East & Summit Lake Park – linked by way of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. New leadership offers the opportunity to bring fresh ideas and energy to assets.
STRATEGIES Connect the civic assets with each other & the surrounding neighborhoods. “Prototyping to Permanent” civic engagement method. Cultivate & teach community leaders to embrace ethic of community engagement, prototyping, & test to learn model. Build working groups in each asset to focus on development of civic assets while coming together to cross physical & mental barriers.
PARTNERS & ROLES Core e Pa Partn tner ers: s: Akron Civic Theatre, Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, City of Akron, Downtown Akron Partnership, Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, Summit County Government, Summit Metro Parks Community partners with capacity, passion & experience in collaboration. Missions align with work of Civic Commons. Team expanding as we engage partners throughout civic assets.
FUNDING SOURCES More than $5 million of matching funds for Civic Commons have been documented by our core team and local foundations. Along with these matching funds come many complimentary projects ranging from multi-year plans to data collection. Project? Investment? TIGER Grant $5 million Akron Waterways Renewed! $800 million Downtown Akron Vision & Redevelopment Plan $60,000 (2016) Trust for Public Land Survey $195,300 Gehl Studios Public Space/Life $180,000 Pump House Redevelopment $75,000 The Bowery $33 million
THE BOWERY
BIGGEST CHALLENGES 1. Engaging all levels of staff at partner organizations 2. Implementation with speed 3. Balancing workload to avoid burnout
BIGGEST OPPORTUNITIES 1. Implementing “new way of doing business.” 2. Changing perceptions of stakeholders. 3. Demonstrating best practices in environmental sustainability.
QUESTIONS FOR FELLOW CITIES How do you structure conversations with community partners for “yes?” Do your partners have concerns of gentrification? What are your challenges and opportunities regarding meaningful civic engagement? Photos in presentation from Tim Fitzwater, Shane Wynn, Bruce Ford, City of Akron and Ohio & Erie Canalway.
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