2016: A Good Year for H.R. Gray and the City of Akron

AKRON, OHIO – In 2016, the City of Akron, in partnership with Industrial Realty Group (IRG), chose to use the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) project delivery to fully reconstruct a half of a mile of E. Market Street in Akron for the Akron East End redevelopment project.

The East End is a 1.4 million square foot, mixed use redevelopment initiative at the historic Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company World Headquarters campus which offers a “Live, Work & Play” environment with apartments, office space, hotel, theater, restaurants and retail.

H.R. Gray was selected as the CMAR for the reconstruction of East Market Street through The East End. Prior to the start of the project, E. Market Street was a 6 lane state route; it operated greatly under capacity due to the construction of Interstate 76 in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  On the reconstructed street, The City of Akron required bicycle lanes and IRG required on-street parking and pedestrian amenities.  H.R. Gray collaborated with both owners and H.R. Gray’s engineer to design a “complete street” that makes the street safe for all users:  drivers, walkers, bicyclists and those use public transportation. An additional 100+ parking stalls were created for on-street parking as well.

The $5.5M project included a new underground storm sewer, new water main and services, new sidewalks including stamped concrete crosswalks, and new asphalt pavement.  Additional site amenities include four new gateway arches that identify the brand name (The East End) of the area, LED street lighting, street trees, enhanced landscaping, and LED in-ground pedestrian crosswalk signals embedded in the pavement.  H.R. Gray also reconstructed the main and secondary entrances to the original Goodyear World Headquarters.