Akron officials say they believe demolition of the long-vacant Firestone Plant 1 is close at hand, even though the city still can't put a date on when bulldozers might actually show up. The holdup: a revised preservation agreement with the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office that hasn't been finalized yet.
City spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh said there is no tentative start date for the demolition project because the updated agreement with the state office, known as SHPO, is not finalized, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Even so, the Beacon Journal reports that the city made clear Nov. 9 that it believes demolition is imminent for the building, which has long stood as a landmark of Akron's rubber-city legacy and, by the city's own description, a blight and safety issue.
Because Firestone Plant 1 has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2014, state sign-off is required before demolition can proceed. Akron has submitted a revised plan to SHPO outlining how the building's historical significance will be preserved and memorialized, the same report notes, and the two sides are now hashing out the details.
What SHPO Is Still Asking For
SHPO has requested additional documentation on the city's revised proposal, including an agreement between Akron and the owner of the adjacent Triangle Building addressing protections for that property during demolition, per the Beacon Journal's reporting. The city is also preparing a preliminary demolition timeline to include in the eventual agreement. Once a full project schedule does take shape, the demolition itself is anticipated to take approximately 225 working days.
This isn't the first round of back-and-forth between the city and state preservationists. In April, Akron's Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission unanimously approved the city's proposed site mitigation plan but refused a request to vote on a demolition certificate, with the commission noting that its objection to razing the building had already been legally overruled, the Beacon Journal reported.
Clock Tower, Salvage, and a Historical Archive
The city's plans call for preserving the clock tower along with community involvement and historic documentation of the site. Perspectus Architecture was chosen to complete a Historic American Buildings Survey of Plant 1, and that firm has already completed onsite documentation and photography while it finalizes the survey, per the Beacon Journal.
The revised memorandum of understanding also includes salvaging clock faces, feasible clock mechanisms, and significant architectural materials for a future historical installation. Akron has engaged the RW Clark Company of Cleveland to carry out that historic salvage work once approval comes through. A task force led by the Summit County Historical Society — which has agreed to participate as a party to the updated memorandum — would plan a permanent installation incorporating the salvaged materials, with representatives from the city, the historical society, the Summit County Land Bank, and the Firestone Park neighborhood all involved. The plan further calls for reviewing the city's historic preservation policies and procedures with an outside expert, along with educational opportunities and an online repository documenting Plant 1's history and its connection to Firestone Park.
Notably, an earlier agreement signed in 2024 had called for preserving not just the clock tower but the eastern-most building on the site as well, as Signal Akron reported. The current proposal, as described in the latest Beacon Journal reporting, centers on salvaging clock components and historic materials rather than retaining whole structures — though the available reporting doesn't spell out whether the eastern-most building remains part of the plan.
Money, Votes, and Years of Searching for a Buyer
Akron City Council approved, 9-4, the issuance of $2 million in bonds to help pay for the demolition on Nov. 2. Council members Bruce Bolden, Tina Boyes, Jan Davis, Johnnie Hannah, Phil Lombardo, Brad McKitrick, Margo Sommerville, Sharon Connor and Linda Omobien voted in favor, while Fran Wilson, Mark Greer, Eric Garrett and Donnie Kammer voted against it, the station's report notes. The Summit County Land Bank is also helping the city obtain an extension on an Ohio Department of Development grant that supports the demolition.
Cost estimates for the project have shifted over time. Marsh told the Beacon Journal in an email that the finance department now estimates the total cost of the demolition at $8 million, a figure reported Nov. 9 — up from a $7.3 million estimate Marsh gave in a report published in November 2025. Those numbers reflect different points in the process and shouldn't be read as a single settled budget.
The city has sought redevelopment partners for the site without success, and Signal Akron reported that renewed developer interest in a residential mixed-use project never materialized into a formal proposal. Elsewhere in the region, a comparable fight over cost played out differently: Signal Akron reported that an option to keep a portion of the front and the clock tower was estimated to cost $12.35 million to $13.35 million, while demolishing the entire building was estimated to cost $7.35 million. A Stark County developer, Steve Coon, has pointed to his own team's renovation of Akron's long-vacant Onesto hotel — now an event center with loft apartments — as evidence that old industrial buildings can find new life, according to WOSU.
Mayor Frames Demolition as Necessary
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik has said Firestone Plant 1 is an important part of the city's history and that its legacy should be preserved. At the same time, Malik said environmental restrictions and redevelopment challenges make demolition the most responsible path forward for the site. He added that the city is committed to working with SHPO and community partners to preserve meaningful elements of the building and honor its legacy, according to the Beacon Journal's report.
Per the City of Akron's own announcement, if SHPO approves the proposed memorandum of understanding, the city says it would confirm demolition funding and move forward with site documentation, demolition, and salvage of the clock-tower components. For now, that approval — and any firm start date — remains unresolved.
