A neighborhood built around a campus
The University of Akron takes up most of University Park, and Signal Akron’s documenters suggest it may be Akron’s most-walked neighborhood, with waves of students heading on foot from off-campus apartments to class. The blocks south and east of campus are working-class streets with a large share of student rental housing, according to Wikipedia’s neighborhood article.
A teacher who has taught fourth grade at Leggett Community Learning Center on East Thornton Street since 1998 described how that’s changed: when he started, more families lived in the neighborhood and were invested in it. “A lot of those homes are now corporate student housing for Akron U.”
He has seen traffic change too. Since the Grant Street exit off I-76 and I-77 closed, drivers cut down Thornton Street to reach Arlington Street, speeding through a school zone.
Spicertown, Fir Hill and Grace Park
University Park holds some of Akron’s oldest named places.
- Spicertown, around Spicer and East Exchange streets, was settled by Maj. Minor Spicer’s family in 1810 and 1811 and grew with German immigrants. It stayed out of the village of Akron in 1836 but lost its separate identity once Akron became a city in 1865. Today it’s a mix of small shops and college housing, home to Don Drumm’s studio and gallery.
- Fir Hill has three National Register buildings: the Hower Mansion at 60 Fir Hill, the University Club at 105 Fir Hill and the Edwin H. Merrill House at 32 Fir Hill.
- Grace Park on Perkins Street dates to the mid-1800s and was named for Grace Tod Perkins, wife of Col. Simon Perkins. It once hosted political rallies and concerts. The houses that surrounded it were demolished over the years.
Old church buildings are finding new uses. First United Methodist Church no longer holds services in its University Park building, and it rents the space to Phoenix Performing Arts, a youth theater, and to Fair Housing Contact Service.
Green space is scarce otherwise. Boss Park, beside Leggett, was cleaned up and connected to the school, with a playground and a pollinator garden.
Selling a house in a student rental market
With this much student rental housing, many University Park sellers are landlords. A house with years of student turnover can show it: worn floors, tired kitchens, older furnaces and a long list of small repairs. A direct sale lets you skip a turnover renovation and keep the rent coming until closing.
Before you sell, confirm the unit is registered under the city’s rules in our Akron rental registration guide, and read selling a house with tenants for how leases carry through a sale. If you want out of being a landlord altogether, our page on selling a rental property covers taxes and timing, and the 1031 exchange guide explains deferring the gain into another property.