One of Akron’s largest residential areas
West Akron covers 4.74 square miles between Wallhaven to the north and Kenmore to the south, and more than 15,000 people live here. It has a commercial strip on Copley Road, several parks, the city-owned J.E. Good Park Golf Course, and long blocks of tree-lined residential streets.
The history goes back to Akron’s founding family. The Perkins Stone Mansion at 550 Copley Road was built in 1837 by Col. Simon Perkins, son of Gen. Simon Perkins, and is on the National Register. The John Brown House, once home to the abolitionist, is also in the neighborhood.
The houses people describe are older ones with character. One resident told Signal Akron that his 1929 home still has a banging radiator he warms his socks on: “They don’t build them like this anymore.” He walks to Schneider Park and the Forest Lodge Community Center and has learned the names of the dogs on his street.
What residents say has changed
A couple who have lived in West Akron since 1992 called it “resilient” and “very spiritual,” pointing to the many churches, the Maple Valley Branch Library and the Lawton Street Community Center. They built their current house with Habitat for Humanity in 2008, putting in 1,000 hours of sweat equity.
They also listed losses:
- the corner of South Hawkins Avenue and Copley Road, once busy, now has a vacant CVS and a vacant Walgreens facing each other
- Rankin Elementary closed in 2012, and its demolition began in 2025
- there’s no coffee shop
- teens need more to do
On the positive side, they said crime has eased compared with a period of frequent robberies and shootings.
Water, age and selling as-is
The August 2024 storm hit this part of the city hard. The city’s rain gauge on Copley Road recorded 4.1 inches in two hours and 4.5 inches over the evening, and the city’s water reclamation manager said the west and northwest sides took the worst of it. If your basement flooded, it’s a known issue you’ll need to address or disclose.
On an older house, a buyer’s inspector will usually look closely at boilers and radiators, galvanized or cast-iron plumbing, old wiring, and foundation walls that have seen decades of water. Our guides cover the common ones: selling a house with foundation problems, selling a house with old wiring and selling a fire or water damaged house.
An updated house on a quiet street can do well listed. If yours needs more than you want to put into it, Bob can walk it in about 15 to 20 minutes and show you how he priced it.