10 to watch in Akron development
Crain’s Cleveland Business – July 14, 2018 – Cleveland, Ohio – One thing’s for sure: It takes at least a village to rebuild a city. But that village needs leaders, people with vision, people with capital and people who can help navigate the bureaucracy and intricacies of urban development. Akron seems fortunate to have a strong cadre of such individuals — more than we could list. But here are a few of the folks who are stoking the fires that have the Rubber City burning with downtown development these days.
Don Taylor
President and CEO
Welty Building Co.
Details: If you take a look at the construction projects in and around Akron, chances are you’ll see the Welty name. Taylor is the hand on the controls of the company that’s increasingly connected to high-profile projects. Now Taylor’s company is partnering with DeHoff Development on the Bowery Project, which is vital to the city’s vision of what it wants downtown to be. Taylor, who plans to unveil a new investment firm this summer, understands that vision. “We need to create a place for people to live in downtown Akron,” he said. “Cleveland is probably 10 years behind Chicago and maybe Pittsburgh in creating that downtown live-work-play environment. I feel Akron now needs that same sense of place.”
By:
SUE WALTON and DAN SHINGLER