Topic: Canton-Massillon: Random Development News & Info

[akronurban]

This building is of great historical significance as the Massillon office of Republic Steel Corp., once the 3rd largest steel company in the world. It was near here that the "Little Steel" strike of 1937 occurred where 3 workers were shot and killed by police after the company had expelled over 1000 workers because of union organizing activities. I grew up and worked there the summer after graduating from high school. Republic Steel once employed over 1/2 the entire workforce in the City of Massillon. (thank you Wikipedia!)

[mkeller234]

I went out the other day and wasted some time downtown.  There are some new things happening that I hadn't noticed before.

The former downtown YMCA, soon to be torn down.

DSC06750 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06752 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06753 by mkeller234, on Flickr

The plywood in the Onesto is newish, at least there is a visible sign that something is going on.

DSC06760 by mkeller234, on Flickr

Another view, the YMCA is peeking over the top.

DSC06765 by mkeller234, on Flickr

There were some construction workers inside the Sten & Mann building. 

DSC06769 by mkeller234, on Flickr

AH!  These used to be covered with drop ceilings.

DSC06774 by mkeller234, on Flickr

My co-pilot:

DSC06775 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06776 by mkeller234, on Flickr

An artist set up shop in the Canton steam power plant.  Steve Coon owns this building.

DSC06779 by mkeller234, on Flickr



DSC06787 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06788 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06790 by mkeller234, on Flickr

[mkeller234]

This building is looking great these days.  Someone did a nice job.

DSC06795 by mkeller234, on Flickr

The floor lights up underneath, it looks really cool.

DSC06798 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06800 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06803 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06806 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06808 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06809 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06810 by mkeller234, on Flickr

Another artist studio on Rex avenue

DSC06812 by mkeller234, on Flickr

Even better.... there was a full construction crew at the house next to mine today!

DSC06815 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC06814 by mkeller234, on Flickr

[JRC]

Thanks for the pics!  I've probably said this before, but even though I grew up in Stark County, we were a Massillon oriented family, and almost never went to Canton.

[mkeller234]

The downtown YMCA is coming down soon.  I snapped a few farewell photos of it in the small Canton skyline.  Y'd ya have to go??


DSC00416 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC00421 by mkeller234, on Flickr

[KJP]

[gotribe]

Is there something going in place of this building?

[mkeller234]

Yes, a new YMCA will replace the one being torn down.  The new one is much smaller and more of a suburban design with parking lots surrounding it.

[yanni_gogolak]

North Canton finds buyer for vacant car dealership building

By Dottie McGrew
Special to the Beacon Journal
Published: October 8, 2012 - 11:51 PM

NORTH CANTON: The former Willis Motor Co. site on North Main Street will become the new home of the North Canton YMCA Child Care Center.

The YMCA of Central Stark County purchased the long-vacant site last week for an undisclosed amount, North Canton Y Director Ben Wheeler said.

http://www.ohio.com/news/local-news/north-canton-finds-buyer-for-vacant-car-dealership-building-1.340457

[KJP]

Yes, a new YMCA will replace the one being torn down.  The new one is much smaller and more of a suburban design with parking lots surrounding it.

Of course! While more cities are densifying, Ohio's cities are going in the opposite direction.

[mkeller234]

I'm pretty bummed out about it KJP.  I do think that it's the right decision for the YMCA, I just wish it didn't involve tearing the old one down.

I took these today.  Notice the construction vehicle up on the top floor.

DSC00814 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC00815 by mkeller234, on Flickr

[ink]

That is really too bad. Thanks for the pics, though.

[327]

How did they get that bobcat up there?

[mkeller234]

How did they get that bobcat up there?

Ha, I have no idea.... maybe a crane?  I wouldn't want to drive that around up on the destroyed 9th floor.

[Bryce McGovern]

Yeah, it's a pretty nice building.... except for the nasty appendage that was added later; "Bliss tower".  That back portion did not have a tower on it when the hotel was originally built, I believe it's the ballroom.

I toured the building about 2 years ago, after the asbestos abatement.  The upper floors were mostly empty.  The old elevator is still operational and was pretty cool to use.  There is a restaurant / bar called the Conestoga that has reopened on the ground floor recently.  It's a really nice bar with all of the original charm and great wooden details.  It's pretty surprising to me that the building still has so much of it's original features.

Has there been any update on the Onesto? I know that they have been working on it in pieces for a while, but I have heard very little about their progress.

[ink]

We need some updated YMCA demo pics as well.

[mkeller234]

Yeah, it's a pretty nice building.... except for the nasty appendage that was added later; "Bliss tower".  That back portion did not have a tower on it when the hotel was originally built, I believe it's the ballroom.

I toured the building about 2 years ago, after the asbestos abatement.  The upper floors were mostly empty.  The old elevator is still operational and was pretty cool to use.  There is a restaurant / bar called the Conestoga that has reopened on the ground floor recently.  It's a really nice bar with all of the original charm and great wooden details.  It's pretty surprising to me that the building still has so much of it's original features.

Has there been any update on the Onesto? I know that they have been working on it in pieces for a while, but I have heard very little about their progress.

The last update that I read about the Onesto was in a  section of the Canton repository called "boldface", on March 17.

Here is the full article:
http://www.cantonrep.com/news/business/x872943252/Bold-Face-Brownstone-vacancy-filled

And the snippet about the Onesto: 

He (Steve Coon) said there also will be good news to share on the Onesto Hotel project in four or five weeks.

“We’re going to have life back downtown, and the Onesto’s going to bring it,” Coon said. “We’re going to be alive and well downtown. You watch.”

About that same time I noticed that a lot of the windows were being replaced with ply wood.  I never saw that "good news" and it's been a little more than 5 weeks.  I have a feeling it's all about financing....I hope it's on some sort of track.

[mkeller234]

We need some updated YMCA demo pics as well.

I grabbed my camera and went back today.  It's gone, nothing but a small pile of rubble now.

[NEOBuckeye]

For a downtown that is trying to preserve its heritage and revitalize itself at the same time, it seems like such a major setback that the city gave the go-ahead to demo a building that contributed to its very modest skyline... only to replace it with a suburbanesque design that belongs on a generic strip mall outlot up in Belden Village.

Downtown Canton certainly benefits from having a YMCA, but it's too bad they couldn't have redeveloped the existing building for another use (offices, apartments, etc.) while building the new YMCA on one of the all too numerous parking lots nearby. Alas, shortsighted thinking and the car culture mentality prevails once again.

[yanni_gogolak]

New factory planned in Canton Township

By Nancy Molnar
Special to the Beacon Journal
Published: December 4, 2012 - 08:46 PM

The company needs to move because its current facility at 1600 Whipple Ave. SW is not large enough for the conveyors it builds, Canton Development Director Fonda Williams said.

AmbaFlex is expected to move its 17 employees to the new building.

http://www.ohio.com/news/local-news/new-factory-planned-in-canton-township-1.355327

[Mendo]

I guess expanding their current facility is out of the question? I think this is the industrial park they are moving to. Undeveloped, former farmland about 15 minutes southwest from downtown.

http://www.starkcoohio.com/html/mills.html

http://www.starkcoohio.com/jpegs_lrg/mills_aerial_new.jpg

[yanni_gogolak]

I guess expanding their current facility is out of the question? I think this is the industrial park they are moving to. Undeveloped, former farmland about 15 minutes southwest from downtown.

http://www.starkcoohio.com/html/mills.html

http://www.starkcoohio.com/jpegs_lrg/mills_aerial_new.jpg

From looking at all of the handouts and possibly more depending on employees, it seems like another one of those no brainers to relocate to a new facility.

[yanni_gogolak]

PHOTOS: Stark State Hoists New Pedestrian Bridge Into Place

The bridge connects the 660-space student parking lot at the corner of Mega Street and Frank Avenue to the second floor of the North Academic Building
By Morgan Day

Stark State College hoisted its new $1.1 million, 80-ton pedestrian bridge into place Monday afternoon.

The bridge connects the 660-space student parking lot at the corner of Mega Street and Frank Avenue to the second floor of the North Academic Building.

http://northcanton.patch.com/articles/photos-stark-state-hoists-new-pedestrian-bridge-into-place#photo-10535824

[Buck1974]

I disagree with some stating that Canton has a so so skyline for a city its size.  Here are some recent aerials I found of Canton.  They are copyrighted so you have to go through the link. 

http://www.aerialaspectphoto.com/shop/gallery.php?mode=gallery&id=NTAyNDkxOGE5YzE=&page=1

Canton photos very nicely from the air.  With a metro of over 400,000 though I do think Canton should have a couple more high rise buildings between 10 to 18 floors.  But like the rest of Ohio cities, the suburban nightmare is still all too prevalent.  Overall downtown Canton has vastly improved over the last 15 years.  I wish the old YMCA was renovated rather than torn down but I guess the cost of asbestos abatement made that impossible. 

[KJP]

An ariel?

[Buck1974]

An ariel?

LOL, duly noted.

[mkeller234]

I know projects like this take a long, long time to actually happen, but I am happy to know it's even being discussed.  West Tusc.  Looks generally awful.

From Cantonrep.com  http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x1959346355/City-eyes-Tuscarawas-corridor-revival?img=3

City eyes Tuscarawas corridor revival
By Matthew Rink
CantonRep.com staff writer

CANTON —
Tuscarawas Street W is a busy gateway to the Hall of Fame city. An old shopping mall, Walmart, a hodgepodge of mom ‘n’ pop stores and nationally recognized chains dot the outskirts of the five-lane state highway as it winds toward downtown Canton.

Two years ago, the city began researching ways to improve the corridor to make it both safer for motorists and more attractive for businesses. Now, officials are piecing together a plan to address both concerns. 

[yanni_gogolak]

An ariel?

[KJP]

Dude that was more than a month ago. Try to keep up OK?

[yanni_gogolak]

Dude that was more than a month ago. Try to keep up OK?

[Mendo]

I know projects like this take a long, long time to actually happen, but I am happy to know it's even being discussed.  West Tusc.  Looks generally awful.

Not just West Tusc. The entire drag from Canton to Massillon is generally awful.

[JRC]

I know projects like this take a long, long time to actually happen, but I am happy to know it's even being discussed.  West Tusc.  Looks generally awful.

Not just West Tusc. The entire drag from Canton to Massillon is generally awful.

I remember reading an article several years ago saying that Perry Twp. wanted to enact ordinances to clean up that corridor.  The one change I remember from the article was that they wanted to ban the use of those temporary portable signs as permanent business signs.  I haven't been down that way for a number of years, so don't know if it has improved since I was a kid.

[mkeller234]

I know projects like this take a long, long time to actually happen, but I am happy to know it's even being discussed.  West Tusc.  Looks generally awful.

Not just West Tusc. The entire drag from Canton to Massillon is generally awful.

I remember reading an article several years ago saying that Perry Twp. wanted to enact ordinances to clean up that corridor.  The one change I remember from the article was that they wanted to ban the use of those temporary portable signs as permanent business signs.  I haven't been down that way for a number of years, so don't know if it has improved since I was a kid.

Uh, not much, if any.  There was another recent article about Perry Township Trustees wanting to clean up the W. Tusc corridor, I think late last year.

[mkeller234]

http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x1959347058/Canton-to-invest-3-million-in-Hercules-site

Canton to invest $3 million in Hercules site
By Matthew Rink
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Feb 26, 2013 @ 04:33 PM


CANTON —
A developer has established private financing and a buy-in from the city to revitalize the shuttered Hercules Engine site.

Project plans call for 95 market-rate apartments to be built in 125,000 square feet of old factory space at 1036 Market Ave. S during the first phase, which must be completed by the end of 2014.

Similar plans were set to unfold on the 26-acre site in 2008, but owner Robert Timken of Cormony Development was unable to secure private financing to move the project forward. Timken had hopes of transforming the 600,000 square foot former industrial complex into residential, office and retail space. Plans have also included an exhibition center.

[NEOBuckeye]

When I first saw this, I thought it was much closer to Downtown Canton. Then I Googled the location and realized it wasn't so. Too bad. Some of the old warehouses on the east side of downtown could certainly benefit from a similar degree of reinvestment, which in turn would add to the overall renaissance taking place there.