Thank you to everyone who came, listened, shared, and showed up for the Community Town Hall on the future of Firestone Plant 1.

The message from the room was unmistakable and consistent:
Save Firestone Plant 1.

What filled the room was care, memory, vision, and thoughtful solutions that balance Akron’s history, its future, and its economic potential - alongside real frustration at the disconnect between what the community is asking for and what continues to be presented publicly about this building’s future.

A few takeaways from the evening:

• Laura Noel helped us understand Firestone Plant 1 not simply as a building, but as a cultural landscape - the place that helped give Akron its identity as the Rubber Capital of the World.

• Dana Noel shared the current state following recent city discussions and the Feb. 4 public meeting, underscoring a difficult reality: demolition continues to be discussed more readily than reuse. He emphasized why meaningful community input and realistic reuse examples are critical at this moment.

• Jeff Wilhite, Vice President of Summit County Council representing District 4, offered practical questions centered on how a future vision for Firestone could be thoughtfully and realistically achieved.

• Tom Yablonsky shared examples of historic adaptive reuse projects in Cleveland that have generated billions in economic impact - proof that preservation and development are not opposites, but partners when vision leads the way.

• From the audience, PTP board member and local developer Tony Troppe connected Tom’s work to what is possible locally, reminding the room that once it’s torn down, there’s no going back - which is exactly why this is the moment to envision the possibilities.

• Suzanne Graham-Moore, Director of Economic Development for the City, attended as an audience member and shared remarks about partnerships and the challenges the city has encountered in developing the property to this point, suggesting “it takes a village.”

The village — and significant resources for vision - were present and ready. The question now is how those resources will be invited into the work ahead.

And in an extraordinary gesture of goodwill and belief in this conversation:

Tom has offered to help secure $15,000–$25,000 in matching funds through the Donovan Brothers Fund, established by his friend Tim Donovan in honor of his brother Kevin, a steelworker, to support a feasibility study for Firestone Plant 1.

That is not symbolic.
That is a real step toward vision.

Most importantly: the community showed up. The village showed up.

And the message was clear:

Take time for vision - not demolition.

More to come as we share a few more highlights and what comes next.