As Rick Stringfield walked along his long gravel driveway through one of the last remaining heavily wooded areas in Akron, he wanted to make one point clear.
He’s not against development. He’s just not in favor of the project coming right near him.
“I realize development will come, but let it be something that will not depreciate the neighborhood,” said Stringfield, a machinist who has lived at the end of Dreisbach Drive for 35 years.
He is one of many property owners in the area who are upset with a plan to build a 68-unit apartment complex for homeless and disabled adults on Vernon Odom Boulevard near Romig Road.
The neighbors are fearful that introducing the homeless and people with mental illnesses will disrupt the peaceful community, described by Stringfield as “the last piece of the country in the city.”
There also are concerns about property values, potential crime and the homeless wandering through the woods.
The residents are mounting a campaign to stop the development or push it elsewhere.
“I don’t want homeless people and drug addicts in the neighborhood,” said Joyce Cade, who lives on Stimson Street. “I’m just not happy about having a bunch of derelicts at the top of the hill.”
The $11.3 million project, called Stoney Pointe Commons, involves clearing four acres of wooded land to make way for a four-story complex.
The project is a partnership between Tober Building Co. in Richfield and Community Support Services, an Akron nonprofit that offers services for more than 3,000 people with mental illness.
Community Support Services will provide programming for the apartment residents.
The property is already zoned for the development.
Tober, which is using tax credits and hopes to break ground in March, recently received approval from the Akron Planning Commission for a variance to provide a reduced number of parking spaces than required by the zoning code.
City Council still has to sign off on that parking issue.
Councilwoman Margo Sommerville, who represents the area, has heard plenty of complaints from the neighbors and understands their concerns.
She has set up a meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Helen Arnold Community Learning Center, 450 Vernon Odom Blvd., to discuss the project with the community.
The developer, Community Support Services, police and firefighters will be there.
Sommerville, who owns property and has relatives living in the neighborhood, said she can’t support the project.
“I do see it from both sides,” she said. “Those individuals and that population are overlooked and underserved all the time. I do understand the importance of this project.
“But I also have to represent my constituents who are upset and feel that this development is being dumped into their neighborhood and they have no say.”
Sommerville added that the council cannot stop the project because the property already is zoned for the development and members will be voting only on the parking issue.
Todd Tober, president of the development company, said there is no plan to relocate the complex or halt the project because of the financial investment already made.
If council were to reject the parking variance, a larger parking lot will be built, he said.
Tober also said there is no evidence that crime will increase or that property values will decline.
The reaction by neighbors is expected because there is a natural fear of the unknown, said Keith Stahl, director of residential services at Community Support Services.
“Change is always hard for people,” he said. “We’ve encountered this type of issue pretty much when we’ve tried to do any kind of development for housing with people with special needs.”
The Vernon Odom site is ideal, Stahl said, because it’s on a bus route, and there’s a Social Security office, grocery store and fast-food restaurants nearby.
“Everyone we end up housing is someone’s brother, sister, daughter and son and they really deserve a chance to live a better life and have an opportunity to pursue the goals they want in their life,” Stahl said.
But several neighbors disagreed that it’s a good location, saying there aren’t enough services in the area for the people. Some also questioned why a new complex will be built when there are so many vacant buildings in the city.
“We recycle clothes,” said Teresa Pulizzi, who grew up in the neighborhood and whose parents still live there. “We recycle bags. We recycle everything else. We can’t recycle buildings?”
Stringfield, who said he once was homeless, is not convinced that the project is good for the neighborhood.
Asked what he will do if the apartment complex is built, he replied: “I’ll be selling [my house].”
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.