BJ BUILDING SAVED! FIX, EXPANSION, $5.35 MILLION TAX CREDITS IN THE WORKS

 

BJ building saved from demolition; $5.35 million for major additions & improvements

 

The old Akron Beacon Journal building at 44 E. Exchange Street was awarded $5.35 million in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit funds to help defray the cost of redeveloping the building, named one of the state’s most endangered historic sites in 2019.

Tony Troppe, the Akron developer known for creating the arts district and the BLU-Tique Hotel in downtown Akron, was granted the funds from the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program to help defray the cost of redeveloping the historic property. 

The entire cost of the project is estimated at just over $54 million. 

The 1930 Art Deco-influenced structure at East Exchange and South High streets, which housed the newspaper’s operations until the offices moved to the AES (former Goodyear) building in 2019, was sold to Birmingham, Alabama-based Capstone Real Estate Investments for $1.1 million in 2020.

The company requested permission from Akron City Council to demolish the building but was denied. 

The redevelopment will include 197 new residential units, tenant space for offices and retail and restaurant spaces. 

A new 71,785-square-foot building would be added to the south side of the original building, with commercial space on the ground floor and three floors of residential space. 

Commercial tenant space will be on the ground floor of the original building, with residential space available on the first and second floors and lofts at the mezzanine level. New apartments will be constructed in the areas of the building added on in 1954 and 1985.

The work on the building and its additions will include: 

• Removal of some sections of the 1954 and 1985 additions to the building on the south side. 
• Reintroduction of large openings for windows that existed before the addition of a since-removed parking deck on the south side of the original building. 
• The addition of new windows to parts of the building’s exterior that are exposed as sections of the 1954 and 1985 additions are removed.

Restoration of the building’s brick and stonework.

PRESERVATION COMMISSION REJECTS BJ DEMOLITION. CITY COUNCIL NEXT STEP FOR APPEAL.

 

Preservation Commission rejects plan to demolish BJ building.

The Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday against a proposal to demolish the former Beacon Journal building at 44 E. Exchange Street for a parking lot.

Michael Mouron, founder of Capstone Real Estate Investments in Birmingham, Alabama, bought the building for $1.1 million in 2020 after the Beacon Journal relocated to the AES Building at 388 S. Main St.

Mouron’s sons Drew Christopher and Lewis, who manage Capstone, own The Standard, an apartment complex at 22 E. Exchange St., and want to tear down the former newspaper office to accommodate parking.

John York, assistant director of law, said the owner had not met any of the criteria for demolition under Akron’s historic preservation ordinance

● Its integrity has deteriorated beyond saving.

● The building lacks historic or architectural significance or does not occupy a major portion of the historic landmark.

● Maintaining the historic landmark is not technically or economically feasible.

● The commission determines there’s no feasible alternative.

Commission members Jaunae Carter, Leianne Neff Heppner, Mark Schweitzer, Mark Smith and John Wheeler turned down Mouron’s request.

The Akron Times-Press built the downtown landmark in 1929, and it became the Beacon Journal’s headquarters after the two newspapers merged in 1938.

The Beacon Journal was Editor and Publisher John S. Knight’s first newspaper after he took over the business from his late father, C.L. Knight during the Great Depression. It grew into 32 newspapers employing 18,000 workers.

The Beacon Journal won four Pulitzer Prizes.

The owners can appeal the commission’s decision to Akron City Council.

WILL BJ BUILDING BE DEMOLISHED FOR A PARKING LOT. TUESDAY, MAY 2 MEEETING BY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION

 

Parking lot or salvation for BJ building?

 

The Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission on Tuesday, May 2 will consider whether the former BJ building is demolished and the the property turned into a parking lot or saved as a historic site.

The 230,000 square foot BJ building and tower was bought by Capstone Real Estate Investments in Birmingham, Alabama.

Capstone founder Michael Mouron paid $1.1 million in 2020 for the 44 E. Exchange Street building. The BJ moved to the seventh floor of the AES Building at 388 S. Main St., a former rubber company building.

Mouron’s sons Drew Christopher and Lewis, who manage Capstone Real Estate Investments, own the former student housing building at 22 E. Exchange St. and have converted it into a conventional apartment property known as The Standard. They want more parking for the apartments.

The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 2, on the third floor of City Hall in the City Council chambers.

The Akron Times-Press opened the downtown landmark in 1930, and it became the Beacon Journal’s headquarters after the two newspapers merged in 1938.

The Beacon Journal was editor and publisher John S. Knight's first newspaper after he took over the debt-ridden business during the Great Depression from his late father, C.L. Knight. JSK created Knight Newspapers,, which once owned 32 newspapers and employed 18,000 workers.

AMAZING TOUR OF WHAT'S LEFT OF BJ BUILDING

BJ building tour

 For a video tour of what's left of the Beacon Journal building and a fascination explanation by former managing editor Doug Oplinger, which starts at the 18-minute mark, click on the URL below.

Doug was a baby-faced student at Green High when Pat Englehart sucked him into the deNobil vortex and the State Desk. The late Harry Liggett and I were Pat's assistants who handled the day-to-day operations while Pat brought the BJ a Pulitzer for its coverage of the 1970 Kent State shootings by the Ohio National Guard that killed 4 and wounded 9. 

One of the students killed was walking from her class in one building to another building and died from bullets sprayed over the heads of those peacefully assembled below the hill where the Guard fired away.

I've talked to those who were there and they said it was a "party atmosphere," not a dangerous demonstration. That's allowed in the Constitution but Gov. Rhodes was running for a Senate seat and thought "getting tough" on teenagers to barely 20somethings would get him elected.

It didn't. Later the FBI labeled the firing squad to blame for the massacre.

Beacon Journal Newsroom Alumni | Facebook

Student-housing empire buys BJ

Capstone Development in Birmingham, Alabama bought the 44 E. Exchange Street BJ building from Black Press for less than $3 million.

Capstone will convert the 1929 building into downtown office spaces.

Capstone has developed properties with 200-bed minimums for lodging college students throughout the south and in Ohio. It has 1,897 buildings that bring in $69.6 million in rentals each year.  

Black Press sold the BJ to Gatehouse in 2018 but kept the building and real estate.

The BJ moved last year to the AES Building on South Main Street.

Herbert Hoover was President and the Great Depression was barreling down on America that August when Scripps Howard built the East Exchange structure in 1929 for its Akron Times-Press, which was absorbed by the Beacon Journal in 1938.

McClatchy paid $4.5 billion in 2006 to buy Knight-Ridder’s newspapers but said the BJ would be one of 12 KR papers it would sell off. Black Press bought the BJ from McClatchy that same year.

 To read the BJ article, go to

https://www.beaconjournal.com/news/20200709/developers-to-buy-former-beacon-journal-building-turn-downtown-akron-property-into-offices?fbclid=IwAR3fuBguGwQoTaM4OJDUSTc3XNpwreW8coBERhqewuP8U3aari5JPfI39_M

  

After this article was posted I got this communication from Chasm, aka Charles Montague:

Hi, John

In my nearly 40 years at BJ, I was known for, among other things, for responding to Copy Desk Chief’s Kathy Fraze’s question, Where are we?, meaning where were we in terms of moving copy to composing room, with mh response of “44 East Exchange Street.”

When I took buyout and retired on 10/09/08, I never thought I would not be able to return to 44 E Exchange and did indeed return for many goings-away, including Doug Oplinger’s.

Time moves on and gracious Katie Byard gave me a tour of new BJ offices on South Main. 

Now I see that 44 E Exchange will be torn down.  I am tough guy, but will not be able to watch the house that John S Knight and Ben Maidenburg built come to the ground. 

For me, whatever takes its place, 44 E Exchange will always be the home of one of America’s great newspapers.

Chas Montague 

ABJ 4-20-70 to 10-09-08

John Olesky note:

Announcement said the building would be converted into office buildings. It didn’t say torn down. But it won’t be the same. It is a historic landmark so tearing it down might be tough to get an approval.

 

Gutting the inside and keeping the shell might be the only permitted event. We'll see.

 

But, as Chuck posted, it is a sad day for all BJ folks to see something other than the pressroom running, the wire machines clanging away and friendly faces all around in the newsroom.