Exciting news for Northeast Ohio: the University Park Alliance is partnering with international real estate firm KUD to help redevelop the area surrounding the University of Akron.

The firm will work on financial and other resource issues to help developers secure financing and reduce risk.

“This is huge. This is going to give us the competitive advantage we really need,” UPA executive director Eric Anthony Johnson told the Akron Beacon Journal. “If you take this off the table, we’ll be no different than any other entity trying to secure financing for projects in a difficult environment.

KUD President and Chief Executive Officer, Marvin J. Suomi, explains his reason for choosing Akron in the attached video, saying KUD likes to “enter the project at the visioning stage”  and that Akron meets KUD’s criteria for partnership.

Under Eric Johnson’s leadership, the Knight-funded University Park Alliance has created a model of redevelopment that engages the entire community. Drawing on all assets and resources, the KUD partnership provides an unprecedented opportunity for Akron to create a greater sense of place and a vibrant economy.

Jennifer Thomas, program director/Akron at Knight Foundation