The Vision Plan was discussed at a community meeting held in Kenmore on Oct. 17 to follow up on a meeting held in August at which residents discussed ideas to help redevelop the area that was once a popular destination, complete with an amusement park.

Leaders are intent on working closely with Summit Lake residents to ensure that development ideas are in line with what they want. Residents have been promised many things over the years by well-intentioned people and groups, Rice said, but those initiatives have often been abandoned or ignored residents' desires.

This time, the group has met often with residents. Based on resident input, one of the first steps, in conjunction with Summit Metro Parks, was to install grills, picnic tables and a shelter near the Summit Lake Community Center and to clear brush that was obscuring views of the water.

"Before we started this project, there was only one place to sit at Summit Lake, and it didn't even face the lake," Rice said.

Sandy Saulsberry, a resident of the area since 1982 who has been active in the redevelopment conversations, said those first steps have already helped change neighbors' perceptions of the lake.

"We used to go to other neighborhoods to have picnics, but we can stay here and enjoy a little piece of heaven right here now," she said.

Saulsberry initially wasn't on board with the plans because she's seen promises made and not delivered over the years, she said. But this time feels different because of the commitment to listening to the community, she said.

The water quality report, released in July, confirmed what advocates for redeveloping the neighborhood already suspected — that the perception that the lake was still tainted from years of industrial abuse was out of date. In fact, the water is as clean as any area inland lake, Rice said. While swimming is still not encouraged yet, boating, canoeing, fishing and other activities are.

City of Akron planning director Jason Segedy called the report an opportunity to encourage people to use the lake more, which he said should help spur economic development in a neighborhood that is very underserved by retail — a problem worsened by the fact that many residents do not have cars.

"It's one of the lowest-income neighborhoods in this city and a lot of businesses have left," Segedy said. "So with the reconstruction of the Main and Broadway interchange at I-76 and 77, which is really close, one of our goals would be to create more of a business district that could serve the neighborhood.

"That interchange is also kind of a gateway to get to the lake. Getting more businesses to fill in along Main and Broadway would be beneficial for both residents and for visitors."

He said new businesses could include things such as coffee or ice cream shops that would help draw visitors and businesses that can meet residents' day-to-day needs, such as drug stores or grocery stores. He'd like to see the city better utilize the economic value of the Towpath Trail, as well.

"If you look at a place like Peninsula, it's a small town, but it has capitalized really well on having the Towpath come right through it," he said.

And while the city would like to see more housing in Summit Lake — growing Akron's population and increasing its housing stock are priorities for Mayor Dan Horrigan — Segedy said there aren't any immediate plans in the works.

When the time is right, though, there is plenty of vacant land to work with — the city and the Summit County Land Bank own about half of the land in the neighborhood. That's from the many houses acquired and demolished in the foreclosure crisis. The city also owns about 3 acres on the northwest side of the lake, where Margaret Park Elementary School once stood.

Summit Lake has some of the lowest real estate values in Akron, which makes it a challenge to lure developers.

"If the resale value is one-fifth of the cost of building a new home, it is going to be very difficult to entice a home builder or developer to come in and (develop) in a way that honors and stabilizes the folks that are living there and have stayed through the foreclosure crisis," said James Hardy, the city's chief of staff.

Hardy said the city might turn some of its land into public green space for the time being.

"This is a high-priority neighborhood for us, but it's going to take time for the development to occur in the right ways," he said. "We don't want to take the traditional 'We have land, someone wants the land, we sell the land based on job creation,' approach."

Segedy said any new housing will likely start on a small scale and would probably be near the lake. However, because the city wants to keep the entire lake directly accessible to the public, any development must incorporate a buffer zone to ensure access isn't impeded.