If it goes well, developers say, it will trigger a wave of additional projects, make it easier to finance other developments by inspiring investors, and give downtown the critical mass and population it needs to succeed as the urban community many hope to see.

No pressure, right?

The man taking much of that pressure, and still grinning, is Canton developer Dan DeHoff. He and his right arm, vice president of commercial development Beth Borda, say they're confident they'll announce the project's final financing soon, after many hurdles.

"The project was at risk," said DeHoff, whose DeHoff Development Co. and Fairlawn-based Welty Building Co. make up the Bowery Development Group, which is financing the about $40 million project.

DeHoff was referring to the project's ability to use New Market and Historic Tax Credits, which he and Borda said were key to financing the project. Previous developers had some, but lost them — something DeHoff said his company discovered only after they bought into the project. But DeHoff, his partners and local officials were able to largely replace the credits and raise other financing with the help of city and state officials, which took more time, but eventually worked.

"We were going to close (on financing) in March. We're now shooting for August. A lot of that had to do with the New Market Tax Credits," Borda said.

Construction is slated to start in September, the executives said.

"Construction will take a year to 14 months, and everything will be reconstructed," Borda said.

What will be left, according to the Bowery's plans, will be a complex brought back to life, connected below ground and surrounded by new streetscaping and canal-front open spaces. It will include about 100 new apartments and 60,000 square feet of mixed-use space that is expected to include cafes, retailers, coffee shops and, according to DeHoff, a grocery store and probably a brewery with which he's currently negotiating.

But it's what's on the outside that might have the biggest impact on downtown Akron.

The project's walk-through amenities on the ground floor and its design are meant to tie that section of Main Street with a scenic and tumbling part of the Ohio & Erie Canal behind it, creating a river-walk environment with large patio area that will open access to Lock 4 and tie the canal into an increasingly walkable downtown.

Opening up such public spaces is something many civic leaders say helped downtown tremendously at neighboring Lock 3, where the city purchased a group of old buildings, tore them down and exposed a parcel that has become a major downtown park, gathering place and entertainment venue.

"It was an abomination before that," said Suzie Graham, president of the Downtown Akron Partnership.

She puts the repurposing of that site at the top of her list of changes that have transformed the downtown area, and others agree.

"Lock 3 is our Central Park. It's your recreation space, our green space and our community-event space," Testa said.