Akron Soap Co. building sold with plans to become apartments

AKRON, Ohio — The former home of the Akron Soap Co. is slated to become apartments after being sold to a new developer.

Commercial real state group SVN Summit Commercial announced Monday that a 3-acre warehouse complex at 236-243 Furnace St. in Akron was under contract to be sold. The buyer, Green Harvest Capital, plans to developed 50 to 52 apartments in the warehouse and to lease already renovated commercial space on the site, according to a news release.

The buildings together have nearly 64,000 square feet of space. Summit County Fiscal Office records say there are three connected buildings on the site, two brick buildings and one concrete building, built between 1893 and 1920.

SVN said the buildings were home to the Akron Soap Co. in 1893, and later held the Pioneer Cereal Co. and the Pockrandt Paint Co. The current owner, White Hot Properties LLC, bought the building at auction in 2013.

Renovations have been done to the two brick buildings and parts of the six-story concrete building on the property, SVN said.