© 2024 WOSU Public Media
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Pump House Makeover Will Offer New Recreational Opportunities Near Akron's Summit Lake

Now clean, Summit Lake can serve as a go-to place for outdoor activities.
Wikimedia
Now clean, Summit Lake can serve as a go-to place for outdoor activities.

Akron residents will be able to explore their community in a new way soon with the creation of a nature center near Summit Lake. 

The old Summit Lake Pump House off Lake Shore Boulevard served the area for decades, filtering water into Akron’s many factories and homes until the lake was found to be polluted and the house shut down.

Now, the house is being transformed into an educational and recreational nature center. It’ll feature outdoor programming such as kayaking and fishing, as well as after-school activities and educational events.

Demetrius Lambert-Falconer is the chief of community engagement for Summit Metro Parks. She says she’s excited to connect the neighborhood with its backyard.

“It will provide a park within walking distance and a safe place for people to gather at a lake that traditionally had a not-so-nice reputation. And now the lake is clean. It’s providing additional amenities. It’s providing additional services. Who knows what we have to look forward.”

The center is set to open by the spring of 2020.

Copyright 2021 WKSU. To see more, visit WKSU.

Emma Keating is a junior journalism major with a minor in political science. Between working for the Kent Stater, TV2 and Cleveland Magazine, she has experience in newspaper, magazine, multimedia and broadcast journalism, though writing will always be her one true love. Keating hopes to use her journalism to give a voice to the voiceless in her future career, eventually moving to Washington, D.C.