AKRON, OH- For generations, the old Erie Railroad freight station stood at the boundary between Akron's downtown and an industrial district. But the Cleveland-based NRP Group just began taking the aging structure down as a prelude to the construction of a $30 million luxury student housing development for the expanding University of Akron. The building has been used as a storage facility by the Akron Beacon Journal for about a decade, and “there was no salvaging it; no redeeming value left in the building,” says Aaron Pechota, vice president of development for NRP.

“Were still working on some of the architectural features,” he adds, but the 624-bed four-story student housing community that replaces the aged station will incorporate elements of it to remind students of the neighborhood's history. “Some of the beautiful exterior eaves and other functional elements will actually be incorporated in the interior clubhouse and concierge area as decorative elements. We are also salvaging the four monument 'E's, denoting the Erie Railroad, and incorporating them into the design of our new courtyard. They're unique and something that has been an emblematic, defining part of the building for a long time.”

Dubbed “The Depot,” and located less than a quarter of a mile from campus, the new development will allow students to choose between one, two-, three- or four-bedroom units, ranging from 592-to-1,386-square-feet. Amenities will include on-site parking, a heated pool, outdoor lounge and outdoor bar and kitchen, indoor gas fireplace, indoor-outdoor living space, game room, large group fitness classroom and fitness facility, private study rooms, media lab room and conference room. Leasing will start in late summer, but the development won't open until August 2014.