330 Homes Spring 2021

d r e a m h o u s e

URBAN ARTIFACT A unique new build appears in Highland Square.

I t’s rare to find space to build a new home in Akron’s Highland Square. The venerable downtown adjacent neighborhood is almost completely built-up, with homes made for the city’s captains of industry that date back a century or more. But Don Cea, owner of Highbridge Construction in Akron, and Kara Cea, direc tor of the University of Akron Dance Institute, dis covered a unicorn property in summer 2019. Buying it presented the empty nest ers who previously lived

in Cuyahoga Falls with the challenge of building a new home with the mod ern amenities and design they wanted that still fit into one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. “We kind of blended that modern Craftsman style with a Southwestern flair,” Don says. “It’s different than other houses in the neighborhood, but it fits. It’s got character.” The home stands out as one of the few dark-colored ones on the street, with dark blue board and batten

siding and a solid black front door. Like many in the area, this two-story, 2,300-square-foot home has a front porch — only this one is raised up on exposed dark wooden columns with stacked stone bases and is made of composite decking with black metal railings. The couple still incorporated traditional details, like putting an attached two vehicle garage behind the house, with doors that don’t face the street, an important element in fitting in with the neighborhood, Don says.

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