Akron City Council approved plans to demolish a historic Firestone tire plant on the condition that the city’s planning department takes more time to find a new use for the building.

The approved plan allows for a 60-day moratorium on demolition. During that time, officials will advertise for redevelopers, said Planning Director Kyle Julien.

This also allows the city to keep $7.5 million in demolition funds from the state while honoring council members’ wish to find other options, Julien said.

“Explore some other opportunities, some other options, perhaps, see if there’s some way that we could position it for redevelopment,” Julien said during council’s planning and economic development committee meeting. “Absent that, at the end of the 60 days, we’ll either have a plan to repurpose the

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