About 4,700 specific jobs will open up by the end of 2007, Lieberth says of Ryan’s research. “There’s a whole generation of baby boomers who are in the process of retiring,” he says. “How are we going to fill those jobs?”

Economic issues aside, Lieberth knows that other things need to be done to motivate people to make the trek to Northeast Ohio. “The answer is not just to produce jobs,” he says. “There are jobs here for young professionals. There have to be indices or some other criteria that will make your community attractive for people 21 to 35.”

Lieberth seems fairly optimistic about the city and focuses on some of the perks the city already has, including nightlife, learning institutions and vitality.

Retailers respond
Square Records is a quaint music store that features a hodgepodge of independent rock music. Screen-printed posters from local shows adorn the store’s walls, while a modest collection of used music hides in the corner.

Dave Ignizio is one of three owners who has been in charge of Square Records since the store’s inception in August 2003. Hiring an image consultant isn’t necessary, he says. “A consultant for cool is redundant. It’s not something you can really craft. It just has to happen.” In a sense, Ignizio already believes Akron is a cool place to live. “A lot of what makes Akron cool is that it isn’t pretentious,” he says. “It’s a tight-knit, midsize town. It all just comes down to the people. They are more down-to-earth than other places, and that keeps you grounded.”

This means a lot coming from Ignizio, who has lived in Washington, D.C., Cleveland and Colorado. Ignizio says he prefers Akron to the urban sprawl of Cleveland.

Like her neighbors at Square Records, Jen Michael, a young entrepreneur who opened Revival Thrift in Akron about a year ago, sees the hiring of an image consultant as unwarranted. “They should’ve talked to the people that grew up here and planned to make Akron their home. They wasted their money,” says Michael, who already feels that Akron possesses a feeling of “understated cool.”

Michael says fiscally contributing to young people in the area will be a substantial catalyst in helping the city of Akron grow and prosper. “Something has to happen naturally, but the city needs to help and give grants to young people to start businesses in the city,” she says. Revival Thrift offers the area something that wasn’t there before, Michael says. “By no means will we change Akron, but it shows young people that it doesn’t take much — just an idea.”