February 11, 20223 yr On 2/8/2022 at 11:14 AM, cadmen said: At one time I was a fixture on the Kent scene but it has been many, many years since l have been back there. So after reading about the new school of architecture and all the additions to downtown l decided to visit again. This was last summer. Man was l impressed. The college was always a bit removed from downtown which l thought was a fail. Siting the new architecture school on the fringe of campus nearer to downtown helps to merge the two. But the biggest change was all the new additions to downtown. There are so many that l lost my bearings. It's not two street Kent anymore. And all the new buildings fit seamlessly with the old. Why it's almost as if someone knew what they were doing lol. The best design doesn't focus on the individual building but on how ALL the structures (new and old) relate to each other and the street. Kent seems to do that without looking like one of those New Urbanisn towns. Ex. Seaside in Florida. I was impressed and could see myself living there. The transformation has been nothing short of phenomenal. The downtown is vibrant with activity and young people now. There are 2 apartment towers with a 3rd being constructed now and a 4th coming after that. It's a great place to live. And there is even more construction coming soon with a new city hall and Kent State expansion
February 11, 20223 yr It looks like the Hasawai apartment tower has nearly topped out. At least all the concrete appears to have been poured. Edited February 11, 20223 yr by Silent Matt
February 23, 20223 yr Kent State University demolishing Terrace Hall to make room for new college of business Bob Gaetjens Record-Courier Kent State has begun demolition of Terrace Hall on front campus to make way for the universitys new college of business. Located near White Hall, just off East Main Street, Terrace Hall is being razed as part of the university's Gateway Master Plan, a campus-wide facility improvement plan that could take up to 10 years from its 2018 inception and $1.2 billion to complete. https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/2022/02/23/kent-state-university-demolishing-terrace-hall-make-room-crawford-hall-college-business/6885884001/?utm_source=record-courier-Daily Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero&utm_content=OHIO-KENTRAVENNA-NLETTER65 85-home residential development proposed on former Kent State golf course Bob Gaetjens Record-Courier An 85-unit residential development is in the works for the former Kent State University Golf Course at the corner of Route 59 and Powdermill Road. According to Franklin Township Zoning Inspector Joe Ciccozzi, the township has approved a variance permitting 85 homes on the site, which is 39.5 acres in size. https://www.record-courier.com/story/business/2022/02/23/85-home-residential-development-proposed-former-kent-state-golf-course/6881654001/?utm_source=record-courier-Daily Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=list_article_thumb&utm_content=OHIO-KENTRAVENNA-NLETTER65
March 1, 20223 yr Kent (2-27-22) Kent State Terrace Hall Demolition The Terrace Hall demolition is one of the first steps in the Gateway Master Plan which will make room for the new College of Business/Crawford hall, reroute the local roadways, expand green space and remove surface parking. This incudes the large parking lot along East Main in front of White Hall pictured above. The Kent Skates free seasonal outdoor ice skating rink, located on Erie Street between the PARTA Garage and Hotel, closed at the end of February. Kent's Erie Depot is now home to the Over Easy Morning Cafe. They moved into the former Treno space from their location a couple blocks west in Acorn Alley. Hasawi Building Portage Hike and Bike Trail Brady's Leap segment. The project widened the existing trail to allow for cyclists to continue south from Fairchild Avenue towards a new ramp/staircase up to West Main Street. Bell Tower Brewing Co. on Gougler Avenue a block north of West Main
March 1, 20223 yr I'm gonna have to take a little day trip out to Kent some time! It's honestly a great city to visit even for non-students. I'm glad there's so much effort to link campus and Downtown as well as removing some of the surface parking and stuff from campus. When I toured the school a couple years ago, I was super impressed by Downtown Kent, but the campus still just felt way too suburban and car-centric to me. I know one thing, even though I spent a year at their rival school (Univ. of Akron), I must admit, Kent is far more impressive to me and there's a lot more to do near campus despite it being in a small town. If I didn't end up getting accepted into OSU I probably would've went to Kent instead.
March 9, 20223 yr Donation for new College of Business at Kent State called a 'game changer' at ceremony Diane Smith Record-Courier A large crowd of supporters watched as Kent State University broke ground Tuesday for the $71 million Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship and Crawford Hall. The crowd gathered in a large tent near the former site of Terrace Hall, which was demolished last month to make way for the structure. The new building will be built on the footprint of Terrace Hall and sit just east of White Hall on the north edge of campus. https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/2022/03/08/ambassador-edward-crawford-hailed-groundbreaking-kebt-state-business-college/9424599002/?utm_source=record-courier&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero&utm_content=OHIO-KENTRAVENNA-NLETTER65
March 15, 20223 yr Demolition begins on 98-year-old police station torn down for new Kent city hall Diane Smith Record-Courier As a child, Kent Mayor Jerry Fiala remembers going to Kent's old police station to buy a dog license and later took his first oath of office there in what was then council chambers in 1985. On Monday, he watched as contractors began demolition of the structure to make way for Kent's new city hall. https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/2022/03/15/kents-98-year-old-police-station-torn-down-new-city-hall/7034539001/?utm_source=record-courier&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero&utm_content=OHIO-KENTRAVENNA-NLETTER65
March 21, 20223 yr Old Kent police station comes down, location marker found in the rubble Diane Smith Record-Courier As contractors demolished the 98-year-old building that once housed Kent's safety forces, a piece of the past was uncovered in the rubble. The former police station was demolished to make way for Kent's new city hall, a project that has been planned for several years. https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/2022/03/21/kent-police-station-demolished-property-marker-found-rubble/7091232001/?utm_source=record-courier&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero&utm_content=OHIO-KENTRAVENNA-NLETTER65
April 18, 20223 yr Cleveland Bagel Café to replace Starbucks, Brady's Cafe in Kent's Tudor-style building Tawney Beans Akron Beacon Journal A new place to get your caffeine and bagel fix is coming to Kent, and it will be in the city’s historic Tudor-style building. Restaurants like Brady's Cafe and The Robin Hood bar and grill have operated out of the building since it was constructed in the 1920s, making it a landmark in the Kent community. Many people were concerned about what would become of the structure after the Starbucks that previously inhabited it closed in 2021 because of low sales during the pandemic. Kent State University bought the property in 2016, and there had been speculation the building would be demolished. https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/2022/04/16/cleveland-bagel-cafe-replace-starbucks-captain-bradys-may/7332316001/
April 22, 20223 yr Kent OKs zoning change, moves forward with Davey Tree Expert Co. expansion Diane Smith Record-Courier Kent City Council has approved fast-tracking the annexation of a former golf course in Franklin Township into the city. Meanwhile, residents of the nearby Riverbend subdivision packed a meeting of the city's Planning Commission on Tuesday to see what Davey Tree Expert Co. plans to do with the property. https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/2022/04/22/kent-oks-zoning-changes-expansion-davey-tree-expert-company-franklin-elementary/7395820001/?utm_source=record-courier-Daily Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=list_article_thumb&utm_content=OHIO-KENTRAVENNA-NLETTER65
April 22, 20223 yr Kent (4-21-22) There hasn't been much movement on the Hasawi Building in the past couple of months Portage Hike and Bike Trail - Brady's Leap segment is now open Even though this isn't the largest project, it is one of my favorite pieces of bicycle infrastructure in NE Ohio. There aren't many bicycle stairway's around right now, so it was very nice to use one that was executed and implemented effectively. The region has an impressive bike trail system, but more work needs to be done to close these "gaps" in the network. The demolished Police Station and future City Hall site at the SE corner of Water and Haymaker The City Hall site looking north towards downtown Cleveland Bagel Co will be a great addition to campus in the former Starbucks/Captain Brady's at Main and Lincoln The demolished Terrace Hall / future Collage of Business Administration site College of Aeronautics and Engineering Building expansion
April 23, 20223 yr Did my undergrad studies at KSU - I always loved it there but man, the campus and the town has really changed - for the good.
April 23, 20223 yr It bears little resemblance to the campus and town I knew in the mid- to late-80s. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 29, 20223 yr On 3/1/2022 at 4:58 PM, Dblcut3 said: I'm gonna have to take a little day trip out to Kent some time! It's honestly a great city to visit even for non-students. I'm glad there's so much effort to link campus and Downtown as well as removing some of the surface parking and stuff from campus. When I toured the school a couple years ago, I was super impressed by Downtown Kent, but the campus still just felt way too suburban and car-centric to me. I know one thing, even though I spent a year at their rival school (Univ. of Akron), I must admit, Kent is far more impressive to me and there's a lot more to do near campus despite it being in a small town. If I didn't end up getting accepted into OSU I probably would've went to Kent instead. I hate to say it, but I kinda wish I had chosen Kent over Akron now, if for no other reason than to have had more on-the-ground experience during its pre-transformation era for the sake of comparison and having a greater appreciation of what's happening there now. Akron under former President Luis Proenza had similar plans for a transformation of UA and the surrounding University Park district, but for a number of reasons, those never fully panned out, and Akron's financial mismanagement and enrollment collapse has seemingly put any similar redesign on hold for the foreseeable future. This was a major missed opportunity for UA, the likes of which may not come again for a very long time, if ever. Kudos to Kent though for getting it right.
May 1, 20223 yr I went to Kent in the 90's and I'm really surprised at what they have done. I didn't think they would have ever had this vision of the future honestly. It's impressive.
July 11, 20222 yr It looked like it was at a complete stop when I was in Kent a couple months ago. Glad to see it going again.
July 11, 20222 yr It was at a complete stop right after the concrete structure was finished, for a couple months with no visible progress. I’d been guessing due to either supply chain issues or an inexperienced developer.
July 12, 20222 yr 14 hours ago, JohnSummit said: It was at a complete stop right after the concrete structure was finished, for a couple months with no visible progress. I’d been guessing due to either supply chain issues or an inexperienced developer. Or refinancing for all of the price increases. Things like framing number they received a year ago when the contract was signed are not the same today. I'm sure subs are asking for increases but I have no intimate knowledge.
July 12, 20222 yr Move-in date for new Kent City Hall pushed to July 2024 after multiple delays Diane Smith Record-Courier Kent City Council got an update on the construction of the new city hall Tuesday, learning that it will be about two years until they can finally move into the building. The city has been working to plan and design the building for six years. The design was nearing completion in 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the project had to be rebid because all bids were more than 10 percent higher than estimated, city Service Director Melanie Baker said. https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/2022/07/12/move-date-new-kent-city-hall-pushed-july-2024-ohio/10007865002/?utm_source=record-courier-DailyBriefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero&utm_content=NREC-OHIO-KENTRAVENNA-NLETTER65
July 13, 20222 yr On 7/11/2022 at 5:55 PM, JohnSummit said: It was at a complete stop right after the concrete structure was finished, for a couple months with no visible progress. I’d been guessing due to either supply chain issues or an inexperienced developer. Yeah, it seems like they were on pause for months until they just now started framing for the windows.
July 18, 20222 yr Lucci's Place pizza owners open laid-back Bar Lucci on North Water Street Derek Kreider Record-Courier After years of planning, Bar Lucci has finally opened on North Water Street. Kent's latest watering hole opened its doors for the first time on July 8 to a thirsty crowd. "It's been pretty good so far," said co-owner Jon Finley. "Opening weekend was busy, and every day has not been a loss." https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/2022/07/16/bar-lucci-opens-north-water-street-kent-ohio-pizza-owners-jon-peter-finley/10047298002/?utm_source=record-courier-DailyBriefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=list_article_thumb&utm_content=NREC-OHIO-KENTRAVENNA-NLETTER65
July 27, 20222 yr Construction on Kent’s new downtown tower is moving forward WENDY DIALESANDRO· The Portager JULY 27, 2022 Love it or loathe it, the corner of Franklin Avenue and Erie Street in Kent is not what it once was. But lately there’s been new progress on the development of two parcels there. At 211 Franklin Ave., where a six-story residential/commercial complex is under construction, supply chain issues had halted momentum for months. But work is now going forward. And next door there’s a new sign: leasehold interest sale by CBRE. The sign refers to the adjacent parcel, where the developer is selling its lease and building plans. https://theportager.com/construction-on-kents-new-downtown-tower-is-moving-forward/
August 4, 20222 yr (8-1-22) Bar Lucci on North Water Next door to Bar Lucci is Bent Tree Coffee Roasters Bent Tree is moving their wholesale roastery operations to a renovated building on 43 next to Sheetz just north of downtown. The Franklin Avenue closure remains a popular addition to downtown in its 2nd year. Hasawi Building Clairmont Development's Franklin Lofts site next door Town Hall Progress Resurfacing of Main and Water Streets downtown Just south of the College of Architecture on Lincoln, two university owned homes are coming down. They were both used for fire department training early this summer. Chipotle is moving 2 blocks east from their longtime location into the former Burger King at Main and University. A primary reason for their move was the desire to have a drive thru lane (Starbucks similarly moved east on Main to add a drive thru ~3 years ago). Work continues on the new Main Street Central Gateway on the north end of campus. This first phase of the project includes the removal of surface lots and reworking of roadways. Aeronautics and Engineering Building Addition and Renovation Minor renovations/new windows at the Twin Towers Davey is wrapping up its headquarters expansion on the northside of town (the HQ is set back from 43 on a private drive, here is a video from May). Earlier this year Davey tore down Franklin Elementary just across from their HQ for their SEED Campus development at the former Oak Knolls golf course. Davey acquired the former Franklin Elementary (which closed ~8 years ago) in a land swap with the school district for its land along Hudson Drive north of Stanton Middle School. The ~170 acre former golf course was annexed from Franklin Township and rezoned by the city earlier this year. Here is Franklin Elementary prior to demolition. Just south of Davey, Kent City Schools is reworking the roadway/parking configuration at Roosevelt. They are also building a new fieldhouse and gym.
August 4, 20222 yr I'll tell you what, if I wanted to move out of my inner ring suburb but didn't want to leave the area Kent would have a very strong appeal. It has most everything one needs for a comfortable lifestyle without being so small the walls are closing in. Nice place.
August 31, 20222 yr The new city hall finally getting going. The cinder block wall on the right went up pretty quickly> Astonishingly, there is no basement. Edited August 31, 20222 yr by Silent Matt
August 31, 20222 yr On 8/4/2022 at 1:34 PM, cadmen said: I'll tell you what, if I wanted to move out of my inner ring suburb but didn't want to leave the area Kent would have a very strong appeal. It has most everything one needs for a comfortable lifestyle without being so small the walls are closing in. Nice place. The downtown is now incredibly vibrant. But be cautioned, the hordes of young people can make you feel past your prime 😁
August 31, 20222 yr "Kent State has begun demolition of Terrace Hall on front campus to make way for the universitys new college of business" @yanni_gogolakWhat's going to become of the former (and rather ugly) College of Business building? Edited August 31, 20222 yr by gildone
August 31, 20222 yr On 4/30/2022 at 11:51 PM, metrocity said: I went to Kent in the 90's and I'm really surprised at what they have done. I didn't think they would have ever had this vision of the future honestly. It's impressive. I was there mid-80s to early 90s (two degrees). The town and campus was butt ugly. Wish it was like it is now when I was there, but that has been my luck... places get fixed up after I leave (Kent, Toledo, Columbus...). It's enough to give one a complex 😁
August 31, 20222 yr 13 minutes ago, gildone said: "Kent State has begun demolition of Terrace Hall on front campus to make way for the universitys new college of business" @yanni_gogolakWhat's going to become of the former (and rather ugly) College of Business building? It will either be razed or used to house administrative functions. Coming out of the pandemic, university administration is taking a stance of no net new square footage.
August 31, 20222 yr 16 minutes ago, gildone said: I was there mid-80s to early 90s (two degrees). The town and campus was butt ugly. Wish it was like it is now when I was there, but that has been my luck... places get fixed up after I leave (Kent, Toledo, Columbus...). It's enough to give one a complex 😁 Probably much like I felt visiting Case during the mid 2010s when my daughter was at RBC or her mom at Lakeside. I can say the same about Kent as I spent quite a bit of time at and around Slumrise or the Draft Hole during the late 80s and very early 90s. The changes have been profound to say the least. Except for the Venice, the Venice does not change.
August 31, 20222 yr 14 minutes ago, E Rocc said: Except for the Venice, the Venice does not change. the Venice was a worse dump than the Loft in the 80s/90s. Maybe it hasn't changed a lot, but it's a lot cleaner and the restrooms don't reek. A story: back in the early 90s a friend of mine caught the old man bartender/owner of the Venice at the time re-using glasses without washing them. Edited August 31, 20222 yr by gildone More info
August 31, 20222 yr 14 minutes ago, gildone said: the Venice was a worse dump than the Loft in the 80s/90s. Maybe it hasn't changed a lot, but it's a lot cleaner and the restrooms don't reek. A story: back in the early 90s a friend of mine caught the old man bartender/owner of the Venice at the time re-using glasses without washing them. If I walked in there today I would not be surprised to see the older lady still sitting in the corner checking everyone's ID.
August 31, 20222 yr 11 hours ago, Silent Matt said: The downtown is now incredibly vibrant. But be cautioned, the hordes of young people can make you feel past your prime 😁 I love/hate going there for that reason. I love seeing all of the investment. But it makes me sad because, even though Kent was a typically dumpy Ohio small town in the 1980s, it was indelibly connected to all of my memories from going to school at KSU from 1985-89 (and visiting my sister who started there in 1983). Much of that Kent is now gone which makes me feel older than I want to feel. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 31, 20222 yr Kent State has come a long way! It is slowly losing the negative stigmas. I went there in the early 90's and currently live 3 miles from campus in a nearby city. It is incredible how alive the city is right now versus one month ago before the students came back to campus. Its improved reputation has caused applications to increase, thus allowing the University to increase enrollment credentials. It is not just a party school anymore....and the appearance of campus and the city is a reflection of that! There are several tracts of land surrounding the University that are actively or in the initial stages of being developed. One such is the old golf course. Greats things are happening and great things are on the horizon. The grads on this site can be proud alumni!
August 31, 20222 yr My son is going into his senior year at HS and we toured all of Ohio’s public universities this summer. We did Kent State last, purely due to scheduling reasons and I’m glad we did go there after everywhere else. It was ridiculously over the top and did nothing whatsoever to dispel the ‘party-school/ can’t read, can’t write, Kent State’ tropes. It felt like a timeshare sales pitch at a Holiday Inn. And they literally had a T-shirt toss. My hovercraft is full of eels
September 1, 20222 yr 11 hours ago, KJP said: Much of that Kent is now gone which makes me feel older than I want to feel. The different perspectives are interesting. I don't think about that, only how I don't like that I had to go there when it sucked.
September 1, 20222 yr 52 minutes ago, gildone said: The different perspectives are interesting. I don't think about that, only how I don't like that I had to go there when it sucked. I have some awesome memories of my time at Kent as well as things I would do differently if I could. I loved the campus itself, especially the older buildings closer to South Lincoln. And it's where I minored in urban geography and began to learn about different types of land use -- none of which I'd ever thought much about before. So I didn't really critique Kent's land uses then. I was more interested in meeting people (girls), going to parties, having a good time, going for drives to discover fading rail lines and industries, and occasionally going to class to learn how to become an Amtrak executive someday. But the more books I read on urban design and the more traveling I did, made me realize that Kent was a has-been town, and that the university was keeping the town alive after its heyday when the Erie Railroad was its largest employer (Kent was a major division point and rail yard on the Erie, and the yard was just weeds and abandoned buildings by the time I started at Kent in 85). Back then, I wished I had seen the town in its heyday prior to the 1970s and especially back in the early 20th century. Little did I know it was going to see another heyday. That's why you can't predict the future. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 1, 20222 yr Shall we move forward with development news, instead of trips down memory lane?
September 2, 20222 yr On 9/1/2022 at 11:26 AM, X said: Shall we move forward with development news, instead of trips down memory lane? Yes, and giving some of my damn construction photos some likes! C'mon People! 😜
September 9, 20222 yr Visited Kent this week - wow, the changes! I see what @KJPmeant about feeling old when visiting the campus ( but I digress) Some progress on the Hasawi Building -
September 16, 20222 yr The Crawford College of Business finally getting underway! It will be the largest or one of the largest buildings to house an academic program at Kent State. They don't like giving details like sq. footage. Edited September 16, 20222 yr by Silent Matt
September 16, 20222 yr 1 hour ago, Silent Matt said: The Crawford College of Business finally getting underway! It will be the largest building at Kent State. Largest building by what measure? Certainly the library and probably several other buildings on campus are larger by square footage. Largest classroom building maybe?
September 16, 20222 yr 9 minutes ago, JohnSummit said: Largest building by what measure? Certainly the library and probably several other buildings on campus are larger by square footage. Largest classroom building maybe? "One of the largest to house an academic program", from Kent State's website. https://www.kent.edu/kent/news/success/kent-state-breaks-ground-crawford-hall Edited September 16, 20222 yr by Silent Matt
September 16, 20222 yr 23 minutes ago, JohnSummit said: Largest building by what measure? Certainly the library and probably several other buildings on campus are larger by square footage. Largest classroom building maybe? By doing a little digging, I found out this new building will be 100,192 "Assignable Sq. Feet" but 154,142 "Gross building Area Sq. Feet". Whatever the hell that means.
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