Did the City ever cite Kent State for the deterioration of the house at 220 South Willow street that it has owned for more than a year, or do we have a double standard going on here?
How did Bridget Susel note that there was a possible animal infestation inside the house on Crain? Peep in the windows? Does she have legal authority to do that?

I have always loved this little house and have wondered for years who owns it and what they intend to do with it. I live nearby so I see this house every day and have fantasized for years about someday having enough money to buy it and fix it up, but alas, I don't. It's so charming and it deserves a loving hand to take it over and fix it up and make it habitable again.

I talked to my city council member several years ago regarding this property since it's in my precinct and ward. At the time, the house across the street on the other corner of Miller and Crain was in foreclosure, but someone has bought it and fixed it up and it's being lived in again. There was another abandoned home on Miller down closer to Lake Street that everyone called "the boat house" because it had a big boat in the front yard and was abandoned as well, but someone got a hold of that place, fixed it up and now it appears to be lived in again. So two of the three abandoned homes in my precinct and ward are once again in use except for this charming little home. What does the owner intend to do with it? I'd heard that nothing could be done because it was tied up in court litigation because the last inhabitant was an old man with either no relatives or had family that was fighting over the house in court or some such thing. Well, let's hope that this house gets fixed up and once again becomes a loved, lived in home, the sooner, the better.

The side glass door is open and has been for months (side facing Miller). Of course animals are living in it. You could see multiple animal tracks entering the house last week with all the snow.
So sad, too. That house has so much character. Lovely bones, as they say.
And yes, the door is still open. Anyone and anything can get in that house...

I, too, have always loved this house. It's such a shame to see it deteriorating. It's been vacant for ages and at one time I called the police because of the door hanging open.

It would be wonderful to have this house in loving hands again.

It's a shame there are so many homes in foreclosure in our lovely city.

This truly is a beautiful old house--I remember as a child living on Crain Ave and thinking it was the house in the woods from Hansele and Gredrel. Or how ever you spell their names.
There is another beautiful home on Crain Ave at the end of Depeyster that is abandoned also and it too was a beautiful home. Years ago Crain Ave was the street to live on! Oh yes, Kent State does go by different standards--Kent would never want to make KSU mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

uh what does KSU have to do with this? also i love this house too, always wondered about it.

i loved that house too i would love to live there its close to my work where i can walk there without driving

OMG a YEAR! PS Kent Patch peoples this person used a curse word!!!! i've had my posts deleted for the same minor infraction, some please deal with this travesty!!!!

also, in my limited brain capacity, i imagine the city knows KSU has plans for these houses one way or another and letting them sit for a while (let's say a year) isn't a big deal in the long run. whereas this crain ave house in question has been vacant for at least a decade. bit of a difference wouldn't you say? sheesh and to think i only have one degree from kent state...

Well, b, maybe if you lived beside 220 South Willow you would see my point. Get in your car, ride your bike, or walk down and take a look at it. More than a year is certainly a big deal when an owner knows he/she/it is is not going to use it but is, in fact, going to tear it down, and It seems to me that an institution using the catchphrase "Excellence in Action" could at least show a bit more concern for neighbors. You disagree, but then you only have one degree!
I think that if the City of Kent is going to cite owners of vacant properties for infractions of any nature, it should do it across the board. To not do so is discrimination at its finest. Were I to have a vacant house with infractions, and if I were cited for them, and if you had a vacant house with infractions, and you were NOT cited, you can bet your bottom dollar that I would have a lawsuit againdt the City so fast your head would swim. Are we not equal under the law?

not all things in life are fair or concrete. but hey i'm a dummy arguing with another dummy on the internet. isn't life grand!

besides, you're just using this as an excuse to "off topic" bash KSU so yeah there's that.

A user comment has been deleted for violating Patch's terms of use involving profanity (http://kent.patch.com/terms).

I am certainly not bashing KSU, b, I am taking issue with its employee responsible for off campus real estate purchases and who really ought to show some concern toward people who are affected by his/her seemingly blase attitude toward maintenance of the properties. The only reason I mentioned KSU in the first place is because it is blatently allowed by the City to do its thing, but private owners cannot get away with the same thing. It is a fine example of discrimination.
I have two degrees from KSU. My deceased Mother received two degrees from KSU and taught English there. Please bear in mind that I have ho animosity toward it as an institution of higher learning.