I have been involved with restoration of old houses....love hate, but ultimately I feel good buildings should be maintained.
Unfortunately many buildings around the country were not maintained and have fallen into such disrepair that it becomes very difficult to save them.
I hope the Hotel is salvageable , sign me up for a 1400 sf condo!

Not sure if it is finacially worthwhile anymore to restore, but would be nice to have it still there, if possible.

As a former Portage County kid, I'd be happy to see the building survive, if it can be saved at a reasonable price.

Joe Bujak hired me & and friend to help clean up the property one summer. We shoveled pigeon droppings for about a month, repaired the boarded up windows, and removed all of the old appliances that were still in there.
I worked downstairs for both of the businesses on the first floor. What used to be the Grand Lobby of the hotel, was then a two floor nightclub. The restaurant was a pizza joint for a while when I was there. I mopped the floors during the day, and made pizza at night.
There were many stories about the place passed around about the "dorm style" rooms and the 70's hey days. If you've never been inside the Kent Hotel, the shared bathrooms were down at the end of the hall. Each room didn't have a bathroom. But if you were lucky, you got the larger end units, rumor has it Joe Walsh stayed in one of them. Also, there was a story about a stoned hippie who fell out of a window and landed on his head. Got up, and said, "Wow, man" Stories about the "riff raff" of the times with drugs and sit-ins and people sitting in the hallways smoking marijuana and playing guitars. I guess these kinds of situations, along with careless slum lording, gave the city fuel to close the place down.

The elevator system was in disrepair at the time, so we used the stairs to go to each room, and work our way down to clean it up that summer.
Looking at it now, I think it could be quite a gem. It could be a great modern condo for downtown dwellers. I'd buy a condo in a heartbeat. Don't worry, Kent Council, you don't have to make yet another "student housing" out of it, with all the headaches from out of town slumlords, and younger tenants trashing the place. You can place restrictions on a Condominium Project: for example, must be 80% owner occupied, etc. or whatever, you know.. so you can mitigate the depreciation risks and have people that would give you Pride of Ownership.
A grocery store downtown would compliment the other businesses, and provide for those folks living and working downtown.
Besides, the roof has the best view of downtown Kent ever! Somebody should get that place, and put a terrace up there.
We all know it will take a lot of money to fix it up, but in Real Estate, it's Location, Location, Location, right?

I think most people in the area would love to see it restored instead of demolished. The question, though, is whether there is someone out there who has the wherewithal to invest in such a venture and wants to. Without that, it doesn't really matter what anyone wants. I defintiely don't want to see the building sitting vacant and derelict for another decade. I'd much rather see it demolished than the way it is now, but in a perfect situation, I'd definitely want to see it restored and vibrant.

please restore it.

Yes, please. A good deal of my misspent youth is tied up in that building!

The essential question is whether it would be a viable building even if the shell was completely gutted and set up however new investors wanted it. I believe that the answer is no. A downtown building of that size isn't really viable without a lot of parking space that is part of the package. I would put a guess at a MINIMUM of one parking space for every 600 feet of space would be needed (based on hotel and/or residential use). I also expect that it would be cheaper to start over as well as much more flexible in its ultimate use. In terms of preserving it for the sake of sentiment, it has been an eyesore for so long that I don't see any positive value to that.

I would like to see the "old" hotel restored, if it's structurally possible, using part of the space for a specific purpose - to provide exclusive nightly accommodations for performers appearing at the Kent Stage! Which, in my opinion, has been overlooked for its "diamond in the rough" potential in the downtown renovation. Of course, this would have to include a complete theater restoration (at the most) or at least a front lobby/concession area cosmetic make-over.
Again,In my opinion, providing small shops and eateries is not enough to make downtown Kent a “destination.” At least, not in the long run. But, a restored theater, with artist accommodations, most certainly will.
I would venture to say that more struggling towns have been, or are being revitalized, through their recognition and efforts at coupling the arts and retail. As evidenced by the university gallery partnering with McKay Bricker and the success of live music at town events - retail and the arts can operate to compliment, as well as sustain and nourish, each other.
So, to all those involved in the remaking of downtown – I think not considering and including The "old" Hotel and The Kent Stage in your “build it and they will come” plan to be a huge missed opportunity. These two historically significant, neglected structures are just waiting to provide a lasting draw and anchor to not only Acorn Alley, but the city of Kent and Northeast Ohio.

It is part of the original town, just like the flour mill, it is nice to see the town stay the way it was and the new that is coming to it. Putting the old with the new just like the people that live in Kent, we are all going to get to that point someday.
cjm from Ravenna