Demolition Pending on Former Car Parts Warehouse Building

Demolition is pending on the stripped and boarded-up former Car Parts Warehouse building on South DePeyster Street.

The in order to level the structure and make way for the new, $26 million Kent Central Gateway transit center.

Bryan Smith, director of planning for PARTA, said at this point a demolition time frame is unclear for the building, as the transit agency is working to finalize a contract with the construction management firm for the project.

"Hopefully we can start that kind of work sometime in April," Smith said. "Mid- to late April is our goal. But it may be sooner, may be later depending upon various pieces of negotiation."

The Car Parts Warehouse operation has since relocated a few blocks west in downtown Kent to the former NAPA parts store at 108 W. College Ave.

Meanwhile, for the transit center.

In exchange for its $4 million share to construct the upper two parking levels, the city will get a 50-year "lease" for parking in the transit center.

According to a draft of the lease agreement, PARTA will enter into and execute a "fee-based parking management agreement" with a third-party company that will manage the parking operations at the transit center.

Kent City Council will discuss the agreement next month at their April 6 meeting.