Owner of Former Funeral Home Going Solo

The city of Kent is mostly hands-off when it comes to the redevelopment of a former funeral home and book store on East Main Street.

The property at 1005 E. Main St., formerly an extension of the now and, before that, the Wood-Kortwright Funeral Home, has been for sale for months.

But the owner is largely taking it upon himself to find a buyer or someone to redevelop the property, city officials have said.

Kent Economic Development Director Dan Smith said the property owner, Howard DuBois, hasn't divulged who has shown an interest in the property.

"And property owners don’t have to. They have property rights," Smith said. "He has been in negotiations with a lot of folks. Howard has spoke in general terms here with us at the city of Kent ... They haven’t actively asked me to help them promote the site, even though we do. I have it in all my available properties listings."

For Kent Patch readers, a Trader Joe's grocery remains the most popular choice for practically any vacant commercial site in Kent.

In , 31 percent of votes cast were in favor of a Trader Joe's at the site. Kent Patch readers chose the same option when considering options for the on South Water Street.

The suggestions for the East Main Street building ranged from a senior center to a hardware store and even another book store.

The building has a little more than 6,000 finished square feet and stands on a lot that has a little more than 1 acre and is zoned commercial.

"I think without question it's going to be retail," Smith said. "I think it's prime. It's proximate to Kent State University. We have so many food options coming to town, I would really like to see it not be food."