Schools

Kent State Hires Firm to Manage $150 Million in Construction

Ohio based Ruhlin Company will oversee campus renovation

An Ohio firm will oversee close to $150 million in construction projects planned on the Kent State University main campus during the next several years.

The university plans to hire Sharon Center, OH, firm The Ruhlin Company to oversee renovations planned to the campus as part of Kent State's "Foundations of Excellence, Building the Future” initiative.

The company will oversee four of the construction initiative's largest projects: the new College of Architecture and Environmental Design building; a new facility for the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology; a new multi-disciplinary research facility via renovations to several existing buildings; and construction and renovations for the School of Art.

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Kent State Board of Trustees member Jacquline Woods said The Ruhlin Company was chosen by the university to manage the critical elements of the campus renovation after "an exhaustive interview process."

The university's board of trustees voted in December to give administrators the OK to contract with the firm for the construction.

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At the time of the vote no contract yet existed between both Kent State and Ruhlin, so it's unclear how much the firm will be paid and for how long they will be under contract.

Gregg Floyd, vice president for finance and administration at Kent State, said both parties are finalizing the contract language.

"We’ve discussed two or three alternative strategies depending on how long the projects take," Floyd said.

The four projects Ruhlin will oversee, with budgets totaling near $150 million, will be paid for in part through the university’s issuance of $170 million in general receipts bonds for other campus construction.

The company has experience building in the healthcare, government, higher education and heave manufacturing fields, according to its website.

Ruhlin's past projects in higher education include several new buildings for the University of Akron.


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