Parking to Change in Kent State's Science Corridor

Kent State University will build a new, 200-car parking lot in its science corridor to serve the new College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology.

The university plans to build the new lot north of the Liquid Crystal Institute because the new engineering college is planned to occupy an existing, 220-car surface parking lot that serves mutliple buildings in the science corridor, which includes buildings for the nursing and math programs.

"We’re building a building on the existing parking lot, and so we have to relocate the parking to behind Henderson Hall so that we don’t lose any parking spaces," Kent State President Lester Lefton said.

The new parking lot will cost about $1.45 million.

The new engineering college will be built just east of the math building and will front Summit Street. The new college is part of the Foundations of Excellence $170 million campus building program.

Recreational activities, mostly soccer, that took place on the greenspace will be relocated to the athletic fields near Loop Road.

"We don’t want to lose any parking spaces because that would be a real inconvenience for students and faculty," Lefton said. "It will not displace anything except some grass."