Vandals Hit Kent State Esplanade House

A vacant house owned by Kent State University in the neighborhood west of campus has been targeted by vandals.

Multiple windows were smashed and the front door kicked open at the house at 329 E. College Ave. this week.

The vacant house is one of 41 properties bought by Kent State to extend the Esplanade west from campus into downtown.

A neighbor of the house, who asked not to be identified, said she heard people throwing what she thought was a ball or other object at the windows late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning from inside the house.

"There's nothing to stop them from going inside," she said. "It bothers me, because I feel like 'what if they set the house on fire?'"

The neighbor said she's seen who she believed to be university officials on the property in recent weeks, but she's never seen anyone secure the house to prevent trespassing.

"I really thought they might send somebody over to at least board up the doors and so forth, but nothing ever happened," she said.

Kent State officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

The house is one of two rental properties Kent State agreed to buy from Quatro Novus in March. The windows and doors of the second property, right next door at 230 S. Willow St., are sealed with plywood.

The sales on both properties closed in September, according to the Portage County Auditor's Office website.

This isn't the first time houses in the neighborhood bought by Kent State for the Esplanade have been vandalized.

In March 2010, KentWired reported about several other houses, some of which have since been demolished, prompting complaints from neighbors about break-ins and other similar behavior.

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