LOOK: Inside Acorn Corner's Renovation

Developer Ron Burbick gives tenants, media tour of in-progress renovation of former old Kent hotel downtown

The renovation of Acorn Corner should be finished in mid March with new anchor tenant Buffalo Wild Wings ready to start serving beer and wings in the historic building. Developer Ron Burbick gave short tours of the renovation to business owners, city officials and local media Thursday to provide an update on its progress. Burbick said they are on a tight time frame to finish because any delays could lead to a loss of part of the federal and state historic tax credits granted for the renovation. Originally Burbick had hoped to finish the project this month, but that had to be pushed back because of delays associated with the historic windows and new elevator shaft. Doug Fuller, of Fuller Design Group Architects, which is overseeing the …

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Matt Fredmonsky

11:27 am on Monday, November 5, 2012

Thanks Linda, I'm happy to hear that we're doing a good job keeping you updated on all the work downtown! You might find a few of our topic pages interesting. The pages update whenever a story is written about a particular topic, such as "Downtown Kent" or "Acorn Corner." Here are two of those topic pages: Downtown Redevelopment: http://kent.patch.com/topics/Downtown+Redevelopment Acorn Corner …   more ›

Building Permits: Signs Freshen Look for Kent Businesses

All information is according to the Kent Community Development Department

Here's the latest batch of building permits issued by the Kent Community Development Department:

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Acorn Corner gets License to Occupy Sidewalk

Handicapped ramps, stairs will occupy portion of sidewalk at corner of East Main and DePeyster streets

The transformation of the old Kent hotel into Acorn Corner took another step forward this week. Aside from the obvious exterior and interior renovations the project gained critical approval from city officials this week for parts of its East Main Street entrances to occupy portions of the sidewalk. Kent City Council voted to grant a license to occupy part of the public right of way to Genghis Properties, LLC, the entity renovating the former hotel at 176 E. Main St. and managed by Acorn Alley developer Ron Burbick. Kent City Manager Dave Ruller said the city has granted similar licenses to occupy to the developers of the Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center and PARTA's transit center. "As managers of the public right-of-way we…

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No Veterans Housing at Acorn Corner Redevelopment

Developer says huge interest in private apartments at former downtown hotel

Transitional veterans housing is no longer a part of the redevelopment plans for Acorn Corner. Developer Ron Burbick said the initial plans to have veterans transitional apartments on the fourth floor of the former Kent hotel were changed due to expected delays in financial support from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Plus, there's been excess demand for the planned upscale apartments on the fifth floor, Burbick said. "They will be replaced by upscale apartments similar to those on the fifth floor," he said. "Efforts continue to identify space for the veterans units at some future date when funding does become available." The tenants and floor plans for the building are: The project recently encountered delays and is expected to …

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Delay at Acorn Corner Due in Part to Historic Windows, Elevator

Developer Ron Burbick says reopening of former hotel may not be until spring of 2013

The reopening of Acorn Corner, after decades of vacancy, may not happen before the end of the year as its developer had hoped. Ron Burbick, the developer restoring what has been known as the old Kent hotel for almost 40 years, said Friday the new businesses and offices coming into the building may not open until some time between January and April of 2013. "We hope to have some things open prior to that," Burbick said. "(The) date is being worked on." In a March interview, Burbick told Kent Patch he hoped to open much of the building as early as possible, and that included possibly having some tenants operating by this fall. But there's been a delay in getting historic windows for the building and in building the new elevator, which will …

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Vandals Target Acorn Alley, Corner Developments

More than $700 in damage reported to police

Vandals caused more than $700 in damage over the Labor Day holiday weekend at one of downtown Kent's newest redevelopment projects. Phoenix Properties reported to Kent Police on Sept. 3 that someone had broken the bulbs on a string of black LED rope lights that decorate the popular Acorn Alley redevelopment off East Main Street. The damage to the broken globes was estimated at $667. Just a few hundred feet east Genghis Properties, LLC, reported a door had been broken off its hinges at 180 E. Main St., otherwise known as Acorn Corner or the old Kent hotel. The damage to the Acorn Corner building, which is undergoing a several million dolllar renovation, was estimated at $50. Nothing was reported stolen from the building. It's not the first …

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Bike Shop Moving Downtown

Acorn Corner will be home to Kent Cycle this fall

Let The Sun Shine (into Acorn Corner)

Windows going into old hotel this week; interior build-outs begin next week; National Register process continues.

One of the most-noticeable elements of Ron Burbick’s resuscitation of the old Franklin Hotel starts today: the installation of its refurbished historic windows and their modern-day replicas. That noteworthy sign of progress comes on the heels of Burbick and a soon-to-be-announced tenant signing Acorn Corner’s final lease Monday, this one for the basement level of the five-story hotel completed in 1920. And last Friday, the Ohio Historical Society announced that Acorn Corner had taken yet another step forward in the process of getting on the National Register of Historic Places. The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board voted Friday to forward the nominations of nine Ohio sites – including the old Kent hotel – to a National Parks …

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As Expected, Hotel Restoration gets State Tax Credit

Ohio Department of Development awards $955,750 tax credit to 'Acorn Corner'

It should come as no surprise that the Ohio Department of Development has awarded a nearly $1 million tax credit for restoration of the Franklin Hotel in downtown Kent. The ODOD announced Tuesday that developer Ron Burbick's $5.8 million restoration project to turn the old Kent hotel into Acorn Corner will get a $955,750 tax credit. While applying earlier this year, Burbick learned the project was a virtual lock for state and federal tax credits due in large part to its 80-point score on a 100-point rating scale. Restoration work on the brick facade is already under way. In May, Burbick told the Kent Planning Commission that he already has committments from tenants to fill the entire building when it is scheduled to reopen later this year…

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