Kent State to Pay $4.25 Million to Lease Vacant Book Store

Final lease agreement inked between university and Portage Port Authority for 3.75 acres

The final agreement between Kent State University and the Portage Port Authority shows Kent State will pay $4.25 million to lease the former DuBois Book Store property on South Lincoln Street. In December, Kent State's trustees voted to agree to lease the 3.75 acres from the port authority, an economic development body comprised of members appointed by the Portage County Commissioners. The exact total, $4,254,902, includes $4,165,502.98 for principal and interest, $89,400 for the annual administrative fee and a $3.7 million security deposit. "The security deposit money will come back to the university," Kent State spokesperson Emily Vincent said. The book store closed in the summer of 2011. Howard DuBois, whose family founded the store in …

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Kent State to Lease Vacant DuBois Property from Portage Development Board

University trustees approve deal to use 3.75 acres as staging area for construction of new architecture college with option to buy

In 15 years, Kent State University could own the vacant former DuBois Book Store property at the corner of Summit and South Lincoln streets, according to university officials. The Kent State University Board of Trustees voted unanimously Wednesday — with one abstention — to approve a tenative deal that would see Kent State lease the property from the Portage Port Authority, an economic development body comprised of members appointed by the Portage County Commissioners. Kent State President Lester Lefton said immediate plans for the property are to use it as a construction staging area for the new College of Architecture and Environmental Design, which will stand on the new Esplanade extension into downtown. "We see that as a strategic …

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POLL: Best Choice for Former Funeral Home, Book Store

Patch's Visions for Vacancies asks for reader input on vacant commercial properties

Earlier this week we asked for your thoughts on what kind of business or organization would succeed in the former former funeral home on East Main Street across from Kent State University. You responded in spades. Below you'll find a poll crafted from your suggestions. Vote for your favorite choice. Here's a little background on the property: the empty building at 1005 E. Main St. was formerly owned and operated by Wood Kortwright Funeral Home, which sold the property for $500,000 to DuBois in 2005, according to the Portage County Auditor. DuBois operated the space as an extension of their book store briefly until the main location closed last summer. The building has a little more than 6,000 finished square feet and stands on a lot that …

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Ned Blimpton

9:23 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012

Erm. Your second sentence is a bit confusing, but I have a suggestion - Don't live in a college town if you want to raise your kids in suburbia; move to Stow. BTW, your suggestion of Chuck E Cheese is.... A PIZZA PARLOR! On your list of "undesirable" businesses.   more ›

What Would Fit Well in Former Book Store, Funeral Home

Patch's "Visions for Vacancies" asks for your input on vacant commercial properties

Last an extension of the closed DuBois Book Store, the former funeral home on East Main Street across from Kent State University is for sale. Patch wants to know: what do you think would be a good business for that location? The empty building at 1005 E. Main St. was formerly owned and operated by Wood Kortwright Funeral Home, which sold the property for $500,000 to DuBois in 2005, according to the Portage County Auditor. DuBois operated the space as an extension of their book store briefly until the main location closed last summer. 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. Tell us in the comments what kind of a business or use you think …

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Delbert D. Flowers

6:34 pm on Thursday, December 6, 2012

There are already too many churches around here, and if I hear another thing about Trader Joe's, I swear I'm gonna flag the comment!! I want everyone to realize, that Starbuck's is always having parking problems, especially every spring semester! So if Campus Book And Supply moves oof and away from the two blocks that span E. Main and S. Lincoln, and E. Main and S. Willow, then the parking …   more ›

UPDATE: Apartments Pending at DuBois Site near Kent State Campus

Book store property vacant since June 2011; Patch's "Visions for Vacancies" asks for reader input on empty commercial spaces

Editor's note: this story was updated May 8, 2012. The owner of the now-vacant DuBois Book Store property on South Lincoln Street is planning to sell the property to a developer looking to build apartments on the site. Howard DuBois, who still runs two of the DuBois family book stores in Oxford and Cincinnati, OH, said Friday that the sale of the 18 or so parcels that surround the empty Kent building is pending to a developer who "wants to put in a significant number of apartments and perhaps something commercial down below." DuBois did not name the developer. "I don't want to jinx it," he said. "It’s still going to be at least a couple of months before we have a final agreement." DuBois did say that the developer is not Cleveland-based …

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POLL: Pick the Best Option for DuBois Property

Patch's "Visions for Vacancies" asks for reader input on vacant commercial properties

Earlier this week we asked you what you think would be the best redevelopment option for the vacant former DuBois Book Store property on South Lincoln Street. We received lots of interesting suggestions, which you can vote on in the poll below. The property has been vacant since DuBois Book Store closed in June 2011.

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What Would Succeed at the old DuBois Book Store Property?

Patch's 'Visions for Vacancies' asks for your input on empty commercial storefronts

A large, prime piece of real estate remains vacant between downtown Kent and the Kent State University campus since DuBois Book Store closed in June 2011. In a candid interview with Kent Patch, landowner Howard DuBois said he was interested in redeveloping the property either through a partnership with a developer or by selling the land outright. It's been almost a year since the book store closed, and the land remains vacant. Cleveland developer Fairmount Properties – you may recognize the name, as they're partnering with the city on the downtown redevelopment work — indicated in October it may buy the property from DuBois, but the property remains under his sole ownership. Patch wants to know what kind of business, organization or …

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Downtown Developer Interested in DuBois Site

Fairmount Properties, which is managing a more than $30 million downtown project, is considering buying the former DuBois Book Store property

Cleveland developer Fairmount Properties may have yet another potential redevelopment project in Kent to add to their portfolio. Randy Ruttenberg, a principal in the firm, told the Daily Kent Stater his firm is interested in buying the former DuBois Book Store property on South Lincoln Street across from the Kent State University campus. Ruttenberg told the Stater the purchase is still in the planning stages and it's too early to tell what will be built on the property, but he added they are talking with Kent State officials to determine whether a private development or more institutional project related to the university is most appropriate. It wouldn't be the first project Kent State and Fairmount have partnered on. Ruttenberg's firm is …

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Matt Fredmonsky

4:56 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

You mean Ice Arena, or something to replace the aging MACC?   more ›

Kent's Changing Landscape: Redefining a College Town

Kent's Courthouse, Fairchild Bridge and DuBois Property Are Also Changing the Landscape

This story is the fourth in a series about Kent's changing landscape

Kent's new courthouse The search for a new courthouse finally came to an end in early August, when Portage County officials agreed to swap land with the city for the new location.   The courthouse will eventually occupy the land at 303 E. Main St., where Jimmy John's Sandwich Shop stands. Jimmy John's will stay in Kent, but it will be forced to move elsewhere.   Here are some numbers about the new courthouse project: In an early August interview, Portage County Commisioner Tommie Jo Marsilio, who opposed the land swap idea, said the project needed to be in the better interest of the community before she could support it. "Ultimately the taxpayers in the city of Kent and Portage County are not going to lose," Marsilio said. "My keen …

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DuBois: Book Market, Redevelopment Options Forced Kent Store Closure

Howard DuBois said the decision to close DuBois Book Store in Kent was tough

The owner of DuBois Book Store said a combination of a tough textbook market and opportunities to redevelop the Kent store property forced the closure of the 75-year-old book store. Howard DuBois said in a phone interview this afternoon the onslaught of digital technology, textbook rental programs and other challenges to the traditional book business played a large role in deciding to abruptly close the store Tuesday. The other factor, DuBois said, was the opportunity to redevelop the large chunk of land the store occupies at the corner of Summit and South Lincoln streets across from Kent State University. "The book business, it's, I won't say grim, but it's tough," DuBois said. "Sometimes kids can go online and get them cheaper than we …

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