Friday, May 10, 2013
George Danhires' proposal for a veterans memorial at the Kent Central Gateway will be built and installed at the site this year
A Kent artist whose work already has a prominent place downtown has been chosen to create a veterans memorial at PARTA's Kent Central Gateway transit center, which opened this month on Erie Street. Danhires, who created the Bicentennial Sculpture that stands on Franklin Avenue near the gazebo, was selected from three finalists to create a bronze sculpture on a site at the eastern end of the transit center property. His creation for the Bicentennial Sculpture, dedicated in September 2011, was developed via a lost-wax procedure that will be used again to create the veterans memorial. PARTA's selection committee chose Danhires' proposal in December. His contract stipulates the sculpture will be delivered in time for Veterans Day on Nov. 11. …
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Wednesday, May 8, 2013
"In the spirit of early intervention I thought it might make sense to share some thoughts on the topic of paid parking in Kent," the city manager said in his most recent blog about parking downtown.
Parking. It's been a hot topic in Kent for awhile now. Many are happy with some improvements, and the fact that the new garage is free this month, but many are griping about the cost to park on social media, according to Kent City Manager Dave Ruller in his most recent blog. Patch asked its readers on Facebook about their thoughts on parking downtown. Here's what they had to say. With the news that parking at the PARTA deck is free until April, Ruller said he's noticed "the social networks have started to light up with questions of paying for parking in downtown Kent. In particular we’re hearing some rumbling about the prospect of metered parking stations planned for later this year on certain downtown streets." So here's the answer: …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Drivers will be able to park free through May
With little public fanfare, the 365 public parking spaces in PARTA's Kent Central Gateway transit center opened downtown Tuesday. The bus transfer and commercial spaces in the deck have yet to open, but many Kent residents and business owners cheered the opening of the parking spaces virtually with "likes" and positive feedback spreading like wildfire on social media. Frank Hairston, director of marketing for PARTA, said drivers who pulled into the deck when it opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday flashed the thumbs up to transit authority administrators gathered for the early opening. "If you go online, everybody’s saying that ‘Hey I get a parking space downtown!'" Hairston said. "And they’re all happy right now. There’s still work going on the …
Monday, March 25, 2013
PARTA, city plan to make 365 spaces available to public
Drivers will not be able to lease or "buy" the rights to one of the 365 parking spaces in PARTA's new Kent Central Gateway transit center in downtown Kent. The new transit center, in which the parking aspect was scheduled to open this month, won't open until mid April, the Record-Courier reported Friday. Bryan Smith, director of planning for PARTA, said that when the deck opens it will be available to everyone. "We do not plan to lease spaces," Smith said in an email. Essentially, that means business and property owners won't be able to plunk down cash for guaranteed spaces in the deck. The city, which invested about $4 million to help build the parking levels of the deck, has entered into a lease agreement with PARTA to manage the public …
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Thursday, March 7, 2013
Ray LaHood will tour PARTA's Kent Central Gateway, for the second time, Friday
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will visit Kent Friday, for the second time, to tour the construction site of PARTA's Kent Central Gateway Transit Center. LaHood visited Kent in 2010 to sign the grant award for the transit center project, which was awarded the first-ever TIGER grant of $20 million. The grant pays for the bulk of the transit center, which will feature 365 public parking spaces and 10 bus transfer bays when it opens this spring in downtown Kent. In 2010, LaHood toured the area of downtown Kent that since has been vastly redeveloped in large part due to the parking deck and bus transfer center. The nation's transportation secretary wrote about his visit on his blog for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Look for …
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Sunday, February 10, 2013
PARTA plans grand opening of Kent Central Gateway later in 2013
Drivers will be able to park their cars in PARTA's new Kent Central Gateway transit center and parking deck some time next month. The transit agency is on track to open the parking portion of the transit center, with its 365 public parking spaces, by the end of March. Bryan Smith, director of planning for PARTA, said exactly when next month the parking deck opens will depend on the weather. The 10-bus bay transit element of the Kent Central Gateway won't open until later this year after the reconstruction of Erie Street between Haymaker Parkway — where a new intersection will be built — and South DePeyster Streeet. "And that requires asphalt," Smith said. PARTA also didn't want to open the transit portion of the new center before the end …
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Sunday, November 25, 2012
Models of three artists' designs will be moved to downtown Kent Monday for public viewing
The three artists' conceptual designs for a veterans memorial at PARTA's Kent Central Gateway transit center in downtown Kent will be on display downtown starting Monday. Bryan Smith, director of planning for PARTA, said the three artists who are semifinalists to design the veterans memorial submitted their proposals Nov. 14 to PARTA's steering and advisory committees on the project. The three artists are: Smith said starting Monday the three mock-ups will be moved to downtown Kent to an as-yet unidentified location for public viewing. Kent residents are encouraged to provide feedback on the three designs via PARTA's website for the transit center project. Before year's end the transit agency will hold two public meetings to get feedback …
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Downtown project includes retail, commercial space on first floor
PARTA's Kent Central Gateway transit center under construction in downtown Kent easily cleared another planning process hurdle Tuesday. The Kent Planning Commission voted to approve a comprehensive sign package for the retail and commercial tenants who will occupy an anticipated 18,000 square feet of the massive parking garage and bus transit center. The project's architect, Quentin Petersen, of Arizona-based TranSystems, said they opted for the comprehensive sign package to create a consistent look for the retail tenants' signs. Kent planning engineer Jennifer Barone said projects that apply for and gain approval for a comprehensive sign package must adhere to it as approved by the planning commission because it negates the city's sign …
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Friday, October 26, 2012
Kent, Ravenna residents among final 3 groups competing to design new memorial at downtown transit center
Ask Brinsley Tyrrell what he envisions for a veterans memorial at the new Kent Central Gateway transit center downtown, and you likely won't get an answer. "I'm keeping that under wraps for now," he said. The 71-year-old Ravenna artist is among the three semifinalists competing to design the new Veterans Memorial at PARTA's new center under construction in Kent. Along with Tyrrell, Kent artist George Danhires is among the semifinalists. Danhires designed and installed the Kent Bicentennial Sculpture. The bronze sculpture, dedicated in 2011, stands on Franklin Avenue north of the Pufferbelly and depicts images from Kent's history. Aside from the two local men, three residents of Georgia are working together on their design and comprise the …
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Kent Architectural Review Board signs off on design specifications for downtown parking deck, bus transfer garage
New retail and commercial tenants in PARTA's Kent Central Gateway transit center will have some strict guidelines to follow on how they advertise their business to the public. The Kent Architectural Review Board approved a set of sign guidelines Tuesday that dictate how commercial tenants in the $26 million transit center can hang signs on the building's facade. The guidelines essentially spell out where a tenant can put their sign, put limits on size of the sign and dictate how it can be lit. Bryan Smith, project manager for PARTA overseeing construction and design of the transit center, said the transit agency will hire a property management firm to find and oversee tenants for the available commercial spaces on the first-floor of the …
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John Bard
2:09 pm on Friday, May 10, 2013
I would hope that after this memorial is dedicated that a like amount be given to the memorial at Standing Rock Cemetery. The memorial that citizens have recognized for decades as the veterans memorial. more ›