Signs Hung for Kent State Hotel

94-room hotel with 300-seat conference center set to open in June

Another sign of progress, literally, for downtown Kent's redevelopment appeared Friday as workers hung the exterior signs for the new Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center. Lawrence Carter, the asset manager of the Kent State Hotel for the Kent State Foundation, shared these photos of the signs as they were installed Friday afternoon. Carter said there's already been a tremendous amount of interest in booking rooms in the 94-room hotel, but he expects that will increase as the signs are installed. "Once they see the signs go up that's when people really start calling," Carter said. The hotel, which includes a 300-seat conference center, also will feature a 20-seat lounge and bar area and a 50-seat restaurant all on the first …

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Amanda Harnocz

10:33 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013

haha. It's groundbreaking stuff, this bear area! (Thanks for catching this.)   more ›

Review of New Downtown Construction Projects

See the building reviews for the projects as they progressed from bare lots to finished brick

Most Kent residents only see downtown's redevelopment on its face — in essence, construction workers, cranes and changing skylines. What most people don't see is the tedious reviews of building and construction plans, approval of permits and all the other countless, and necessary, paper work. Take a look behind the scenes by perusing through the building review reports above on five of the major projects downtown:

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Kent State Hotel Taking Shape: PHOTOS

New downtown hotel remains on track for June opening

Windows were recently installed in the Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center under construction in downtown Kent. The new 94-room boutique hotel is on track for a June opening. RECENT COVERAGE:

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Mars

5:01 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013

Only people with mass wealth may form/express opinions. Soon only those who own land/property will be able to vote. Oh, wait, that was the way it used to be...   more ›

PARTA, City, Kent State Officials Thank Sen. Brown for Redevelopment Support

Sen. Sherrod Brown toured several of downtown Kent's redevelopment projects Wednesday

Sen. Sherrod Brown got the Cliffs Notes version of Kent's revival Wednesday as city and Kent State University officials gave him a brief tour of three of the downtown redevelopment projects. Brown first met with Kent Mayor Jerry Fiala, Kent City Manager Dave Ruller, Kent State President Lester Lefton and AMETEK Kent Vice President Matt French at AMETEK's new offices downtown before touring the Kent State hotel and PARTA's transit center. Brown, whose wife, Connie Schultz, graduated from Kent State, said he found Wednesday's visit and brief tour exciting given all the dramatic changes in the past two years. "I’ve been to Kent lots of times over the last 30 years, seeing the problems and seeing it coming back," Brown said. "This is a great …

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Jim Williams

12:36 pm on Thursday, January 17, 2013

Kit, I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and guess that you, like me, are a "boomer." We grew up in an age where citizens actually applauded civic investments like Universities, police and fire stations, sewers, parking decks, etc., and understood that government played an essential role in building communities through grants, loans and straight-up funding of such projects. Our parents "borrowed" …   more ›

Kent State Hotel Rooms, Banquet Center in Demand

Calls coming in for overnight stays, conference center use at new hotel under construction downtown

It has no doors or windows yet, but already the Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center is generating interest in its 94 rooms and multiple conference areas. The new hotel is under construction in downtown Kent and isn't set to open until some time in June. But that's not stopping local business people and Kent State alumni from booking early to be among the first to patronize the new hotel. Kent State President Lester Lefton said the university hired a coordinator just to handle the initial bookings for the new hotel. "We have had interest from people and groups from all over the region who want to be some of the first to stay in the new hotel," Lefton said. "It’s becoming a hot commodity." A full-service kitchen will provide …

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Editor's Picks: Top Stories of 2012

Editor's Picks: New Hotel, Parking Garage Construction

Kent Patch gives you the editor's picks for top 10 stories of 2012.

Editor's note: in 2012 Kent has seen a tremendous amount of construction, from downtown to the neighborhoods and the Kent State University campus. Smack in the middle of all that is construction of two of the key elements of downtown's redevelopment: PARTA's Kent Central Gateway and the Kent State Hotel. The PARTA facility will provide a much-needed boost to parking downtown with the addition of 362 parking spaces and some new retail space. The hotel's 94 rooms and 300-seat banquet center will provide space for wedding receptions and other large gatherings along with regular guests to support the many new businesses downtown. Both buildings started as bare ground earlier this year, yet in just a few months they have taken shape and already…

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Kent State Hotel Sign Plan gets OK

New downtown hotel set to open in June 2013

A comprehensive sign plan for the new Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center under construction in downtown Kent was approved by the Kent Planning Commission Tuesday. The sign plan includes five signs total, three of which are identical. The three signs that match are rectangular with a color scheme that matches Kent State's blue and gold. The two signs that are not alike are the flag-style sign that will be attached to the building's northwest corner and the 43-foot long sign that will wrap around the canopy above the main entrance to the conference center off Erie Street. Lou Belknap, of Agile Sign and Lighting Company, the firm designing the signs, said they modified the signs following recommendations made by the Kent …

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No Banners for Kent State Hotel

Architecture board signs off on comprehensive sign plan for new downtown building

A sign plan for the new Kent State University Hotel was called "mundane" Tuesday by one member of the Kent Architectural Review Board, which issued the plan a certificate of appropriateness despite such criticisms. Glen Dreyer, chairman of the architectural review board, criticized the sign plan presented to the board by the construction firm managing the project and the sign company that will build the signs. Karen Durepo, of The Pizzuti Companies, the construction management firm, and Lou Belknap, of Agile Sign and Lighting Company, the firm designing the signs, presented a comprehensive sign plan to the architecture board different from signs depicted in an early architectural rendering of the building. An initial rendering of the hotel…

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Around Town and Gown

Kent State Hotel Construction Progressing (PHOTOS)

94-room boutique hotel under construction on South DePeyster Street to open in June 2013

While strolling through the construction site of the new Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center one word came to mind: classy. Even though now it's just metal studs and exposed utilities it's pretty easy to see what the end goal is designers are shooting for. As Karen Durepro, construction projects manager for The Pizzuti Companies put it, "it's a true boutique hotel." A huge, open lobby area will stretch the length of the building from Erie Street along South DePeyster Street to Haymaker Parkway. Raised ceilings will highlight a 50 seat restaurant with a 20 seat, full-service bar all in the lobby area. "It will be one, long corridor," Durepro said. "It's a pretty big restaurant." The hotel pool, small by your typical travel …

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Fed, Local Officials talk Downtown Kent's Redevelopment

Video aired during Kent State football home opener against Towson University

In this video, local and federal officials talk about downtown Kent's more than $100 million in redevelopment projects.

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