Acorn Corner Grand Opening Offers Tours of Apartments

Public gets first look at upper floors of restored downtown landmark

Ron Burbick spent Monday evening thanking the many people who contributed to the restoration of Acorn Corner with a private party in anchor-tenant Buffalo Wild Wings mezzanine. The unofficial grand opening gave the invite-only crowd a chance to tour the upper floors of the building, which is now home to the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce and Marathon Financial Services on the third floor with apartments on floors four and five. The Acorn Alley developer credited numerous partners and contributors to the restoration of the old Kent hotel, which is abuzz again at the corner of South DePeyster and East Main streets downtown. Burbick thanked private Kent residents who invested in the project, city officials for speeding the sale and permit …

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Restored Acorn Corner Opens to Public (Photos)

Buffalo Wild Wings opened Monday on first floor of renovated old Kent hotel

Buffalo Wild Wings opened to the public for the first time Monday as the first tenant in the newly renovated Acorn Corner at the intersection of Main and DePeyster streets in downtown Kent. The opening marks a milestone in the landmark building, where the upper floors have been vacant and condemned for nearly 40 years and the main floor has been empty and boarded up for more than a decade. Monday also was the first time the public got the chance to see developer Ron Burbick deliver on his promise to restore the 1920s era structure after buying it from the city in November 2011. A brief illness kept the developer from attending opening day for the restaurant, which boasts 55 TVs — including a 35 feet by 8 feet TV above the bar — and about 7…

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Signs for Acorn Corner Approved

Planning commission signs off on plan for signs as part of restoration of old Kent hotel

The renovation of Acorn Corner has cleared its last major city planning hurdle. The Kent Planning Commission approved a comprehensive sign plan for the restoration of the building Tuesday. The Kent Architectural Review Board gave the sign plan the green light earlier this month. Michelle Hartmann, vice president of The Burbick Companies, presented the sign plan to the commission Tuesday. "We did our best to minimize the signage and keep the historical integrity of the building," she said. There are 11 total signs planned for the building. The signs, and their locations, are: The signs were first presented to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office in Columbus, where state historic preservation officials also gave the plan their blessing. …

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Acorn Corner Signs Approved

Architecture board gives OK to historically accurate sign plan

Subtle and historically accurate signs on the renovated Acorn Corner will identify the building's tenants to the public. The Kent Architectural Review Board signed off on a comprehensive sign plan for the building that was presented to the group Tuesday by developer Ron Burbick. Burbick said the 11 total signs were first presented to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office in Columbus, where state historic preservation officials gave the sign plan the green light. "All these signs were historically on the building," he said. The signs, and their locations, are: Burbick said the signs must remain as approved by the state preservation office for five years in order to comply with regulations set so he could obtain the close to $2 million in …

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Possible Conflict Delays Vote on Acorn Corner Signs

Kent Architectural Review Board reschedules vote on sign plan for old hotel restoration

The Kent architect working on the restoration of Acorn Corner had to delay his presentation for the building's signs to the Kent Architectural Review Board because he also sits on the panel. Doug Fuller, of Fuller Design Group Architects, asked the board to table their vote on sign plans for the restoration this week after learning from Kent's law department that it may be a violation of state law for him to present the project to the board because of his role as a member of the panel. Kent Assistant Law Director Eric Fink said Kent Law Director Jim Silver determined the potential conflict exists after the issue arose during a January meeting of the group. "We have determined under both city and state ordinance that any member of the …

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UPDATE: Planned Power Outage for Downtown Rescheduled

Planned power outage related to restoration of old Kent hotel

Editor's note: this story was updated at 3:10 p.m. UPDATE: Officials with Ohio Edison just informed city administrators that the power outage planned for tonight has been rescheduled for next Monday, Feb. 11, due to tonight's snow forecast. A planned power outage will mean the traffic signal at the intersection of DePeyster and Main streets downtown will not be working tonight. Utility work related to the restoration of Acorn Corner will result in a power shut off to part of downtown that includes that intersection and South DePeyster Street. The power will be turned off starting at 11 p.m. tonight. Power will be restored at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Flaggers will maintain traffic at the intersection while the stop light is not working. The outage …

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Power Cut to Main Street Feb. 3

Work at Acorn Corner will result in temporary power shut off

Power will be shut off to a portion of downtown Kent for redevelopment work at Acorn Corner on Feb. 3. Early that Sunday morning power crews will turn off the power from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. The power outage is expected to effect South DePeyster Street downtown and the intersection of South DePeyster and East Main streets, according to city officials. South DePeyster Street will remain open during the outage but flaggers will direct cars through the work site and the intersection, which will not have an operating traffic light during that time period.  

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Editor's Picks: Top Stories of 2012

Editor's Picks: Old Hotel Transformed into Acorn Corner

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

Editor's note: this year Kent residents bore witness to something many people thought impossible — the restoration of the old Kent hotel. The sale of the building to Acorn Alley developer Ron Burbick was a big story in 2011, and in 2012 renovations started. The restored building is expected to open in mid March with anchor tenant Buffalo Wild Wings on the first floor. For 2012, this story is one of my picks for top 10 stories of the year. RECENT COVERAGE:

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Snapshot: Elevator, Stair Shaft at Acorn Corner

For the first time, the new construction is protruding from the nearly 100-year-old building

Another sign of the restoration of Acorn Corner became clear this week when, for the first time, the elevator and stairwell shaft started to protrude from the building. Metis Construction Services has been building the new elevator shaft for three weeks, but it wasn't until this week the new shaft started to protrude from the rear of the building as it makes its way to the fifth floor. Doug Fuller, of Fuller Design Group Architects, which is overseeing the renovation, said construction on the shaft started in October with the foundation, which must extend 4 feet beneath the old hotel. The restoration is expected to be finished by mid March 2013. RELATED COVERAGE:

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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 ›