Kent State Hires Firm to Manage $150 Million in Construction

Ohio based Ruhlin Company will oversee campus renovation

An Ohio firm will oversee close to $150 million in construction projects planned on the Kent State University main campus during the next several years. The university plans to hire Sharon Center, OH, firm The Ruhlin Company to oversee renovations planned to the campus as part of Kent State's "Foundations of Excellence, Building the Future” initiative. The company will oversee four of the construction initiative's largest projects: the new College of Architecture and Environmental Design building; a new facility for the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology; a new multi-disciplinary research facility via renovations to several existing buildings; and construction and renovations for the School of Art. Kent State …

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Video shows Kent State Renovation Plans

$211 million in renovation projects planned for main campus

The latest aerial, digital video commissioned by the Kent State University architect's office previews the more than $146 million in renovations planned for the Kent campus. The video circles above campus to show the buildings that will be renovated and the new buildings that will rise for the architecture and technology schools. An earlier video documented 100 years of construction on the Kent campus and was expanded to include the more than $100 million in downtown redevelopment projects. Click on the headlines below to read about the individual projects.

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P. Craig Russell

11:19 am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Yes, indeed. Thank you.   more ›

Kent State Trustees Sign Off on $146 Million in Construction Projects at Main Campus

New architecture, applied engineering buildings part of more than $186 million Kent campus renovation

Two new buildings and other construction projects totaling more than $146 million on the Kent State University main campus got the go ahead from university trustees Wednesday. The Kent State Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to approve four major projects in the more than $186 million total renovation planned in the next several years at the Kent campus. The projects formally approved Wednesday were discussed at the trustees' June meeting and presented informally to the staff and student body earlier this year. The projects approved Wednesday are part of a broader building and renovation initiative dubbed "Foundations of Excellence: Building the Future,” by Kent State officials. The projects and their budgets are: Jacqueline Woods, chair …

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New Kent State Architecture Building to Stand on Esplanade

$40 million building part of $170 million campus renovation

Douglas Steidl was all smiles Wednesday morning. After months of internal talks, the dean of the Kent State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design finally got to speak publicly about plans for a new, $40 million architecture building as part of $170 million in renovations to the Kent campus. Steidl said a new architecture building has been talked about among university administrators for months as part of the campus renovation, but it wasn't until about six months ago the decision to build it became final. "It’s been an off-and-on and off-and-on process," Steidl said. “We’ve been excited ever since, and yet (it was) sort of an inside story as opposed to an outside story. Today it becomes an outside story." University …

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Kent State Renovation Plan Open House Aug. 29

$170 million campus renovation to be voted on by trustees in September

First Pieces of $170 Million Kent State Renovation Approved

Projects to improve access for disabled, repair key infrastructure on 4 buildings approved by university trustees

The $170 million renovation of Kent State University's main campus starts with improving access for the disabled and repairing some basic infrastructure components. The Kent State University Board of Trustees approved spending $9.1 million Wednesday to do some basic roof and facade repair to four buildings while spending another $1 million to improve access across the entire Kent campus. The specific deferred maintenance repairs, or "asset preservation projects" as described by the university, are: The $1 million for accessibility upgrades largely deals with bringing certain aspects of campus buildings, many of which were built in the 1960s, up to code with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The access improvements will range from …

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Matt Fredmonsky

12:52 pm on Thursday, June 7, 2012

That's correct.   more ›

Bonds for Kent State Campus Renovation Get Positive Rating

Moody's Investor Service says bonds are high quality and low risk

Perhaps not surprisingly, the anticipated $170 million in bonds Kent State University will issue to renovate the main campus have received a solid financial rating from Wall Street. Moody's Investor Services assigned a rating of "Aa3" to the $170 million in Series 2012A general receipt bonds, which are scheduled to go on sale Monday to pay for the largest renovation of the Kent campus in its 100-year history. The "Aa" rating means the long-term bonds are judged to be of high quality with very low credit risk, according to Moody's. "The Aa3 rating reflects Kent State's solid balance sheet, stable market position with growing enrollment and favorable operating performance," Moody's advisers said. The rating came as good news for university …

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$170 Million Campus Renovation gets OK from Kent State Trustees

Proposal to create new student fee to pay for renovation is eliminated from plan

Within a year, Kent State University's main campus will be in the midst of a $170 million renovation thanks to action taken by its board of trustees Wednesday. The Kent State University Board of Trustees approved issuing $170 million in 30-year, general receipt bonds Wednesday afternoon to pay for the renovation of the now 101-year-old main campus. The vote follows about three years of discussion over a campus renovation plan that, at one time, carried a $250 million price tag. Kent State President Lester Lefton called Wednesday a historic day due to the passage of the bonds. "There will be new buildings, there's no question about that," Lefton said. "It will probably be 10 to 12 months before there are shovels in the ground. Inside of two…

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Campus Renovation Back up for Vote at Kent State

President Lester Lefton to ask university trustees to approve $170 million measure

Kent State University President Lester Lefton is not giving up on a grand renovation of the university's more than 100-year-old main campus. Lefton is expected to ask the university's board of trustees to approve a $170 million bond measure at this afternoon's meeting to pay for campus upgrades, the Record-Courier reported this morning. This latest version of the proposal, scaled back from from $250 million and again from a $210 million plan, does not include a new student fee to pay back the bonds, Lefton told the Record-Courier. Lefton has tried unsuccessfully over the past few years to get state officials to sign off on a proposal for a new student fee to pay for the renovations, but with no new student fee attached the renovation plan …

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