Frats to get Courthouse as New Neighbor

Site for new courthouse on East Main Street across from several fraternity houses

Frat House Parking Changes Approved by Planning Commission

Four East Main Street fraternity houses will have new parking lots to accommodate the PARTA transit center

Changes are coming to the parking lots of four fraternity houses on East Main Street to make room for the new Kent Central Gateway transit center. At Tuesday night's Kent Planning Commission meeting, Bryan Smith, director of planning for the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority, gave a rundown of the changes to the houses at 224, 230, 300 and 312 E. Main Street. Planning commission members Peter Paino and Melissa Long were absent, but all changes were unanimously approved. Each property's parking lot has to be reconfigured to fit the facility, and the work will be done at PARTA's expense, Smith said. Smith and TranSystems designer David Watkins, a consultant on the project, worked with property owners to make sure the houses …

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Transit Center Forces Parking Changes for Neighboring Fraternities

Property owners asking Kent Planning Commission for changes in parking plans

The massive Kent Central Gateway transit center is forcing adjacent property owners to create new parking plans for their fraternity houses. To build the new center, the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority acquired a portion of the property from several houses to the north of the transit center site. For many of the houses, that small section of their property served as parking for the house tenants. As a result, the property owners were forced to change their parking plans for the properties. Those parking plan changes must be approved by the Kent Planning Commission, which will vote on several tonight. Attached to this article is the meeting agenda and the city planning staff report on the changes. Look for coverage of the …

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