Kent's Changing Landscape: Redefining a College Town

Transit Center, New Hotel to Change Downtown's Skyline

This story is the second in a series about Kent's changing landscape

The keystone of the Kent Central Gateway is PARTA's new transit center, which will add close to 400 public parking spaces, 10 bus transfer bays and a few thousand square feet of commercial and retail space to downtown Kent.  Construction is under way on the transit center on a large stretch of land along Erie Street between South DePeyster Street and Haymaker Parkway. Right across Erie Street will be the Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center. The hotel will rise to four floors with 95 rooms and a combined 300 seat banquet facility. It will carry the Kent State logo thanks to an investment from the Kent State Foundation. It's being built primarily by Columbus-based Pizzuti Companies, whose head, Ron Pizzuti, grew up in Kent and …

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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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Video: Kent State Library Reopens Mid Renovation

Several floors of the Kent State University Library get a face lift

If you thought the Kent State University Library was great before, you should see it now. After several months of renovations, three floors of the library have reopened for business — and they're doing it in style. The first floor boasts a new circulation desk, floor, wall color, layout and lobby. While the second floor offers tons of new study space, a foreign language lab and a soon-to-be Math Emporium. And there's still room to improve and grow. The 10th floor features a new reception and special collections paid for by a donation from the Gerald Read family. Check out the pictures above to see more of the progress.

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Art Words

Studio Spotlight: Andrew Simmons

Ceramicist gears up for his last hoorah during the MFA Group Show at Kent State University

Andrew Simmons' studio floor is covered in glitter.  This is a little unusual in a studio that mainly works with clay. The floors, walls, desks, chairs, tools and even ceilings of the Ceramics Building seem to be covered with a thin layer of reddish-brown dust that evens out the color of everything. Even as Simmons' glitter mixes with the work-laden dust on the floor it takes on a slightly duller hue.  This dullness disappears, however, as I enter the School of Art Gallery at Kent State and take in the brightness of Simmons' works. Most all of his sculptures are brilliantly shiny or covered with glitter.  These works, along with the master of fine arts work of three other talented artists will be on view at Kent State University's School …

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Roommate Remembers Friend Killed in Crash Tuesday

Kent State student Rachael Carlina Woodruff died after a crash near Columbus this week

Friends of Kent State University student Rachael Carlina "Carli" Woodruff are mourning her today following a deadly car crash near Columbus. Woodruff, 19, of Loveland, northeast of Cincinnati, died Tuesday after a Streetsboro man lost control of the van he was driving, crossed three lanes of traffic, the median and a rest-stop exit ramp on Interstate 71 and struck Woodruff's car. A sophomore at Kent State, Woodruff was an intervention specialist major in the  College of Education, Health and Human Services at the Kent campus. Her roommate, Chelsey Ellis, remembered "Carli" as "the best person I ever knew." "She could walk into a room where she didn't know anyone and walk out with 15 new friends," Ellis said. "She was loving and so friendly…

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Police Blotter: Pot Dealing on Campus, Roosevelt Student Charged with Assault

High school student charged after fight, Cleveland man faces marijuana trafficking charge

Roosevelt student charged with assault A student at Theodore Roosevelt High School faces an assault charge after hitting another student at the school, according to a Kent police report. Officers charged Kyle D. Barber, 18, of Kent, Feb. 3 after a fight at the school. He was arrested at 12:30 and pleaded not guilty later that day to the assault charge, which is a first-degree misdemeanor. A pretrial hearing is set for March 15 in the case before Portage County Municipal Court Judge Kevin Poland. Cleveland man selling pot on Kent State campus A Cleveland man faces a drug trafficking charge after Kent police arrested him for dealing pot on the Kent State University campus. Police arrested Terrance D. Kimbro, Jr., 20, of Cleveland, shortly …

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As Centennial Year Closes, Kent State Looks Forward

Centennial Campaign passes $220 million mark in raising funds for scholarships, facilities and research

The Kent State University community celebrated a number of achievements during its centennial in 2010, yet university officials are looking forward to more positive milestones in the school's future. Closing in on $250 million fundraising goal The university's Centennial Campaign, a fund-raising effort for bolstering scholarships, research and facilities funding, has surpassed $220 million as the calendar year nears its end. The university's overall goal, which has a deadline for the end of fiscal year 2012, is $250 million. Gene Finn, vice president for institutional advancement at Kent State, said the fundraising campaign has enjoyed a level of success almost unexpected with a year and-a-half remaining before the campaign …

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