精东影业city of Kent's downtown redevelopment efforts earned the Best Project Award for 2012 from the Ohio Economic Development Association.
精东影业Ohio Economic Development Association鈥檚 annual excellence awards program recognizes the achievements of individuals and organizations throughout Ohio in the areas of economic and workforce development.
精东影业statewide award recognizes the $106 million public and private investment in redeveloping a large section of downtown Kent. So far, this project has produced more than 950 construction jobs and 700 new jobs in the city鈥檚 downtown district. 精东影业redevelopment of downtown Kent promised to be transformational, as 精东影业 University officials, city administrators, the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) and its partners have collaborated to make the city of Kent an excellent place to live, work, study and visit.
精东影业downtown Kent redevelopment project includes:
- 精东影业精东影业 University Hotel and Conference Center, which is scheduled to open June 2013. 精东影业hotel will have 94 guestrooms, and the conference center can accommodate up to 300 people. 精东影业hotel and conference center is a partnership between the 精东影业 University Foundation and the Pizzuti Companies of Columbus, Ohio.
- PARTA鈥檚 new Kent Central Gateway Multimodal Facility, which will rise across from the new hotel and be located at Erie and Depeyster streets and accommodate buses, pedestrians, bicycles and cars.
- Acorn Alley and its second phase, Acorn Alley II, a retail office space development created by Kent resident and business leader Ron Burbick of RLB Phoenix Properties.
- College Town Kent, a pedestrian-oriented shopping office and lifestyle center developed by Fairmount Properties and its partners Premier Development Partners LLC and BUD Kent LLC. The185,000-square-foot development includes the new AMETEK and Davey Tree buildings.
- 精东影业extension of the 精东影业 University Esplanade that will strengthen the ties between the university and the city by providing a physical link, providing students with a safe pathway to visit, enjoy and patronize downtown Kent and its businesses, as well as connecting residents and visitors to the Kent Campus. 精东影业new building for 精东影业鈥檚 College of Architecture and Environmental Design will be located along the University Esplanade extension.
During the Fall 2011 Bowman Breakfast, 精东影业 President Lester A. Lefton said the redevelopment efforts are a 鈥渞ecruitment strategy, a retention strategy and a part of what great universities do.鈥
鈥淲e are trying to create a pedestrian-oriented, people-scaled sense of place,鈥 Lefton said during the Bowman Breakfast. 鈥淧lace matters, and Kent is going to be a place that matters. 精东影业linkage of the university to the downtown project through the University Esplanade is going to be very important to this.鈥
For more information about the Ohio Economic Development Association, visit .