On Wednesday, Oct. 27, representatives from Kent State University and the city of Kent will hold a community meeting called “A Vision of a Village” to share information and answer questions about a new residential complex designed to integrate the city of Kent and Kent State, physically and programmatically.
The programmatic aspect of the project is initially focused on three themes: being positive for the natural environment, the social environment and the local economy.
The university is currently seeking a design/build developer for the project called “The Intergenerational Village.” The proposed site for the project is along Campus Center Drive, north of state Route 261, west of the Allerton Street neighborhood.
The development is envisioned as an environmentally sustainable, socially diverse community that is well integrated into the city of Kent and Kent State. The Village is seen as a community where existing and potential Kent stakeholders of all ages and backgrounds have an entry point. This would include wide spectrum of people as potential residents, including international students, older and married students, artists/entrepreneurs, faculty, staff, alumni and seniors.
Neither Kent State nor the city will be investing any capital in the project. Kent State’s objective is to work with a real estate developer or development team that would assume responsibility for the financing, design, construction and operation of the property.
This community meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Oct. 27 in the seminar rooms of the Warren Student Recreation and Wellness Center, located at 1550 Ted Boyd Drive on the Kent Campus. The meeting will also be available online at https://boxcast.tv/view/allerton-intergenerational-village-project-536656.
For more information about this project, contact Doug Pearson, Kent State’s associate vice president for facilities planning and operations, at dpearso9@kent.edu.
WRITTEN BY: PHIL SOENCKSEN