Old Hotel In Kent...

With all the news focusing on the progress of the NEW Kent State University hotel (rendering below) in downtown Kent, it might be tempting to try and overlook the status of the old hotel in downtown Kent, but try as we might, it’s prominent location, size and historical importance makes it too important to dismiss. 

Rendering of the New KSU Hotel

2007 Picture of the Old Hotel

The good news is that the building was purchased by the City last week, and now, for the first time in 30 years we’re in a position to perhaps change the fate of this historic landmark and restore it’s faded glory. 

As the picture suggests, that will be easier said than done.  The building is showing its age, both inside and out, and it will take a lot more than a little TLC to get it back in shape — but with all the good things that are going on downtown, I can’t think of a better time at trying to attract investment interest in the building than right now. 

The City didn’t buy the building to get in the real estate business or to flip the property for a profit.  Our goal is to find a buyer who shares our vision for what the building could be, and happens to have the capacity and financial wherewithal to take this challenge and write a happy ending to this story.  The building deserves it. 

We’re already about 20 years behind schedule so the sooner we can bring a credible investor to the table the better, and I hope to have a workable sale no later than the end of the year.   It’s no small challenge and everyone will have their due diligence to do but I still think it’s reasonable to set an aggressive schedule and go after it full speed ahead in order to make up for all the years of lost time. 

Stay tuned.    

City CDBG Funding...

With the economy in the doldrums a lot of attention gets focused on what the City can do to contribute to an economic recovery.  All the downtown projects are great examples of that.

But there’s more to your City government than economic development.  City services still provide a much needed safety net — both in terms of physical safety like Fire and Police, and in social programs to fill gaps that people have a hard time filling on their own. 

Despite the Federal budget issues, the good news is that the Feds still fund many of those safety net services under the umbrella of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.  The CDBG pot is smaller than it used to be but we still use those funds to cover a lot of needs in Kent.  

Below I’ve included the 2010 CDBG program summary to give you a sense of how those funds get used to meet community needs. 

Discarding Drugs...

Cabinets full of expired or unneeded medications?  Not sure what to do with them?  The Portage County Sheriff’s Office can help. 

It turns out that this Saturday, October 29th, the Portage County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with Portage County Water Resources Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration, is giving the public an opportunity to safely discard unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Halloween In Kent...

The late night downtown Halloween festivities tend to draw the most attention but there’s a lot of other good old fashioned Halloweening that goes on around Kent. 

Last weekend Kent Parks and Recreation held their Haunted Hayrides (a big hit with the under 10 crowd) and this Friday, October 28, Main Street Kent is hosting their Family Friendly Halloween activities from 5pm to 8pm in downtown Kent. 

Here’s the details:

But wait, there’s more — and in very Halloween fashion its found in unexpected places. 

It turns out that Kent State University will open the doors to the Recreation Facility for a Haunted wRECk event for children ages 12 and under on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.  — read the details in their press release below.    

Halloween Comes Early to Kent State University

Kent, OH – The Student Recreation and Wellness Center (SRWC) and Ice Arena at Kent State University will be celebrating Halloween with their annual event, Haunted wRECk, on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Haunted wRECk is a free trick-or-treat costume party designed for children 12 and under and includes nine themed areas to explore and collect candy!

The festive night starts with Halloween crafts and a scary photo booth. Participants may park at the SRWC for free from 5 – 9 p.m. Ghoul guides will then escort guests through a spooky tour of each area. Visitors can hitch a ride on the Spooky Express to the Ice Arena to hear the rest of the story and for the “Greeks, Ghouls and Goblins Pit Stop.” The pit stop is part of a combined effort with Kent State’s fraternities and sororities to provide a safe environment for children to trick-to-treat. Each Greek chapter will decorate a car in the parking lot and participants will collect candy when visiting each one. After the final decorated area at the Ice Arena, visitors are welcome to stay for a free food and ice-skating.

On the ride back to the SRWC, participants are invited to judge a staff decorating competition by voting for their favorite themed area. While there is no fee for this event, nonperishable food items would be greatly appreciated. All donations will be given to the United Way.

For more information about the event, please visit our website at www.kent.edu/recservices/hauntedwreck.

____________

And last but not least, the City of Kent officially hosts traditional trick or treating in City neighborhoods on Sunday, October 30th from 3 pm to 5 pm.  Houses with their lights on have goodies for every little ghost and goblin. 

Sugar will be in abundance for the next 4 days in Kent. 

Have fun and stay safe. 

Fairchild Bridge Opening...

It’s official, the new Fairchild Avenue Bridge will go into service at 8:30 am on Thursday, October 27. 

The engineers sent word around on Tuesday that the final touches should be done on Wednesday so the bridge could be opened on Thursday.  Being engineers, the bridge opening was just another task on the work schedule that followed after item 5,643 (remove the barricades on the bridge) — so when we heard the good news we intervened and added cut ribbon and take photos to their task list.

The bridge opening has been a long time coming, and as the largest bridge project in the history of Portage County, it seemed worthy of a momentary celebration, a few snips of the scissors and pictures for posterity. 

I know, it sounds a bit dramatic — yes, it’s just a bridge after all — but if you knew how much work went into getting to this point, you’d raise a toast to the engineers and everyone involved in this project.  We can’t do that on company time so we’ll settle for some ribbons and pictures — saving the bottle popping and toasting for a little later. 

Technically, the project still has a lot more work to go.  Most immediately we’ve got some more signal work that needs to be finished before the Crain Avenue connection can be re-opened, so at least until next Monday the new bridge will only be open to Water Street.

Then the old bridge will come down and we’ll build a new hike and bike bridge in it’s place.  The roadway alignments still need some work and all of the green space, including the park like landscaping and the stormwater features all have to be built next year.  

But those are tomorrow’s worries, today we celebrate the bridge opening.

Dowtown Kent Cider Fest...

It’s time for the annual Downtown Kent Cider Fest which means Fall has officially arrived.

Here’s the event announcement from the good folks at the Standing Rock Gallery that have made this an event not to be missed for 8 years running.   

-Magic Show with “The Great Brad” at Noon.

-Old Time Music performed by The Kent Shindig All-Stars (Weather Permitting), 1:00pm. featuring champion flatfoot dancer Charlie Burton of Beaver County, PA and flatfoot dancer Lori Jo Folger

-Baked Goods for sale

-Children’s Activities

-Amazing and Unique Kent Businesses Open to Serve You

-and more!!!

WHEN: Saturday, October 22nd, 2011. Noon to 3pm

WHERE: Home Savings Plaza, corner of Main (59) & Water (43) Streets, Downtown Kent

ADMISSION: Free and Open to the Public

-There is a charge for cider, baked goods, and other vendor food items

Small Town Connections...

In an era dominated by big box retail and 24-hour infomercials, the personal touch seems to be a lost art.  Press 1 for billing…2 for a listing of our hours…3 for returns…4 for directions…5 to start all over again.

If you’re tired of feeling like the hamster on the flywheel, take solace in knowing that Kent’s mom and pop merchants offer first rate products with old time service. 

Kent’s merchants may not have all the consumer data and merchandising formulas like the big guys, but that’s ok because it’s the local nuances and imperfections that give Kent’s shops their home grown sensibility. 

It’s from that hometown heart that I share a notice from MOMS (aka Miracle on Main Street) announcing their partnership with the Main Street Gourmet to help raise funds and awareness of breast cancer. 

I know that the MOMS announcement is hardly a newsflash since this is breast cancer awareness month nationwide, and I know that many of the corporate giants have lined up with their support too, but somehow I thought the MOMS free muffin offer on purchases over $50 had a great small town ring to it. 

Sure, it’s part shameless promotion, but that’s part of the charm of mom and pop marketing — what they lack in style that more they make up in substance. 

Moms and muffins, it doesn’t get any more home town than that.

Aquaponics...

Nothing says local food better than something you grow for yourself, and now, thanks to a little help from an internationally acclaimed expert, Kent is getting a new look at home grown food that is compliments of Aquaponics.

If you’re having an Aqua-what? moment, then you’re a perfect candidate for either of the information sessions being held on October 28th and October 29th here in Kent.  See for yourself. 

 
This is the kind of eco-cool stuff that is popping up all over Kent.  But it’s only cool if you take advantage of the opportunity, so sign up and join the movement. 

Wild Earth Outfitters Open in Kent...

The Record Courier ran a great article about Ron Burbick last weekend, celebrating the amazing transformation he helped spark in downtown Kent with his Acorn Alley Projects, Phases I and II. 

Ron has proven that if you build it, they will come.  As fast he builds new buildings, he’s had waiting lists for businesses that want a chance to chase their dreams in them. 

Ron builds’em, dreamy shop owners open’em, and now it’s up to all of us to shop’em.  

So in case you hadn’t heard there’s a new shop in town — the Wild Earth Outfitters.  It’s the first shop to open in Acorn Alley Phase II, and because there’s construction going on all around it, it would be easy to not even notice the neon Open sign in the window — but the products in that store are too good to just sit on the shelf, so get down to Erie Street and do your part to support a new locally owned store.

What products do they sell?  With names like NorthFace, Mountain Hard Wear, Granite Gear, and Columbia they’ve got your outdoor gear covered.  From hiking to camping and everything in between this is a store that can’t be missed. 

Seriously, I could max out my credit card in this place.     

Haymaker Farmer’s Market...

With 19 years of selling local goods and produce, the Haymaker Farmer’s Market in downtown Kent is hardly the new guy on the block but year 19 was a year of transition as Fritz and his wife handed the reigns off to Kelly Ferry as the new Market Director. 

So how has it gone?  If you listen to the chatter around town, it’s been a great year.

It’s always hard to follow such a success, but by all accounts Kelly has honored the legacy that she was handed while still finding a way to start to make her mark and add her own touches.

In keeping with the growing interest in locally grown food Kelly has done a great job at giving market shoppers a lot of great local options.  One of my favorite new market pieces that Kelly added was a partnership with Kent State University to get food to people who need it most. 

On October 8, Haymaker Farmers Market had Kent State University Campus Kitchen on site. KSU student volunteers passed out information and accepted donations of either cash or food which was used to purchase produce at the market, and all food was brought back to the kitchen to prepare hot meals for clients of Kent Social Services.  That’s what local Farmer’s Markets are all about. 

There’s still a couple of more weeks of the market left in the 2011 season so check out the great things going on downtown at the Farmer’s Market. 

The musical entertainment in the remaining weeks includes the following:

October 15 Galgozy and Zeleny Duo eclectic folk guitar/vocals duo.
October 22 Noah Gfell and friends.
October 29 Ashley Brooke Toussant folk vocals and instrumental.