Kent State Receives Major Funding for Construction Projects
KENT, Ohio — There is big news for Kent State University (KSU), as the university’s board of trustees recently approved $150 million in campus construction projects at the Kent-based university.
The four-year construction and renovation project known as the Foundations of Excellence, Building the Future, will be managed by Sharon Center, Ohio-based Ruhlin Co. The company was awarded the project after a competitive bidding and interview process. Ruhlin Co. will manage the scheduling, coordination, construction contracting, contract accounting and communications related to the initiative’s four primary capital projects.
The money will be used for several improvements and new construction projects on the university’s campus. Over the next four years, KSU will receive the following work under the management of Ruhlin Co.:
• Renovation of Cunningham, Smith and Williams halls, the most heavily used science buildings. The project also calls for the construction of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) addition to increase academic and research spaces.
• The construction of a new College of Architecture and Environmental Design building. The 120,000-square-foot building will be located near the KSU Hotel and Conference Center, opening next June.
• Rehabilitation, reconstruction or replacement of the arts complex.
• Construction of a new three-story building for the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology. It is estimated to be between 40,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet.
The projects are financed in part by the university’s issuance of $170 million in general receipts bonds.
Other projects at the university include plans to renovate the Olson Center for Undergraduate Studies, which was built in 1961 as a dining facility. The money for the project would come from the $5.9 million in bond revenue funds approved by the board of trustees. Also, the 10,000-square-foot Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (MACC) Annex will be renovated using $2.5 million of the $170 million bonds acquired for campus-wide construction and is expected to be completed by next summer.
Student housing will also receive needed attention with almost $7 million to be used to upgrade the four buildings that make up the Eastway Residential Complex, a $2.6 million project. The renovation work will bring updated showers and restrooms in the 53-year-old Prentice Hall in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, while another $4.5 million will go to the renovation and expansion of the Field House locker rooms.