Crawford Hall is a new addition to campus this semester but Kent’s old business building, the Business Administration Building, now sits empty and deserted. 

Doug Pearson, the associate vice president of facilities planning and operations, said that the university plans to tear down the Business Administration building, and put green space where it sits. 

“Our plans for the [old] business building is to eventually tear it down,” Pearson said. We’ve requested demolition funds from the state of Ohio, but do not have not that money yet.” 

Pearson said the demolition was part of the university’s larger strategy to downsize the number of buildings on campus. 

Pearson also explained that the university is in the process of surplusing the furniture, and the locks on the building have been changed so only maintenance staff have access.   

“So the building is effectively being mothballed until demolition” Pearson said.

“It’s part of our space reduction plan, in order to control operating costs, our long term goal is to reduce our overall square footage,” Pearson said. “If you look at the history of Kent State, we have the same enrollment as we had in 2009, but we have 25% more square footage. So we’re trying to reduce our overall square footage and part of that plan is to completely demolish the old business building.” 

It was not clear if the parking lot above the Business Administration Building would switch to a commuter lot or continue as it was.

“Whether it will be staff or student parking, that sort of fluctuates every year depending on the request for parking passes, but there will be a slight shift because we did lose parking as part of construction for Crawford Hall,” Pearson said. 

Pearson also revealed additional plans to demolish Verder Hall, the dorm that lacks air conditioning, and convert the land into parking for Crawford Hall. Verder Hall sits directly across the street from Crawford Hall but only housed students last year, before it closed again. 

Pearson said there was no timeline established for the demolition of the old business building, since they were still waiting on funds from the state to continue with the project. 

As plans form to demolish the old business building, construction on Crawford Hall has not formally wrapped up. Exposed pieces of paneling and missing glass in some areas allude to how quickly the construction wrapped up before the start of the Fall 2024 semester. 

Deborah Spake, Dean of the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship, said that things not being completed was common for any project. 

“Like any construction project, there’s always a few things at the end that still need to be done, that doesn’t mean you can’t occupy the building, it just means it’s not all done,” Spake said. 

In regards to the Business Administration Building, Spake said they had moved all of the college’s classes to Crawford. 

“I think this semester all of the classes that are in person are in this building, we’ve worked hard to do that,” Spake said.  

Spake spoke about the remaining construction equipment that sits outside of Crawford Hall, explaining that the parking lot below White Hall and next to Crawford that houses construction equipment, will not reopen. Instead it will be turned into green space to expand the feel of the front of campus and make it more cohesive. 

Additionally, Spake said a fountain will soon be added between Crawford Hall and White Hall sometime before the end of the Fall 2024 semester.

Andrew Bowie is a beat reporter. Contact him at a[email protected].