Avant 220 apartments held one of its first open houses in Bricco downtown Kent on, March 16. The purpose of the open house was to get the name of Avant 220 out to the students.

Boasting “luxury living with clean modern lines, built-ins, modern kitchens, and spa showers,” Avant 220 is set to open in summer 2016. Students will be able to move in to one of the 52 rooms as early as August 1, 2016.

Avant 220 seems ready to be one of Kent’s pricier options units start at $750, it’s right on par with some of Kent’s other apartments. For instance, a studio apartment at The Province starts at $850.

These amenities along with the location is a step-up for students like Sarah Payne, a sophomore fashion design major. “It’s about $900 for a two bedroom at Holly Park, which I’m splitting with three other people,” Payne said. According to Payne, Holly Park is one of the apartments where the most of the appliances don’t work, and the administration won’t do anything about it.

Avant 220 apartments are located at 220 S. Depeyster Street in Kent, Ohio. Fairmont Properties, the apartment developers, is responsible for College Town Kent, the downtown space housing stores like Carnaby Street and Panini’s. 

Property manager Robert Moore calls Avant 220 the “friendship saver,” due to the fact that, with one bedroom apartments, the friends you make will be outside your room.

Avant 220 is also one of the first apartment complexes in Kent to offer micro suites, a European concept relatively new to the states, and definitely new to Kent.

“We made Avant 220 because we wanted to celebrate individualism and cater to people who march to the beat of their own drum,” Moore said. “We wanted to provide something to the students and the general public where they could have a comfortable living space and not have roommates and still pay the same price you would in student housing.”

Moore describes the micro suites as “basically a hotel room with everything you need in it.” Students like Becca Roth, a sophomore fashion design major who currently lives in the dorms said she can benefit from this.

“I live in Olson Hall right now,” said Roth. “There isn’t air conditioning so it’s not great. Plus it’s expensive.” Roth is currently paying $3,100 a semester to live on campus, and that doesn’t include her meal plan.

Avant 220 apartments give the students the ability to live on their own, in nicer apartments, for the same cost of living on campus. With downtown Kent growing and upscale restaurants and shops moving in, Avant 220 will be as Moore puts it, “great for the city, and great for Kent State.”

Alexis Amato is the business and neighborhood reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].