Several new buildings are under construction on campus this year, including new homes for the School of Art, the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, the Division of Institutional Advancement and several of the university’s science programs.

Allerton Apartments

Details: Allerton Apartments, which has housed married students with families and international students since the 1960s, are being torn down due to the high cost of maintaining the buildings. The announcement of the decision to shutter the complex was made in late 2010, and various buildings closed in July 2011, July 2012 and June 2015.

Timeline: The final four buildings – Units A, B, C and D – are being torn down this month after residents’ leases expire.

Update: The university is looking into turning the green space into athletic fields. Currently, there are no other on-campus family housing options available.

Center for the Visual Arts

Details: The Center for the Visual Arts will bring the School of Art under one roof for the first time since 1960. The 115,000-square-foot building is made up of what was formerly Van Deusen Hall and the Art Annex/former Heating Plant, which are being connected to create the center. The square footage is made up of 77,000 square feet of renovation and 38,000 square feet of new construction.

Cost: $33.5 million

Timeline: Construction began in the spring of 2014 and is scheduled to be completed this December.

Update: The Ceramics Building was torn down this summer in preparation for the move into the Center for the Visual Arts, and the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology, which was previously housed in Van Deusen Hall, moved into the Aeronautics and Technology Building at the end of the spring semester.

College of Architecture and Environmental Design Building

Details: The College of Architecture and Environmental Design is currently split up into several locations across campus, including Taylor Hall and the M.A.C. Center Annex. The new building will house all parts of the architecture program, including classrooms, offices, studios and research space. The 107,000-square-foot building is located on the Lefton Esplanade extension.

Cost: $47.8 million

Timeline: Construction began on the new building last October with a projected completion date in 2016.

Update: Architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi is designing the four-story building to carry a platinum-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification and will include a green roof, rain garden and LED lighting.

Institutional Advancement Building

Details: The Institutional Advancement Building, located at the corner of Lincoln and Summit streets, will house the university’s Division of Institutional Advancement, which oversees the university’s private fundraising activities, the Office of Alumni Relations and the Kent State University Alumni Association. The building will house the division, as well as the Kent State University Foundation, a nonprofit organization that manages private gifts to the university, and the university’s Phone Center, as well as conference rooms and event space for the community.

Cost: $20 million

Timeline: Construction on the 34,400-square-foot building began last fall. The building is projected to be finished in November, with the building opening at the beginning of the Spring 2016 Semester.

Update: The project is a partnership between the university and the Portage County Port Authority, which acquired the property through bonds issued in 2013 and has been leasing it to the university since December 2013.

Integrated Sciences Building; Smith, Williams and Cunningham Halls

Details: The Board of Trustees approved the construction of a $37.55 million, 57,000 -square-foot Integrated Sciences Building connecting Smith, Williams and Cunningham halls on the campus’ Science Mall. The building will house research and teaching space for the chemistry, biology and physics departments. The three halls, which were built in the 1960s, will also see $57.2 million in renovations, including updating heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and making restrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Cost: $94.75 million

Timeline: Work has already begun in Smith, Williams and Cunningham halls, and construction will begin later this year on the Integrated Sciences Building with a projected completion date sometime in 2017, with classes slated to begin in the building in Fall 2017.

Update: The Joint Project Oversight Committee approved adding a 13,500-square-foot unfinished basement space for future research growth.

Contact Emily Mills at [email protected].