Campus renovations continue; to be complete by homecoming
August 21, 2010
Though incoming freshmen and transfer
students may not notice, returning
students may have to pause and soak in
the results of Kent State’s summertime
construction and renovations.
The university’s main campus has
begun a $200 million renovation process
and a total of $353 million in renovations
for main campus and all the regional campuses
combined.
The most noticeable project of the summer
has been the construction and renovations
in Risman Plaza.
“We were redesigning some of the overall
design of the plaza to get some more
green space and areas for student seating,”
University Architect Michael Bruder said.
“We also took down the fountain and built
a new fountain.”
President Lester Lefton said the plaza
renovations are part of a plan to attract
more students to Kent State. He said more
students will be encouraged to attend Kent
State once they see the new plaza.
Right by Risman Plaza, the library’s first
floor is undergoing renovations.
“It is primarily interior finishes, including
new flooring, ceilings, lights and furniture,”
Bruder said.
Over the summer, fences were set up
in Risman Plaza to detour students away
from the construction site. These fences will
be removed by the time students return to
campus in late August.
Construction in the plaza should be complete
by homecoming weekend, Bruder said.
There will be construction teams doing detail
work, but there will be nothing to “affect the
general day-to-day travels of students.”
Bruder said the construction in Risman
Plaza is set to cost $2.8 million, while the budget
for the library renovations is $1.1 million.
Both figures are on track as of Aug. 3.
Halls, both academic and residential,
have received similar facelifts.
The Music and Speech Center received an
addition with the Roe Green Center, home
to the School of Theatre and Dance that
includes some new dance studios, a new
theater space and a new entry lobby.
McDowell Hall and the Michael Schwartz
Center received bathroom renovations.
Those in McDowell Hall are due to the
age of the building. The university has
upgraded the plumbing systems and bathroom
fixtures, said Dan White, associate
director of administrative operations in
residence services.
“In McDowell, we gutted the bathrooms
and put in all new fixtures and plumbing, as
well as some work with the fire alarms and
HVAC systems,” White said.
The plan to renovate McDowell had been
in the works since last summer when its
neighbor Beall Hall was renovated for the
same reasons. They couldn’t have both shut
down at the same time, White said, so they
modernized one at a time.
Residence services helped to bring the
residence halls up to ADA (Americans with
Disabilities Act) compliance, White said.
Some of these projects included fixing a
shower in Beall Hall that had a hump that
was too large for a wheelchair to go over
it and gutting a lobby bathroom in Prentice
Hall that was not ADA compliant.
Kent State should continue to see more
renovations for as long as the university’s
renovation plan carries on.
Contact general assignment reporter Kyle
Reynolds at [email protected] and administration
reporter Nick Glunt at [email protected].