Part of the development is this retail-office building at the intersection of Haymaker Parkway and Water Street in downtown Kent.
"Whatever happened to . . .?" is a weekly series updating some of the most newsworthy and interesting local stories covered in The Plain Dealer. Have a suggestion on a story we should update? Send it to John C. Kuehner.
Today, we answer this question:
Whatever happened to the proposed $100 million redevelopment projects in downtown Kent?
The projects are bustling.
"It's a wonderfully chaotic, extremely exciting and transformative time for our city," said Daniel Smith, Kent's economic development director.
About 900 construction workers are building offices, stores, restaurants, a hotel and conference center and transportation hub.
The projects will rejuvenate the community and strengthen town-gown ties with Kent State University, Smith said.
Ron Burbick, a successful retired principal of a Kent business, developed the first project, Acorn Alley I, a small shopping promenade running perpendicular to East Main Street across the street from the Kent Stage. The office and retail complex opened in 2009. Acorn Alley II, which offers more retail and business, is nearly complete, Smith said.
Other redevelopment is occurring in an area bordered by Haymaker Parkway, Water Street, Main Street and Depeyster Street, Smith said.
Fairmount Properties of Cleveland is leading the development of a large mixed-use complex. Davey Tree Co. will move into the first building in early August. Stores and restaurants will open soon after, Smith said. Ametek Technical & Industrial Products Co. will move into the second building by mid-September.
The $26 million Kent Central Gateway, a multimodal transit facility for the Portage Regional Transit Authority is scheduled to open in March, 2013. It will provide a transfer point for buses and also include bicycle lockers and locker rooms.
Kent State University, in a partnership between the Kent State University Foundation and the Pizzuti Companies of Columbus, is building a $15 million hotel and conference center. The four-story building is also expected to open in March, 2013, Smith said.
Kent State also plans to complete the extension of its Esplanade that would, for the first time, connect the university's main campus directly to downtown, a few blocks west.
Despite the dust, construction equipment and road restrictions, people have flocked to the new downtown areas that are open, Smith said.
"Income tax revenue for the first quarter of 2012 is up $300,000 compared to last year," he said. "It appears to be doing everything we thought it would do."