Partnering in a Downtown Renaissance

Across campus and across the community strong leadership is being credited for the major transformation of downtown Kent - one that promises an economic boon for the city and new opportunities to attract students, scholars and visitors to the Kent Campus. Built on the foundation of a strengthened relationship between the university and the city, the transformation features the construction of a university-affiliated hotel and conference center; new restaurants and stores, including student-run businesses housed in the popular Acorn Alley cluster of shops and offices; and a multimodal transportation facility made possible with a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The School of Art's Downtown Gallery, the only commercial-style university gallery of its kind in the nation, reopened at a new location on Main Street in Kent, making art more accessible to the campus community and providing opportunities for students to display and sell art alongside regional and national artists.