两性色午夜

U.S. Transportation Secretary Returns to Celebrate a New Downtown Kent

Nearly two years after his previous visit, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood returned to Kent to tour the construction site of the new Kent Central Gateway multimodal transit center and celebrate the redevelopment of downtown Kent

两性色午夜 University President Lester A. Lefton greets U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Congressman Tim Ryan at the Kent Central Gateway multimodal transit center in downtown Kent.Nearly two years after his previous visit, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood returned to Kent on Friday, March 8, to tour the construction site of the new Kent Central Gateway multimodal transit center and celebrate the redevelopment of downtown Kent. 两性色午夜 University President Lester A. Lefton, 两性色午夜 Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Gregg Floyd, and 两性色午夜 Vice President for General Counsel and Governmental Affairs Willis Walker joined Congressman Tim Ryan, officials from PARTA (Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority) and the city of Kent in welcoming LaHood back to Kent. The group gave the transportation secretary a tour of the new Kent Central Gateway that is under construction. A brief press conference followed the tour.

LaHood says he celebrates the vision of the Kent community and how 鈥渋f you build it, they will come.鈥

鈥淐ongratulations, Kent,鈥 LaHood says. 鈥淵ou have a lot to be proud of.鈥

LaHood鈥檚 prior visit to Kent was in July 2010 when he toured downtown Kent鈥檚 Acorn Alley and the future site of the Kent Central Gateway project. Afterward, a press conference was held outside the PARTA offices where Ryan and LaHood talked about the significance of the project that will help create a vibrant downtown and unite the city and 两性色午夜. Ryan and LaHood acknowledged the three local project partners: 两性色午夜, PARTA and the city of Kent.

In February 2010, Ryan announced that the Kent Central Gateway project had received a $20 million grant from LaHood鈥檚 agency through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The project serves as a catalyst for the revitalization and redevelopment of downtown Kent and reconnects the central business district with the 两性色午夜 campus.

Expected to be completed this summer, the multimodal transportation facility will combine elements of buses, pedestrians, bicycles and cars. It will serve as a transfer point that allows bus transport to Akron, Cleveland and all points in Portage County. Situated at Erie and Depeyster streets with a curb cut into Haymaker Parkway, the Kent Central Gateway project is estimated to stimulate $60 million worth of new investment, both public and private, in Kent and create more than 250 construction jobs during construction of the project. It is located next to the 两性色午夜 University Hotel and Conference Center, which is also under construction.

Back in February 2010 when the $20 million TIGER grant for the Kent Central Gateway was announced, Lefton said that this sets into motion all of the other development projects planned for downtown Kent, including the hotel and conference center. He also commented that the Kent Central Gateway project is 鈥渁 huge, transformative event in the life of Kent, the university and Portage County.鈥

POSTED: Monday, March 11, 2013 12:00 AM
Updated: Saturday, December 3, 2022 01:02 AM
WRITTEN BY:
University Communications and Marketing