KSU to tear down campus apartments

By Carol Biliczky

Akron Beacon Journal

KENT

Kawther Hamash of Jordan can list a lot of things she likes about Kent State’s Allerton Apartments: good outdoor lighting, a nice staff and a safe environment.

But that won’t be enough to save the 164 on-campus apartments from the wrecking ball.

The university announced this week it will shutter two Allerton buildings this summer, three in July 2012 and the final four in July 2015 with the goal of eventually knocking them down. Two units were demolished four years ago.

“Our primary mission is the housing of freshmen and sophomores,’’ said Betsy Joseph, KSU director of residence services. “We believe the community has sufficient facilities available’’ to absorb the Allerton residents.

The apartments were built in the mid-1960s for married students with families and for international students, such as Hamash, who moved here with her husband and 20-month-old daughter to pursue a doctorate in nursing.

The appeal of the brick buildings on the south side of campus has faded over the years.

Though KSU opened them to single upperclassmen about five years ago, occupancy today is still only at 86 percent.

Improving the complex to boost occupancy didn’t seem like a good option, Joseph said. At 45 years old, the apartments are past their useful life, in need of electrical upgrades, new roofs and even air conditioning, which wasn’t standard when they were built.

The units are showing some wear; the living rooms are barely big enough for a sofa. They are so far away from academic buildings that students take buses to get to class.