Ground broken for NEOMED housing

Staff report

rootstown

SIGNET Development, one of the country’s developers of both public and private real-estate projects, has broken ground on a new, on-campus residential housing village for Northeast Ohio Medical University.

The project is part of the University’s master expansion plan, which includes more than $130 million in construction planned for the Rootstown campus. When completed, the current construction projects will more than double the university’s existing 450,000-square-foot campus.

As part of a long-term partnership, SIGNET, with offices in Akron, will provide NEOMED with development and finance services for the project, which includes the direction and oversight of all design, construction, finance and management activities.

“We’re proud to partner with NEOMED to create a project that invests in our community and our future medical leaders by enhancing the living, learning and overall campus experience of a great medical university,” said Anthony S. Manna, chairman of SIGNET Development, in a news release.

The project is the university’s first on-campus residential housing and will include the construction of three, four-story buildings, which will be located on the northwest corner of the NEOMED campus.

The 270,000-square-foot luxury residential housing village will include private parking and paved walkways for easy access to existing campus facilities. There will be 185 units that will house approximately 340 residents.

Each one- and two-bedroom unit will be fully furnished with living-room furniture, kitchen appliances and a washer and dryer. The units provide each resident with a private study area, bathroom and walk-in closet.

The buildings include group study areas on each floor, a large recreation area and a game room in the main building. Each of the three buildings were designed and engineered to minimize sound transfer between units to ensure the privacy of each resident. The project will be available for lease to all students and the university community at large.

“Given SIGNET’s depth of experience, innovative ideas and collaborative approach, they are the ideal partner for NEOMED and the successful execution of the university’s first residential housing offering,” John Wray, NEOMED vice president of administration and finance, said in the release. “We’re excited to see construction begin.”

The project will be complete and ready for occupancy in fall 2013.