Kent City Hall construction will begin next year, with $9 million bond sale

The city of Kent expects to begin construction early next year on a new City Hall, with help from $9.1 million in bonds the city will issue and sell. 

Proceeds will be used to build, furnish, and equip the new administration building, which will be located where the city’s police station used to be, at the corner of state Route 43 and Haymaker Parkway.

Previous estimates of the total cost came in at $7.1 million.

Kent has been without a proper City Hall for years, meaning city council typically meets in the basement of the fire station or at other city offices in a building on Overholt Drive.

Construction plans for 2022 also include resurfacing state Route 43 from Stinaff Street north to city limits, paving Main Street and South Water Street downtown, and continuing work on the Middlebury Road/Yacavona Street pump stations. Kent’s water reclamation plant will also see ongoing rehab.

East Main Street in front of campus is slated for a massive renovation: City Engineer Jim Bowling said the project design and right of way acquisition will be ongoing for the next three years. The renovation will include two roundabouts, one where Willow Street, Haymaker Parkway, and East Main meet; and one where Horning Road and East Main meet.

Read our previous reporting on the East Main Street redesign