Funding for the Proposed Kent Central Gateway Multimodal Transit ...

III.
Primary Selection Criteria – Long Term Outcomes
• Project will measurably contribute over the long-term to growth in employment, and project
will make improvements that allow for expansion, hiring, or other growth of private sector
production
The Kent Central Gateway project will create employment opportunities through both direct need
for jobs on site to service parking, enhanced transit usage and commercial spaces, indirect
employment impacts, and induced employment created through enhancement of the downtown.
The Kent Central Gateway will improve the connectivity between downtown Kent, Kent
neighborhoods, and the Kent State University (KSU) campus, thereby bringing additional transit
riders to the area and offering enhanced opportunities for downtown revitalization, which ultimately
will lead to increased competitiveness and employment.
In addition to increasing connectivity, the Kent Central Gateway will provide parking that will
support projects planned and underway in downtown. These projects include a hotel and
conference center (the result of a partnership between the City, KSU, and private developers), a
new mixed-use development project (office, retail, restaurant and housing), and a rehabilitation
project consisting of office and retail spaces which are fully leased. Jobs will be created and
retained through support for these projects, both during the construction period and during longterm
operations. The estimated development cost of these projects is in the range of $60 to $80
million, and does not include other downtown development activities that may occur over the longterm
as the Kent Central Gateway contributes to downtown revitalization.
The Kent Central Gateway will enhance the position of Kent State University in that improvements
associated with the project will support downtown revitalization. A thriving downtown will improve
recruitment efforts at Kent State University, thereby supporting a stronger student body and faculty.
The strength of students and faculty members may lead to enhanced university research, which
ultimately will contribute to the economic competitiveness of the United States.
• Project enhances hiring in an Economically Distressed Area:
The KCG is located in Portage County, an economically distressed county in Ohio. The
unemployment rate in Portage County, like many counties in Ohio, is higher than that of the
national average. Portage County’s unemployment rate is more than 1 percentage point higher
than the national average, at 10.8 percent in June 2009 compared to 9.8 percent for the nation as
a whole (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services).
• Project will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the transportation system through
integration or better use of all existing transportation infrastructure, and project will
improve long-term efficiency, reliability and cost-competitiveness in the movement of
workers
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