![A rendering of the new parking deck planned for the north campus area of Kent State off Main Street. [Kent State University]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4390447/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1091x697+0+0/resize/840x536!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2019%2F12%2F784903331_257323281.jpg)
Kent State announced plans on Wednesday to improve parking and energy efficiency on its main campus as well as regional locations.
The university will build a five story parking deck with 1,100 spaces on the north side of campus along Main Street. To be called Park Place, it's the first parking garage on the Kent campus. In a statement the University highlighted comments from commuter students who welcome the extra parking. But during the Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, University Architect Michael Bruder noted, "It’s important to remember there's already almost this many spaces in this area of campus so we’re only adding 20% more."
The deck will cost $29 million to build. Construction should begin next summer and be completed by fall of 2021.
Trustees also approved adding solar panels at the regional campuses. Douglas Pearson, vice president of facility planning, says the project will increases energy efficiency. "Generating 5 megawatts of energy annually, saving $6.3 million over the life of the solar panels, reducing electrical consumption at the regional campuses by 56%," Pearson told trustees.
The energy project will take about a year to complete.
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