by Melody Gustafson, Staff Writer
People say that water damage from a leaky roof caused the ceiling to collapse in the gymnasium at the Kent State University Salem Campus on state Route 45.
People say the downtown City Center, a new addition to the Kent Salem property, is condemned.
People say the City Center (the old Salem High School) has been sinking steadily over the decades since it was erected, dropping the gymnasium below stree
t level. Ten concrete steps led up to the grandiose entrance at the front of the building when it was built, but only a few steps remain. People say quicksand is the culprit.
The casual chatter of people has shaped this sorry scenario for the Kent State University Salem Campus. The funny thing is that none of the above is true.
Yes, there is some water damage in the roof at the building on state Route 45, but the gym is still intact and functional. The repair estimate is $250,000, but KSU Dean Jeff Nolte and Salem Campus business manager Terry Zocolo plan to do more then just repair the damage. To make the space more useful to students, they want to remodel it entirely, creating a two-story health and science wing there. Plans have been drawn by Strollo Architects of Youngstown, but the job has yet to go out for bids.
As far as the allegedly “condemned” City Center in its grave of quicksand on North Lincoln Avenue, a busy future awaits it. Far from condemned, the building is used by the university, which purchased the it in the fall of 2006. Six classes are being held there right now, and the Hannah Mullins School of Nursing, the YWCA, and Workforce Development all rent space there from Kent Salem. Dr. Nolte said the auditorium has been housing concerts, and Mr. Zocolo mentioned plans to hold the May 2007 graduation there.
With no auditorium at the Route 45 building, the City Center facility is a useful addition to the Salem Campus properties.
According to Zocolo, the purpose in renting out space to other parties is to create an ideal community hub that benefits students and other Salem residents. Also, the revenue generated from that rent pays for the costs of operation. In the end, the building pays for itself while offering other services to students besides classroom space.
Rumors will never end; they are as constant as the Sun. But the truth is that Kent Salem is improving and expanding, and the City Center is a win-win for everybody. The old Salem High School is a historic icon to families that have lived in the city for generations, as Terry Zocolo’s has. Now, instead of withering with disuse and disrepair, the building shelters the shaping of promising futures.
Salem High School took three years to build, from 1914-1917. Horses and wagons dragged the logs out of the excavated lot. Photographs of the construction are displayed in the library at the City Center. One of the pictures shows Mr. Zocolo’s grandfather, Corl, driving one of the wagons. More than half a century later, Salem School District switched the 75,000 square foot building to a Middle School. According to Dean Jeff Nolte, in the fall of 2006 the district sold the building to Kent State for $50,000.
