The University of Toledo

UT Breaks Ground for Dorr Street Gateway Project

Years of planning culminated in a giant step forward on Aug. 10, as The University of Toledo broke ground for the Dorr Street Gateway.

The transformative project will help revitalize the Dorr Street Corridor and create a new campus “gateway” at the Dorr Street and Secor Road intersection.

The project’s first phase includes an 88,500-square-foot commercial complex anchored by a new University and retail bookstore, operated by Barnes and Noble. Additional tenants include Gradkowski’s Sports Grille, Great Clips, Starbucks, Jimmy John’s and other student-centered retailers.

Upper levels of the complex will consist of 48 loft-style student apartments.

The project will also support educational activities through a live-learn relationship with the College of Business and Innovation, which will center on entrepreneurialism.

Student housing and retailers are expected to open in summer 2012.

“Leveraging arts, culture and leisure, this project will further integrate The University of Toledo into the community,” said UT Foundation Chair Greg Kopan, “and will be a transformational investment within the Dorr Street Corridor.”

The Gateway is an example of how UT can create synergies among its many stakeholders, he noted.

The UT Foundation is coordinating and financing the project, working with development partner Fairmount Properties, UT students, neighboring communities, the City of Toledo and elected officials.

The new “campus town” will make the area more student-friendly, noted Student Government President Matt Rubin. “It will be a major attraction for both current and potential students, and will provide students with an off-campus community to call their own,” he said. 

As part of the UT Foundation Real Estate Corporation’s overall strategy of community partnership, the goal of the Gateway is to develop the area in a way which will not only benefit UT and its students but also the community.

Plans for future phases of the project center around an environment where UT students and local Toledo residents can live, work, learn and play, amidst a bustling business district, a safe and walkable environment and aesthetically pleasing architecture and streetscapes. 

UT President Lloyd Jacobs called the groundbreaking an “important landmark in the history of the institution.”

“Today we are starting the physical journey to transform a parking lot into a vibrant place within the Toledo community,” said Dr. Jacobs, “to a campus rich in history, academics, arts, culture and intercollegiate sports that all should explore, enjoy and actively participate in.”

To view the live-action construction progress of the Dorr Street Gateway, visit www.utoledo.edu/gateway.

For inquiries regarding leasing retail space in the new Gateway complex, call 216-514-8700.