ROOTSTOWN, OHIO — SIGNET Development has broken ground on a student housing village for Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), located in Rootstown. The on-campus community is the first student housing project for the university and is part of a $130 million expansion plan.

“Given SIGNET’s depth of experience, innovative ideas, and collaborative approach, they are the ideal partner for NEOMED and the successful execution of the university’s first residential housing offering,” says John Wray, vice president of administration and finance at NEOMED, which is co-headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and Jacksonville, Florida. “We’re excited to see construction begin.”

The expansion plan will more than double NEOMED’s existing 450,000-square-foot campus. SIGNET will direct and oversee the design, construction, finance and management activities for the project.

The 270,000-square-foot student housing village will include three, four-story buildings located on the northwest corner of NEOMED’s campus. The development will include paved walkways, private parking, group study areas on each floor, a recreation area and game room in the main building.

Each of the 185 units will be fully furnished with living room furniture, kitchen appliances and a washer-dryer, and will include a private study area and walk-in closet.

“We’re proud to partner with NEOMED to create a project that invests in our community and our future medical leaders by enhancing the living, learning, and overall campus experience of a great medical university,” says Anthony Manna, chairman of SIGNET Development.

The development will be available for lease to all students and the university community at large and will be ready for occupancy in the fall of 2013.

— John Nelson