KENNESAW, Ga -- Kennesaw State University will buy the former site of BrandsMart USA on Busbee Drive in Kennesaw for $9.9 million.
The acquisition will be funded by state bonds and includes 17 acres of land, an existing 113,000-plus square-foot building and 722 much-needed parking spaces, which will be accessible through Kennesaw State's park-and-ride bus shuttle program.
Projects planned for the repurposed retail building include a new student health center, additional laboratory space for Kennesaw State's Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, a new marching band program and storage.
Kennesaw State President Daniel S. Papp noted the property would link the KSU Center on Busbee Drive — home of the university's College of Continuing Education — with the 88-acre KSU Sports and Recreation Park, creating 120 acres of contiguous land east of the main campus.
"This acquisition comes at a critical juncture, just as we are about to complete the consolidation of Kennesaw State and Southern Polytechnic," Papp said, in a statement. "Space continues to be at a premium as the university grows and evolves into the world-class institution that we all envision."
The Busbee Drive Brandsmart USA location closed in April. The retailer has three other stores in metro Atlanta -- Buford, Stockbridge and Doraville.
