Topic: Columbus: Random Development News & Info

[GCrites80s]

And here is an example of the infill development talked about in the previous article.  In this case, the infill development is from property being annexed from Clinton Township into the Fifth by Northwest neighborhood of Columbus - an internal annexation instead an annexation at the edge of Columbus.

New apartment complex planned for Fifth by Northwest area
Rezoning for Chesapeake Avenue properties is set for approval next month; 32 units are planned.
By MARK DUBOVEC, COLUMBUS LOCAL NEWS
Published: Monday, February 20, 2012 - 6:32 PM EST

The city of Columbus is considering a proposed apartment complex in the Fifth by Northwest area after annexing property from Clinton Township.

Metropolitan Holdings, a boutique commercial real estate brokerage firm, submitted plans to purchase properties at 1404, 1438 and 1472 Chesapeake Ave. and redevelop the sites into apartment buildings.  Each property is composed of a number of different parcels, with each parcel containing a pair of multifamily dwellings.

In total, there would be 32 residential units at the development.

MORE: http://www.snponline.com/articles/2012/02/21/tri-village_news/news/tvchesapea_20120220_1055am_5.txt

This 32-unit project in the 5xNW neighborhood between Grandview and Upper Arlington is under construction.  The developer is advertising the project and has included a rendering of it.  Below is the link to the advertising page and the rendering.  The Chesapeake Avenue location is kinda interesting too.  It's right behind the Kroger store on Northwest Boulevard.

Chesapeake Avenue - 32 units

Watching 'em bang away at this thing right now. Indeed this is an interesting little alcove. Right in the middle of duplex/fourplex and large apartment complex country lies a couple of hidden streets full of small budget-oriented bungalows and concrete block houses. There's even a small former church and a community building with a park. Although some of the structures are a bit worse for wear, you can tell that this was a small community of its own at one point. Word has it that it was housing for workers at the small carnival grounds that once lied where Kroger is now.

If you've ever been through the seemingly Appalachian or even Ozarks-like neighborhoods east of Groves and Hamilton, west of 62 on the Near Southwest Side(?), southwest of Brendon Woods or west of Hamilton Road between Winchester and Refugee, you'll kind of get the idea. This neighborhood in its current form may not be long for this world, though.

[Columbo]

This is disappointing news...

MORPC reconsidering its options for downtown HQ
Business First by Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter
Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012, 5:09pm EDT

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission has cooled on plans to buy the building at 99 E. Main Street in downtown Columbus for its headquarters, sending the property owner on a renewed search for tenants.
 
The planning agency last December approved a non-binding letter of intent that called for MORPC to pay $2.6 million for the property at South Third and East Mound streets subject to further examination of the building and negotiation.  The building once housed the former Karlsberger Cos. architecture firm.
 
But the building’s listing agent, Wayne Harer of Continental Realty, told me that the March departure of MORPC Executive Director Chester Jourdan put on hold any consideration of turning the letter of intent into a formal purchase contract.  That prompted the Joseph Skilken Organization affiliate that owns the building to pursue other buyers or tenants.

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2012/05/morpc-reconsidering-its-option-for.html

[Columbo]

First Look: Pearl Market opens as city streamlines process for others
Business First by Dan Eaton, Staff reporter
Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 1:04pm EDT

Pearl Market is open for the summer season, and city officials are working to make it easier for other community markets to join it.  The outdoor market, situated in the alleys between Broad and Gay streets and High and Third streets, will be open Tuesdays through Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., until October.  Manager Adam Schroeder said 18 farmers are enrolled this year and the vendor roster is maxed out at 40.
(. . .)
Meanwhile, Columbus City Council has drafted new rules for community markets that will make the opening and operation easier.  Councilwoman Michelle Mills said the changes will streamline the process for sponsoring organizations, which in Pearl Market’s case is the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, by collecting all the needed approvals from the various city departments into one packet. 

It also sets up operating rules, including the need for sponsoring organizations to submit a safety plan to the city.  She said the new processes would apply city-wide.  Provided there is a sponsoring organization overseeing the market, vendors would be able to set up on city sidewalks as long as Americans With Disabilities Act requirements are met.

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2012/05/first-look-pearl-market-opens-as-city.html

[Columbo]

A slightly inaccurate headline but an interesting article from the Dispatch that looks the evolving nature of development in Columbus.  By requiring annexation in exchange for connecting to the city's water and sewer system, Columbus was able to bring greenfield development sites into the City of Columbus instead of allowing them to go surrounding suburbs.  I included a 1834-2007 annexation graph that came from a 2009 article to show the city's annexation history.

Also included is a chart from the below article that shows annexation and new construction permits issued from 2007 to 2011.  The amount of annexation has gone way down.  Yet the number of new construction building permits has increased every year.  What the data and the article show is that infill development and brownfield sites are making up a greater and greater percentage of construction activity within the Columbus city limits.

Developers in Columbus focus on apartments near Downtown
By Doug Caruso, The Columbus Dispatch
Monday, February 20, 2012 - 5:34 AM

Rising numbers of new-building permits and zoning applications in Columbus bode well for two things: the local economy and controversy.  Development has been rebounding since the end of the recession, officials, developers and neighborhood leaders agree, although it hasn’t come close to the boom times of the 1990s and early 2000s.
 
In 2001, for example, Columbus annexed 1,230 acres, nearly 2 square miles.  Annexations reached a low of 19.4 acres in 2009 and in 2011 edged up to 146 acres, including 108 acres for the Hollywood Casino on the West Side.  “They were taking in, back in the heyday, plots of a couple hundred lots at a time,” said Chris Presutti, the city’s chief zoning official, “and they were building the houses before they were even sold.”
 
Today, he said, most development is infill development — meaning it typically occurs inside the city, not at the edges, and in smaller batches to fill in empty spaces.

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/20/developers-in-columbus-focus-on-apartments-near-downtown.html

Kind of a follow-up to the development/annexation article posted earlier.  A Dispatch Bicentennial Mileposts article about the first time Columbus annexed property that was not in Franklin County is linked below.  The article touches on the City's "water and sewer" annexation policy - started by Mayor M.E. Sensenbrenner in 1954 - and continued until 2003, when Mayor Michael B. Coleman shifted to a “pay as you grow” annexation policy.

Dispatch: Columbus Mileposts | May 29, 1974: Columbus gets too big for its county

[Columbo]

Here's more info on the new tower at Riverside Methodist Hospital, the Neuroscience Institute.

Press Release - http://www.ohiohealth.com/body.cfm?id=384&action=detail&ref=1197

Riverside's page - http://www.ohiohealth.com/neuroscienceinstitute

Good news.  I kinda like the shape of that new addition.  Here are a couple more articles about the new tower for Riverside:

Dispatch: Riverside adding neuro facility - $321 million, 10-story tower will add 330 full-time jobs

Business First: Riverside Methodist to get towering expansion

Kinda sorta update on the previously reported $321 million, 10-story Neuroscience Institute addition to Riverside Methodist Hospital.  One of the Dispatch's on-going Bicentennial Mileposts articles looked at Riverside Hospital's history.  The hospital, which began in Victorian Village on June 2, 1892, has gone through multiple locations and name changes en route to its announcement of one of its largest construction projects this year.

Columbus Mileposts | June 2, 1892: Protestant hospital grew into Riverside

[Columbo]

National Church Residences to expand Commons at Livingston
Business First by Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter
Date: Friday, June 8, 2012, 6:00am EDT

Nonprofit housing developer National Church Residences plans to double its housing for military veterans at 3341 Livingston Avenue in Columbus.  Construction of the $6.4 million, 50-unit addition at the Commons at Livingston is set to begin in September and be completed in mid-2013.
 
The Upper Arlington-based developer opened the 50-apartment complex for disabled and homeless veterans in 2011.  Columbus City Council on June 4 approved $400,000 in capital bond funding for the expansion through the city’s five-year, $6 million Rebuilding Lives Fund program.

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/06/08/national-church-residences-to-expand.html

[Columbo]

Benchmark Apartments Scheduled to Open This Fall
By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground
Published on June 15, 2012 - 8:00 am

The Benchmark Apartments were announced back in November and are already fully underway.  This new three-story 108-unit development will begin to open this October with a final completion scheduled for early 2013.
 
Positioned at the intersection of Henderson and Kenny roads, Benchmark will offer 9 one-bedroom units, 90 two-bedroom units, and 9 three-bedroom units.  The smallest units start in the $800′s for 625 square feet, with the largest units topping out at 950 square feet at $1495 per month.  Community amenities will include a wi-fi lounge, fitness studio, grilling patio, green space, a dog park and a saltwater pool.

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/benchmark-apartments-scheduled-to-open-this-fall

[Columbo]

A poster at Columbus Underground received information from the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District in downtown about some streetscape enhancements coming to the Capitol Square this year. 

Below is information on the project from the Capital Crossroads SID at http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Downtown-Retail-Update--April-2012.html?soid=1108931018458&aid=lGgfe08iMbE and a rendering of the streetscape enhancements from http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/streetscape-enhancements-coming-to-capital-square

Capitol Square Improvements
A partnership between the City of Columbus and Capital Crossroads SID received final approval from the Downtown Commission and Columbus Art Commission to install planters and sign fixtures around Capitol Square.  The project is scheduled to be completed by end of 2012.

[Columbo]

The Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District email report referenced above also contained two progress reports for construction projects within the downtown.  Below are pdf links to those two progress reports.

Downtown Housing Report, 1st Quarter 2012 (PDF)
Highlights: Estimated population just shy of 6,300 in core of downtown, announcement of Columbus Commons apartments and Long Street apartments (part of Neighborhood Launch).

The Downtown Housing Report lists only residential projects that are located downtown.  Since it is downtown only, no Short North, Brewery District, German Village, Olde Towne East or Franklinton projects are included in this listing.  However, there is a neat listing of downtown housing projects completed since 2002.

Downtown Investment Report, 1st Quarter 2012 (PDF)
Highlights: Scioto River dam removal and park restoration, Bicentennial Pavilion at Columbus Commons completed.

The Downtown Investment Report is broken down into two listings.  The first lists "Projects Under Construction" and includes non-residential projects only.  The second lists "Projects Proposed" and includes both residential and non-residential projects.  Slightly odd, but good info nevertheless.

[Columbo]

The City of Columbus announced plans last Friday to rework its southern downtown firehouse (Fire Station 2) which is currently located in a 50-year-old building at 150 E. Fulton Street.  According to a recent article from the Dispatch (linked below) those plans call for the following:

• Constructing a new fire station located on Greenlawn Avenue - one mile south of the existing Fire Station 2 at Fulton Street.

• Moving the existing Fire Station 2 unit to the new Greenlawn station.

• Demolishing the existing Fire Station 2 at Fulton Street and constructing a new fire station at the same location.

• Operating Fire Station 2 units from both the Greenlawn station and the new Fulton Street station locations after completion.

Dispatch: Downtown firehouse to get new digs - Busy outpost to eventually have two sites

[Columbo]

The above two buildings at 620 E. Broad Street and 630 E. Broad Street received an Historic Preservation Tax Credit Award from the state.  The two buildings are located on the north side of Broad Street and are immediately west of I-71.  Just barely within the downtown district and across I-71 from the Olde Towne East neighborhood.  Below is the press release from the Ohio Department of Development:

From the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Awards press release:

620-30 East Broad (Columbus, Franklin County)
 · Total Project Cost: $2,203,539
 · Total Tax Credit: $313,145
 · Address: 620-30 East Broad Street, 43215
Originally constructed as private mansions, 620-30 East Broad was converted to office space in the 1920's to house the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation which later spawned Nationwide Insurance.  Now largely vacant, the buildings will be rehabilitated to address deferred maintenance needs and install necessary upgrades to support new commercial office tenants.  The project is expected to create 25 permanent jobs.

[Columbo]

Removal of Fifth Avenue Dam Scheduled This Fall
By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground
Published on June 26, 2012 - 1:50 pm

After a decade of discussion, the removal of the Fifth Avenue lowhead dam will finally be moving forward.  The Ohio EPA and OSU have both signed off on allowing the Columbus Department of Public Utilities to remove the dam and restore the flow of this portion of the Olentangy River.  Yesterday evening (June 25), Columbus City Council passed legislation that will set the stage for the removal of the dam sometime this fall.
(. . .)
The project is expected to cost approximately $6.9 million, which includes the redesign of the shoreline and the landscaping of native plants along the river.  The river will eventually connect Downtown where the Main Street Dam is also being planned for removal, creating an interconnected navigable waterway.

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/removal-of-fifth-avenue-dam-scheduled-this-fall

[Columbo]

SOUTH-WESTERN CITY SCHOOLS
Phase 1 buildings go to bid in spring
By Mark Dubovec, ThisWeek Community News
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 - 11:42 AM

South-Western City Schools are on schedule to break ground sometime in the spring on phase 1 of its Ohio School Facilities Commission Project.
 
On Monday, June 25, the Board of Education heard a presentation from Mike Dingeldein of SHP Leading Design, the project's architect, updating board members on the process. "We've made some enormous progress so far this spring," Dingeldein said. "Our projects are slated and sized. ... We know almost every place we're going to build with the exception of a new site for North Franklin Elementary."
 
The $250 million project involves the replacement of 13 elementary school buildings; the replacement of Franklin Heights High School; combining Finland and East Franklin Elementary Schools into one building; and minor renovations and technology upgrades to Buckeye Woods and Darby Woods elementary schools.

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/grovecity/news/2012/07/02/250-million-program-phase-1-buildings-go-to-bid-in-spring.html

[Columbo]

The Dispatch had a recent article about the residential rental market in Columbus and Central Ohio.  A combination of intense demand and an undersupply of rentals (especially in some of Columbus' urban neighborhoods) is leading to a flurry of new apartment construction projects and apartment conversion projects in existing buildings. 

Below is the link to the full Dispatch article.  Below that are a few excerpts from people in the rental market talking about just how intense the demand for apartments is right now:

Dispatch: Rush to rent, and build apartments

About 4.5 percent of central Ohio apartments are vacant, and the rate is much lower in some areas, said Rob Vogt, a partner in the Columbus real-estate research firm Vogt Santer Insights. “I don’t think I’ve seen this good of rental conditions in at least 20 years,” Vogt said.
 
The national vacancy rate is 4.9 percent, the lowest in a decade, according to the national real-estate research firm Reis Inc.  In Columbus’ popular urban neighborhoods, vacancies are rare, leaving renters to hunt-and-peck through web ads, apartment-management companies and street signs in the hopes of finding an available unit.
 
Yianni Vitellas put an advertisement on Craigslist a few weeks ago for a vacant apartment in a building he owns in Victorian Village.  About five hours after he posted the ad, he had 80 responses.  By the time he responded to the queries the next day, the number had grown to 150.  “I had so many, I thought it might be a scam,” said Vitellas, who scheduled a group open house to handle the huge interest, as many other landlords are doing.  "My mom was outside the building 20 minutes before it started and said there were about 30 people waiting to get in.  There is definitely a huge pent-up demand.”
 
Jim Kirkpatrick, the owner of Midtown Realty Co., thinks this may be the tightest market he has seen in his 30 years of managing real estate in the Short North.

The article also contained a map listing apartment projects under construction and planned for construction in Columbus and Central Ohio.  Below is the direct link to that map.  Unfortunately, I found the text on their largest size on-line map to be barely legible.  So I tracked down a paper copy of the map and scanned it below.  The scanned copy is much more readable - although the green dots showing the locations of the "under construction" projects was printed out blurry in the paper.  Can't do anything to clear that up.  Those green dots are more readable on the linked map below.  So between the two maps you can figure out what's what:

MAP: APARTMENT PROJECTS

[dmerkow]

They are trying to push through a 500+ unit apartment complex between Polaris and County Line (along the new road Westerville is about to build). I have a hard time seeing Westerville letting this happen.

[GCrites80s]

Especially considering how quickly many apartment complexes tend to melt down outside the Outerbelt.

[jbcmh81]

I'm feeling like there were several projects missed on that map.  For example, with the Neighborhood Launch project, the 260 units are only for 2 buildings.  There will be at least two more buildings after that, so you can probably add at least 100+ more.   Also, where are the 288 units for the Jeffrey site coming from?  I didn't know any formal plans for the site had been announced.  The last I hear, the site layout was still in planning.

[Keith M.]

Hmm...so they were able to get grants, but none of that money will be going directly to the building improvements in the business district that doesn't start until a few blocks in. And here's looking in the opposite direction of the gateway. These neighborhoods finally get money, but no one knows how to properly spend it to make it better. At least the city now has a "Streetcar District". The only thing missing...

Seeking sculpture proposals for Streetcar District Gateway – Open to all Central Ohio Artists

The Neighborhood Design Center (NDC), Livingston Avenue Area Commission (LAVA-C), and The Streetcar District neighborhoods invite all Central Ohio artists to submit proposals for the Livingston Avenue Bicentennial Gateway.



This permanent free-standing sculpture will serve as a gateway into The Streetcar District. The gateway intends to celebrate the neighborhood history and the people who live there.

 The gateway feature is to be located on the East side of the Norfolk Southern Railroad Viaduct at Livingston Avenue and Nelson Road. The NDC has been working with LAVA-C and The Streetcar District neighborhoods over the past two and half years to make infrastructure improvements in the area as well as incorporate branding elements into the streetscape. This sculpture will serve as a catalyst for future improvements along the Avenue.

    The NDC in collaboration with LAVA-C and the neighborhoods received a Chase 200Columbus Neighborhood Grant through the Greater Columbus Arts Council and a Joseph A. Jeffrey Grant through the Columbus Foundation to make this project possible. Support has been provided by Norfolk Southern as well.

Proposals are due August 3rd, 2012 and the selected artist will be notified August 10th. The design process and fabrication is planned to take place over the fall and winter with projected installation in March of 2013.

Download the RFP and more information below.
Questions: Contact Katie O'Lone by email at katieo@neighborhooddesign.org or by phone 614.221.5001.

http://www.neighborhooddesign.org/rfp.html

[Columbo]

I'm feeling like there were several projects missed on that map.  For example, with the Neighborhood Launch project, the 260 units are only for 2 buildings.  There will be at least two more buildings after that, so you can probably add at least 100+ more.   Also, where are the 288 units for the Jeffrey site coming from?  I didn't know any formal plans for the site had been announced.  The last I hear, the site layout was still in planning.

You're right about all of that.  But like you have said about population figures from different sources - "No one source is 100% correct".

[Columbo]

I missed this article when it was published earlier this year - so I'm playing catch up.  Business First had a lengthy article in January about a number of businesses moving into the area around the corner of Summit Street and Hudson Street in the South of Hudson (SoHud) neighborhood.  Short North real estate developer Kevin Lykens has attracted Rumba Cafe, Capital City Scooters, Spindle Studios, ReTagIt thrift store and Wild Goose Creative to buildings he owns near Summit and Hudson.  Lykens later moved his accounting business into the upper floor of one of those buildings.

The article then shifted to the newest property owner in the area.  A mother and son team brought a vacant building at the southwest corner of Summit and Hudson, renovated the inside and opened a food catering business called ‘Apps Food 4 Friends’.  While the mother and son team took care of the interior, a coalition of existing business owners led by Wild Goose Creative worked with Tim Lai and Eliza Ho, a husband-wife architect practice in the neighborhood, to design a mural to cover up the graffiti covered side of the building facing Hudson Street.

Below is the link to the Business First article about Summit and Hudson.  Also below is a link to a scanned copy of the article at the Facebook page of Tim Lai Architect:

Business First: A derelict North Columbus corner is on a path toward revitalization

Scanned Business First article at Tim Lai Architect facebook page

Below are some photos of the Summit and Hudson area showing the buildings facing Summit Street on the southeast corner and the buildings facing Summit Street on the southwest corner:





Below are some images of the side wall facing Hudson Street that received a mural to cover up the graffiti on the building.  The first image is a below photo of the graffiti covered wall.  The middle image is a rendering of the mural proposal.  The final image is a photo of the wall after the mural was painted from Tim Lai Architect's facebook page:

[Columbo]

The same group that did the Summit & Hudson mural (shown above) did another beautification mural in the area.  The new mural location is three blocks north of the previous mural location.  This one is in Glen Echo Park.  The park is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.  As part of the Centennial celebration, a kickstarter funded mural project was chosen to clean up a graffiti covered underpass within the park.

Here is a promotional poster of the Ohio Birds Mural proposed for the Indianola Avenue Underpass at Glen Echo Park from the project's Kickstarter page along with a view of what the underpass looked like before they started the project:



Below is a rendering of the Glen Echo Park Birds Mural:



Below is a photo of volunteers priming the area for the mural:



Below are the two sides of the finished mural project:



New mural, old park: Party celebrates both
By Kevin Parks, ThisWeek Community News
Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - 1:38 PM

Activities for children, adults and a tree are on the agenda Saturday, July 14, as part of a celebration marking the 100th birthday of Glen Echo Park.  Some birds - or at least oversize paintings of them - also will work their way into the mix.  The party with the purpose of noting the centennial of the 4.2-acre park at 510 Cliffside Drive is being put on by the Lower Olentangy Urban Arboretum, Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, Friends of the Ravines and ALTernative, the latter a nonprofit organization responsible for a bird mural in a nearby underpass that will be unveiled during the gathering.
 
Columbus artist Clint Davidson last week put the finishing touches on his mural, which is intended to dissuade taggers from spraying graffiti on a surface that's seen more than its fair share. ... The mural, featuring paintings of species native to the ravines in the area, was funded in part by a grant from the Chase 200Columbus Neighborhood Grant Program, with supplemental funding obtained through a campaign on the online arts-project promotions website kickstarter.com.
 
The project was the brainchild of architect Tim Lai and his wife, Eliza Ho, the principals in an architectural firm that started ALTernative to help further neighborhood arts efforts such as the SoHud Mural project at the intersection of East Hudson and Summit streets.
 
READ MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/clintonville/news/2012/07/10/new-mural-old-park-party-celebrates-both.html

[Columbo]

ECOT (Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow) announced they have purchased the 145,000 square foot Southland Mall and its 27 acre parcel at 3660 S. High Street in Columbus from Bob Evans Farms.  Bob Evans Farms currently has their headquarters in the renovated mall.  ECOT is also located in the mall and has been leasing space there since 2000 from Bob Evans.

Bob Evans is building a new headquarters building in New Albany and put the Southland Mall property up for sale.  According to the below linked press release from ECOT, Bob Evans will remain a tenant in the mall until their move to New Albany is complete in 2014.  The school also plans to invest in improvements to the exterior of the building and parking lot after Bob Evans vacates the building.

Press Release: ECOT (Ohio Online School) purchases Southland Mall in Columbus

ECOT (Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow) Website

[Columbo]

It looks like the Statehouse grounds will be going "back to the future".  The State of Ohio has approved a plan by the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board to install new 42 inch high fencing around the edge of the Statehouse grounds in downtown Columbus.  Below is a Columbus Dispatch article about this and a photo showing a sample of the new fence:

Dispatch: Officials opt for old-style fence around Statehouse



The new 42 inch high fence will match one in place at the Statehouse grounds from 1873 to 1964.  That fencing was removed during construction of the Statehouse underground parking garage.  Portions of that fence were moved to the Ohio School for the Deaf (which is now the Topiary Park) on East Town Street in downtown Columbus.  According to the article, there will be no fencing at the Veterans Plaza on the east side and access will be maintained to the plaza on the west side, which is the site of numerous public events.  Also, according to the article, the fence installation should be completed by the end of this year.

The new 42 inch high fence will be mounted atop the stone retaining wall that surrounds most of Capitol Square.  Below is a historic photo circa the early 1900's that shows the original 1873-1964 fence near the entrance to the west plaza along High Street.  The new fencing will have a similar appearance.

[ink]

^That should look nice and be more functional for events, although it will take away a common place for bus riders to wait.

[Columbo]

City restarts update of Northland Plan I
By Kevin Parks, ThisWeek Community News
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 - 1:33 PM

Plans for the plan are back on track.  The process for breathing new life into a 10-year-old document relating to land use and urban design in what's often called "traditional" Northland has been jump-started once again.  Slightly over a year after the Northland Community Council entered into an agreement with city officials to update Northland Plan I, which was expected to take about a year, the clock is ticking once again.
(...)
According to a Facebook page created by city officials, Northland residents interested in participating can do so by "attending public workshops or by submitting your ideas and comments to the plan website."  That website is http://development.columbus.gov/planning/northland.aspx.  It includes links to not only the survey but also to a plan input form.
 
The Northland I planning area is located northeast of downtown, just east of Worthington and southwest of Westerville, according to information from the city. The planning area is generally bound by I-270 on the north and east; Cooke, Ferris and Morse roads on the south; and the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks and Huntley Road on the west.  The area covers approximately 17.7 square miles.

READ MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/northland/news/2012/07/16/city-restarts-update-of-northland-plan-i.html

[Columbo]

A little more about the evolving Northland area of Columbus from this recent Dispatch article.  One of the neighborhood's community groups, The Northland Alliance, hosted its first international festival last weekend at the Northland Performing Arts Center - part of the renovated and rebuilt former Northland Mall site.

Festival will celebrate Northland’s immigrants
By Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch
Thursday, August 23, 2012 - 7:55 AM

The Northland area will host its first international festival this weekend in what is becoming one of Columbus’ most-diverse neighborhoods.  Organizers hope to connect more immigrants and refugees to the Northland community, a task that has been difficult as newcomers struggle with language and cultural barriers.  But they also hope to convince city leaders of the need for a welcome center to help thousands of immigrants connect with social services, job training and schools and get answers to their many questions about living in a new country.
(. . .)
Northland has been changing for more than a decade as refugees from Somalia and Bhutan and immigrants from Mexico, western Africa and other places have moved to the area, lured by low rents in aging apartments and a growing number of retailers catering to them.

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/08/23/festival-will-celebrate-northlands-immigrants.html

[Columbo]

News from Columbus Underground about additional one-way to two-way street conversions in downtown Columbus:

Front Street and Marconi Boulevard to go Two-Way in 2013

The conversion of Downtown streets from one-way to two-way continues with news that the treatment will come to portions of Marconi Boulevard and Front Street in 2013.  A portion of Front Street south of Broad Street was converted in 2009, with Civic Center Drive (what Marconi turns into south of Broad) following suit with the completion of The Scioto Mile.
 
“The two-way conversion of Front and Marconi north of Broad Street is one of the things we’re working on right now,” said Randy Bowman, Division of Mobility Options Administrator at the Columbus Department of Public Service.  “We would like to get it accomplished next year.”

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/front-street-and-marconi-boulevard-to-go-two-way-in-2013

[Columbo]

More news from Columbus Underground about additional changes to a street in downtown Columbus.  This one involves adding parking meters to the downtown portion of High Street.

Parking Meters Coming Soon to High Street through Downtown

Look north and you’ll see parking meters. Look south and you’ll see parking meters.  But on the central Downtown stretch of High Street, there’s not a parking meter to be found.  That will soon change as the Department of Public Service plans to begin the installation of approximately 130 new parking meters on High Street before the end of the year.
 
The idea dates back to the 2010 Downtown Strategic Plan, which called for a new vision of High Street with enhanced public transit systems, transit stations and on-street parking to service new retail businesses.  The funding to study these improvements to High Street (and other Downtown streets) was approved back in April of this year.
 
“The goal is to introduce on-street parking to serve existing and future businesses along High Street,” said Randy Bowman, Division of Mobility Options Administrator at the Columbus Department of Public Service.  “The city desires more retail along High Street to serve the growing residential population plus the Downtown workforce.”

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/parking-meters-coming-soon-to-high-street-through-downtown

[Columbo]

From Columbus Underground (link below):

Columbus Landmarks Announces Finalists for 2012 Urban Design Award

East High School
1500 E. Broad Street
Designers: Moody∙Nolan Inc. and Schooley Caldwell Associates
Owner: Columbus City Schools



Huntington Park
330 Huntington Park Lane
Designers: 360 Architecture and MKSK Studios
Owner: Franklin County Commissioners/Franklin County Stadium Inc.



The Scioto Mile
233 Civic Center Drive
Designers: MSI, 360 Architecture, Schooley Caldwell Associates, HKI
Owner: City of Columbus
Developer: Columbus Downtown Development Corporation



Scioto River Bridges
Main Street Bridge Designer: DLZ Ohio
Rich Street Bridge Designers: Bridgescape LLC and Finley Engineering Group
Owners: ODOT and City of Columbus



Shadowbox Live! Theatre
503 South Front Street
Designer: Lion Real Estate Services/Urban Design and Shadowbox Live! Theatre
Developer: William Schottenstein
Owner: 503 South Front Street Limited Partnership


The winner of the award will be announced at the Annual Design & Preservation Awards Reception & Program on Thursday, September 27 at the Lincoln Theatre.  For more information visit www.columbuslandmarks.org.

[Columbo]

Mildly interesting report from last week's Business First about a former Borders bookstore in northwest Columbus being redeveloped as a retail center.  But what really caught my eye was the two businesses that will anchor the new retail center - and the name of one.  Please see the excerpt below...

Former Borders getting new life as gym-anchored shopping center
Business First by Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter
Date: Friday, September 28, 2012, 6:00am EDT

The former Borders bookstore at Henderson and Kenny roads in Columbus is targeted to be partially razed and redeveloped into a retail plaza.
(. . .)
The property has attracted two end-cap tenants.  The Title Boxing Club fitness center chain will fill about 7,000 square feet at the western end, and Average Joe’s Pub and Grill will lease space at the eastern end.

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/09/28/former-borders-getting-new-life-as.html

Title Boxing Club and Average Joe's Pub and Grill. 
I've heard of "Average Joe's" before - but it was fitness related, not restaurant related.

[Columbo]

Doctor practice dominoes falling into place near Riverside Methodist Hospital
Business First by Carrie Ghose, Staff reporter
Date: Friday, September 28, 2012, 6:00am EDT

Central Ohio’s largest independent physician group is entering its first development deal for a building, and one of the offices it is vacating was bought by a growing gastroenterology practice.  Real estate deals flowing along Olentangy River Road illustrate how practices are consolidating services to become more convenient and efficient for increasingly cost-conscious patients, while drawing revenue for tests and procedures out of hospitals. ... Large doctor practices are making bigger real estate moves and creating “one-stop shops” because they anticipate increased demand from an aging population and greater insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

• Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians Inc. is teaming with Daimler on a $4 million expansion at its northwest Columbus medical campus at Olentangy and Knightsbridge Boulevard, where the 225-doctor Westerville group leases several buildings.

• Ohio Gastroenterology Group Inc. will unite locations while adding offices and procedure space when it moves a few blocks south to 3400 Olentangy River Road, a building being vacated by practices seeking larger spaces to consolidate services.

• OhioHealth is making the most visible moves in the corridor at Riverside Methodist Hospital.  It opens the Bing Cancer Center in November, and started construction this summer on a hospital tower for neurological care.  Across the street, it has demolished most of the buildings at its Whetstone office complex but has not revealed what will replace them.

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/09/28/doc-dominoes-fall-into-place-by.html

[GCrites80s]

Mildly interesting report from last week's Business First about a former Borders bookstore in northwest Columbus being redeveloped as a retail center.  But what really caught my eye was the two businesses that will anchor the new retail center - and the name of one.  Please see the excerpt below...

Former Borders getting new life as gym-anchored shopping center
Business First by Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter
Date: Friday, September 28, 2012, 6:00am EDT

The former Borders bookstore at Henderson and Kenny roads in Columbus is targeted to be partially razed and redeveloped into a retail plaza.
(. . .)
The property has attracted two end-cap tenants.  The Title Boxing Club fitness center chain will fill about 7,000 square feet at the western end, and Average Joe’s Pub and Grill will lease space at the eastern end.

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/09/28/former-borders-getting-new-life-as.html

Title Boxing Club and Average Joe's Pub and Grill. 
I've heard of "Average Joe's" before - but it was fitness related, not restaurant related.

There's another Average Joe's up there in the N. Hamilton/Old 161 vinyl zone in one of those 7-year-old, perennially half-empty strip plazas.

[Columbo]

Removal of Fifth Avenue Dam Scheduled This Fall
By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground
Published on June 26, 2012 - 1:50 pm

After a decade of discussion, the removal of the Fifth Avenue lowhead dam will finally be moving forward.  The Ohio EPA and OSU have both signed off on allowing the Columbus Department of Public Utilities to remove the dam and restore the flow of this portion of the Olentangy River.  Yesterday evening (June 25), Columbus City Council passed legislation that will set the stage for the removal of the dam sometime this fall.
(. . .)
The project is expected to cost approximately $6.9 million, which includes the redesign of the shoreline and the landscaping of native plants along the river.  The river will eventually connect Downtown where the Main Street Dam is also being planned for removal, creating an interconnected navigable waterway.

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/removal-of-fifth-avenue-dam-scheduled-this-fall

An update to this announcement from earlier this year:

WOSU: As 5th Avenue Dam Comes Down, Part Of The Olentangy Is Restored

This project will remove a lowhead dam built in the Olentangy River in 1935.  The dam removal will narrow the river's width and help restore natural river function from the Fifth Avenue location upstream to the Lane Avenue Bridge.  Removal of the dam began in late August 2012.  Reconstruction of river features will follow in the Fall.  Planting of the riverbanks will begin in Spring 2013.

This is a City-led project.  But because much of affected river frontage abuts Ohio State University property, OSU has been very involved with this project's development and implementation.  Much more information about the dam removal and the follow-up river restoration from the City of Columbus and Ohio State University links below:

• COC Department of Public Utilites: 5th Ave Dam Project

• OSU Facilities Operations and Development Construction Notice: River transformation set to begin

[Columbo]

Thought I'd share some photos of the 5th Avenue dam removal project that have been archived at the Dispatch.  The first shows the initial chipping away of the dam from the bike trail that parallels the Olentangy River.




The second shows some of the dam removal progress from downstream looking south.  Fifth Avenue Bridge is in the background.



The last photo was in today's paper - it shows the lowered water level of the Olentangy River looking north toward the Woody Hayes Drive Bridge and the Lane Avenue Bridge next to the OSU campus.

[jbcmh81]

It's kind of surprising just how little crap they found once the water level dropped.  I was thinking maybe the bones of some Michigan fans.