CMH_Downtown

FRANKLIN COUNTY Lawyers: Proposed courthouse too small Saturday, January 27, 2007 Barbara Carmen and Robert Vitale THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The first shovelful of dirt has yet to be dug for the new Franklin County Courthouse, but lawyers already are filing objections. The president of the Columbus Bar Association said she has seen plans for the project that would make it "a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars." But county officials said plans are still being drawn, so such criticism is "absurd." Read more at http://dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/27/20070127-B1-02.html

I've had similar experiences with Indy's successful convention/tourism business through Ohio State. We stayed in downtown Indianapolis and were given a daily per diem for food, however all other expenditures were out of our own pocket. We definitely contributed to Indianapolis' economy that night, with many of us spending hours at GameWorks in Circle Center and buying articles from Barnes&Nobles and other retailers. I was interested in guaging the impression Indianapolis made on my fellow students, and by in large, it was very favorable.

Heheh, I posted a similar Columbus Barbie list almost 2 years ago, back before many of you young'ns existed on this forum. Click the link for further hilarity: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2308.0

Not necessarily. Skyteam partners Continental and Northwest moved into seldom-used space in Delta's Concourse A in Terminal 3, thereby leaving USAirways as the sole tenant in Terminal 1. With pleanty of gate space in Terminal 2, used by United and American, it only made sense for USAirways to move there. If I'm not mistaken, I believe T1 is slated to be demolished. Hopefully the same fate awaits T2 also, since it truly is not much better than T1. I'd like to see the Kenton County Port Authority construct a build-out on the A Concourse in T3 and just relocate everyone there; it would make things much more convenient for everyone.

Zoo breaks attendance record 1.5 millionth visitor crosses turnstile, topping 1992 mark Wednesday, December 27, 2006 Lavonna Allen took her granddaughters Melanie, 6, and Sabrina, 8, to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to see Colo on the gorilla’s 50th birthday Friday. Allen ended up getting the biggest birthday surprise, though. When she walked through the front gate, she became the 1.5 millionth visitor to the zoo this year. It’s the first time in the zoo’s nearly 80-year history that it has topped that mark. The previous attendance record had been 1,447,870, set in 1992 when the zoo had a giant panda exhibit on loan from China. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/27/20061227-C7-04.html

COTA ends 2006 with $4.2 million surplus Authority may restore some routes in May Thursday, December 21, 2006 Tim Doulin THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH COTA is projecting a balanced operating budget for the second year in a row. The Central Ohio Transit Authority board yesterday approved spending about $70.2 million on operations and another $2.4 million in local money for capital projects in 2007. The authority’s 2006 operating budget of about $72.9 million is expected to finish with a cash reserve of about $4.2 million, though some of that will be used for the purchase of buses and vans. COTA’s operating budget finished with deficits of $3.4 million in 2005; $1.8 million in 2004; and $1.9 million in 2003. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com

Grocery store not welcome by some Save-A-Lot project will benefit area, city officials say Sunday, November 26, 2006 Mark Ferenchik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A new Save-A-Lot grocery store is set to rise in an impoverished Near East Side neighborhood, but not everyone is buying into it. The Columbus Compact Corp., the nonprofit group funded by the city and federal governments, is asking the city for a 10-year, 75-percent realestate tax abatement and a two-year, 75 percent personal property-tax abatement to renovate an old grocery and Salvation Army site on E. Main Street. The building at 1179 E. Main St. was originally a Kroger store but hasn’t been a grocery for 30 years. Beard said the building is in good shape. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/26/20061126-C1-03.html

I don't think being forced to disclose the performance of their properties as part of their bankruptcy proceedings will bring Mills Corp. any closer to putting City Center up for sale. They've obviously known that the mall has faired poorly (you'd have to be blind not to), so I don't think the fact that they've acknowledged its lackluster performance is a sign of its pending sale. I personally think that Mills Corp filing for Chapt. 7 bankruptcy would be the best thing for City Center, as it would force the company to liquidate its assets, which would allow Nationwide, the City, or whomever to swoop in and acquire the property at the lowest price. I'd rather it not come to that, since I know how painful a complete bankruptcy can be to the employees of a company. However, the other scenario I can see is Mills Corp hanging on to City Center until the majority of the tenents are gone, including Macy's. Then, I can see Mills Corp opening up bidding on the building to the highest bidder, either as is or torn down. In that case, I can't see retail in the form of mall-type stores ever returning downtown, which would certainly be a shame. The here-and-now of it is that as long as City Center is being squatted on by Mills Corp, it will continue to hinder downtown development. So what ever sequence of events must happen to make that into reality, I hope it happens as quickly as possible.

Well of course it looks great, those buildings date back to the 17-1800s and have character oozing out of every column and cornice. It's nearly impossible for any new-build, no matter how truly it can recreate past styles, to live up to that. However that is my greatest concern regarding this project. The developer says they want to evoke the architectural style of some of the country's greatest urban neighborhoods. If they can truly make good on that promise and create a dense, urban neighborhood with lasting aesthetic characteristics, then I see no problem with its construction.

Riversouth has been designated the residential midrise area of downtown by the all-mighty Nationwide Realty Investors. Also, there's just too much empty space downtown to be picky about what's built on these lots. Yes, I would like to see multi-story structures built there, but with mid-rise residential already planned for Riversouth, and the still overbearing amount of surface space in the downtown area, I don't think we can afford to scrutinize this too much, and possibly scare off any other potential development downtown.

As much as I look forward to the possibility of surface lots being developed, I'm somewhat disappointed about the location in relation to the core of the downtown. I'd like to see development of a taller scale in that area, given its proximity to High St. But given that continued lackluster office vacancy rate downtown, that's a pretty far-fetched desire. So, I'll take what I can get.

Condo 'neighborhood' sketched for E. Gay St. Edwards making $70M bet on city living Business First of Columbus - November 17, 2006 by Brian R. Ball Business First A Columbus developer is ready to take the wraps off plans for a $70 million housing project downtown, Business First has learned. Edwards Cos. will propose to build 250 condominiums at East Long and East Gay streets in a layout designed to evoke Chicago's Lincoln Park or New York's Murray Hill venerable enclaves. The company expects to deliver its conceptual plans Nov. 21 to the city's Downtown Commission. "It's a much different product than what's been built in the downtown by anybody else," said company President Jeff Edwards. Indeed, the proposal calls for garden- and townhouse-style condos to be densely developed along several city blocks. "Everyone kind of jumps up and down and thinks it's wonderful that (projects are) going up," Edwards said. "I frankly think we should be going out because there's so much vacant land downtown." Gay Street Condominiums LLC, an affiliate of the developer. has spent nearly $7.8 million since March acquiring about 60 percent of the project site. It paid an additional $350,000 in September for a property along the northern edge of Long Street that will serve as a construction staging area. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/11/20/story1.html?page=1&b=1163998800^1378122

Condo developer hopes to include garage with Short North project Monday, November 20, 2006 Mike Pramik, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Public parking is in short supply in the Short North. But a central Ohio development team plans to address that need as part of a residential proposal. Arms Properties is floating an idea to build a 250-space public-parking garage as part of a project that would include a 10-story, 179-unit condominium building. Ibiza Urban Oasis would rise in the place of a nondescript office building in the 800 block of N. High Street. The urban-infill project is across the street from Arms Properties’ Dakota condo building, which is expected to be occupied in February. Rajesh Lahoti, a co-owner of the development company, said he thinks Ibiza’s biggest asset could be a three-level, public parking garage. "The lack of public parking in the Short North has held us back, especially the business district," Lahoti said. "It’s hurt merchants a lot. This would solve that problem." Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/20/20061120-G4-01.html

Athletic fields of some type have been floated for the Cooper Stadium site. However the forerunner in the bid for the site appears to be A.D. Farrow, who plans to expand his Harley-Davidson store on the site, as well as construct a possibly motorsports track and training center. It sounds like the Crew wants quite a sizeable amount of land, so it will likely be built way out in boonies, similar to Sports Ohio in Dublin, before it was surrounded by sprawl. Though I would love to see your idea of an urban soccer campus, especially to get youth that live in the city interested in the sport. The article mentions space available around Crew Stadium, though not enough to support the desired plans. Maybe the Crew could do something similar to the Blue Jackets and the Chiller, which helps sponsor several ice skating rinks throughout the city. A secondary practice/public field could easily be built next to the current Crew Stadium. It would be a very good idea to pass on to Crew officials.

Crew plans new soccer complex Pizzuti is working with MLS team to build roomy practice structure, multifield park Friday, November 10, 2006 Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/10/20061110-G1-01.html The Columbus Crew has hired Pizzuti Cos. to develop an indoor training center and soccer park somewhere in central Ohio, one that would be a showplace for the sport. Initial plans for the park include as many as 16 soccer fields next to an indoor practice building for the Crew. Since 1997, the Crew has practiced at an outdoor location in Obetz, but General Manager Mark McCullen said the Major League Soccer team has outgrown it and wants to abandon it when its lease expires in 2009.

BROAD AND HIGH REVITALIZATION PROJECT Downtown draw Huntington, Nationwide to sponsor ads on Casto video screens Friday, November 10, 2006 Mike Pramik, The Columbus Dispatch Two of the city’s biggest corporate names plan to make a splash at Columbus’ signature street corner. Huntington Bancshares and Nationwide have signed advertising deals with Casto for the developer’s $30 million Broad and High revitalization project. Huntington and Nationwide will join WCMH-TV (Channel 4) in running ads and other programming on several video screens designed to light up what for years had been a dingy address. In addition to permanent logo displays at the site, the companies will work with Orange Barrel Media to create programming that will be shown 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 12 video screens. The programming is expected to be operational by next fall, when the project is completed. Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/10/20061110-G1-00.html

It's always interesting to watch history repeat itself. During the late 1990s, people from all over Ohio, West Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania flocked to Port Columbus for their air travel needs. At the time, Columbus maintained a hub for low fare carrier America West Airlines, providing over 50 nonstop flights to over a dozen destinations from CMH. The airport also maintained a decent presence by Delta's former low fare subsidiary, Delta Express as well as Southwest Airlines. After the events of 9/11/01, Delta terminated Delta Express operations and America West closed their Columbus hub. Meanwhile, low fare carriers expanded in Dayton and Pittsburgh, decreasing the amount of out-of-town traffic patronizing Port Columbus. Passenger numbers have remained relatively stagnant ever since. However, the tides have begun to change once again. Southwest has grown exponentially from CMH, and has moved into a much larger facility at Port Columbus. The daring of the low-fare airline segment, JetBlue Airways, chose Columbus as their first Midwestern destination, providing low fares service nonstop to New York and Boston, along with a plethora of connecting opportunities. Legacy carriers, such as Delta, have also increased service out of CMH while at the same time offering fares much lower than in other cities due to the large amount of competition present. Now, it looks like the CRAA is set to take full advantage of the circumstances and get people used to traveling to CMH for low fares once again.

Republic Airways is definitely in growth mode now, which has translated to many new aviation-related jobs in Central Ohio. Republic certainly needs the increased staffing levels, as their workforce is stretched quite thin already, which does cause operational headaches for the carriers with whom they provide contracted service. I definitely believe Republic and American Eagle, the latter of which maintains one of its largest maintenance facilities at CMH, is where the City of Columbus should be expanding their focus, not in the hair-brained scheme that is Skybus Airlines.

Rickenbacker International Airport (IATA code - LCK) is located in southeastern Franklin County, in the Groveport area. The airport was built as Lockbourne Air Force Base, and was renamed Rickenbacker Air Force Base in honor of Columbus native Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI flying ace and leader of Eastern Air Lines. The base was at one time a home base for the 55th Fighter Wing as well as the Tuskegee Airmen. The base was closed in the early 1990s, but the airport still maintains the 121st Air Refueling Wing as well as National Guard facilities. The airport became part of a trial program by the government to find new uses for abandoned air force bases, mostly by converting them primarily into cargo airports. The conversion has been relatively successful at LCK. After a controversial plan by the Rickenbacker Port Authority to build a passenger terminal at the airport, the Columbus Airport Authority merged with the Rickenbacker Port Authority to create the Columbus Regional Airport Authority and took over control of the airport. The passenger terminal was already under construction by the time the merger was completed, leaving the CRAA with a terminal it tries to market towards non-scheduled charter carriers. Cargo operations currently include scheduled weekly service by cargo operators such as Atlas, Evergreen, and Kalitta, as well as daily operations by UPS and FedEx, the latter which acquired Flying Tigers Cargo service, a cargo operator that was based out of LCK. In addition, the area surrounding the airport has become a distribution hub, with dozens of large warehouses and distribution centers. Norfolk Southern's new intermodal facility will continue the drive to create a seamless air/ground/water transportation facility at LCK, further strengthening Rickenbacker's position as a global transportation and distribution center.

COLUMBUS has nice places to visit, but. . . Visitor spending has grown little in two years Friday, November 03, 2006 Marla Matzer Rose Recovery is turning into a long journey for the central Ohio hospitality industry. A study commissioned by Experience Columbus showed visitor spending in Franklin County was $5.3 billion last year, barely up from $5.2 billion in 2003, the last time the study was done. Tourism officials said the terrorist attack of 2001 and the economic downturn of 2004 are still working their way out of the system. Numbers show statewide visitor activity mirence Columbus, said the numbers reflect a reality seen across the nation of a slowly recovering tourism and convention industry. "If you put inflation in there, we’re really down probably 5 percent over 2003," Astleford said. "We’re not bragging about this." Statewide visitor spending in 2005 reached $31.1 billion, up from $28.52 billion in 2003. Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/03/20061103-G1-00.html

LIFESTYLE COMMUNITIES Developer plans move to Arena District Friday, November 03, 2006 Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A year after his company agreed to sponsor Lifestyle Communities Pavilion, Michael DeAscentis Jr. thought the time was right for the builder to call the Arena District home. Lifestyle Communities, which develops condominiums, apartments and single-family homes, has agreed to lease 40,000 square feet on the first three floors of an office building that district developer Nationwide Realty Investors plans to build. Nationwide Realty plans to begin in spring on the seven-story, 125,000-square-foot building at 230 West St. Lifestyle Communities is asking Columbus for tax incentives to move its headquarters Downtown from 2800 Corporate Exchange Dr., on the Northeast Side. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/03/20061103-G1-03.html

Capital appeal Award-winning chef Richard Rosendale chooses Columbus for first restaurant Friday, October 20, 2006 Barnet D . Wolf THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The man chosen as America’s top chef last year will make Columbus the home of his first restaurant. Richard Rosendale, who was the top chef at the Greenbrier Resort’s award-winning Tavern Room Restaurant, plans to start a modern American restaurant, Rosendales, in the Short North by the end of March. "Columbus has enough of everything we wanted, and that made it the perfect spot," said the classically trained chef, who has won more than 35 national and international medals. Rosendale, 31, was the American Culinary Federation’s Chef of the Year for 2005. He is a native of western Pennsylvania but knows Columbus well. Seven years ago, he worked as a chef for Hartmut Handke, the award-winning owner-chef at Handke’s Cuisine in the Brewery District. Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/10/20/20061020-G1-02.html

Construction of Jeffrey Place Lofts is now in full swing, literally. The construction crane for the building is up, and groundwork is underway. Also, there is another project under construction along N. 4th St. on a parcel of land across from Jeffrey Place. The elevator shaft looks to be completed, and I only just now noticed it after seeing the crane at Jeffrey Place from I-670 on my way home from work. Anyone know the name of the aforementioned project?

Buckeyes' Might Equals (Free) JetBlue Flight(a) Thursday October 5, 4:25 pm ET NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - News) today announced its Blue Score Giveaway for this season's home games of The Ohio State University Buckeyes. For each game, JetBlue will give away roundtrip flights equal to the number of points Ohio State scores in that game(a). The flights will be valid for roundtrip travel on JetBlue's four daily flights between Columbus and New York City (JFK) that began October 3, 2006, or on the airline's daily flight between Columbus and Boston, MA that begins October 18, 2006. Full Story: http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/061005/106367.html

Columbus Goes Wild for JetBlue: Now Connecting Ohioans to New York City Tuesday October 3, 10:30 am ET Low-Fare Carrier Announces Daily Nonstop Service to Boston Beginning October 18 NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - News) today launches non-stop service between Columbus, OH and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) with famed Ohioan Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and several of his adored zoo animals presiding over the celebration at Port Columbus International Airport. The addition of four daily flights from Columbus to New York marks the carrier's 47th destination. JetBlue continues its expansion in Columbus on October 18 with the addition of daily nonstop service to Boston. The airline is currently offering a special $39(a) fare each way between Columbus and New York or Boston. Regular one-way fares will range between $89(a) and $199(a), up to 69 percent lower than pre-JetBlue fares. http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/061003/106147.html