casey

Hmm. That's weird. Emporis actually notes Miranova as the tallest residential building in Ohio (https://www.emporis.com/buildings/119117/miranova-condominiums-columbus-oh-usa) which is why I even mentioned it to begin with, but I don't doubt jmicha[/member] either on the other tower in Cincy. But yes, regardless of all that, it's exciting to see new proposals starting to exceed the scale of anything we've seen up till now in the 3Cs. Hopefully this gets going on schedule, and is a sign of more good things to come in the future. I agree that the street-level interaction is really game-changing. Wood/Schiff being in charge also means that the materials and detailing will be very high quality.

Yes, I agree that some of the smaller-scale charm from High St is being wiped out with the new development there, but the corollary effect on these secondary neighborhood retail nodes has been very positive. This location, the cluster on Chittenden, Summit around Oakland and Hudson, etc are all seeing investment and activity they haven't had for years.

Fantastic! Very glad that Wood/Schiff were chosen. They are top-notch developers that do absolutely world-class work. (Actually, so do Pizzuti and NRI, but this proposal was clearly the most exciting). On completion, 'Market Tower' will not only become the new tallest residential building in Ohio (supplanting Miranova), but will also be the largest tower built Downtown since the Franklin County Courthouse was completed in 1991.

Great updates! Can't wait for 225, the 2nd LC, and the Crawford Hoying building to all start rising! These new builds should really create a vibrant cluster of activity which can finally support some meaningful retail and street life along High through here. Also, they have the added bonus of distracting from/obscuring HighPoint, which initially stuck out like a sore thumb because nothing else was around it. As far as the work going on at the Commons itself, they seem to just be re-configuring the seating area, adding more trees, etc. A rendering of the improvements is below, and an image of the old setup for comparison.

UDF is officially underway. Update from the Dispatch, Short North UDF is latest property slated to be redeveloped UDF closed its decades-old Short North store at 900 N. High St. this week, but it plans to return when a new four-story building is completed on the site by early 2018. The Cincinnati-based convenience store chain will take about 4,800 of the 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space for a new urban-concept store. About a quarter of its space will be devoted to a hand-dipped ice cream parlor area with counters overlooking High Street. In addition to the larger ice cream parlor, Kling said there also will be an expanded coffee bar and a more extensive mix of takeout sandwiches and other fresh grab-and-go food. The store will take advantage of the vibrant street scene, with two large garage doors that can be opened to High Street in warm weather. http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170408/short-north-udf-is-latest-property-slated-to-be-redeveloped

Georgetown, Daimler, and Kaufman look like the best pick to me as far as first impressions go, with Crawford Hoying second. Carter should be banned from the city for life after HighPoint, and Buckingham from Indy seems very cheap/meh from a quick glance at their work.

Finally!

CU reports that there's finally confirmation the new development at 1st/High WILL include a new UDF location. This is pretty great news as it's quite a useful 24/7 convenience shop to have in the heart of the neighborhood. UDF will take the southern-most retail spot on the ground floor of the new 4-story building. The current store will close April 2nd, and construction will take ~18 months. No other tenants have been identified yet. The project also includes 13 parking spots in the rear of the building along Pearl Alley. http://www.columbusunderground.com/mixed-use-development-at-first-and-high-will-include-new-udf-store-bw1

Finally!

As an outsider, is there anything particularly innovative or "urban" about this store? There's a very laudatory thread over on city-data full of people gushing over it like they've reinvented the wheel or it's the 2nd coming of christ, but everything I've seen looks very standard for a nice, newly-built Kroger. Is it the mezzanine level seating/bar area? I feel like lots of groceries are doing that now, even in very suburban areas.

Not a bad idea... Building owners might subsidize free bus passes for 40,000 Downtown workers More than 40,000 Downtown workers could receive free bus service under a plan to free up thousands of parking spaces and increase the renting of office space. Half of the $5 million cost to provide the passes for more than 2½ years would come from 550 owners of properties in the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, who would pay 3 cents per square foot of space per year, said Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of the district. Capital Crossroads would seek grants from foundations and others to pay the rest of the cost. http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170312/building-owners-might-subsidize-free-bus-passes-for-40000-downtown-workers

Joining Target, Huntington, and Starbucks in The Wellington: Chick-Fil-A Opening High Street Location Near OSU http://www.columbusunderground.com/chick-fil-a-opening-high-street-location-near-osu

Great updates! Glad to see Taco Bell finally get underway

Happy to see it, but such a tall crane for such a short building...

^ Those stats use the official city definition of downtown, which is everything east of the river bounded by 670, 70, and 71 plus the scioto peninsula. So the arena district is included, but the short north is not.

I appreciate the feelings of nostalgia alumni have for their old dives, and I wish Campus Partners had been more mindful in saving the few actually historic structures faced with demolition - but much of the ongoing High St redevelopment is frankly long overdue IMHO. The new 15th/High plaza, urban Target, and hotels especially are much needed and will be assets to the entire university district community.

^^jbcmh81[/member], "historic in scale" in their description more likely means fitting into the context of the surrounding historic district and existing building stock (which this does), rather than "historic" meaning monumental or something radically new and groundbreaking. Also, keep in mind that there really isn't that much of a difference in total units between the NRI submission (125) and the 30-story proposal (185), despite the height difference. With that said, while NRI and their virtually unlimited resources would allow the project to get underway almost immediately versus more financial uncertainty with the other finalists (even Pizzuti), I still hope Wood/Schiff are ultimately selected.

While we wait for the results/winner of the North Market RFP, I have been passed along the details of NRI's proposal which were not initially available. Keep in mind, even if they win, it could have changed significantly in size/scale/scope between their round 1 and round 2 submissions... - Six-story mixed-use structure, - 125 residential apartments, - 10,000 sqft class-A office space, - 10,000 sqft NM expansion, - 2,500 sqft of "flex space" for events, programming in existing NM 2nd floor, - Enhanced "Market Plaza" and ability to close off Spruce St for special events, - 185 parking spaces dedicated for the NM

COTA is unveling recommendations of its NextGen planning initiative next week at a series of public meetings, Join Us at Our February Forums! It’s time to transform mobility in Central Ohio. From autonomous vehicles and rapid transit to expanded bus service, the future of transportation is now. Make YOUR MOVE to help COTA finalize the NextGen vision, a transit initiative coordinated with Smart Columbus, Connect Columbus and insight2050. It’s going to be an exciting ride! Details here, http://www.cota.com/Projects/NextGen/Get-Involved.aspx

Here's the full site plan of the development proposal. Overall I think it's very strong!

Woah. Scheme A! Scheme A!

Jarrett Walker (the writer of Human Transit) is in fact the consultant who designed COTA's new bus network - including the shuffling of some downtown routes that you mentioned. Now, it's JMHO, but I'd say in that case you're feeling desires that don't exist, and seeing ulterior motives where there really are none. We may be living in the age of Trump, but not everything is some unspoken conspiracy. The continued closure of the Public Square bus lanes however does seem much more explicit in its motivations...

Love the overall plan. There is definitely a market for more hotels on this side of the river. This site is actually walkable to OSU, unlike everything over on Olentangy RR. Also great to hear about a boutique grocer being pursued. TJs, Fresh Market, Lucky's, Earth Fare, etc would all do fantastic in this location. ETA - The 5th Ave bus is getting a major upgrade in COTA's TSR as well, which will improve this site's accessibility/usability to transit immensely. Bring on the density!

Some people will gripe but I bet the city approves the current design.

This may sound crazy, but I've actually always really liked the Family Dollar building. It has kind of a mid-century look with the neon sign, is a rare remaining example of the early supermarket typology, and once everything gets built up more around it I think it would stand out in a nice way. It's not listed as contributing so probably will eventually be demoed, but I agree with ColDay that if it were fixed up a bit or changed to a TJs, etc, it would really be an asset to the district.