casey

^ I think so. But it's not removing a significant part of the building or anything that is visible from High St, just some unused space in the back. Evolved has taken over the 2nd floor from Used Kids, and PNC is actively working on the old Tom+Chee space for their relocated branch.

Honestly, I'd be shocked if Millennial Tower happens at all. Bill Schottenstein has a history of big ideas and pretty renderings, but hasn't really been able to get much off the ground in the last 20 years or so. So don't hold your breath. But, the good news is a lot else is happening in the area, and more and more players are getting involved. LC is finally moving on their projects, Borror is well underway on their first in the area, Crawford Hoying's should be starting soon, and Daimler/Kaufman have broken ground for 225.

I also like the High St piece of this proposal more than the previous versions, but wish it were maybe just one or two floors taller still. The residential part on the other hand is a bit of a mess right now. It looks really strange and hodgepodge with all of the different setbacks and material changes. I hope that continues to be refined... Biz1st needs to get a grip on reality. This squat, 6-story building by no means fits any conceivable definition of the word "tower." If you look at the other rendering you can see mechanical systems for the office building on its roof which are hidden from view in the main image.

Kind of, ... In the most recent previous iteration it was 10 stories, but almost half of that was parking above ground. Now they've added a residential component in a second building and moved all the parking underground. So, they've lost height, (and likely reduced the amount of office space somewhat), but the overall form/programming could still be an improvement. Fronting High St with a parking garage was always going to be problematic.

The Pizzuti proposal has been significantly re-worked. It now includes the Grandview Mercantile building and the large, 1-story building behind that across Wall St. No renderings yet, although I'd imagine CU and Biz1st will have them momentarily... 873 N High St and 40 W First Ave Conceptual Review - Demolish two (2) existing commercial buildings (Grandview Mercantile and ImproveIt!) and redevelop the site into a mixed-use commercial, office, and residential development. - Construct new four (4) story building on the N High St site containing offices and retail uses and a surface parking lot for 8 spaces. - Construct new six (6) story building on the W First Ave site containing 100-110 dwelling units and approximately 122 space below grade parking structure. My first reaction is that the heights should be switched. Put the taller structure on High, and the smaller one behind to buffer the neighborhood. Of course, with commercial floor heights being larger than residential, they could be roughly the same height already... Really looking forward to seeing the plans/images for this.

It seems Central Ohio will literally do anything to avoid building rail... :roll: Columbus semi-finalist for futuristic, high-speed transportation system It sounds like science fiction, but the Chicago-to-Columbus-to-Pittsburgh route is one of 35 international semifinalists in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge. Hyperloop One, the California-based company holding the competition, aims to make the fast, easy shipment of people and goods via tube happen. The company says its transportation mode combines the speed of air with the reliability of rail. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2017/01/09/columbus-semi-finalist-for-futuristic-high-speed-transportation-system.html

Thanks Columbo!

^ Can anyone with access to Biz1st summarize the main points/info of that article?

As much as I'd love another dense, mixed-use development on that site, ... if Trader Joe's wanted to just move right in and leave everything exactly as-is I'd have no problem with it.

Very glad to see an active plan for that site that preserves the most significant architectural features of the Livingston Theater. It's been empty and in serious disrepair lately, which always brings up the threat of demolition. The overall design/concept looks pretty good to me, especially considering what the neighborhood can really support right now. It would be nice to include some retail space there on the corner, but otherwise I say - build it!

Towers can add or detract from walkability based on their design just like any other structure. The wood proposal's base is actually very well-designed for enhancing walkability. It's lined with retail, restaurants, active plaza spaces, balconies, etc that are all right up against the curb. Compare that to the design of Miranova - which adds nothing to the neighborhood at street-level. Also for all the height, the wood/schiff tower still only has 185 units - a good amount for increasing the residential density of the area, but hardly some obscene quantity that is going to flood the market, unleash any kind of traffic nightmare, kill other projects, or leave us with anymore surface lots elsewhere than we would have anyway. You can certainly agree or disagree with whether or not a tower, this tower, etc, on this site aligns with your aesthetic preference for the area, but why not keep that discussion grounded in some kind of reality otherwise.

Rendering of the 18/10-story Pizzuti proposal,

Renderings of the Wood/Schiff proposal for a 35-story 'Market Tower,'

And then there were 3... City Narrows List of Developers for North Market Proposals The City of Columbus has narrowed the list of finalists to develop the North Market parking lot to three. Nationwide Realty Investors, Pizzuti, and the Wood Companies/Schiff Capital Group are the developers that made the cut. “We look forward to continuing our evaluation with these three teams,” said Development Director Steve Schoeny in a statement. “When we reviewed the requests for proposals, we wanted to make sure that potential developments made sense for the area and would be a good fit for the long run. We are pleased with the outstanding interest that we received.” The three finalists will revise their proposals and a winner will be selected by the city and North Market in February of next year. http://www.columbusunderground.com/city-narrows-list-of-developers-for-north-market-proposals-bw1

Some more info on the impending redevelopment of Wasserstrom's HQ from BizFirst today. Also, the potential here is even larger than Columbo indicated above. Wasserstrom owns all of the property I've indicated on the map below. This could really be transformative for the district, and inject a lot of new activity into the neighborhood. Wasserstrom selling former Hoster brewery for redevelopment Wasserstrom, a restaurant products supplier, is taking proposals from developers for an adaptive reuse of the 140,000-square-foot complex of buildings at 477 S. Front St. The company is not bound by a specific deadline, but executives say they would like to have a deal in place by next summer. “We showed the building to many, many developers. Some are working on lining up financing to come give us proposals," President Brad Wasserstrom said. “There’s no doubt this property’s going to sell to a developer. We’re talking to all the typical names, it’s all the big names (in Columbus).” http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/12/16/photos-wasserstrom-selling-former-hoster-brewery.html

Hmm... Very interesting! Would love to see some kind of movement forward on this project.

First Nationwide, and now Motorists. I'd love to see State Auto get in on this game next ;)

CML has released a rendering of the proposed new-build replacement for the MLK branch. It will be located a block east of the current location on Taylor Ave between East High School and OSU East Hospital. The architect is Moody Nolan. Construction should begin sometime next year. http://www.columbuslibrary.org/buildings/mlk

While developments continue to pop up all around it, a couple of new tenants will be opening soon in vacant retail spots in the original South Campus Gateway: - Breakfast/lunch/brunch chain First Watch will be moving into the corner space at 1567 N High, next to Aveda - "Trism" a spinoff of A&R creative group's Alchemy Juice Bar on Parsons near Children's Hospital will be taking over the former home of Eddie George's Grill at 1636 N High. The concept is loosely described as "a healthy fast casual spot"

Pricing Released for Rehabbed Units in Citizens Building at Gay and High Pricing and floor plans have been released for the Edwards Companies’ 63-unit renovation of the Citizens Building on the southwest corner of Gay and High streets Downtown. Prices for the apartments range from $1,120 for a studio to just over $3,000 for a three-bedroom unit on the ninth floor. Kim Ulle of Edwards said that the plan is finish up interior work on the building in early 2017, but no exact timeline has been released in terms of the first residents moving in or new businesses opening up. Representatives from Veritas Tavern in Delaware have confirmed plans to relocate the restaurant to the Citizens Building, but no further details have yet been made available. http://www.columbusunderground.com/pricing-released-for-rehabbed-units-in-citizens-building-at-gay-and-high-bw1

Well that didn't take long,... Although seems like they could have saved some time by doing a 24-story tower instead :wink: Second 12-Story Parks Edge Condo Building Announced in Arena District Representatives from Nationwide Realty Investors (NRI) today unveiled the next phase of their Parks Edge condo development, a second 12-story tower that will be located directly to the east of the initial building that is currently under construction. Phase one of Parks Edge is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2017. Pending approval by the Downtown Commission, phase two will begin construction in Early 2017 with an expected completion sometime in 2018. http://www.columbusunderground.com/second-12-story-parks-edge-condo-building-announced-in-arena-district

The 330 Oak project from Stonehenge is happening, it's been working its way through city permitting all year. Final structural approval was just given in October and the developer paid over 15k in fees for that alone. More here, http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30341.0.html

A few miscellaneous COTA updates: - Real-time arrival info is now available directly in Google Maps, (in addition to COTA's website and the Transit app where it had previously been launched). - COTA has put up a fairly extensive page detailing the upcoming TSR changes to the bus network, the majority of which are due to be implemented in May. Most routes will run more often and more frequently now on all days of the week. Project overview, http://www.cota.com/Projects/TSR.aspx History and implementation timeline, http://www.cota.com/Projects/TSR/TSR-Project-Information.aspx Comparison guide between old and new routes, http://www.cota.com/Projects/TSR/TSR-Helpful-Tools.aspx Maps of each line, and schedules with detailed info on frequency/headways, http://www.cota.com/Projects/TSR/TSR-Bus-Network.aspx - CMAX BRT-lite along Cleveland Ave is under construction and progressing on schedule for phase 1 work, which is from Downtown through 24th Ave in Linden. Construction Schedule, http://www.cota.com/Projects/Bus-Rapid-Transit/Schedule.aspx FAQs, http://www.cota.com/Projects/Bus-Rapid-Transit/CMAX-FAQs.aspx Also the new buses to be used on the route have started arriving, and looking pretty sharp, although they are giving off kind of a toothpaste tube vibe IMHO. ;)

:clap: Motorists to invest $20 million in Downtown development Motorists Insurance Group has announced it will initially invest nearly $20 million to begin developing its real estate holdings in Downtown Columbus. The Columbus-based company plans to develop mixed-use residential and commercial retail buildings overlooking the Discovery District's Topiary Park. The insurer sees 68 apartments, 114 parking spaces and a small area for ground-floor retail in the first phase at the northwest corner of Library Park North and Washington Avenue, followed by four more residential and retail buildings later on. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/12/09/motorists-to-invest-20-million-in-downtown-development.html#

^ Weird. But I'll take it.