casey

Browns Considering Building New Practice Facility at Tuttle Park The Cleveland Browns are considering Tuttle Park as the site of a new practice facility. Changes would involved converting the existing softball fields into three football fields ringed by small bleachers. The Tuttle Park Recreation Center would be torn down and replaced with a new, larger facility, and about 70 parking spaces would be added for patrons to use (Browns fans would be directed to park at the Schottenstein Center and walk across the Lane Avenue bridge to access the facility). The park’s outdoor hockey rink, memorial garden, and playground equipment would all be relocated under the plan. Tuttle Pool would not affected. http://www.columbusunderground.com/browns-considering-building-new-practice-facility-at-tuttle-park-bw1

Africentric is one of the many city-wide Alternative schools in CPS, and is actually K-12, not just a high school. It's most unique aspect is providing education from an "African-centered" perspective. Students can also take college level courses beginning at grade 9 and earn an associates degree from Columbus State by the time that they graduate. Additionally, the students are required to wear uniforms. Those are all somewhat different from what you would get at one of the standard neighborhood schools. Now, how useful or successful of a program this has been is debatable, but that's what's on offer. More about how they define "African-centered" and what that means for the curriculum is here, http://filecabinet6.eschoolview.com/D24230E2-CA90-4EDD-BDAD-C9C8BE934F5D/Africentric.pdf

The city has released the names of developers who responded to the North Market RFP. There are no real surprises here, but 7 firms are now in the running. They are all local except for Indianapolis-based Flaherty & Collins. I'm somewhat disappointed that Dublin-based Crawford Hoying is not listed, but overall there are no bad options here IMHO. (Thankfully, Carter, the developer of UO favorites HighPoint at Columbus Commons and Cincinnati's The Banks is absent as well) ;) - Wood Companies - CASTO - Kaufman Development - Lifestyle Communities - Nationwide Realty Investors - Flaherty & Collins - Pizzuti http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/12/06/here-are-the-developers-that-want-to-build-the.html

^ It is truly a beautiful, and impressive facility - but Africentric is consistently one of the worst-performing schools in the district academically (and within CPS that's saying something). They've also been plagued with high rates of teacher and admin turnover, as well as much-publicized incidents of student and staff behavior problems. I hope moving to the new campus is bundled together with a new focus on redoubling efforts to make Africentric a high-achieving school of choice within CPS, that is also a safe and healthy environment for both those who work and are enrolled there.

Columbus inking agreement to develop Scioto Peninsula near COSI, Vets Memorial A 21-acre piece of the Scioto Peninsula will be redeveloped into a $500 million mixed-use site that combines housing, retail, office space and potentially hotels. The development will be one of the largest in the city’s history and local officials say it will help bridge the Downtown central business district into the Franklinton neighborhood west of the Scioto River. That includes between 1,575 and 1,800 apartments and 560,000 to 840,000 square feet of office space. It also accounts for retail, restaurant and entertainment space that takes up about 180,000 square feet and two to three hotels with about 240 rooms. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/02/Scioto_Peninsula_development_agreement.html

So the full run-down of tenants at Highpoint will be: Condado Tacos Swan Cleaners De Novo Bistro Blasted Barley Beer Co Pure Pressed Juicery / Hai Poke (pop-up) Posh Nails Pinot's Palette Winans Chocolates and Coffees

COTA to provide free Wi-Fi to riders early next year COTA will provide free Wi-Fi on all 444 of its buses after Jan. 31st of next year, becoming the first large U.S. city to do that, said Michael Carroll, COTA’s information technology director. “We’ve made a commitment to customer service,” Carroll said. “It’s giving (riders) options they don’t have now.” While the upgrade isn’t specifically planned to attract more riders, COTA officials hope that happens. “We want to make the transit experience more attractive,” COTA spokesman Marty Stutz said. A goal also is to provide free Wi-Fi at COTA transit spots so, for example, if you’re watching a movie on your iPad when you step on the bus, the movie will continue seamlessly. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/11/21/cota-to-provide-free-wi-fi-to-riders-early-next-year.html#

I'd love to see some real movement in the next year to either expand an existing property (Hilton or Hyatt), or build a new one in order to get the much-talked-about 1,000 room convention hotel. The many, smaller options that are under development in the area are nice to have (AC, Canopy, Cambria, Moxy, Autograph, Curio, Home2Suites, etc), but really not what will drive a large expansion in the convention business from what I understand.

Very interesting tidbit buried in this month's Harrison West Society meeting minutes and attributed to the Short North Foundation: "A streetcar project covering Lane Ave. to German village, with a secondary line on State Street has been proposed. Cars would be able to drive over the tracks." I'd imagine this is an early leak from recommendations that will be coming out from the city's Connect Columbus plan and COTA's NextGen initiative... Hopefully we will be hearing more very shortly.

Wow! Love it! Hope it can be approved quickly with very little tweaking by the University area commissions.

File under: unnecessary, yawn, and meh.

Renderings Unveiled for Proposed Hotel on Haiku Site http://www.columbusunderground.com/renderings-unveiled-for-proposed-hotel-on-haiku-site-bw1 edit/updated link, http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-visuals-unveiled-for-proposed-hotel-on-haiku-site-bw1

A 45-unit apartment development is being proposed for the empty portion of the block bounded by W Town St, S Gift St, W Chapel St, and Mead Aly, Full application packet, https://www.columbus.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2147491648 Location on map, https://goo.gl/maps/LwiokUBPoQC2

Wow. IMO, the branding of the new LeVeque Autograph Collection Hotel is just stunningly beautiful, first-class, and very well done down to the smallest detail. These images are from the design firm that did the work, http://www.gettys.com/projects/project/hotel-leveque-an-autograph-collection-hotel/

Good news, overall! I'm also glad to see NRI involved. Excited to see what they come up with as far as proposals

SMH. I bet you've never eaten at Mr. Eggs either.

Here's an update on the 7-story Lane Ave and Tuttle Park Pl project from The Lantern, along with a much worse rendering than the original... They're planning for residents to move in beginning Jan 2018. http://thelantern.com/2016/11/new-apartments-slated-for-west-lane-avenue/

I was a little worried about this project because we hadn't heard anything in a while, but when looking it up in the city's online system, it actually has been diligently making its way through the permitting process all year. Stormwater engineering and building permits for the structure were just issued ~2 weeks ago. So just in case anyone else was curious/concerned as well, it appears to be moving right along - albeit rather slowly.

Some fairly significant news out this morning about a major Capitol Sq landmark... Apologies if this belongs better in an existing thread, I couldn't find one that really fit: Buyer of PNC Plaza building Downtown to add housing, boutique hotel A major Downtown building is poised to follow a makeover similar to the one being undertaken at the LeVeque Tower, where residential and office tenants are being welcomed and a boutique hotel is on the way. Columbus apartment developer Edwards Cos. has bought the PNC Plaza building on the south side of Broad Street between 3rd and 4th streets with an eye toward adding housing and a boutique hotel, an industry term for a smaller hotel in a unique setting. The purchase price was $24 million, according to records filed with the Franklin County recorder’s office. The buyer is listed as 155 Spec LLC, with a mailing address that matches Edwards’ offices on High Street. Edwards has been talking to other developers about taking on parts of the development in partnership with it. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/11/03/buyer-of-pnc-plaza-building-downtown-plans-to-add-housing-boutique-hotel.html

Especially good to read these quotes, "The project has been really well-received. We’re well over 50 percent sold and ahead of schedule." "There’s a fair chance we could get started sometime next year with the next phase." "The bulk of the closings will start in the spring (of 2017) and continue through the summer. The best target for the first residents moving in is next May."

Public meetings for initial recommendations of the city's Connect Columbus plan,

Not directly COTA-related, but the Connect Columbus plan will supposedly contain recommendations on the future public transit in Cbus and has been coordinated with COTA's ongoing NextGen investigations, ...

Why? Just because one is groceries and the other is clothing? I think that's looking at it too simplistically. They are both destination stores in their respective segments that target a young, educated clientele with affordable but high-quality on-trend products. Affluent YPs are absolutely nuts for both, live in large (fast-growing) numbers nearby (SN, Cville, Grandview, etc), and would absolutely travel to SCG if either or anything similar existed there. This is the market Gateway should be targeting if they're ever going to expand beyond their undergrad college student base. Currently there is no destination retail to attract shoppers from outside the immediate area. Sunflower Market provided this originally, but was short-lived because the entire company went out of business. They need an anchor - groceries, clothing, something unique that is a big draw. JMHO ;)

Some are, probably. But much more likely? It's because Columbus is a major metropolitan area with a fast-growing, diversified economy. Basically: jobs, jobs, jobs.

I don't really have a problem with the skybridge for this project. Hopefully they can get underway ASAP - it will really add a lot to the area and help the Commons finally feel 'complete.'