casey

I really love these two renderings which give a sense of how the project will feel from the vantage point of being down on High St. I think it borrows some nice cues and detailing from the historic buildings around it, and the massing (while reduced from 11 to 9 stories) still helps to fill out and complete the street. Will really be a dramatic improvement for the surrounding area!

My wish-list for 2016: UDF and CheckSmart. I have to imagine that they can't hold out much longer...

Some talk about phase 2 from the NEOMG story, Cullen said the so-called "second phase" of the Cleveland casino is still being discussed, but will likely be a multi-purpose development that might include gaming. It would not be developed for a few years, he said. "The market does not allow expansion of gaming in Northeast Ohio right now," he said. "There is not sufficient demand." The development of Public Square and the east bank of the Flats will likely lead to a future development of the Huron Road site, he said. http://www.cleveland.com/casino/index.ssf/2015/11/rock_gaming_takes_over_management_of_horseshoe_cleveland_casino_from_caesars_entertainment.html

chefsawyer Alright #cbus signing an LOI in Italian Village, a Team Sawyer Restaurant is opening soon... https://instagram.com/p/8dvDhowfrG/

Borror is really on a roll with all of these projects! Glad they're taking more of an interest in Downtown lately and moving beyond the SN. I'm also hoping NRI will tip their hand soon about what's being planned for next door...

The design has really improved since this was first proposed, glad it is moving forward. And that bar on the top floor will have some great views!

It's great seeing Borror getting into more projects Downtown. I would love to see some retail space added to this one though...

A little of both. Similar to Cranley, Scott's a democrat but he's also hoping to appeal enough to Republicans to win by combining their votes with disgruntled D's. He's been playing the old "Downtown" vs "the Neighborhoods" BS and saying that we don't need any more development there. He wants to roll back the tax incentives offered by the city for new housing and jobs, which have been so successful since 2002 - and do this at a time when Downtown is really not yet ready to walk/run on its own. These are still critically important tools for developers, as Downtown Columbus is improving rapidly but still has a ways to go. Scott's also voiced skepticism with the cost and need of an upgraded mass transit system. Going along with his attempted appeal to R's, he looks to be basically saying "we're spending too much money as it is, and we don't need/can't afford big investments." This is a fatal flaw IMO because the next mayor will have this as one of his biggest opportunities and challenges. A trio of studies/planning programs are coming together that will likely decide for the foreseeable future whether or not Columbus will be getting rail anytime in the next few decades - MORPC insight2050, Connect Columbus, and COTA NextGen. In order for those initiatives to succeed there will need to be strong and united support among local government and business leaders. Ginther (for better or worse) is completely in tune with these interests, while Scott is consistently in conflict with them. His relationships with City Councilmembers, Franklin County Commissioners (except for Paula Brooks), local and statewide Democrats, and business bigwigs (Wexner, Wolfe, Nationwide, Huntington, etc) are either very poor and even borderline hostile, or non-existent. Also similar to Cranley, I could easily see him making a point of breaking with the previous administration on many things not because it's necessary or helpful, but just because he can. Minor league "corruption" and recent mild scandals aside, I think Coleman et al have done a pretty fantastic job over the past decade plus. IMO it's pretty critical nothing messes that up now. TL;DR - I don't particularly trust Ginther, but I trust Scott a whole lot less. I think Scott would be more of a jerk and more anti-urban than the other way around.

I'm going with Ginther. "Better the devil you know," as they say. IMO Scott just has too much potential to come in and be a Columbus version of John Cranley.

X-posting this from the general COTA thread, COTA has an online survey available now, along with ideas/proposals for enhanced bus service and new rail/brt corridors. Fill it out and let them know what should be prioritized! (And don't forget to mention in the comments on each route if you have a preference for rail!) :wink: Survey and more information here: http://www.cota.com/nextgen Detailed map of possible rail or brt corridors: http://www.cota.com/COTA/media/PDF/NextGen/NG_Potential-HCT-Corridors-min.pdf Just for fun, my top 5 were: 1) N High St 2) Downtown-CMH-Easton 3) East Main 4) West Broad 5) Newark Connection

COTA has an online survey available now, along with ideas/proposals for enhanced bus service and new rail/brt corridors. Fill it out and let them know what should be prioritized! (And don't forget to mention in the comments on each route if you have a preference for rail!) :wink: Survey and more information here: http://www.cota.com/nextgen Detailed map of possible rail or brt corridors: http://www.cota.com/COTA/media/PDF/NextGen/NG_Potential-HCT-Corridors-min.pdf Just for fun, my top 5 were: 1) N High St 2) Downtown-CMH-Easton 3) East Main 4) West Broad 5) Newark Connection

Pretty cool! Although I wouldn't want that light strip outside of my hotel room window... :-P

The former Cafe Lola/Maki Go/Yuan Ye space in this project at 12 E Broad (in the base of the 8 on the Square condominium portion) has a new tenant lined up - and it is a great one... Old North Columbus favorite Jack & Benny's diner is opening another location there, and it will be 24/7! http://www.columbusunderground.com/jack-and-bennys-downtown-diner :clap: :clap: :clap:

Really nice (hi-res!) photo tour of the new addition inside and out, as featured on ArchDaily: http://www.archdaily.com/773935/columbus-museum-of-art-expansion-and-renovation-designgroup

Groundbreaking for the new 111 N Front building:

Not exactly the highest bar to jump over...

AS DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS GROWS MORE RESIDENTIAL, THE FUTURE OF CAPITOL SQUARE IS UNCERTAIN http://www.columbusceo.com/content/stories/2015/10/as-downtown-columbus-grows-more-residential-the-future-of-capitol.html Some key quotes, “Conceptually, we look at the land we have and know that there is a higher and better use than parking lots, but you only get one chance to develop it,” says John F. Wolfe, chairman of The Dispatch Printing Company and former publisher of the Dispatch. “Sooner rather than later we’ll engage with different potential planners to give us an idea of what might be doable.” “We’ve got a great footprint on the Capitol Square, and we would want anything we would do to enhance the Downtown. It’ll take a while for exploration to tell us what we might do with it,” Wolfe says. “It’s a big enough footprint that it doesn’t all have to be developed as one development.”

Pretty impressive proposal! Although given the resistance the VVC has shown to the White Castle project, it will be interesting to see how it's received. Hopefully any reductions in scale or density will be minimal...

Lots of potential nominees for the "Better Than an Empty Lot" Award this year.

Those light poles they chose really don't go with the architecture at all. And their "marketing materials" couldn't be any more cringe-worthy: :wtf: That said, it's got decent density and adds more residents to the core of the city. I'd say thats a win overall.

Bummer. I wish they had left North Clintonville, say Broadway to Morse in between High and Indianola.

It's a little disconcerting that LC isn't saying anything. Especially after repeatedly being contacted by multiple media outlets over multiple weeks. Even if they were just spouting some boilerplate excuse about shortage of workers, materials, revisions to the building design, city approvals, etc - it would really help. By staying completely silent it's encouraging speculation, negative media attention, and eroding public confidence in their ability to get things done.

“We’re trying to determine the density of office space and apartments” The denser the better IMO. Hopefully a strong demand for the apts and office space in 250 High will encourage them to go even bigger than already announced for Two25.

I'm so glad they reused this beautiful, historic building for the project instead of demolishing it and putting up some cheap, new POS. Such a great anchor for the continuing revitalization of the surrounding area.

I give NRI credit as always being the fastest developer to go from announcement of a project to construction. They really know how to get things done (paging LC...).