WalkerEvans

Really doesn't look THAT drastically different. Of course, if we were playing Sim City, it would be wonderful to put a bunch of skyscrapers filled with affordable housing there. But unfortunately, we've got the economical and structural limitations of the real world to deal with. I'm looking forward to some progress being made on this. Anything is better than the eyesore of the boarded up mall.

Ha! Thanks for the kudos, but it's usually pretty easy going. The vast majority of local artists and local art enthusiasts I know are friendly, passionate, and unpretentious. Folks like "Mary" come around once in a blue moon and are hardly the norm. ;)

Actually, that link mostly provides the crazed reaction of a single individual.

So what you're saying is that the sidewalks are a little bit too narrow during a few hours of the day on one block of one street due to decorative plantings. Man. And I thought Detroit had problems. ;)

Hrm. I've never seen a five/six story suburban lifestyle center.

Perhaps that might work in Sim City, but...

Not yet, but with our son turning two in a few weeks, it's something we'll be looking into soon. We live on the Near East Side, and the CPS schools he's currently lined up for aren't the best. We are going to look into alternative and lottery CPS schools first though. Many of those are great. Private Schooling is the backup plan, but we're hoping for lottery.

I agree that a move just a little bit closer to the Convention Center or Arena would have been a pretty smart one if they were in a better financial situation overall. Upscale steakhouses rely pretty heavily on "expense account" traffic for regular business. More of that type of traffic has moved in that direction, and Hyde Park seems to be doing pretty well based off their recent expansions to accommodate more conferences and large business parties. I'd say that if Morton's is planning on returning to the Columbus market in the next 3-5 years (and I would be surprised if they don't) a spot either in the new Convention Center hotel or a spot close to the Grandview Yard hotel would make a lot of sense for them.

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/cheesecake-boutique-reopens-tomorrow <b>Cheesecake Boutique Reopens Tomorrow</b> By Walker | August 14, 2009 8:00am <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/cheesecake-boutique.jpg"> The Cheesecake Boutique was one of the businesses sadly lost in the Grandview Fire that occurred on January 17th, but the good news is that they’re ready to reopen this weekend! The women’s fashion shop has relocated to 1760 West Lane Ave, across from the Caribou Coffee. The new store opens on Saturday, August 15th at 10am. More information can be found online at www.CheesecakeBoutique.net .

Yeah, I don't think it's really been that bad of a week. For the most part, the restaurant scene in Columbus has remained fairly strong during the recession. As for Morton's... the few times we went, I always thought the food and service were pretty stellar. That being said, the news isn't too shocking (other than the abruptness). High-end restaurants are hurting across the board, and Morton's was a pretty pricey place to go eat. They've had a lot of new steakhouse competition enter the market since 1991 and while their secluded old-school setup was very appealing to many, I think they were overdue for a renovation after 18 years. I'm sure their lack of a patio has been hurting them since the smoking ban. And with loads of new general restaurant competition in the Arena District and Short North, they really weren't standing out as much as they should have been.

The Urban Arts Space is awesome. Probably my favorite thing about OSU these days. :D

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/cu-podcast-26-designing-columbus-at-msi <b>CU Podcast #26: Designing Columbus at MSI</b> By Walker | August 6, 2009 <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/msi-arena.jpg"> MSI may not be a “household name” type of company, but they’ve helped to design many Columbus amenities that are widely recognized as some of the best things our city has to offer. Their projects include the Arena District, the Short North Streetscaping improvements, Huntington Park, Grandview Yard, The Scioto Mile and the Gay Street Streetscape just to name a few. In this week’s ColumbusUnderground.com Podcast, we’re sitting down at the MSI offices with Senior Associate Jeff Pongonis, Director of Planning Chris Herrmann, and Urban and Regional Planner Andrew Overbeck to discuss a wide variety of ongoing projects, as well as what the future of Columbus looks like through a designer’s eyes. MP3 Here: http://blip.tv/file/get/ColumbusUnderground-CUPodcast26DesigningColumbusAtMSI122.mp3

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! :D The crew at MSI is awesome!

Ha! You're the only guy I know who trolls his own website. ;)

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/cantina-laredo-opens-first-ohio-restaurant <b>Cantina Laredo Opens First Ohio Restaurant</b> By Walker | August 4, 2009 <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/cantinafront1.jpg"> The Dallas-Fort Worth based Cantina Laredo opened up their first Ohio location today in the Lifestyle Center expansion at the Polaris Mall. According to their website, the restaurant serves “authentic Mexican dishes in a sophisticated atmosphere”. Their menu includes a variety of steak, chicken, and seafood specialities and their website advertises daily specials as well. Prices mostly range from $8 to $12 for lunch and $11 up to $27 for dinner entrees.

If I could make any change to Rhodes Tower, I'd do it at the street level. The only people who care about what the top looks like are skyscraper photographers. ;) If you stroll through the Pearl Market on Tue or Fri, there's some great vibrancy down Pearl & Lynn Alleys to the side and back of Rhodes Tower with the vendor booths. On other days of the week, there is still some vibrancy there with some of the the other alley-facing businesses, but the Rhodes Tower side is a giant blank wall. Punch a few holes in there. Set up small spaces for new businesses. Take in some rent money. Make the alleyspace space more vibrant. Maybe that's just me though. ;)

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/everyonebikes-new-bikeshare-program-launches <b>EveryoneBikes - New Bikeshare Program Launches</b> By Walker | July 31, 2009 <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/bikes.jpg"> A group of Short North Businesses including Tigertree, Sandbox, and Paradise Garage jointly announced today that they’re launching the first ever bikeshare program for Columbus: <A href="http://everyonebikes.org/'>EveryoneBikes</a>. Ten brand new Africa Bikes will be available FOR FREE as of 5pm today for riders to borrow for errands, tours, exercise and other types of short trips around the city. Their goal is to soon have fifty bikes available throughout Downtown, the Arena District, and the Short North neighborhoods. The bikes will be on display in front of Tigertree during tomorrow’s Gallery Hop. The group chose to stock their fleet with Africa Bikes not only because of their ease of use, but also due to their ethical business practices. “For every two bikes sold, one bike is provided to an aide worker in Africa which allows to make a difference not only here Central Ohio, but also around the world.” says David Hunegnaw of Sandbox. EveryoneBikes also aims to help further the “green” transformation taking place in Columbus by providing an alternative transportation alternative for locals. “This innovative approach to Bikeshare will give residents and visitors an option to use a carbon-neutral mode of transportation to navigate our city” says Josh Quinn, owner of Tigertree. More information can be found online at <a href="http://everyonebikes.org/">EveryoneBikes.org</a>.

New Service Adjustments to take effect September 7th: <b>PRESS RELEASE</b> COTA makes adjustments to its service three times a year (January, May and September). · Cleveland #1 – Weekdays – The loop around the former Schottenstein warehouse will be removed from all trips. Travel times will be modified in the Polaris to St. Ann’s Hospital portion of the line. More service is now traveling north of Northern Lights to and from Polaris Parkway and Africa Road. Bus arrival/departure frequencies from downtown remain similar to the current schedule. Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · Cleveland #1 – Saturday- Travel times will be modified in the downtown area to improve on-time performance and the loop around the former Schottenstein warehouse will be removed from all trips. · Cleveland #1 – Sunday – Travel times will be modified in the downtown area to improve on-time performance and the loop around the former Schottenstein warehouse will be removed from all trips. · Livingston #1 – Weekdays – Travel times will be modified in the downtown area to improve on-time performance. · Livingston #1 – Saturday – Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · Livingston #1 – Sunday – Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · N. High St./E Main St. #2 – All days – To make the system more user friendly, all buses will now display destination codes to designate which end of the route a bus is heading towards. For example, a N. High St. bus with a destination header of < 2G N. High St> would signify that bus is heading to Graceland Shopping Center. · E. Main St. #2 – Weekdays - Travel times will be modified and trip times shifted to improve on-time performance. · E. Main St. #2 – Saturday - Travel times will be modified and trip times shifted to improve on-time performance. · E. Main St. #2 – Sunday – Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · N. High St. #2 – Weekdays - Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. Two additional southbound A.M. trips will be added to reduce overcrowding. Due to low ridership and as part of an effort to improve the directness of service, the number of trips serving the Colonial Hills neighborhood will be reduced from five (5) A.M. and five (5) P.M. trips to three (3) A.M. and three (3) P.M. trips. The three A.M. start times at Chase Road and High St. will be 6:37 A.M., 7:09 A.M. and 8:13 A.M. Due to low ridership and as part of an effort to improve the directness of service, the number of trips serving the Worthington Estates neighborhood will be reduced from five (5) A.M. to three (3) A.M. Three (3) P.M. northbound trips will be introduced to the schedule. The three P.M. trips will travel from downtown, north on High St., west on Larrimer Ave., north on Stenten St., west on Lambourne Ave., north on Rieber St. and east on W. Wilson Bridge Road to High St. The route will then continue north to the Crosswoods Park and Ride via High St. The three A.M. start times at W. Wilson Bridge and High St. will be 6:50 A.M., 7:18 A.M., and 7:43 A.M. Due to low ridership and as part of an effort to make COTA’s system easier to use, all trips that served McCord Park along E. Wilson Bridge Road will be discontinued. · N. High St. #2 – Saturday – Travel times will be modified and some trip times shifted by a few minutes to improve on-time performance. · N. High St. #2 – Sunday – Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · Parsons Ave. #4 – All Days - Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · Indianola Ave. #4 – All Days – Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · W. Fifth Ave. #5 – Weekdays - The entrance COTA used to access the Westbelt complex north off Trabue Road has been closed. COTA has rerouted buses to access this site from Westbelt Dr., but this has significantly lengthened the route and has resulted in service delays. COTA is still searching for a shorter alternative route through this development. If none can be identified, COTA will consider discontinuing service through the development and service the site from Trabue Road The bus leaving Fifth Ave. and Lakeshore Blvd. at 6:51 A.M will no longer travel into First Community Village. The new trip departure time will be at 6:53 A.M. · Mt. Vernon Ave. #6 – Weekdays - Previously eastbound buses from downtown traveled south on Stelzer Road, west on Allegheny Ave., south on Gould Road, east on Ruhl Ave., north on James Road, and east into the V.A. Hospital. Because traffic is heavy to/from the V.A. Hospital, buses have difficulty making turns at this intersection; as a result COTA has realiged service to travel straight through the intersection of James and Allegheny. Currently, eastbound buses travel south on Stelzer Road, west on Ruhl Ave., north on Gould Road and east on Allegheny across James to the V.A. Hospital. Westbound buses will follow this alignment in reverse. Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · Mt. Vernon Ave. #6 – Saturday and Sunday – In an effort to make COTA easier to use, all weekday, Saturday day, and Sunday day trips will be traveling to the V.A. Hospital. The Saturday day and Sunday day alignment will be the same as outlined above for weekdays. · Sullivant Ave. #6 – All Days - Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · Frebis Ave. #8 – Weekdays – The northbound bus from Weirton and Huntington, due at High and Broad Streets at 11:40 p.m., has been arriving late. To improve on-time performance the bus will now leave Weirton and Huntington two minutes earlier at 11:08 p.m. rather than 11:10 M.P. · E. Broad #10 – Weekdays – In order to better serve shift start and end times at the Limited Brands on E. Broad St. the eastbound bus arriving at the Limited Brands at 3:45 P.M. has been modified to arrive at 3:33 P.M. As a result, the bus leaving Broad and High Streets at 2:41 P.M. will now travel to the Limited rather than Hamilton and Main and the bus leaving Broad and High Streets at 2:51 P.M. will now travel to Hamilton and Main Streets. · W. Broad #10 – Weekdays - Before the schedule change in May, several afternoon buses serving the ODOT/ODPS complex were destined for Hamilton and Main but now only one bus travels to Hamilton and Main. Two additional afternoon trips traveling to Hamilton and Main will be modified to serve the ODOT/ODPS complex. Buses on these trips will depart three minutes earlier in order to accommodate the ODOT/ODPS stop. The route buses travel through Kroger’s property on Galloway Road has been modified. · Oak/Bryden #11 – Weekdays – Service on this line was extended south on Alum Creek Dr. to Refugee Road and east on Refugee Road/Chatterton Road to Gender Road in May. Since this was new service, travel times will be modified to improve on time performance. Service frequency is also being slightly improved during most of the day. Evening service frequency will remain at 40 minutes. · Oak/Bryden #11 – Saturday – Service on this line was extended south on Alum Creek Dr. to Refugee Road and east on Refugee Road/Chatterton Road to Gender Road in May. Since this was new service, travel times will be modified to improve on time performance. Service frequency is also being modified from approximately 50 minutes to 45 minutes all day. · Oak/Bryden #11 – Saturday – Service on this line was extended south on Alum Creek Dr. to Refugee Road and east on Refugee Road/Chatterton Road to Gender Road in May. Since this was new service, travel times will be modified to improve on time performance. Service frequency is also being modified from approximately 50 minutes to 45 minutes all day. Evening frequency will remain at 60 minutes. · St. Clair #11 – Weekdays – In conjunction with the changes made to the Oak/Bryden line, service frequency is being slightly improved during most of the day. Evening service frequency will remain at 40 minutes. · St. Clair #11 – Saturday - In conjunction with the changes made to the Oak/Bryden line, service frequency is being modified from approximately 50 minutes to 45 minutes all day. · St. Clair #11 – Sunday - In conjunction with the changes made to the Oak/Bryden line, service frequency is also being modified from approximately 50 minutes to 45 minutes all day. Evening frequency will remain at 60 minutes. · McKinley/Fields #12 – Weekdays - COTA’s Fields Ave. facility will reopen the first week of September. Service will be extended to COTA’s Fields Avenue Campus at 20 minute frequency from approximately 7 A.M. until 6 P.M., and 30 minutes frequency in the evening until approximately 9:30 P.M. · McKinley/Fields #12 – Saturday/Sunday – Saturday day and Sunday day service will now operate from COTA’s Fields Avenue facility rather than from the McKinley Avenue facility. Consequently Saturday day and Sunday day service is being realigned to travel between Fields Ave. and downtown. Service will be provided at 30 minute frequency from approximately 7:30 A.M. until 7 P.M. There will be no service between McKinley Ave. facility and downtown on Saturday day and Sunday day. · Dublin Road/Grandview #13 – Weekdays – Formerly known as the #69, this route has been renumbered to the #13. The route is being renumbered to better reflect this is local route service. Trip times and travel times will be modified in the afternoon in order for passengers to better make transfer connections to other routes downtown. Service to the River’s Edge retail center has been discontinued due to low ridership. Due to COTA’s Fields Ave. facility re-opening for the September Service change the first bus in the morning will leave downtown 10 minutes later at 7:22 A.M. travelling toward Watermark. · Greenlawn/Harmon #14 (NEW) – Weekdays – Two trips will be travelling from High and Long Streets downtown to the Harmon Road/Greenlawn Ave. area in the morning and travelling the reverse in the afternoon. Two morning buses will leave High and Long Streets at 7:25 A.M. and 8 A.M. arriving at Harmon Road and Greenlawn Ave. at 7:40 A.M. and 8:15 A.M. Afternoon buses will leave Greenlawn and Harmon at 3:55 P.M. and 4:17 P.M. and arrive downtown at High and Broad Streets at 4:05 P.M. and Front and Gay Streets at 4:25 P.M. · Grove City – #15- Weekdays/Saturday – COTA was unable to arrange an agreement with Wal-Mart on Stringtown Road to travel on their property. Service has been realigned to travel on public roadways. From downtown service will travel east on Stringtown Road, south on Buckeye Parkway to the end of line near the Wal-Mart Garden Center where the bus will dwell before continuing to downtown. The bus will continue by traveling west on Buckeye Pl., and north on Parkway Center Dr., east on Stringtown Road, north on Thistlewood Dr., west on Killdeer Road, south on Jackpot Dr. and back west on Stringtown Road toward downtown. · Kenny Road #18 – Weekdays – Service frequency will be improved to approximately 30 minutes between 7 A.M. and 9 A.M. and 7 P.M. and 9 P.M. from downtown to the Tuttle Mall area. Service frequency will be improved to approximately 30 minutes between 7 A.M. and 7 P.M. from downtown to the Sawmill/Ressler Roads area with 60 minute service to Tuttle Mall during this period. Additionally two new late night trips will now leave downtown later at 10:45 P.M. and 11:45 P.M. Service will be realigned in the Bethel Road area between McKitrick Blvd. and Godown Road All northbound buses will travel north on Godown Road, west on Bethel Road, north on Reed Road, west on Drew Ave., south on McKitrick Blvd. and continue west on Bethel Road Southbound buses will follow the reverse alignment. The late evening southbound trip that traveled onto Riverside Hospital property will now serve Riverside Hospital from stops on N. Broadway. Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · Kenny Road #18 – Saturday –Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. Additionally, service has been extended later into the evening; a northbound bus leaving downtown at 10 P.M. has been added. · Kenny Road #18 – Sunday – Buses will no longer go into Riverside Hospital. Instead Riverside Hospital will be served by stops on N. Broadway. Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · N. High St./Arena District (NEW Night Owl) #21 – Weekdays – Late Friday evening service is being added between downtown Columbus and the Park of Roses on N High St. Service will travel south on High St., west on Spring St., north on Front St., east on Nationwide Blvd. and north on High St. to the Park of Roses. Service will operate at 30 – minute frequencies from approximately 8 P.M. until 3 A.M. · N. High St./Arena District (NEW Nigth Owl) #21 – Saturday – Late Saturday day evening service is being added between downtown Columbus and the Park of Roses on N High St. Service will travel south on High St., west on Spring St., north on Front St., east on Nationwide Blvd. and north on High St. to the Park of Roses. Service will operate at 30 – minute frequencies from approximately 8 P.M. until 3 A.M. · Brooksedge Express #27 – Weekdays – Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. The 3:53 P.M. and the 4:52 P.M. evening trips leaving Westerville Park and Ride will be modified to leave at 3:59 P.M. and 4:57 P.M. in order to better match the work shift end times of workers in the Brooksedge Complex. · Smoky Row Rd Express #30 – Weekdays – The downtown alignment is being modified in the morning to serve the Franklin County Government Complex before travelling to COTA’s South Terminal. When travelling south on Third St., buses will continue to Mound St., travel west on Mound St. to High St., north on High St. to Main St. and east on Main St. into City Center Terminal. A limited stop is also being added on Fourth St. at Town St. for afternoon buses. · North Central Express #33 – Weekdays – A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Karl Rd Express #34 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Tamarack Express #35 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Westerville Express #37 – Weekdays – Travel times modified to improve on-time performance. · Northeast Express #38 – Weekdays – This line will be renamed to the #38 Easton Express. Travel times will be modified to improve on-time performance. · North Reynoldsburg Express #44 – Weekdays – A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Reynoldsburg Express #45 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Eastland Express #46 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Eastgreen Express #48 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Southeast Express #49 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · ODOT/ODPS #51 – Weekdays - The trip currently leaving ODOT/ODPS at 4:38 p.m. has been changed to 4:32 P.M., and is due to arrive at Broad and High Streets at 4:45 P.M. After leaving Broad and High, the bus will continue east on Broad St., south on Third St. and west on Mound St. arriving at Mound and High Streets at 4:50 P.M. · Dublin Express #58 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Dublin/Metro Express #59 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Arlington Express #60 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Bethel Road Express #62 – Weekdays - A stop is being added at Fourth and Town Streets in order to better serve express passengers. · Dublin Road/Grandview Express #69 – Weekdays – This route has been renumbered as the #13 Dublin Rd/Grandview. The stop at River’s Edge has been discontinued. Travel times will be modified to improve transfer connections at COTA’s North Terminal. · Columbus Zoo #98 – All Days – Discontinue seasonal service.

An old CCAD student film from 1980: :D

The new Prodigy album is fun for anyone looking for a little mid-to-late-90s electronic nostalgia. ;)

<b>Grange Insurance Expansion Project Completed</b> By Walker | July 30, 2009 8:00am <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/grange3.jpg"> Grange Insurance is officially holding the dedication ceremony of their completed $100-million headquarters expansion project in the Brewery District today. Their new development includes 250,000 square feet of additional office space that will accommodate 700 new jobs to be added gradually over the next 15-20 years. They’ve also added a new 1,000-space parking garage next door that features 15,000 square feet of new retail space along South Front Street. More info & photos here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/grange-insurance-expansion-project-completed

Sure, I'm all for improving the urban core too... but this isn't really an either/or situation here.

<img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/rhodes-taller.png">

<b>Caffe Daniela Coming Soon to Broad & High</b> By Walker | July 29, 2009 <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/caffe-daniela.jpg"> Joe and Mary Jo Milano opened Caffe Daniela, a casual contemporary Italian restaurant concept in Worthington last August. While the new business is just celebrating its one year anniversary, expansion plans have them already opening a second Caffe Daniela Downtown, near the corner of Broad & High in the Huntington Building. “What we’re trying to do is replicate an authentic cafe from Italy,” said Joe. “Many European cities are set up with more pedestrian-driven communities. Here in Worthington we’ve been able to do that quite nicely, and I think we can duplicate that Downtown. There’s a little bit of a different demographic, but we’ll adapt with a slightly more urban cafe.” READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/caffe-daniela-coming-soon-to-broad-high

Did you read the original articles? Columbus is selling the land to Dublin. For cheap too. Columbus will not have a say in how this land develops.