WalkerEvans

Purchasing tickets for a CSO event isn't "consuming"? ;) I think I agree with what you're trying to say, but the "I'm doing what's right but everybody else pretty much sucks" approach isn't the most tactful way to convince people that something needs to change.

From Elephants on Bicycles: http://elephantsonbicycles.com/?p=798 <b>Getting Honest About Kingsdale</b> by Andrew Miller <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/eobsm.jpg"> I’ll preface by saying that I hope the Kingsdale redevelopment takes place, even if it remains essentially the same as it is right now. The problem here is that young people do like the idea of living in UA because it is close to the city. People of my generation and younger generally are looking for one of two things; an urban experience or a full service suburban community - or else they go and live on a farm. UA currently offers neither of these things. More: http://elephantsonbicycles.com/?p=798

Looks great, but where are the people? :O

I'm surprised that Columbusite is a fan of such a low density area. Also, wouldn't it be better if the road was completely closed to auto traffic? I mean... it's kind of an outrage that it isn't already... right?

On my to-do list: - Make friends with someone in one of these apartments/condos for prime Red White & Boom party spot. :D

Some construction photos I took on Feb 1: <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/huntpark1.jpg"> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/huntpark2.jpg"> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/huntpark3.jpg"> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/huntpark4.jpg">

It took some time, but it grew on me. And after talking to <a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/guy-worley-answers-your-city-center-questions">Guy Worley</a> I understand the reasons that the mall structure can't easily be saved right now. Looking forward to having this site finally come back alive!

Thanks for posting up some of the photos. There are more <a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/lincoln-theater-construction-update-photos">here</a>. The Lincoln Theater is going to look amazing when it's completed and bring a whole new vibrancy back to the neighborhood. Looking forward to the grand opening!

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/bakery-gingham-opens-in-new-location-on-saturday <b>Bakery Gingham Opens in New Location on Saturday</b> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/gingham1.jpg"> German Village is getting even sweeter. Amanda Ellis is moving her sweet shop <a href="http://www.bakerygingham.com/">Bakery Gingham</a> to a bigger space on Thurman Avenue. The new space has allowed her to expand her selection of goodies too! Bakery Gingham became well-known as the delicious and beautiful cupcake spot next to the Brown Bag Deli. She offered six different cupcake flavors a day, all homemade. Now she is able to offer cupcakes as well as quick breads, bars, biscotti, coffee cakes, cookies, croissants, muffins, scones and pocket pies. The grand opening for the new space will be this Saturday, January 31st. We stopped last weekend for a sneak peak...

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/urban-spirit-coffee-shop-celebrates-first-year <b>Urban Spirit Coffee Shop Celebrates First Year</b> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/urbanspirit.jpg"> Urban Spirit first opened their doors at 893 E. Long Street on February 19th, 2008. Despite a brutal cold snap that day, business was brisk, and the neighborhood quickly embraced this new gathering spot. Owner Charity Martin-Via has seen her fair share of ups and downs over the course of the past year but remains optimistic with her business and flexible with her business plans. The Near East Side is a neighborhood in transition, and Martin-Via describes what sort of mindset it takes to lead the way in being an entrepreneurial pioneer.

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/d3-opens-february-11th-downtown-dunkin-donuts <b>D3 Opens February 11th - Downtown Dunkin Donuts</b> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/3158335554_75c3037b41_m.jpg"> Baring a blizzard, the long awaited downtown location of Dunkin Donuts will open on February 11th. This is the second location of a large expansion of DD in the Columbus Metropolitan area. Doors open 6 AM at 2 East Broad Street (Broad and High), expect some long but quickly moving lines as urbanites and office workers queue up to fuel up with coffee and donuts. I spoke with Mike Bruno, President and Chief Operating Officer of USA Restaurant Developers the company planning on growing 30 or more DD locations in Columbus.

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/whats-going-on-with-the-old-rj-snappers-space <b>What’s going on with the old RJ Snappers Space?</b> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/rjsnappers.jpg"> A little over a week ago, construction fencing went up around building that housed the recently-closed RJ Snappers restaurant in the Short North. Since then, much of the front of the building has been ripped apart for renovation. There's been a bit of speculation scattered <a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/rj-snappers-in-the-short-north-has-closed/comment-page-2">here</a> and <a href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/old-rj-snapper-space-being-rebuilt-or-demolished">there</a>, but no real details yet as to what's actually going on over there. Rumor has it that a new restaurant tenant has already been signed, but they're trying to keep information quiet for now. Another rumor is that it could be a new concept from the owners of Union Cafe. Another source has emailed in to CU stating that the restaurant will be a casual non-chain concept. Has anyone heard anything else?

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/barrio-menu-now-online-restaurant-to-open-soon <b>Barrio menu now online, restaurant to open soon</b> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/barrio.png"> The much anticipated Barrio restaurant will be opening their doors at Spring and High in just a few more weeks. Their <a href="http://www.barriotapas.com">website</a> describes the concept as "<em>grounded in contemporary American culture, however its essence is inspired by the smells, flavors, images, and festive atmosphere Latin American and Spanish-speaking communities enjoy</em>". They've also got their full <a href="http://www.barriotapas.com/menus/">menu</a> online that includes a wide variety of tapas, lunch specials, entrees, desserts, brunch, wine, and cocktails.

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/cu-podcast-episode-06-vegetarianism-veganism <b>CU Podcast Episode #06: Vegetarianism & Veganism</b> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/veggies.jpg"> In this week's podcast we discuss vegetarianism and veganism in Columbus. We're joined by Tawd Bell of Rad Dog, Jennie Scheinbach of Pattycake Bakery, and Cristin Austin of Dragonfly Neo-V. Click <a href="http://blip.tv/file/get/ColumbusUnderground-ColumbusUndergroundcomPodcastEpisode06192.mp3">here</a> to download an mp3, click <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=301024381">here</a> to subscribe via iTunes, or click <a href="http://columbusunderground.blip.tv/rss">here</a> to subscribe to the rss feed.

Uh... no... copyright and trademark laws exist for a reason.

Who's "we" and "we"? Yes, private developers (we?) can build lifestyle centers with private dollars. As for supporting the CSO, that is up to us (we!) to attend events to support the symphony. You make it sound as if all money, public, private, or otherwise is just in some great big pot to be distributed to anything or anyone. That only happens with SimCity.

<b>Wasted Space in Downtown: Old Highway Feeders</b> By Walker | January 28, 2009 10:30am Last week, ODOT announced their finalized plans for the 70/71 Split Fix, which includes turning Mound, Fulton, Parsons, and Lester into busy one-way highway feeder streets. What the plan fails to address is what we’re going to do with our old one-way highway feeder streets that include Third, Fourth, Long, and Spring. They will no longer have the direct purpose of shuttling cars in and out of downtown from the 70/71 offramps, since the offramps are moving. So, the big question here is: are we going to let all of that asphalt go to waste? More here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/wasted-space-in-downtown-the-old-highway-feeders

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/odot-announces-finalized-16-billion-split-fix <b>ODOT Announces finalized $1.6 Billion Split Fix</b> By Walker | January 23, 2009 7:58am Yesterday ODOT announced that they’ve made a decision on their plans for the controversial Downtown I-70/I-71 split fix project. There’s really no new surprises here… just a few decisions made over the several options previously being considered. Essentially… they’ve decided to go with the Mound/Fulton feeder alignment running east-west despite running through the front yards of Miranova and Waterford Tower. Similarly, a Lester/Parsons feeder will run north-south in a fashion that will spell the end of a few Parsons Avenue businesses. On the bright side, several highway caps, bike paths, and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks are also planned but will require some amount of local funding to develop. The total cost of the project has jumped up again to a whopping $1.6 Billion. Construction is expected to start in 2011 and be completed by 2017. ODOT is holding a public hearing on the project on Tuesday, February 10th. Read on for details.

<b>Job-loss forecast not as awful for Columbus</b> January 20, 2009 3:14 AM By Dan Gearino Hold on tight. This could get nasty. Nearly every metropolitan area in the country will lose jobs this year, including Columbus and every other major city in Ohio, according to a new forecast released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The report says Columbus will report a net loss of 7,700 jobs, or 0.8 percent. Those numbers, while certainly not good, are better than in Cleveland and Cincinnati, which are projected to lose 2.1 percent and 2 percent of their current jobs total, respectively. Columbus' unemployment rate is projected to rise to 8.9 percent, which would be the highest since June 1983. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/01/20/job_declines.ART_ART_01-20-09_A1_16CK5O9.html?sid=101

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/jasons-restaurant-forced-to-rename-to-j-lius <b>Jason’s Restaurant Forced to Rename to J. Liu’s</b> By Walker | January 14, 2009 8:39pm According to this article in This Week News, Jason’s Restaurant will be changing names soon. Both the Dublin and Worthington locations will soon be rebranded as J. Liu’s, as an Arizona-based chain called Jason’s Deli opens their first Ohio location. Oddly enough, the new Jason’s Deli will be opening just down the street from the Dublin location of Jason’s Restaurant.

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-columbus-sandwich-company-is-now-open <b>The Columbus Sandwich Company is Now Open</b> By Walker | January 16, 2009 9:34am It might sound like a bit of a geographical oddity, but the Columbus Sandwich Company opened a month and a half ago in the city of Pickerington. It probably sounds even stranger to hear that you may have already tried some of their sandwiches without even knowing it. Before you start worrying that you’re trapped in some sort of Sandwich Twilight Zone, allow me to explain…

Sounds like the more important development of more residential and office space is still going through. The Grocery Store can wait. There's one 2 blocks north of here, so it's not like most people in this immediate area are lacking in grocery options between it and the North Market.

Thanks for the linkage. ;) It was really great to sit down with Bill Lhota for 30 minutes and just throw question after question at him. He's a really interesting guy and very in tune with the passionate discussions happening online about rail development.

Ha! My wife did too. In the rowhouse apartments closer to the corner of Oakland and Summit. I was so glad when we moved away from there. ;)

Do they damage bikes? Or do they just calm bicycular traffic too? ;)