Brewmaster

Great article. It's really refreshing to hear a politician who sees the big picture.

Small world! That's where I live now. Two years ago, the owner decided to convert the apartments into condos. They gutted them, laid down hard wood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel, etc... and called them Sterling Lofts. They've got tons of character (exposed wood beams and brick walls) and have some great modern finishes in them. That's good that those buildings are in good hands. They don't build character into buildings like that anymore!

The architectural detail in these buildings really reminds me of my loft. It almost makes me sad to see these buildings not being used for anything. They've got tons of potential for rehab if put in the right hands. I'm not too familiar wity Cincy, or the surrounding area, but it could make for a cool neighborhood if a developer throws the capital at it (like Edwards did with Columbus' Brewery District).

I thought this article would fit best here. It shows the support of German Village for the streetcars. It probably doesn't come as a surprise, but projects like these need all the support they can get. Initiatives called good for village By GARTH BISHOP, COLUMBUS LOCAL NEWS Mayor Michael Coleman's State of the City speech held promise for the German Village area, said Katharine Moore, director of the German Village Society. "He works very hard on behalf of Columbus," Moore said. Some of Coleman's ideas that affect German Village involve the City Center Mall, abandoned homes and a proposed trolley system, she said. "We were really excited about the plans ... for the streetcars," said Moore. "That seems to be a really viable project." Coleman proposed a system of rail streetcars as a way of connecting areas in Columbus and cutting down on parking problems Downtown. Such a system would provide an important link between neighborhoods, such as German Village, and downtown Columbus, Moore said. More: http://www.columbuslocalnews.com

Downtown hotel business, room rates on the upswing Wednesday, March 01, 2006 Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH As Downtown continues to welcome more permanent residents, it’s also throwing out the welcome mat to more visitors. Downtown’s 13 hotels reported occupancies higher than 64 percent last year after struggling under 60 percent for much of this century. They also increased their daily rates to more than $100 for the first time since the 2001 terrorist attack. [email protected]

^ There is no lateral bracing system. It's on two stilts.

^ That pyramid would probably help support it too. As is stands in the picture, I don't think it would stay upright for very long. A 30 mph gust from either side should push it over without a problem.

It all depends on what is done with the capital raised from the lease. If it is used intelligently to spur (or stop the loss of) economic development, then the decision might pay for itself over the course of 75 years. If the capital is squandered on pet projects like body armor for police dogs, then it's a complete failure.

Good read noozer. I'm glad to see some support in Ohio for this idea, but I don't think Blackwell has the right idea for putting the money to use. If Blackwell wants my vote, he's going to have to spend a little more time defining these "pet projects" and less time attacking his competitors. I'm not going to agree to sell a major state asset, and give blank checks to dozens of politicians. I'm pretty suprised that the article only referred to "modernizing" Ohio's transportation system, and didn't mention rail. I hope they're not thinking that modernization means adding lanes.

I like the design, but it's a little too tall for my taste. It's ok if you want to have the tallest in the city/state, but be the tallest by 100 feet...not 500. ;) It's a simple, classy shape, but with it being so tall, it loses that classiness. One more thing...looking at the base, I think it would topple over in a stiff breeze.

They stuck me in Franklinton behind COSI!!!! I'm scared!

Two very suprising things about the picture... 1) The projected growth in the Pataskala/New Albany area on the east side. 2) The projected lack of growth in the area north of Polaris in southern Delaware County. Does MORPC think this area has reached its critical mass?

I could be wrong, but I believe thier current plan eliminates the 3rd/4th st. exits entirely. They are relying on one-way collector/distributor roads to bring all traffic in and out of downtown. I think they are taking out all but a couple of exits along the split. Say you were coming into downtown from the west side. You would take an exit labeled "downtown" that would put you on a reworked version of Livingston or Fulton that starts around the the Scioto. You'd then proceed down Livingston or Fulton (one way) until you hit your connecting street. This would eliminate most of the merging and rapid lane changes that occur on the split by getting the traffic off/on the highway in a more organized way.

Perhaps the :? didn't show my sarcasm well enough.

Why not just elimnate the remining 72 freeway exits within the outerbelt and force people to bypass columbus around I-270? :?

You just blew my mind! That would be a total paradigm shift. I like it!

After attending the public meeting a few weeks back, I'm quite sure that ODOT is serious about building caps. The are budgeting 10 million for 2-3 caps (probably one for Long, one for High, and one for Front). This has to do with the traffic volumes that would be detoured and not allowed to exit into downtown. During the public meeting, they threw up a statistic about how much traffic was detoured when I-670 was shut down, then compared that to the split. I can't recall the exact numbers but I think it was 3-4 times larger. ODOT does not want to put up a freeway sign that says "Columbus Closed...Come Back in 4 Years". That's what constructing the Grand Boulevard would result in. The one way CD options allow for a phased approach to construction and therefore keep the split open during construction.

Hmmmm...I wonder if Nationwide will win. :-D

To answer my own question...the Mayor stated that it was over 300 jobs and over $22 million in annual wages. Not bad!

I'm glad the mayor has a plan to take care of blighted houses before they get out of control. Coming from Cleveland, I didn't really think there were many abandoned houses in Columbus. However, I bet that's what Cleveland mayor's said 30 years ago. They got out of control, and now they've got abandoned home numbers in the five figure range and don't have the funds to clean them up!

Thanks for the inside info noozer. When I heard the speech I was a little disappointed knowing that these studies rarely turn into concrete and steel. Then when the Mayor said that it would be done without tax increases, I got extremely skeptical. Thanks to your info, I'll be sleeping better tonight! It looks like I may be selling one of our cars and renting out our spare parking space sooner than I thought! I'd ride this everyday to work from the Brewery District (and might be able to free up some cash flow in the process...car insurance, gas, parking, etc...)

With Whittier Peninsula, RiverSouth, the reworked 70/71 split (with caps), and now a streetcar system, it's going to be difficult for me to ever consider leaving downtown!

^ Not sure about radio coverage, but there will be a webcast... http://mayor.columbus.gov/soc2006.asp

Welcome Kate, Since it seems as though Delaware County is the heart of Columbus' sprawl (oxymoron?), I think an article on the impact of that sprawl would be interesting. You could read this thread on "Suburbanites: what would draw you downtown?" as inspiration. http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=7683.0 I think it would be interesting to hear the views of people who decide to commute over 45 minutes to Downtown Columbus, and why they choose to do so. You could then provide the alternatives to them (live in close suburbs like Grandview, UA, German Village, etc...), use public transportation to avoid traffic (would they ride a light rail if they had the opportunity?), live near large public parks rather than have large yards, the importance of living in a walkable neighborhood, etc...

Noozer - Is "streetcars" in quotations because these would be dressed up busses (faux streecars), or will they run on tracks with overhead lines?