jonoh81

I'd be interested to see an actual breakdown, if such a thing even exists, of the origins of traffic on 23, especially between Delaware and Columbus, which the relevant article is only talking about.

? I didn't think the comments ever went away, just the discussion board.

Rail would still make sense if it meant fewer cars. Cars also contribute to traffic, and there are a lot more cars on the road than trucks.

Of course ODOT only sees the need for more highways and more lanes, but this is a prime commuting corridor that would be well-served with a train. It's frustrating to see the inevitable induced demand route being the only option considered.

I'm not sure if these have been discussed, but I found engineering applications for projects at 1034-1048 W. Broad and 1325 W. Broad. The 1034 Broad project is for a 44-unit, 4 story, but seems to just be residences, not mixed-use. The name seems to be McKinley Manor and is being built by Woda, but there's nothing on their site about it. 1325 Broad is for a 3-story, 50-unit, mixed-use building with retail space. Anyone heard anything about these? I'm thinking they might have been mentioned at some point in reference to affordable housing, but not sure.

Now that's what I mean by maximizing potential of sites. Get that approved now. Also, it makes all of OSU's development just to the south on High seem kind of pathetic now.

My email: To whom it may concern, The proposed development for the Giant Eagle site on Neil Avenue by Casto has far too many shortcomings to move forward as is. The 5-acre site has endless potential given its urban location so near Downtown and the Short North, yet Casto is treating it like its location is out on the edge of Hilliard sprawl. The issues: -The proposed density is far too low. A single 5-story building at the back the of the site just doesn't cut it. Even if the proposed 2nd building does get built, residential would still encompass perhaps 50% of the entire site. That's far too low. Given the ongoing housing crisis in Columbus, combined with rapid population growth and a future with even more expected, these types of sites should maximize density, not be afraid of it. -The 2 single-story outbuildings along Neil separated by an enormous surface lot should be an automatic non-starter. It's embarrassing that such a thing was even proposed at all for such a prominent site. Again, this isn't the suburbs and the site should be respected for its location. -Whatever does get built should be actual mixed-use. The retail portions of this should be incorpated into the main buildings, not separated from them. And all of it should front Neil Avenue. Before the 1960s demolitions, the buildings on this site were fronted along the street, not setback, so a zero-setback pattern would actually be more historically accurate. I encourage Harrison West members to reject this proposal and fight for something that not only respects the size and scope of the site, but addresses the needs of the overall community with established urban form and density. To do otherwise does a disservice to all.

There hasn't been an actual vote on alternate transit in Columbus for nearly a quarter century, and that failed less so because of opposition to mass transit, but in the awful, stupid and confusing way that COTA went about putting it all on the ballot. So it's hard to say what current thinking is. Obviously, there would be enormous NIMBYism and "but muh taxes" opposition in the greater region, but that exists everywhere that currently has a real mass transit system, and is arguably even more fierce in other places. Columbus by itself, at the very least, should be able to tackle mass transit within its borders. Whether any suburbs want to join in is irrelevant to that. The problem has always been leadership that has been consistently lukewarm to the idea at best, or local transit authorities like MORPC/COTA have failed spectacularly to build support or to form any tangible plans. They've almost never submitted a plan for federal funding, for example, because they've only very rarely had a serious plan, and their timing was always terrible. And I disagree that the area's average annual population growth doesn't ultimately improve long term because of projects, like this. It's been strong- and improving- for a while now. All this stuff puts Columbus more into the national consciousness, which it really hasn't been to date. At the very least, more people will be taking a look at the region, and at least some of those additional people will make the move above and beyond the existing growth. Because again, it's not just about the Intel project itself, but all the additional development it's going to help attract.

It's why I gave a range, but I don't foresee any scenario in which Columbus doesn't get the majority just from a housing availability standpoint. We're talking about the first 2 fabs being finished in just 3 years, and people will be coming to the area before that. That's not a lot of time for mass housing construction. Down the road, the ratios may change, but at least at first, Columbus gets most of them.

Lots of people live in Columbus with kids. And that number is increasing. Schools are a concern, but these aren't low-paying jobs, so there are other options for them.

Here's the breakdown of where I think workers end up living... Columbus: Max: 80% Min: 60% New Albany: Max: 30% Min 10% Newark: Max: 20% Min: 10% Johnstown: Max: 10% Min: 5% Other communities: Whatever's left.

Isn't there a more urban-style GE over in Bexley? You don't have to look very far.

I'd like to say this is a surprise, but that's why I asked the question of what people thought it was going to be. Their portfolio is filled with this kind of crap. But this is arguably much worse just because the location has so much potential and they've offered one of the worst possible proposals. Only 2 things would be worse- expanded surface parking only or replacing the existing strip malll with a new strip mall (which, ironically, would also be right up their alley since they basically created the entire concept of the strip mall back in the 1920s). Really disappointing considering they have the ability to do so much better. This isn't Homeport we're talking about.

It would, and I think just about everyone here wants to see a larger comprehensive mass transit plan to connect both neighborhoods in Columbus and Columbus with suburban communities. I am not sure if I agree with the idea that New Albany is a good planning example. It's pretty typically suburban in development patterns, just a lot more expensive. Its "downtown" area is more planned, but that's a relatively small area. There's really nothing on the scale of Bridge Park, for example. Intel may change the dynamic, but I also foresee an explosion of local NIMBYism to fight a more urbanized development pattern there.

So what are the predictions? Casto is certainly capable of doing larger projects, but so much of their portfolio is your standard suburban apartment complexes. So will it be more like neighboring Heritage Pointe or something more like their Graceland Flats?

I fully expect most of the incoming growth to occur in Columbus. After all, it is the largest nearby city, has the most amenities, most available housing, etc., and wouldn't be an extraordinary commute. Columbus all by itself attracts more than 50% of the entire metro's growth- and Franklin County more than 70%- so I would expect at least a similar ratio for anyone moving to the area for these new opportunities. No doubt New Albany, Johnstown and other small communities will benefit greatly, but there's only so much housing to go around. Obviously housing developers will rush into construction around all this, but I just don't see the majority of younger tech employees all wanting to live in small suburbs and rural/exurban areas that have no real amenities nearby.

I fully support lower-income and senior housing, I just wish they would move these projects along the street without the setbacks. It would be great to see like brownstone type design with street-level entrances. Not with stairs to accomodate older people and those with disabilities. But I think that would serve to help make them look a lot less Hilliard and a lot more like the urban neighborhood they're in.

I'm calling for Whale #2: Mixed-Use Boogaloo.

Pizutti should hang various photos of whales on site fencing for the duration of construction.

Stupid paywall, but it's on the Dispatch website that the Whalers just lost their appeal to stop the Giant Eagle site project. Teehee...

Thoughts and prayers to the loss of sunlight in someone's backyard.

I'm definitely in the camp that sees this general opposition to development as being firmly rooted in the idea that a town/city/neighborhood is an exclusive community that should be locked away from "outsiders", particularly of certain racial and income demographics.

Worthington is essentially a landlocked community. It cannot grow out, so it can only do density infill. I don't know what they're thinking intentionally blocking greater tax revenues. At least Grandview and UA have figured out this is a bad idea long term. Worthington was losing people until the latest census, but it was only able to grow filling existing housing for the most part, along with a handful of new apartment projects on Wilson Bridge Road. It's seen relatively little new development in the most recent development and population boom of the greater area. Without a mentality change, it's going to quickly stagnate if people can't find housing there, and turning off developers from even trying to add any is a terrible way to run a city.

It looks like a couple of upright trees, so I'm not sure. Historically, there were small islands in the Scioto through Downtown at times. They were around long enough to even get names, though the names escape me.

lol, yes in Circleville. It's named after Hitler Ludwig. I don't know who that was, but apparently someone prominent in the area because there's a cemetery named after him.