DevolsDance

The best way to change Columbus' car culture is to making driving inconvenient. I know people wont/don't like to hear it, but situations like this are exactly what is needed to help push people towards dense walkable areas and open their minds to mass transit.

When NRI purchased the Marconi Garage a few years back and asked for permission to demo it, they promised the Downtown Commission to have a development plan for the lot within 5 years I believe and start construction soon after. The commission was very against letting it become a surface lot until NRI agreed to this condition.

Elford actually has done some pretty large projects. They are the team behind the A&F campus, LeVeque Renovations, Dublin Methodist Hospital, and Millennial (if it were to be built). They're a pretty diverse company. Either way, they aren't the architecture firm on deck, they are just the leasing and construction for the project so we may see something outside of their norm. Remember, they are a local developer so unless there are towers/big things being built locally, they won't be doing those sorts of projects.

I believe the High Street improvements are slated to terminate at 9th & High. I don't believe any plan has been laid out for north of 9th Ave, I don't actually know if there is going to be a plan but High through campus is pretty rough and congested so I imagine we will see something at one point or another. https://www.columbus.gov/Templates/Detail.aspx?id=2147495080 As for the developments... I have no clue what Borror is doing but the project is still listed on their website as proposed and coming soon. The project at 2500 N High is still going and I believe is slated to break ground soon. Their variances were granted at last months UAIRB meeting and they submitted the final designs. I would guess either late this year or early spring depending on how they have handled the leases of current tenants on property. https://columbusohdev.app.box.com/s/zkqm8l52grp6b9xm1lbaf18ix37voh95

Working on comps this morning and ended up stumbling across what looks to be the design for the long rumored condo plot end-capping Neighborhood Launch. Currently this plot serves as surface parking and staging while Edwards has been building out The Mews. Level is a pretty solid arch firm up in Chicago, not the most groundbreaking designs but their finished product is usually quite beautiful. http://www.levelincorporated.com/work/312-east-gay-street

So in my eyes, it's a tenfold issue with the city bearing the bulk of responsibility. Developers - Developers are never going to take a risk, it's not in their business model, it's not in their financing model, and it's not in their short term interest. Honestly, why would they? For the most part developers are not here to make a city better or unique, they are here to make a return and currently they can make a return with mid-rise structures in the core. Banks - Banks hold so much power in development it's insane. Lenders are traditionally conservative with what they're willing to approve financing wise on projects, they also are interested in the return and even less about adding to the the urban environment. Pair that knowledge with Columbus historically being a third-tier market and you have the cycle of funding we have seen for the past 10 years, it's slowly changing it seems but ultimately it has hurt our ability to score big ticket developments until recently. The Market - Columbus has (for the past 80 years) been a car-centric, third-tier development market that loved the suburbs. We have no natural barriers to stop sprawl, we have a population willing to commute and bear the burden of a person vehicle, and we have a pretty solid suburban-esque population that due to annexation lives within city limits meaning they get a say in things like transit and development. Now, in recent years the mindset is changing, the city and OSU have leveraged growth together and really helped push density in the urban core, our growth has pushed us into a new tier of development interest, and even suburbanites are starting to see value in urban growth. I think we're heading the right direction but it won't be easy because as we see everywhere, people for the most part hate change and lifers are going to fight harder and harder as the city they grew up in becomes less and less recognizable. The Commissions - Double issue. One, the commissions seem to regulate on density and how they "feel" about projects vs the architectural integrity of projects which was kind of their actual purpose from the start. Two, the regularity of meetings, with the city growing and development proposals increasing, they should be meeting multiple times per month and at times when residents can actually attend vs the strange 11AM-3PM thing they currently run. With the current structure, developments spend months in limbo just navigating commission approval and input for things that can probably be fixed and reviewed a week later instead of a month ultimately delaying the project timelines. Additionally, I will say it, the meeting times basically cater to older residents attending and nobody else, that's how every development ends up with only negative comments and feedback which is what the commission bases so much of their decisions on... thats an issue. The City - Finally, the largest responsible party in my eyes, the city. The city has benefited from years of sustained growth and expansion, it has always been able to adapt to the changes happening because they were never massive. As time has passed and growth has increased we have finally hit a point where growing pains are beginning. The city and council have spent the better half of two decades ignoring form based zoning, transit, infrastructure development, and smoothing out the road to growth. We have witnessed the city push major issues to the back and shift focus on "Good PR" projects like SMART Columbus. The city council recently had the gull to publish a statement about "Putting developers on notice for traffic and density" while completely ignoring that fact that transit, mobility, and zoning are the responsibility of the city itself... It's completely ludicrous. Leaders tout density but maintain parking minimums and density restrictions, they push for added traffic lanes and reduces bike/bus lanes... The city has done so little to truly prepare for growth that all the things listed above have become more symptoms than causes. How many transit studies and programs, corridor plans and improvements has the public seen in the last 20 years? More than you can probably count and almost none of them have been pushed through or enforced. Instead the city is going to continue on its path until a breaking point is hit and by then it will all be too late. Anyway, I could go on for hours but if we're going to play the blame game for development, the issue has and for the time being fall down the line onto the city and its lack of planning.

Yeah it is their first attempt at developing like this and it seems like quite a nice project from afar. I am curious if they are using this as a test store for exploring/pushing more into urban markets like Target has done or if it is a one off project. I imagine if it goes well we could see them replicating this around the country and maybe even Ohio (fingers crossed). As for the SN location, its like a half attempt at urban, my only hope is that someday they decided to split the lot and redevelop or they decide to develop the pretty sizable patch of grass along the corner of High and King where the parking lot stops.

Two things... One, I'm impressed with how much I love the look of a tower that was proposed almost 30 years ago, and two, incredibly disappointed this never happened. Can you image how Cap Square would feel surrounded by 30+ story buildings on all sides. I'm super curious how this would look in the skyline.

In the past, yes, CU was always the media outlet to chase down developers and ask the questions nobody else would. That being said, it seems in recent years they've become about as bland and poised as everyone else. While it may be worth a try to see if they can get some info, I wouldn't expect them to put much effort unless it's sponsored content or it's already been picked up by every other outlet and they decided to jump in the ring for clicks.

Don't forget about Mini Centennial!

Yep, they began setting up barrels yesterday and today it appears the new traffic flow is up and running. Walked through this morning and they have begun working on the steel expansion joints where High crosses the tracks and road below as well as marking up and delivering equipment to the site now that Convention Center Drive has closed. I expect things will start kicking into gear fairly quickly now that they have cordoned off the site.

It all just feels like we're getting punk'd, I truly cannot understand what Arshot is trying to do at this point. My actual thought when discovering this was "Well.... ummm okay sure why not".

Well, I know you all loved Millennial Tower but it's my pleasure to introduce to you... ... Mini Millennial Tower! Nope, I'm actually not joking. It seems that Elford has posted a new property on their leasing pages today that is listed as "Mini Millennial Tower". Looks like Arshot is proposing a 12-story Phase II(?) 130,000 square foot mixed-used mid-rise adjacent to the (still unbuilt) 28-story Millennial Tower. The proposal is located at 109 W Cherry St., a block southwest of the proposed Millennial Tower. The Franklin County auditor site currently lists the plot as being owned by "Bicentennial Holdings", which is a sub of Arshot Investment Corp. Maybe this is their attempt to kick things off and raise capital for the larger Millennial Tower? Or maybe Arhot i just doing what Arshot does and is seeing what sticks at this point. Enjoy. Please don't shoot the messenger. Haha http://elfordrealty.com/property-search/?propertyId=416888-lease

Was curious and decided to check the auditors site for the Parks Edge III plot after looking into the Dispatch Site this morning, looks like the plot of land is listed as having 82 parcels. So, doing some quick research and math gave me this... PARKS EDGE I Acres: 0.46 Acres Units: 69 Units Parks edge phase I also included resident lobby and amenity spaces PARKS EDGE II Acres: 0.56 Acres Units: 82 Units PARKS EDGE III (Plot) Acres: 0.48 Acres Units: Potentially 82 Units Based on this information, I think we will likely see a 12 story structure. I however could see them maybe breaking bit higher on the souther end and going with a design that steps down to match the 7 story units to the north. Time will tell but it does look like they are aiming for a similar amount of units depending on the market. Also, looks like North Bank has a 174-space garage. https://www.messer.com/our-work/additional-expertise/nationwide-realty-investors-condominiums-at-north-bank-park/ which equals 1.7 spaces per unit if there only ended up being 100 units.

For those interested, below is a breakdown of the land and who owns it for these last pieces of Capitol Square. The proposal being discussed is the land owned by Capitol Square LTD. I believe which would actually leave a pretty large surface lot along the square still. I am curious to see how they piece together the development being that it's spread pretty uniquely on the block. Personally, I would like to see 25-35 story range on the 3rd + State Lot and something in the 12-15 floor range along 4th. Residential to boost the local population with office and hotel, maybe even a cultural arts or theatre space to round out the square. Hopes and dreams, hopes and dreams. Blue - Owned by 34 South Third LTD. Red - Owned by Capitol Square LTD.

I cannot for the life of me find it but, I know I have seen an article where Moody Nolan actually participated in a design exercise to imagine what a skyscraper would look like in this exact location. I believe they had envisioned some 50-story glass and steel tower with some intense angles and architecture, it wasn't the best design but it was interesting none the less. Anyway, I seriously doubt we will get anything skyline altering but, being it's possibly the most prominent piece of underutilized land in Downtown I don't believe it's too much to ask for some height and unique architecture. Cap Square Ltd has been a huge investor in the Arena District and Grandview Yard with NRI which means they have some serious capital backing but that also concerns me for just how willing they are to "go bold". I really just have no clue what to expect here but hey, maybe it will be the mysterious 700-foot secret we all keep hearing about. Regarding the Hilton piece of Millennial, yes @Scott Krajeski and @DTCL11, it has been listed as a Hilton Brand Hotel for quite a while but I have never seen any more detail than that about exactly what sub-brand it would be. Considering we are going to have a 1000 room Hilton about 15 blocks away, I don't see it being a flagship but likely a sub/boutique brand like Curio. However, I doubt they could keep an interested hotelier on the line for almost 4 years now and still have a commitment from them. The Columbus hotel market is on fire right now so while I think Millennial could get a hotel, any brand commitment they had lined up has likely expired for lack of movement.

Well, with a $27M cash infusion, I now absolutely demand/expect NRI give us a tower for Parks Edge III! One can dream, right?

Snapped this on my way into the airport this morning, you can see the crane up to assemble tower crane 3.

Okay I'm really a big fan of this, I know it's pretty out there but it's a nice change from the norm we have been seeing.

Morning photo updated for you all, looks like framing is going up pretty quickly.

That garage is the bane of my urban existence, I know it will never go away but that doesn't mean it can't be updated or developed more. It's just so bad.

Correct, the Lumen in Cleveland, currently under construction is 318 units with parking and will be 34 floors. Highpoint was kind of "build it and they will come" project. The city was willing to do anything to get a building there, downtown residential was tepid but heating up, and the city just just wanted to get residential going at any cost. I guess in 2011 it was a massive deal to score that but now 8 years later it is possibly the second biggest "missed opportunity" in my eyes. Maybe someday the land will be valuable enough to warrant re-developing them? One can dream.

It's really interesting how the university district has in a way become Columbus' midtown of sorts. It is cool driving down 670 or 71 and see both Downtown and the Univ Dist on either side of you and how they are growing.

Columbus be growin' up.

The hospital garage crane is fully erect *cough* ed. Hah