DevolsDance

It's ridiculous, these commissions have made decisions that will last decades based on their desire for the city of the past.

For anyone curious, this is the proposed location and "character" the society and residents are trying to preserve... https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9527248,-82.9976987,3a,75y,162.52h,87.82t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWMwF_xxutSIstEHbV7aAkA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 While I do understand and appreciate the commissions, I do believe they hold a bit too much power at times. I think the commissions should have less influence on density, height, use, and parking, and should be almost exclusively focused on design and quality. Columbus has some of the better infill I have seen in growth cities and this can be heavily attributed to the commissions, however their power and influence over the actual size of developments has gotten wildly out of hand and is really going to become an issue if we ever hope to achieve the density for things like transit, retail, and walkability.

Regarding the hotel, its absolutely the best design we've seen so far and based on location and design it should be approved. Regarding the Society and residents, they have completely lost touch with reality on many fronts. They are treating the proposal as if it's in the middle of the neighborhood and will lead to some massive demolition of the village character. The proposal is on the very fringe of the village, it's along Livingston and I70/71, and will replace a surface lot and a single story stucco building... dragging this project out has hit the point of unreasonable imho. Finally, yes, developers can appeal to the city and ultimately win approval if they feel they have reached an impasse on a reasonable project with the commissions/review boards, however this just doesn't really happen. It definitely ventures into gray area because while the city does have ultimate approval it kind of opens a pandoras box in a way to bypass the commission and I think that the city will be very hesitant to do such a thing, it would likely just be another dead end for the developer. I have never seen it tested and developers typically want to be a "friendly neighbor" so while it can be done, I don't expect it will.

Cincinnati has 3 major league teams. NFL, MLB, MLS, they'll all be within walking distance once the West End stadium opens in 2021. No, the west end is not in the CBD, but it is just under one mile from PBS and located within the bowl touching OTR.

While I absolutely wish that was the case, my guess is just pure incompetence and lack of effort. Columbus is currently facing a shortage of modern downtown office space, a shortage of for sale units, a shortage of rental units, and posting increased value per square foot in all those markets every single quarter... there is literally no reason that project hasn't been able to lease out or sell space every foot of space yet other than gross incompetence on either Elford or Artshot's side of things. I've heard of some other big things in the works around the city/cbd but nothing in regards to Millennial.

*Cough* I'd like to direct you to the Millennial Tower thread. Overall yes, Columbus just seems to have so many projects that jump into construction quickly after announced that threads become more of an "updates" thread than a speculation thread... but we do have a few lingering projects that most either have given up on or just have become a joke amongst us.

Columbus' growth and development is interesting because while we haven't seen the "skyline" changing growth (yet) that is often visible in Nashville and Austin, but this is because so much is happening on the mid-rise level. Columbus development is currently heavier in the downtown adjacent areas like Campus, Victorian Village, The Short North, Italian Village, Franklinton, OTE, and South Parsons but things seem to be heading towards downtown with more projects announced lately in the CBD. That said, based on recent announcements, 2020 is shaping up to be quite an intense development year for things, 2 high-rises at 28 floors, 8 mid-rises all in the 11-15 floor range, and some unknown swath of 5-8 story buildings.

A demolition permit has been submitted to the city for the front half (Wasserstrom addition) of the Hoster building along S Front St.

Yeah, I couldn't fine a ROW permit for them closing it down anytime soon with the city but I don't possibly see how it could stay open in any way through construction.

Looks like site mobilization has begun... Wandered up as a truck full of barrels was arriving and this beautiful piece of machinery was being dropped off, there were also people with site survey flags and spray paint walking around.

The Crew SC twitter just posted teasing 10/10/19 groundbreaking on the stadium.

Technically, the first and most important box on a job site. ...Can't have crew until they have someplace to poo.

I spy with my little eye....

I agree on this as well, all these projects with parking need to be adaptable or better integrated but the ratio can be explained by being built to support a Phase III at some point in the future. Below are the notes from the commission, it seems they finally aren't worried about height but instead how the parking is handled. Looks like they are pushing for a bit more public space and the garage to look less like a garage. I will admit that while I have some qualms with this commissions, this is using their power for good. •Street trees along the entirety of McDowell, West Cherry, and Gift Streets, •Additional landscaping and headlight screening along the perimeter of the covered parking area to mitigate any visual impacts, •Sidewalk along the entire east side of May Ave. •Reconfigure the parking garage to accommodate residential units along Gift St. •Public space, such as a courtyard or plaza, be incorporated in a future phase of development.

Oh man, 2020 looks like its going to be an amazing year! The Franklinton Commission packet has Casto proposing a 12 story second phase for the River & Rich development! Looks like they are planning to develop west of the recently completed Phase I, this is the glass lot that sits between River & Rich and Dodge park. QUICK FACTS - 48,000 SQ/FT of Office - 304 Residential Units, 20 "Affordable" Units - 397 space 3 story Garage (will help support a Phase II & future phases) I think we may be starting to see the beginning stages of a development boom in Columbus, the recent string of proposals/announcements are incredibly exciting to see! More details in the meeting materials link below https://columbusohdev.app.box.com/s/2dpi2iu88meq1li5nmpqw91f3aklwd54

Yep, the DT commission meeting is on Tuesday where all will be revealed! However, my guess is that the team will want to build some excitement (and maybe even put some pressure on the commission) so we will actually see a renter either late this week or Monday. Things are getting rolling.

Haha, funny you say that about the CoGo station because kind of feel the opposite. I was trying out Shake Shack on Sunday and noticed the CoGo station and really liked the vibe it gave the sidewalk and area in general. One of those infrastructure quirks that I felt added to the "bustle" and urban experience along that stretch. Different stokes for different folks I guess.

Yes, kind of, Franklin county built a courthouse back in 2011... By building the new courthouse they were able to relocate older courtrooms into the new building, modernized, and consolidate the common pleas court operations. Following the completion of the new Common Pleas Courthouse, they were able to gut and renovate the older 1950s tower to help alleviate the office space crunch/pressures while allowing some freedom to renovate and organize the rest of the courthouse campus. Now, the new courthouse that voters approved back in November will be to replace the city court and municipal court offices located in the 17 floor 1970s concrete office structure that butts up against I-70/71 thats kind of hidden by the larger 30 story tower built in the 1990s. So short answer, nah crime hasn't really jumped, but the structures are reaching their functional life and the city and county have been slowly modernizing/rebuilding one by one to keep things moving and avoid problems in the future.

Construction updates! Below are some updates images of the project happenings in this part of Downtown. Schottenstein Renovation/Addition on 3rd. Podium has been built out for the most part and timber seems to be arriving on site to go vertical. RISE Brands HQ has been progressing quickly, construction fencing has come down and the patio/event space addition on the back has started. Finally, 230 E Long has reached full height on the northwest corner and crews have started installing windows. The structure is about 1/3 of what its final massing will be, should make quite an impact. Enjoy.

While the the article didn't have render, it does look like they have applied for the variances with the city and the packet has architectural drawings attached (yay public records). Anyway, looks like they are planning it to be 135' tall with a 5' setback (originally proposed 18') and the design is almost identical to the Goodale Landing tower. Also note, a total height of 135' will make it the tallest of the 4 towers if completed per these plans. Enjoy.

Eh, yeah, I could see and argument for throwing some office in there to boost the hight and daytime activity but retail/restaurant would have been a tough sell. Overall design and quality of Parks Edge is great imo, they're very PNW feeling. I am a huge fan and would love 20 more scattered around downtown.

The rumors have been swirling for a few weeks now on other boards about the final stadium design. Well, it sounds like its going to be quite a departure from the early concepts we say back in 2018. Most common report is that Nationwide wanted the stadium and surrounding development to match the aesthetics of the Arena District, however it seems NRI may not have won that battle. Amid ever more frequent rumors of a 'bold and iconic' stadium design, during a panel discussion on sports venues we got this last night from Don Garber (MLS Commissioner)... It seems we are getting something pretty modern/unique. Im really intrigued and excited to see these renders. Looks like 2020 is going to get even more interesting. Also, word is we will have our renders within the next week of so.

Overview, hopefully without breaking any rules - No renders available yet, but will follow the design of Goodale Landing (2016 tower project) - Tower will be on Neil Ave between the two older towers - Working with VVC already and adjusting to their input regarding setback - Construction set to begin summer 2020

Short answer, the pumps have failed numerous times. Long answer, much like the previous fountain, the decision was made early on to locate the pumps below the fountain... The issue is that when the fountain was installed it was discovered that the weight and design was causing the pond to leak water so the city installed a rubber skirt/liner around the base of the fountain. The rubber liner has basically made it impossible to reach the pumps for maintenance reasons and keep them clean ultimately leading to multiple failures in the pumping system causing it to rarely be on. Good news, city council approved the funds to permanently fix the issue by relocating the pumps to the side of the pond (still hidden but easier to maintain and fix), but work on that wont begin until the fall when the pond can be drained.

Has been all summer, thing has been nothing but a headache since it was designed.