DevolsDance

They've begun the steel structure , whats interesting is that it kind of cantilevers over some of the older structures they are saving. Anyway, here is todays photo update!

Honestly instead of the ridiculous "COSI Connector" project (the glass tunnel through COSI connecting it to the riverfront), I'd rather see CDDC focus their next efforts on this. I'd love to see a revival of the pedestrian bridge concepts floated connecting NVVM to the Arena District, let's one up Bridge Park and build something useful but also show stopping. These were some of the designs floated back in 2010(?) I believe in response to an RFQ from the City that never went anywhere.

I'm impressed with how swiftly the timeline on this is set to move. Every single one of these developers are known for being able to pull of big projects and has been quite successful in their extended management of them, this is a really good combination and win for the city. Also, interestingly enough, Flahrety & Collins is pretty good at leasing the retail out in their developments and from my understanding have had a good track record with pulling in grocers to their urban developments. Maybe there is hope for a little win on that front as well.

My understanding is that it really is all in the financing and what they want/need in terms of ROI. I think NuCLEus has really put them through their paces (and still is) being that it's undergoing another pretty substantial revision due to budget and financing skyrocketing on them. My guess is the resource drain has pushed them to look at cities that may be more friendly in asking for the kickbacks and abatements for projects to get some capital rolling again while still working through the "iconic" projects.

Quick math based on some numbers in that article... 25,000 weekly rides divided by two (assuming two trips per day) puts us at 12,500 weekly riders. If you take the weekly riders and split them amongst the likely 5 days a week they are commuting to work, that leaves us at roughly 2,500 people a day. I know it's not the 14,800 enrolled, but and additional 2,500 transit commuters a day and probably around 2,000 less cars a day downtown... that's pretty impressive. Yes, there is a long way to go but I see nothing but good things happening here.

Additionally, looks like Schottenstein has gone vertical with their project on 3rd. Taken from behind PINS, looking southwest.

Looks like we're up to level 6 with one more to go! I'm impressed how much place this building holds visually from around the area.

I have to say, this project so far has turned out amazing.... I think it may be one of the best quality developments we've seen lately. Pizzuti seems to be pushing up there with Wood Cos and that is a good place to be.

Regional Convention Center breakdown Chicago* - 1.2 million sq/ft contiguous exhibit space Indianapolis* - 566,000 sq/ft contiguous exhibit space Columbus* - 373,000 sq/ft contiguous exhibit space Nashville - 353,000 sq/ft contiguous exhibit space Cleveland - 225,000 sq/ft contiguous exhibit space Louisville - 200,000 sq/ft contiguous exhibit space Cincinnati - 195,000 sq/ft contiguous exhibit space * Indicates Convention Centers with connected 1,000+ room hotel I also think the IRS site is the best choice because it gives the space and is a clean slate, but yeah, Kentucky.

So, the last three pages of that RFP have some site and structural elevations that say the height based on land elevation. While it's pretty blurry and I don't know the exact site elevation, the scale at the base of the page is legible and can be thrown into software to grab some measurements... which I did. Based on that, it looks like our tower should be about.... drumroll..... 342' tall from ground to crown.

Kind of hard to answer because every event wants something slightly different so I guess it mostly on who Cincinnati wants to compete with regionally or nationally for events. I would say best guess though, to compete for the larger events to go to other regional cities, Cincinnati would need to double the current convention center size and hotel offerings.

That has been kind of shocking to be being that they are starting already on things. Hmm, strange. I know someone posted the crew had their applications in already, I guess everything runs on different timelines. Yeah, they are pushing it really hard on facebook as well as the only 1,000 room convention hotel in Ohio, which is kind of cool to think about.

Yep, the groundbreaking is today! I believe it's at 1pm

Convention planners don't value up, they rely heavily on their ability to assemble continuous space, the business just doesn't want stacked space or adjacent space unless its meeting rooms. If you look at the centers that score the bigger bookings and big name shows, it's the centers that have the large uninterrupted spaces and a ton of "break out" or meeting rooms... that and connected hotel rooms. Overall, the big convention business is hard and expensive to break into. The most recent I can think of is Nashville, but at a price of about $650 million. Large (200,000+ square feet) uninterrupted space, dozens of meeting rooms, ballrooms, and a thousands of connected hotel rooms are what drive the business and ironically those are some of the hardest things to achieve in an urban environment.

I've notice a lot of developers are playing it fast and loose with the term "mixed-use" anymore. It's an attempt to make all the junk developments still seem cool and forward thinking when its still just a suburban office building next to a suburban apartment building.

More. Ha actually I see 136.

Columbus and Nearby Attractions Columbus City + Metro Columbus Zoo - A top flight zoo with a huge waterpark and some kid focused rides as well. COSI - One of the top Science Centers in the country, it is more kid focused but they also have awesome Adult theme nights called After Dark, also affiliated with AMNH so....Dinosaurs. Wexner Center - Under-appreciated modern art museum on OSU campus that brings in some top notch shows and speakers. Pizzuti Collection - Another under-appreciated art museum that focuses on fringe and interactive art but is quite small . Columbus Art Museum - A solid art museum downtown but is seems to still be finding itself. Franklin Park Conservatory - One of the original US conservatories, large collection of global plants and outdoor gardens, and butterflies. Ohio History Center - Ohio focused history museum, Ohio Village recreation on property (think Jamestown in VA). Also hosts a great halloween event every year (a blast for all ages)! Battelle Darby Watershed - Great outdoor walking paths and wetlands, bison (baby bison too!), and wildlife observation. Metro-Parks - Specifically High Banks and Innis Woods Gardens - Great hiking in the city and some great sculptural and water gardens with kid exploration and play zones. National Veterans Museum - Veteran history museum, pretty interactive and informative, downtown and can take in some skyline views. Olentangy Trail - Great Multi-use trail that goes through some key parts of the city (Grange Audobon, Downtown, Harrison West, Campus, Park of Roses, Clintonville, Whetstone). ZipZone - Zipline and canopy tours by High Banks (personal favorite). Vertical Adventures - Indoor rock climbing (because its cold half the year) huge facility, great people. Festivals - I cannot stress this enough, Columbus is a city of festivals, every weekend, it's been my favorite thing since I moved here! Such a great diverse sense of community. Asian Festival, Greek Festival, Italian Festival, PRIDE, Community Pride, ComFest, DooDah, Jazz and Rib, Oktoberfest, State Fair, HighBall, Science Festival, Arts Festival, Moonlight Market, Gallery Hop, Art in the Alley, German Village Festival of Lights, Picnic With the Pops, Irish Festival Renaissance Festival, Urban Scrawl, Wildlights. Look into them, you wont be disappointed. Around Ohio Kings Island - Great park for adults and kids, massive kid section and some solid coasters and atmosphere. Cedar Point - Top amusement park thats heavily focused on extreme coasters and thrills, good for kids but better for teens and adults. Hocking Hills - Stay in a cabin, hike, swim, camp, kind of the go to outdoor location for Columbus nature buffs because its beautiful and a nice escape. Lake Erie - Kelleys Island, Put-In-Bay, Perrys Monument, all great places to take in the Lake (which is basically a mini ocean) and explore some Ohio and national history. National Air Force Museum - Near Wright-Patt AFB, huge dive into aviation history and lost of planes. Mad River Mountain - Columbus locals go to Skiing and Snowboarding all winter. In all, I think Columbus is what you make it and from what I have discovered is that the city isn't as overt "tourist" as some of the places you mentioned but the activities and adventures still exist, you just have to explore and talk to people. I think the first year I was a bit pessimistic but now I've found some amazing things and love the city and people. I say give it a shot and really just dive into things and you all will find your niche. Something else is the location of Columbus is perfect for short get aways like Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati if you do want to escape the city for a bit. Finally, welcome!

Wait... what? So they propose SPARC and get everyone excited, project dies and they go silent. Propose Millennial Tower and get everyone excited, project remains in limbo for 3 years and is basically silent. Now they are proposing a new SPARC that is nothing like SPARC? I'm confused, do they just like burning money on concepts and renders? Should we expect a new Millennial Tower thats not a tower once this one goes silent? I feel like this is becoming a game.

The government in this state is a regressive disaster. People pay no attention and just keep voting these fools because "blah blah murica", it's truly mind blowing.

I really hope whoever that tenant was decides to continue with office space in the city, preferably downtown, and not pull plans all together.

University Impact Review Board, they're not nearly as insane as VV is but they still have a tendency to push back on variance requests. I am curious to see how this one plays out being that the specific development falls in UARB discretion but also considered part of the SN overlay.

I believe Williams Green is a state office building unfortunately, I just don't think they see any value in exterior illumination or aesthetics anymore. But you're right, it would look awesome with some LED uplighting on some or all of the corner cuts and pinnacle. Heck, I think we got lucky the Riffe has even the minimal crown lighting it has (which I actually really like).

As-is... A development that tall will never be approved in that location. I expect this to get watered down to absolute garbage by the time the commission and NIMBYs have a chance to chime in on the project on Thursday. Personally I think this is a killer spot for some density and height to be added. The area is mostly rental properties and it's adjacent to a grocery, its sandwiched between two of the densest parts of the city, and it's a gateway intersection in a sense. I also am holding out hope that eventually Kroger will see the parking lot as more valuable as something... anything other than a surface lot.

I'm quite curious to see how the final renderings look since we haven't heard of any design updates since the announcement. Cincinnati just released new renders for the West End Stadium (and it leaves a lot to be desired imho), and being on a similar construction schedule and now the FAA filings, we should be seeing something soon. I noticed in the BizJournal article last week about all the development in the AD their photo for the stadium was actually a screen-cap of the layout from MKSK that seemed way more final but no updated render. Looks like we are getting a public plaza and the shaped looked pretty similar, I am just curious how materials have evolved. Lets hope things are only improving, seems like the owners care now and want to build something great so I have high hopes for this one.

Well, I know I am a bit late to the game, much appreciated @Gino27! I went ahead and added Gravity II and played with the scale a bit more. Enjoy!