TH3BUDDHA

I'm really hoping Millenial Tower has stalled because there are some potential big things in the works behind the scenes. Similar to how the original Scioto Peninsula development fell through before the new announcement because they failed to get CoverMyMeds to anchor it and it being a potential site for Amazon. Maybe there is another big name player looking for some space and people are making pitches? That is a prime spot along the river. Don't want to waste it.

Here's an article that explains it better than I can: Northern arc downtown becoming a billion-dollar boom town: Here's what's planned https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/07/17/northern-arc-downtown-becoming-a-billion-dollar.html

We're in a slight lull right now as far as visible tower cranes goes(not overall construction). At one point we had something like 14 cranes along high st. This is quickly changing. The 15th and High osu project will have 3 tower cranes up shortly. Hilton 2.0 has broken ground. Crew Stadium breaks ground on October 10th. AC hotel in the arena district is currently under construction. Next year, market tower breaks ground. The new development on the Arena District parking lot that new Chipotle offices are anchoring will be moving forward. The new White Castle HQ and associated mixed use development that includes multiple buildings. The Scioto Peninsula project phase one will start, which includes 6 buildings on parking lots and many more to come. Gravity 2.0 will start in Franklinton. Next phase of River and Rich in Franklinton is being proposed. CoverMyMeds is currently building a huge new tech campus in Franklinton after their $1b acquisition. I'm probably missing stuff. These are just the projects you will instantly notice if you drive through downtown. It doesnt include less noticable projects in other parts of town. Look at the acres of new apartments and condos in Jeffery Park in Italian Village. Acres of new builds in Weiland Park. Look at Grandview Yard and Grandview Crossing. Have you been to Bridge Park in Dublin recently? A completely new urban environment on what used to be some grass fields and a tiny strip mall. There are also countless other developments going around on the outskirts of town and in the burbs. Look at some of the large projects going up at Polaris and Easton. Luckily, due to forward thinking and annexation, businesses that put offices in Polaris and Easton are within city limits rather than being in the burbs.

Interestingly, an article came out yesterday calling Columbus a midwestern "bright spot" for national investors. It made a lot of direct comparisons to Austin. As somebody who loves following the growth of Columbus, it would be amazing seeing a boom to that extent here. It definitely seems like there is a special energy here right now, but I've been cautiously optimistic. Here's the article: Columbus is a Midwestern bright spot and a 'market to watch,' investors say https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/09/19/columbus-is-a-midwestern-bright-spot-and-a-market.html?iana=hpmvp_colum_news_headline

I can also confirm the struggle to fill tech positions. I've had a recruiter from another company flat out tell me they were struggling to convince devs to leave Columbus. Not sure why you'd say that to a candidate that you're trying to make come to your city. That being said, I left Columbus for that job for almost a year before another opportunity came up in Columbus, bringing me back. If tech talent acquisition is truly an issue, why can't JobsOhio put together a package where the global HQ stays in downtown Cleveland and a new tech facility could be built in Columbus as part of OSU's huge new innovation district that they almost got Apple to anchor? That way, thousands of HQ employees wouldn't need to be uprooted and would still be "close" to the tech facility. I know that wouldn't be a best case scenario for Cleveland, but would be hell of a lot better than the lame outcome of the entire company heading to some other state. Growing up in Cleveland, I hope to see a shiny new tower being built there soon.

I'm a software developer in Columbus and a third party recruiter working on behalf of Sherwin Williams actually reached out to me in May about a senior Android development position up there. At the time, I said I wasn't interested. Out of curiosity, I reached back out to her today to see if she is still trying to fill that role. Would they continue hiring as normal in Cleveland if they planned on uprooting their employees soon?

Nice. I hadn't seen that article yet. I would consider that a much more reliable source as "some random guy". Haha. So I'm more confident now he was right.

I was talking to somebody who lives in the new condos right down along the river who said he has spoken with some of the construction workers regularly as he has watched the pedestrian bridge project progress. He said he had spoken with the project manager of that project. He said they wanted to have a ribbon cutting by the end of this year and that somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you would be able to walk across the bridge, but that there would still be some work left to do after that. I'm guessing some aesthetic things like lighting. Take this with a grain of salt.

Definitely get up there at night sometime. I've only been during the day, but Instagram stories of the night views look amazing.

I happened to be watching random Instagram stories on the Columbus location feed last weekend. The Monat conference was in town and it seemed like Lincoln Social was a "must see" for people at the conference. It was interesting seeing a story from somebody from California saying they felt like they were at home in LA with the great night view of the skyline and High St(which looks really cool at night with the new lighting)from up there. This will only get better as more of those rooftop bars open. We are slowly going to change the perception of Ohio as more people visit for conferences.

I came across some interesting comments about the potential height of the new medical tower in the comments section of a CU article. Take them with a grain of salt, but it’s fun to read and speculate. Then, in response to another comment: Here’s the article it’s from: https://www.columbusunderground.com/north-market-tower-gets-major-design-update#disqus_thread

Anybody know what the boring is for over near the 300 Spruce building?

Here's an an article about it: https://www.columbusunderground.com/transit-columbus-pushes-for-new-circulator-ballot-measure-in-2020-bw1

I'm not really sure what they would be laughing at. We have great population growth and near boom levels of development coming up in 2020. We're picking up steam.

A bunch of letters in the Columbus wording on the Graduate Hotel have been torn off.

Here's a satellite view of the site, right across the tracks from the Rogue fitness facility (the proposal is for the empty lot along 5th north of the 375 E 5th property):

250 apartments proposed for Italian Village site The developer behind some of Italian Village's most notable projects wants to add hundreds more apartments to the neighborhood. Kevin Lykens has proposed a new development with 250 apartments on the northern portion of the Clark Grave Vault manufacturing site at 375 E. 5th Ave. The set of four-story apartment buildings would rise with frontage along the south side of East 5th, north of the main manufacturing plant. Plans submitted to the Italian Village Commission indicate the first phase would bring 200 apartments and a follow-on phase would add another 50. The first story of the buildings would be tall to accommodate amenity spaces and the property would be served by below-grade parking. ... The land is today an empty concrete slab, just north of the main manufacturing site. Lykens must seek rezoning of the property from manufacturing district to apartments, and the Italian Village Commission must approve the building architecture. The developer has been extremely active in the neighborhood, His company is behind the redevelopment of the Budd Dairy building along 4th Street, which is being restored with a 14,000-square-foot food hall venue. Lykens and his team were also behind the adaptive reuse of the Wonder Bread residences along that corridor and have taken a special interest in the re-development of industrial properties in the area. He's also applied for tax credits to redevelop the old Columbus Electrical Works building at 761-767 N. 4th St. into office space and residential units, but the project wasn't picked in last year's round. full article here: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/09/09/250-apartments-proposed-for-italian-village-site.html

Is there a specific number or email we can contact to try and get it addressed?

What makes you think Columbus has a boom to that extent coming?

Cool. I can't wait for them to continue improving the riverfront around campus with the Canon relocation and future projects. It will make riding the Olentangy Trail through that stretch more enjoyable.

The article doesn't seem to elaborate on how the pedestrian bridge fits into the plan or where exactly it will go over the Olentangy. Am I missing something?

To be fair, it's really blurry in my image. If you go right to the CU article and zoom in, it's pretty clear.

Also, why do you say that the pedestrian bridge won't happen? In this image, in the bottom left, you can see "Proposed City of Columbus Pedestrian Bridge" extending at the end of Nationwide.

Yea, but I would imagine that the Confluence Village development will include a bar or two right next to the stadium.

I'm interested in that "stadium access plan" at the bottom right at the intersection of Nationwide and the railroad tracks. I wonder how it will be improved. Also, is there any chance we get some sort of other access over/under the tracks so that there can be some development in that awkward triangle between the tracks?