DTCL11

I wouldn't put sheetz and UDF in the same category tbh. UDF is corner store/ice cream parlor vibes. Sheetz has much more to offer. Get-Go is basically the same as sheetz, just a little more limited in menus. Giant Eagle kind of missed out on cornering the Ohio Market tbh. Sheetz, being from PA has had a relatively limited presence in Ohio. Even in NE Ohio, they aren't as prolific as they are in even NC. Sheetz and GE both being from PA offer alot of overlap but while Sheetz spent the last decade opening something close to 100 stores in NC (they have over 100 now), GE limited their expansion of the Get-Go stations with full kitchen service. And yes. Buccees is it's own madness. I do wish they brought in more of the MTO kitchen concept... even though I know darn well I'd just walk out with a BBQ sandwich anyway. And everyone knows about the big ones, but very few realize that there are tiny Buccees the size of a small BP as well. And as much of a sheetz person I am, it's a Buccees mug I use and a Buccees Christmas ornament on my tree. Any Maverick fans? Lol. I digress. One of the benefits(?) of traveling the country by road for years is getting to know each regions cult classic gas stations? 🤷‍♂️ ‐‐--------- But on this location. It's a pipe dream to ever expect anything other than a Tuttle like set of developments. It's going to be a feeder for a long time with an 'easy in and easy out' selling point for suburbanites and commercial tenants who serve suburbanites. As much as it really is a blank slate to start bulldozing and starting over for a new extension of Grandview or a better Grandview Yard, it doesn't have the political backing or market for it.

You're in a high density are near a HQ. Beyond that area, things are different. https://www.mcall.com/business/mc-biz-why-trader-joes-hasnt-opened-lehigh-valley-store-20190828-7icd2wpj25ezblyaci6ocoxsy4-story.html "Stern and David Livingston, an expert in supermarket location research, said Trader Joe’s typically looks for median household income in excess of $100,000. The perfect storm, Livingston said, is high incomes and expensive homes within the first 2 miles of the potential site, with maybe a major university or large medical complex sprinkled on top." Here's another that supports the demographics. https://www.businessinsider.com/typical-trader-joes-shopper-demographic-younger-married-earning-80k-income-2021-9 And as much as they talk about density, outside of major cities, most Trader Joe's are found in the high end suburbs and lifestyle centers in the less population dense areas. Ohio is obviously a big example of that. But let's look at DC Metro. Silver Springs has a super dense downtown and it's getting more dense by the year. The trader joes is miles away, non accessible to anyone without a car. Tucked into the 20901 where the median household income of it and its adjacent zip codes exceeds 100k. The examples of places where this isn't the case are the exception to the rule. Even in peer cities, urban TJs are going in, they tend to follow this trend. Why not put a TJ in uptown Charlotte where the population exceeds 30k? Because you can put it the near southeast neighborhood near the university and university hospital where the median household income is close to 200k. If you look at census tracts of median household income and TJs, you'll see it. If I had kept up on my arcgis skills, I'd throw together a map that shows the correlation, but anyway. Outside of some places in California and a handful of major metros locations where population density is significantly higher, income is a major factor for TJ for most of the US. While TJ is verifiably less expensive, it's not less expensive in an effort to increase access or fill food desert voids. They take on zero debt. Ever. So it's very risk averse. TJs exists to serve communities of privelege who don't understand that fact. Hence, to JonOh's point, an obsession of high income earners wanting them in 'every neighborhood,' more accurately, every island of privilege. And while communities of lower income would benefit from a TJ, that's simply not their way. .................... It's all moot. The whale is too small for a grocer. if GV residents want to himhaw over grocers, then they should advocate for more development to attract the commercial space and density to pull in a new one. If the goal is affordable, would be interesting to see an urban Aldi or even Lidl for fun.

We likely won't see a Trader Joe's in the core for awhile, if ever. While the population is growing and getting closer to what might be expected for a Trader Joe's, in general, they look heavily at household income and the baseline for them appears to be median household income over 100k within a 2-5 mile radius. Many locations have median incomes much higher toward the 200k range within 2 miles. There are few exceptions. While a place like German Village has many residents that make good money. And certainly a place like downtown, IV, etc see plenty of high income earners, the median income of those zip codes would appear to be well below the threshold for a Trader Joe's. It's probably a pipe dream for anyone to expect one anytime soon since Trader Joe's puts that metric so high on their list. Would be better for a neighborhood or city to put more stock and energy into getting another grocer.

My guess is that it doesn't fit into a phased plan. While it is part of the overall vision, it's not formally part of the plan if that makes sense.

Are we missing something? I can't figure out what this proposal is that was in the TMUD. Franklinton Apartments at 707 W Broad. The old Graham Ford. I think it's Pizutti Property from old articles but the LLC is associated with Thrive. I can't recall anything being published about it. At $11.5, it's a sizeable project it seems.

Darn paywall. And they killed the backdoor hack. Can't see all the details anymore before we open our mouths lol.

[Redacted incorrect information] On TMUD, noticeably absent are Millenial and Harmony towers. Noticeably present is the CoverMyMeds campus. I also noticed the old Graham Ford site is listed as an applicant but can't recall the specific proposal. Easton and Polaris both have applications as well.

I enjoy how gravity 2.0 is still under construction when the tower is completed 😅

Very nice. I will say this about the old train station and new garage, after passing by the other day, I'm annoyed they didn't front the garage with something against the historic station. The juxtaposition of this new tower doesn't bother me but the open garage next to it does for some reason. Now.... if by some miracle, the Millenial Tower proposal could be resurrected.

CSX unveiled a new set of 'business cars' this year. There was an inaugural trip to unveil them and the new 'classic paint scheme' with matching locomotives. They appear to be specialty cars that can be added to a full train for business executives, mobile offices, crew quarters etc. From what I can tell, they aren't necessarily designed for general passengers. They seem like the rail version of a Gulfstream jet or tour bus. You wouldn't see so many at once otherwise. Maybe one or two. Edit: now, if CSX was doing some passenger tail research at the same time, that would be great but it doesn't seem to be the intent, at least publicly.

I was not able to get a picture as I was passing but it appears section of the front of this building has collapsed of its own accord in the last couple weeks. The owner will probably still refuse to sell *eye roll* It's been awhile but the city did put up condemned stickers (seen here) once the development next store started.

I wouldn't call shutting down one half of one block of Spruce for pedestrian only access a logistical nightmare. Instead of turning west to get to Park St*, you're funneled to High where you're inconvenienced by going a block or two out of the way. It still allows access to the Hampton garage and the entrance of the new hotel etc. But that's kind if the issue though with Columbus in general. It's so afraid to go that extra step. We are going to value the passage of cars for ease over a welcoming plaza in a half stretch of a block. I'm generally going to fall into the ban cars side of things. (I should also correct myself and say park instead of front. I forgot it changes names at vine) Arguably one of the biggest attractions in columbus is also woefully undeserved for bike infrastructure. 3 bike loops and an old standalone bike rack that blocks the sidewalk isn't enough. So a plaza will add space to enhance bike ability as well. You'll never convince me that the logistics of being able to drive on that stretch of Spruce should be valued over a pedestrian only plaza. Not to mention expanded access and space for markets etc. Especially when places in New York, LA, Detroit, etc have done the same to much more high traffic locations.

Still no pushback on that exposed parking deck? I also want to see more plans on the streets. The renderings show turning Wall St and Spruce St back to two way traffic. Adding additional direction of traffic mean less spaces for pedestrian focused revamps. At the very least, Spruce between Wall and Front should be pedestrian only 100% of the time.

Fascinating. Any chance they are in some sort of dispute with the city before they can get the all clear? I know there was some reporting about how they weren't following approved plans. Not sure it should hold anything up like this though. Property records are all the same and didn't see anything pop up for courts under the address, LLC etc. By now, any excuse of supply chain seems like it would be well beyond reasonable. Although, I do know Ford is behind 6+ months of more on corporate fleet vehicles so maybe it is something silly like not being able to get hundreds of refrigerators from their chosen supplier? But why not partially open then? A conundrum for sure.

From the photo it doesn't appear to be driven by aesthetic. From prior experience with substations, my guess is it is just a general upgrade for safety and security. New LED + additional lights make a notable impact on appearance. Especially if they've had any recent activity regarding intrusion or theft. If they are also planning more work at the station as the area grows and upgrades, additional lighting may have been needed to better extend the working hours. There are other stations around town that you'll see lit up similarly. Most would be surprised how often someone breaks into a humming substation for copper grounds.

I'll forgive the vertical panel all day if they get rid of the parking garage on the ground floor of High street. For God's sake. That should be 101 type stuff.

I agree with jebleprls22 in that the Terra cotta is blah, juxtaposed to the convention center or not. If it was being built in Franklinton, I'd have a similar opinion. A number of colors would have worked better. Didn't even have to pay homage to the convention center itself. These tiles just don't look great as an end product. Other examples where they don't look that great include the White Castle building or the apartments at 3rd and high.

I'd honestly rather see the CVS site doubled (or more) in height, then more step downs and some sort of preservation of the original apartments. Even if it is limited to the front half. There's nothing wrong with maintaining a bit if a courtyard. They go so far as to mimic the massing but eliminated the architectural detail of the original buildings. It doesn't seem like they are necessarily preserving them, and if so, not even a good preservation. There is potential here, but again, these developers opt for brunt approaches over nuanced creativity. Especially if you're going to charge market rate, then take the time to do better. I'm guessing this developer may get pretty well acquainted with 'protect old north' whether they want to or not.

This is great! I'm so excited for the parking lot upgrades that this dumb, non contributing, dilapidated, underutilized, building was preventing. One more eyesore gone. These extra spots will be vital for downtown events. All hail more parking!

Still no movement on the apartments. Went to Easton for the first time since Dec 2019. The new district seems pretty good. I think it's the beginning of what could be the best part of Easton. Still find Easton overall to be a level of Dante's Inferno. I'm still both blown away and yet not surprised that Easton has continued to make it abundantly clear that residential is their lowest priority. How these developers haven't been bringing hundreds of units online every year is mind boggling, especially after they got the tax breaks for residential. There's no amount of excuses that make any sense as to why residential has not been built in 20 years, let alone the last 5 years.

The National Aquarium begs to differ

If it doesn't have any vision to it, then I'll still advocate scrapping it. What an amazing opportunity to waste on remarkably lazy design.

Maybe they should ban scooters here too... /s (Sorry. This will be my last one. I still just can't with the scooter ban)

If only the scooter ban extended to VicVillage -_-

I still think the commission needs to push back on that garage facade. There's no reason for exposed garages in the core to begin with let alone in this location. I'd be ok if they even did something as simple as the Goodale Garage fins. Certainly not the greatest but it's something. Keeping with a market theme, Let's just borrow from the Corn Palace and make it rotating mural made of corn cobs. Surely thats better than nothing. /s Also. It is a southern facing facade so there may be potential for a green wall. Doesn't make sense to let the developers get 90% there and just ignore other issues with such an iconic project in a significant location. Edit. I also see an arch. Have we heard any official updates about the plans to turn Spruce (and maybe others) into pedestrian only during certain times?