NW24HX

My guess is site plan changes related to Thrive swapping the last 27 condos for 60 apartments instead https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/real-estate/2025/04/12/thrive-companies-gets-pushback-in-plan-to-switch-condos-for-apartments/82565286007/

Among other qualms, I still think the city allowing them to permanently close off 6th street is a huge mistake

LOL. Agree to disagree They're two of the most popular fashion retailers on planet earth and would drive a lot of traffic to Easton

What are those new structures for under the bridge?

New proposal from Wood Cos in Dublin, and much better than the previous one for this site IMO New retail development proposed near downtown Dublin features walkability, town square Columbus-based Wood Cos. is proposing a 94,000 square foot development near West Bridge Street and Monterey Drive This is the first project for Wood Cos. outside of the Short North Arts District in Columbus The developer is aiming for the majority of the space to be non-food and beverage retail https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2025/06/01/dublin-ohio-new-retail-development-downtown-bridge-street-park/83920566007/ https://dublinohiousa.gov/pzc/25-043/

While that would be awesome I think we can assume it won't be TJs: the article says it will be "a grocer with bar and dining area" However, if Littleton's is interested in downtown they would seem to fit the bill

Interesting update in this article on the Continental Center conversion: "A grocer that will occupy 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space in the 26-story tower is expected to be announced soon." "The retail space on the ground floor will be a grocer with bar and dining area." https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2025/05/30/continental-center-tower-gay-street-apartments.html

Not that it's a gem either, but I assume that's for the smaller 7 story building

A crew was out last week painting over graffiti on the building, my guess is the city got on them about code violations. I wouldn't expect anything to happen with the property in the short term unfortunately, but would love to be wrong

Jaeger turned out very nice, excited to see what tenants end up in the retail space Hopefully Pizzuti can get started on Library Park IV soon

Glad they're finally activating the ground floor spaces. Wish we could get something other than bars along here though

Happy to have the residential units, but it's a shame the Y couldn't stay on as a lower level tenant and have kept operating the gym/fitness center component. When they announced their closure in 2019 they were hopeful about announcing a new downtown location "soon," that clearly never panned out

If anything, IMO the delay shows exactly why the downtown commission needs to delay demolitions until projects are absolutely locked and ready to go. Too many times we've demo'ed stuff for projects that never happen and end up with nothing but another empty lot

That's certainly a concern, but really this was only a conceptual review to begin with. They were never going to get approved at this meeting and the project isn't far enough along in development to even seek full approval yet. City staff identified several deficiencies with the proposal (posted on the previous page) that the developers should address For comparison, the mass timber tower at 9th and High was reviewed and approved over a March to August timeline last year. Maybe I'm naively optimistic but I don't think this proposal is all that far off from being able to get over the finish line. Add some art murals, refine the massing a bit, enliven the ground floor with the CVS entrance moved to the corner, and we likely have a winner here IMO

UIDRB is a design review board similar to the downtown commission. They issue "certificates of appropriateness" and are supposed to ensure the architecture of a project aligns with adopted design guidelines. They can't reject this solely for the height (especially now with the updated zoning) If the developers come back for approval having made a good faith effort to conform to the guidelines and still get rejected, then they can go to the Board of Commission Appeals, and if rejected there can go to environmental court

Various new stores coming to Easton, some expansions and relocations. Nothing too exciting to me personally but glad to see continued investment and interest https://columbusunderground.com/12-new-expanded-stores-and-restaurants-at-easton-town-center-we1/ Still no tenant for the large former Forever 21 / Amazon Style space, although IMO it would be a great spot for Uniqlo or Primark if they choose to expand to Ohio

I couldn't find a full article yet, but the Dispatch has this slideshow up today stating the Leveque Tower apartments are being converted into condos as leases expire https://www.dispatch.com/picture-gallery/business/real-estate/2025/04/13/downtown-columbus-leveque-towers-69-apartments-converted-into-condos/83071016007/

Plaza 2 (280) will likely stay office, which is fine IMO, but I would really love to see its ground floor retail spaces reactivated 2 vacant spaces are along Chestnut and the former Morton's steakhouse space on the other side opens directly onto the park and could have an amazing patio. Bringing these back online with tenants would help a lot to bridge the gap between the convention center and Gay St areas

The city can't even stick to their own streetscape guidelines and consistently install granite curbs downtown, so I wouldn't expect them here (unfortunately)

This photo really shows what a missed opportunity the Nicholas is along Long St ... A solid block of blank wall disconnecting the cluster of historic storefronts seen here from High St and preventing a continuous pedestrian focused experience at the street level. For all the good it's doing as retail finally fills in on Gay and High, it's a shame this side of the project was so neglected. It absolutely kills the street vibe and limits its potential IMO

Democrat Sherrod Brown and author Connie Schultz move to Columbus area Goodbye Cleveland, hello Columbus: former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and his wife, Connie Schultz, moved to a new house in the suburb of Bexley. https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/19/democrat-sherrod-brown-moved-from-cleveland-to-columbus/82551500007/

This looks like Arshot, especially the fixation on video screens. Adding to their pile of imaginary towers

Transformational!

I like the Gay and High 1980 one actually. I'm imagining a huge Wendy's occupying that first floor greenhouse. Also appreciate how it shows the historic buildings preserved on all sides Looks like Civic Center 1961 would have wiped out the old post office (Bricker and Eckler building) at 3rd and State. Glad that never happened Would love to see a new proposal building on top of the Leveque garage

Great view! Except downtown slumlord Tonti Organization's eyesore at 34 N High, and their empty lot across the street... Edwards has worked magic bringing the block north of Gay back to life, would love to see him make a deal for the Tonti sites and keep that momentum strong heading south to Broad