amped91

And more pocket parks and art installs!

Interesting take: SVB employees blame remote work for bank failure “Why it matters: In the aftermath of the collapse of the 16th biggest bank in the country everyone is trying to understand what happened. Whether remote work led directly to a bank failure, or whether poorly-managed remote work was simply a sign of bigger problems at the company, we may never know. Either way, what happened at SVB will likely enter the broader debate about returning to the office. Details: The banking industry has led the return to office charge for a while, and SVB was an outlier in its commitment to something different.” https://www.axios.com/2023/03/17/svb-employees-blame-remote-work-for-bank-failure

Lots of interesting nuggets of information in this one. Some of the highlights: CDDC lays out next steps for implementing 2022 downtown strategic plan “Madison Cole of the CDDC laid out what's next nat [sic] the Ohio Construction Convention this week now that the strategic plan has been completed. Cole said accomplishing these goals will follow several more studies, including: - A parking study and addressing the more than 200 acres of surface parking lots. Analyzing how parking is used in a post-pandemic world will allow the city and CDDC to identify areas ripe for redevelopment. The parking study will wrap up later this year. - A retail support study to look at how to cultivate a more diverse and dense retail environment downtown. - A traffic study looking at how one-way streets can be converted to two-way streets that are more pedestrian-friendly.” And my favorite quote of the article: ”’There are definitely challenges to developing downtown, namely cost," Cole said. "But there's also a lot of opportunities. Unlike some suburbs or other bedroom communities, we do not think density is a dirty word. We like density. We want to build large, tall buildings downtown."’ https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/03/17/downtown.html

They do have to pay a fine too! New Columbus Dunkin’ Donuts hit with $8,000 fine over trees “The city of Columbus will fine the owner of an under-construction Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins more than $8,000 after mature trees just off of North High Street were cut down. The trees were removed sometime this winter, according to Kerry Francis, a communications officer for the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. Since then, the owner has been assessed an $8,800 fine and will also have to plant four trees in place of the ones cut down.“ https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/new-columbus-dunkin-donuts-hit-with-8000-fine-over-trees

I’ve already seen these disgusting ads airing on local networks in Columbus 😤 Abortion opponents launch $5M in ads over parental consent to fight proposed Ohio amendment “As proponents of abortion access start collecting signatures for a possible constitutional amendment, opponents announced a $5 million ad campaign to fight it. The new group, Protect Women Ohio, was formed in February to fight the abortion ballot campaign. Its board members include representatives from the Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio, the Center for Christian Virtue and Ohio Right to Life. On Wednesday, Protect Women Ohio announced a $5 million television and digital ad campaign over the next four weeks. The ad features a mother worried that the proposed constitutional amendment would eliminate parental consent before her daughter has an abortion or has a medical procedure for transgender youth. The proposed Ohio amendment prevents the state from directly or indirectly interfering with an individual's reproductive decisions, ranging from contraception and fertility treatment to miscarriage care and abortion.” https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/15/ohio-abortion-opponents-launch-5m-in-ads-over-parental-consent/70011611007/

I’m sure it helps already having a tenant taking up the whole building too

State Auto owns sooo much property on the east end of DT. Imagine how many Bridge Parks you could fit if SA, CSCC, and CCAD collaborated! :p

But people will freak out if they see parking lots going away without a garage going up! 😂

Discover plans $16 million investment into customer care center in Whitehall “Discover executives joined City of Whitehall leaders, local and state legislators, business owners, and non-profit organizations Tuesday afternoon to break ground on Discover's new customer care center in Whitehall. A wall was demolished as part of a groundbreaking ceremony, signifying the start of construction. Renovations to the 103,000-square-foot building on Broad Street are scheduled to be completed by 2024 with hiring starting this month. The company is investing more than $16 million for construction, training and hiring.The Whitehall customer care center will serve as one of Discover's five 100% U.S.-based customer care centers across the country and will also include a community center that will be available for public use. The new space is in addition to Discover's data center in central Ohio and would amplify the company's workforce presence in the state, where it already employs 2,100 people largely in the Columbus region.“ https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/employment/2023/03/16/discover-plans-16-million-whitehall-investment/70016282007/

Speaking of those pesky lots, this week’s CBF cover story has quotes from lots (!) of stakeholders and leaders. Some highlights: - a parking lot tax could still be coming - CSCC talks of a new parking garage and redev - State Auto has shelved any redev of their lots for the time being - Worry from biz that raising a tax will make parking more expensive, and will lead to discouraging some from visiting downtown - Convention leader mentions some of their lots could become a sports pavilion or another hotel LOTS AND LOTS OF LOTS City officials, advocates and developers hope to replace some of the acres of asphalt parking areas downtown “In February, a consulting firm hired by the Columbus Downtown Development Corp. began a study of downtown parking. CDDC President Amy Taylor said the study will produce “heat maps” that show where parking is needed based on where people live and work and where it is needed for restaurant and retail customers. “From that (study), we’re going to be able to figure out how we can continue to provide the necessary parking for all the uses that we want currently happening downtown and that we want in the future,” Taylor said. “And then how we can then figure out the best way to incentivize redevelopment on the surface parking lots?” In tandem with studying the parking market downtown, the CDDC also will look at best-use strategies for lots. Taylor said a plan should be ready to present to the city by the end of the year.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/03/16/lots-and-lots-of-lots.html

Yeah, it looks kinda weird. The original proposal didn’t have any at the front. Makes me wonder if they had to change it d/t vision clearance with the side street and 315 ramp right next to it?

The development proposal for 640 W Town St will be back before the EFRB next week, this time with some slight changes in the massing of the primary building and an addition of one extra unit. The vacant C-store that had occupied the site has been demolished since the last time this project was before the board. Five story, 42 unit apartment building: Newly constructed three unit building next to rendering of rehabbed, existing SF.

The ADU pilot program sounds interesting. The zoning code rewrite needs to make it so someone doesn’t have to go through the rezoning process to build an ADU. I can see some of this ultimately making housing more expensive, though. Coverage: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/03/16/city-of-columbus-housing-strategy.html & https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2023/03/16/columbus-seeks-to-beef-up-rental-regulations/70015324007/ & https://columbusunderground.com/city-council-announces-new-housing-initiatives-bw1/

I didn’t have to make an account? Looks like 1996. Getting close to that 30 year mark 😳 Also kinda timely that the Dispatch had a story this morning on some of the downtown property tax abatements expiring. Downtown Columbus property taxes spike for some residents as abatements fade “Property tax abatements are falling off many of Downtown's most exclusive condominiums, creating a leap in taxes and shuffling the neighborhood's real-estate market. For homeowners, the change is dramatic. Annual taxes that for years were in the hundreds suddenly leaped 10 or even 20 times, well into the thousands. As the taxes rose, dozens of Downtown homeowners put out for-sale signs. A condominium in the Burnham Square building in the Arena District, for example, saw its taxes jump from $540 in 2021 to $8,049 last year. Today, the property is on the market for $519,000. At the 8 on the Square condominium tower, on the northeast corner of Broad and High streets, tax breaks fell off last year, the same year four condo owners in the building sold. One three-bedroom unit in the building sold in December after its taxes jumped from $3,521 in 2021 to $18,566 last year. The condo's sale price of $1.465 million was half a million less than what the condo had been listed for a year earlier.“ https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/real-estate/2023/03/16/taxes-jump-after-abatements-fall-off-pricey-downtown-condos/69954548007/ Some of those increases are wild. IMO, the abatements are great for incentivizing development, but, of course, it’s really just a bandaid to the larger problem you mentioned. You’re still ultimately disincentivized property improvements. City leaders keep talking about wanting to disincentivize holding onto vacant lots downtown, which could be done with a LVT, but it’s time to actually put something into practice.

Odd that less than a week after you mention the Millennial listing was updated, it seems like the whole listing was pulled from LoopNet. Or, at least, I can’t seem to find it anymore. Also odd that Construction Journal also updated their listing in February (it’ll break ground this September! 😂). https://www.constructionjournal.com/projects/details/6bb44b714e6848d7a54b9592d23175f0.html I still think the chances of MT happening are slim to none, but it would be nice to see something go there.

If x, Columbus Ranked 9th Hottest Housing Market of 2022 “According to year-end data compiled into a report by Lattice Publishing, Columbus landed in 9th place in the US for the largest cities with the hottest housing markets. While the national housing market showed signs of cooling off over the past several months, Columbus still saw a 6.4% year-over-year median sales price increase over 2021. The median sale price in Columbus in 2022 was $259,695 — an amount well below many other cities high on the hot housing market list, including Oakland ($906,959), San Jose ($1,330,942) and Seattle ($844,285).” https://columbusunderground.com/columbus-ranked-9th-hottest-housing-market-of-2022-we1/ Then y: Report: Apartment Rents Continue to Rise in Columbus “Despite a slight downtick last month, apartment rental rates have continued to rise in Columbus. According to a new report from Apartment List, the year-over-year rental rate growth in the metro area has increased by 5.6% since March of 2022. According to the report, the median rent in Columbus is $1,040 for a one bedroom apartment and $1,253 for a two bedroom unit. “For comparison, the median rent across the nation as a whole is $1,152 for a one bedroom and $1,320 for a two bedroom,” states the report. “The median rent in Columbus is 9.2% lower than the national average, and is similar to the prices you would find in San Antonio and Philadelphia.”’ https://columbusunderground.com/report-apartment-rents-remain-high-in-columbus-we1/

Central Ohio Primary Care to construct $19 million medical campus in Reynoldsburg “A physician-owned primary care group is getting ready to break ground on what will become its second-largest medical campus in the Columbus area. Central Ohio Primary Care is set to construct a $19 million building at 8050 E. Main St. in Reynoldsburg. The nearly 62,000-square-foot facility is being built by the Daimler Group on 5 acres of green space near Glen Rest Memorial Estate cemetery. COPC Chief Operating Officer Mike Ashanin said the group identified Reynoldsburg as the ideal location for this significant investment, which is slightly smaller than the company's largest 66,000-square-foot facility at 625 Africa Road in Westerville. COPC is bringing seven of its existing practices in the Reynoldsburg area to the new location, which will employ about 250 people. Most will be existing employees, but Ashanin said they plan to create new jobs at the campus as well. In total, COPC employs over 2,200 people across more than 90 practices in Central Ohio.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/03/15/central-ohio-primary-care-reynoldsburg-campus.html

Second local Bojangles planned for Hebron: Bojangles shares tentative opening date for first-ever Columbus restaurant, plus the location of its second eatery “According to Bojangles Senior Director of Communications Stacey McCray, the chain’s first Columbus location is slated to open on or near May 23. While McCray noted this date has not been finalized, it gives us a better idea of when we can expect the anticipated spot to open its first local store. According to documents filed with the city of Hebron, a new Bojangles restaurant is currently being planned for 853 South 30th St. in Hebron. McCray told 614Now that this location is slated to break ground soon, with a goal of opening later this year.“ https://614now.com/2023/food-drink/bojangles-shares-tentative-opening-date-for-first-ever-columbus-restaurant-plus-the-location-of-its-second-eatery

According to the CU article, the developer is hoping to start demolition as soon as next month and start building in early fall. I like how ambitious they are! Fingers crossed they can stick pretty close to that timeline. Can’t wait to see what other projects they may have cooking too.

They come with cleaning too?? That’s really not a bad price, considering everything is included. Should really help with housing costs for a lot of people. A friend who recently toured them said the BRs were about the size of a walk-in closet, but that was pretty much a given, I suppose. I don’t think the intended market for these units is people who plan on spending a large amount of time in their rooms.

I’m still not sure if this has passed the neighborhood Commission yet, but I was able to find a couple more renderings: It reminds me a lot of a different project in town, but I can’t remember which one….

So was I. And an eventual loss of at least a floor or two. Now I hope this project will set the stage for more height on this end of the SN. I could see 8-10 stories working on the city lot by Skully’s and the Family Dollar property, once those are eventually developed.

The articles does have this to say: Which I think is a good start, but I definitely agree with you that it needs to be an “all hands on deck” effort to support the artists here. While I think it’s good artists are talking about setting up shop deeper into Franklinton, it should be because they want to, not out of necessity. I think Kaufman had said something too about possibly providing a “residency” program for artists at Gravity, when he bought Idea Foundry. Would be nice to see more buildout of studio spaces over there too.

Well, Sheetz… Gahanna and New Albany residents square off against proposed Sheetz near roundabout “[R]esidents of Gahanna and New Albany were the latest to fire back against plans for the latest Sheetz at the southwest corner Morse and Johnstown roads, during a March 8 planning commission meeting, citing public safety, aesthetics, traffic issues and a litany of small details. The 6,131-square-foot store would be on 4.2 acres owned by The New Albany Company. It would have 43 parking spaces, 16 fueling stations and 74 trees and shrubs surrounding it, according to planners. It would walking distance to a Goddard School, The Barn At Rocky Fork restaurant and High Bank Distillery Gahanna, all desired amenities. Residents, however, say the Sheetz project simply doesn't fit here. "We're going to have strangers in the neighborhood next door to a children's school," New Albany resident Carole Scherker said, referring to the Goddard School. "No matter how many fences they put in, no matter how many trees they put in, it's going to look like a circus tent," she said of the stations with their bright logos and canopies to keep motorists dry.” https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/03/14/gahanna-residents-rail-against-proposed-sheetz/70004369007/

Good! $25M Short North tower lands Italian Village Commission OK “The 10-story tower proposed for the site previously home to the Garden adult store and the neighboring Stonewall Columbus parking lot has landed a key sign-off. The project design was approved by the Italian Village Commission on Tuesday in a 4-2 vote. Garden Park, which would be located at 1174N. High St., is slated to include 60 units, with 20% being dedicated for LGBTQ+ seniors. The developers behind the $25 million project hope to break ground later this year. Now that the developers have a certificate of appropriateness, they will need to bring the project before Columbus City Council, as well as apply for building permits.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/03/14/garden-park-apartments.html