amped91

This is an even worse fit than the Arena District thread lol

Honestly I’m kinda glad. If landlords are able to find office tenants, I say go for that first. Plus, I think it’s a good sign that downtown is able to pull in a tenant from the edges of suburbia. I say fill up the office buildings with office tenants as able, and fill up the empty parking lots with housing and retail, since we need more jobs and more residents downtown. It does make me wonder though. Was the owner denied the conversion proposal, did they find out the building wouldn’t be suitable for residential conversion, or did they just happen to luck out and find a tenant last minute?

Hopefully this humble alley dumpster is a harbinger of positive things to come for the Sleestak building. Interestingly enough, though, according to a permit recently filed with the city, a design firm—BBCO—will be occupying the top two floors. They currently have an office on Riverside Drive. It doesn’t explicitly say, but the wording in the app makes it sound like the other floors will remain office as well. So I guess no office to apartment conversion here after all.

Zora's House expansion is underway amid $6 million capital campaign “The idea for Zora’s House was born in 2016 soon after Johnson and her husband moved to Columbus and she found herself one of the few women of color in a predominantly white workspace. She purchased a vacant lot on Summit Street, where the nonprofit opened its doors in 2018. At Zora’s House, known for its distinctive green exterior and purple door, women find more than a space to work; it also offers a bevy of programming and community events tailored to professional and social growth. It has helped more than 3,000 women so far with its "pay what you can" membership model. It was only a few years before Johnson began looking for land to build a larger facility for Zora’s House to keep pace with its growing membership, and she found it at the corner of North Fourth Street and East Eighth Avenue near the Short North and Ohio State University. The future facility, which will replace the 2,000-square-foot Summit Street house, is expected to cost $6 million, including $1 million for operational funds. Plans for the build include communal workspaces and event space, private offices and a residential incubator program where people from across the country will be able to stay for up to a week. So far, Johnson said, $3 million has been raised, including $600,000 from the state of Ohio, $500,000 from the City of Columbus, and $1 million from the federal omnibus bill. The remaining funds have come from corporate partners and individuals.“ https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2023/02/19/black-women-to-get-help-with-careers-at-zoras-house-urban-league/69891574007/

I got the chance to go to the CBC beer hall over the weekend, and it definitely did not disappoint. The building looks gorgeous. It’s big and open while still feeling warm and cozy, and the patio will be super nice once it’s warmer outside. And, of course, the drink and food selection are both impressive.

I didn’t want to start a new thread for this in the sports section, at least not yet. So I figured this was the next best place to put this, since the team would likely be playing at NWA. Pro Volleyball Federation to bring professional women's volleyball to Columbus in 2024 “The Pro Volleyball Federation, the first professional volleyball league in the United States, plans to have a team in Columbus when the league officially begins play in February 2024. Teams in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Omaha, Nebraska and Atlanta were previously announced, and the league aims to add four-to-six more before the inaugural season. The as-of-yet-unnamed team in Columbus will be owned and operated by the Jeff and Beth Gilger Family. Jeff Gilger is a partner and chief development officer of Express Wash Concepts, the parent company of Moo Moo Express Car Wash, while also being an investor and on the board of directors at North High Brewing. The league was co-founded by Dave Whinham and Stephen Evans, with some very high-profile help. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is supplying some of the funds for the league. His parents, Jimmy and Robin Burrow, are founding partners along with former Super Bowl champion quarterback Trent Dilfer.” https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/pro/2023/02/17/columbus-to-get-professional-womens-volleyball-team-pro-volleyball-federation-league-2024/69914366007/

Good. The city is always needing to do repairs on them when the bricks start coming out. They just last year got rid of the brick crosswalks by Children’s. And a look at updated population and dwelling unit totals and projections, from CBF: “Downtown currently is home to about 11,650 residents. Based on residential projects in the pipeline, the population could climb to 15,000 by 2024. Marc Conte, executive director of the Capital Crossroads and Discovery special improvement districts, said although the population grew last year, 2022 was a bit disappointing, mostly because of a slowdown in housing unit delivery. The downtown population increased 4% from 2021 to 2022, down from 8% growth from 2020 to 2021. However, growth is projected to pick up with a number of projects expected to come online this year. The SID has projected downtown’s population to increase nearly 11% from 2022 to 2023, to about 12,900. If you drive through downtown, you can see a dozen or so residential projects going up. They are expected to add some 3,700 units by 2025.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/02/17/future-of-downtown-housing.html

Yeah it’s actually kinda nice having a little protected pedestrian path. And the alley is closed to vehicles, so no issue back there either.

Extended-stay hotel in Dublin eyed for apartment conversion “Churchwick Partners, a real estate investment firm based in Woodmere, New York, submitted an application to the city of Dublin for the hotel-to-apartment project at 435 Metro Place S. The property is currently home to a Sonesta ES Suites hotel, which Churchwick purchased for $5.2 million in May, according to Franklin County property records. Since the sale, Churchwick says the hotel has been running at nearly full capacity. However, the company believes converting the multi-building complex into apartments will be a better use of the space due to the market conditions in Dublin and the surrounding area. The property is unique in that, unlike most hotels that are in one large building, Sonesta has five separate buildings that already look like the garden-style apartments Churchwick is wanting to create. A total of 106 one- and two-bedroom units are spread across the two-story buildings, and each individual dwelling has a full kitchen. There is also an additional building for the main lobby. The layout for the rest of the property would remain unchanged, Churchwick says, though some improvements to both the units and exterior of the buildings are planned. These improvements include new landscaping, improved lighting, fascia repair, new paint and signage, and repairs to the roof and gutters.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/02/17/es-suites-hotel-dublin-apartment-conversion.html

Big hole and renovation

Anyone know what happened to this Warehouse District building?

Another building recently went vertical, and progress on others

Douglas Elementary demo complete

New CVS and demo

I’d seen this property listed about a month back. I guess now it’s official it won’t be moving forward, at least not with Kreais at the helm. I kinda always had doubts this was gonna happen. I wish the original plan for apartments had gone through instead. “Kreais Cos. also rehabilitated buildings at 364-368 E. Whittier St. with the goal of opening a 12,000-square-foot food hall, but recently put them up for lease. "I'm not a restaurant guy, I'm a real estate guy," Kreais told me. "I'm encouraging a tenant to do a food hall in the buildings if they're interested." He has owned the buildings since 2019.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/02/17/coworking-in-clintonville.html It was reported before that he’d also sold the land where the Merion Village townhomes were supposed to go. A new site plan was recently submitted, so hopefully that will start soon-ish, at least.

An update on the Taylor Ave apartments (across from Care Point East) from the developer: ”In the Near East Side, Kreais has plans to break ground on a 48-unit apartment building this spring. The apartments, which he's calling The Bronzeville, will be located at 514 Taylor Ave. Columbus City Council approved zoning in 2022 and the project now is awaiting a building permit, Kreais said.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/02/17/coworking-in-clintonville.html

Yeah, especially since it’s all made of stuff that could fairly easily be moved to a different location later on.

Not surprisingly, this was approved by the board today: ”Trustees also approved Ohio State's request to expand its athletic campus and construct a new ice rink to house the men's and women's hockey teams near the Covelli Center, Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium and the Ty Tucker Tennis Center off Fred Taylor Drive. The university is seeking to fundraise $2.7 million for the facility, which would open in 2026.” https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/education/2023/02/16/heres-what-ohio-state-president-kristina-johnson-said-at-her-last-board-meeting/69890055007/

Me too. Would also love to see a version of that 15 story on the Holiday Inn parking lot get built.

Working toward meeting those improved transit goals: ”Consultant WSP USA Inc. has started a multimodal study for the Columbus Department of Public Service to determine the feasibility of a multimodal transportation wish list for downtown and how to design everything to work in harmony. “We’re looking at this from an entire downtown network perspective,” said Justin Goodwin, mobility and parking administrator for the Department of Public Service. Along with adding BRT, the study will look at proposals including a protected two-way bike path along 4th Street, two-way dedicated transit lanes on 3rd, the pedestrian and bike trail through downtown, and converting one-way streets such Main and Rich to two-way traffic. “We’re all aligned on those goals,” Goodwin said. “Now it’s really digging into the details.” WSP, which did similar design work for a planned BRT and downtown trail in Indianapolis, included some initial ideas for how transit and bike lanes could work. The study will take into account impacts to businesses, as well has how to phase the improvements, Goodwin said. The city hopes to have answers in hand this summer. “We have really wide streets,” Murdock said. “We have the room to add transit and room to add bike lanes. You can really make downtown a place where you want to be outside.”‘ https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/02/16/transit-downtown-columbus-cota-future-plan.html

From CBF’s article on transit in Downtown Columbus, which came out of this year’s Power Breakfast: ”COTA is planning to redevelop the former Greyhound bus station on Town Street, which will become an interchange between buses, bikes, scooters and other modes, said Kimberly Sharp, the agency’s senior director of development. Depending on final LinkUs routes, that hub might become a major BRT station. Whatever the base, the city wants it topped with mixed-use development. “It’s a huge site – you could do a lot,” Conte said.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/02/16/transit-downtown-columbus-cota-future-plan.html I feel like most of that we could’ve guessed, but it’s still good to hear any mention of the redev.

I found out about these guys a couple years ago at the CU Coffee Fest, and had heard this move was happening. Glad they’re getting a more visible space! Jennings Java Opening Merion Village Cafe “After seven years of perfecting their roasting operations, local coffee company Jennings Java is ready to make the leap into brick and mortar retail with the opening of their first cafe location in Merion Village this summer. The new shop is slated to open less than a mile away at 116 East Moler Street. The site was formerly occupied by Bake Me Happy, which relocated to Whittier Street last year. “We’ll have a bodega-style step with around 15 to 20 different coffee origins, some unique options for home brewing, equipment for sale, milks and our canned cold brews,” he stated. “In the future we might expand to offering beer and wine.” The new cafe is slated for an opening sometime this summer. Jennings stated that while the cafe itself requires few renovations or updates, the relocation of their roasting equipment has some installation and permitting processes that will take some time to complete.” https://columbusunderground.com/jennings-java-opening-merion-village-cafe-we1/

Site plan and a rendering of this 300 unit proposed multi family from Preferred, at 6935 Harlem Rd, which would see Columbus annexing land from Plain Township. And a site plan for a parking lot featuring 216 units at 5142 Central College Rd, a sister development to DC Building’s Fenimore apartments across the road.

Kaufman is proposing a “Gravity Park” space on what is currently the gravel parking lot for the Idea Foundry.