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Per CU, the former Douglas Elementary came down today to make way for the new senior rec center: Updated to include the article: Demolition Begins on Douglas Elementary School Site “Demolition got under way today on the Douglas Alternative Elementary School site in the Olde Towne East neighborhood. The Columbus Board of Education voted in January of 2020 to sell the 3.9 acre Douglas site and Columbus City Council signed off on the plan to purchase it in July of the same year. Columbus Recreation and Parks purchased the property, as well as the 11 acre Stockbridge Elementary School site at 3350 S. Champion Ave., for the appraised value of $1.99M ($1,650,000, for Douglas and $340,000, for Stockbridge, as approved by the Columbus Board of Education in August of 2020). The building was located at 51 S. Douglas Street and is slated to become the new Fran Ryan Center (formerly named the Broad Street Arts and Senior Creative Campus) for the city’s Recreation and Parks Department. It was former councilmember Fran Ryan’s dedication to the wellbeing of seniors in our community, various housing initiatives, and much more that earned her the designation. Construction on the Fran Ryan Center is scheduled to begin in Spring/Summer of 2023 and plans to be completed by Fall of 2024.“ https://columbusunderground.com/demolition-begins-on-douglas-elementary-school-site-ae1/

I didn’t know they were doing that. That’s a good thing to hear. I was somewhat annoyed to see even CBF appearing to lament the loss of the parking lot in today’s weekly rundown: ”But the reality of a slight inconvenience for shoppers is now before the market, and no one really knows how customers will react. Ask any Short North retailer – or any retailer anywhere, for that matter – and they’ll tell you how important parking is. They’ll also tell you that nearby garages and street parking are no match for an attached lot.” In all reality, I’m sure all the construction over the next few years will scare some customers away (I believe it was the owners of Preston’s that said the anticipation of construction played into their decision to relocate). But, of course, this is a win for the market and Downtown long term.

Ohio to pay to demolish Westland Mall “Westland Mall, a long vacant West Side landmark, is among 599 Ohio properties the state will pay to demolish, the state announced Friday. The buildings, spread among 15 counties, will be demolished under the Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program, which has funded the demolition of 3,100 buildings so far. Other projects, including the former Woodcliff condominiums in Whitehall, and the Big Bear shopping center in Upper Arlington, were also approved for demolition. The Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation — Franklin County's land bank — applied for the demolition money. James Schimmer, Franklin County's economic development and planning director who has been frustrated with the lack of progress at the site, called Friday's news "fantastic," because the demolition offers the chance now to do something at Westland, which sits in Franklin Township.” https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/01/27/state-to-pay-to-demolish-westland-mall-woodcliff-condos-among-others/69848829007/

Yeah, I think it was city staff that said they would support more height for this building if the developer would include first floor retail and historic preservation.

^I saw an application for a demo permit within the last couple weeks, so it should be soon!

Not to mention most of the people throwing fits haven’t even been to these bars in years, if it all lol

It definitely looks a little monotonous right now. I like the renderings though, so I’m hoping once the fin and the glass along the top and south side are added it helps break it up some. I thought it interesting they matched the exterior of the new wing of the James with the existing façade, and that the eastern facing exterior of the new tower appears to favor glass more than the western facing exterior. Might help with the transition.

The planned office buildings at the data center are likely admin, yeah. I’m just thinking hypothetically, were Amazon to establish a corporate presence here. My understanding of Hudson Yards was that it was more to accommodate existing operations in NYC, although I could be wrong. Either way, it was a far cry from the expansion that would’ve taken place had Amazon not pulled back, and even more so now with WFH. I’d missed the Nashville HQ news. That’s too bad we didn’t get it. It seems like we’re a pretty big logistics hub for them. Although that’s just anecdotal—I’ve never looked at any comparison.

We’ve already known Intel construction is going to make an already tight construction labor market even tighter, but today’s feature from the Dispatch on the impact on local projects is still an interesting read: With Intel and central Ohio growth, comes charges of construction worker poaching “Intel and other major Columbus-area construction projects are bringing more than jobs. They're amplifying charges of construction-worker poaching. "We've got unions all over the country, people with Kentucky and Indiana license plates, crashing onto our job sites and trying to get workers; that's getting really bad," said Don Clemens, a Columbus homebuilder for nearly 50 years. "They go after plumbers and electricians mostly. They steal the workers and our contractors are in a mess." Central Ohio economist Bill Lafayette projects construction employment to grow 4.8% this year in the Columbus area, the biggest jump of all employment sectors. The 2,300 new construction workers Lafayette is predicting accounts for one out of four new jobs expected to be created this year in the Columbus area. "Construction's going to be a bright spot this year," Lafayette said in a recent economic forecast for central Ohio. "Keep in mind that 7,000 construction workers (at Intel) is about 15% of all construction workers currently in central Ohio and those folks are doing other things."’ This was a little fun fact too: ”Hager said the last time he saw such a shortage of construction workers in central Ohio was from about 1998 to 2002, when several major construction projects — including the renovation of Ohio Stadium — drained the labor pool. "I thought, 'We’ll never see something like this in central Ohio again. Now, everything we’re seeing just dwarfs that."’ https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2023/01/26/will-intel-construction-workers-come-from-other-job-sites/69818030007/

That’s been annoying to me too. I def think both of the proposals could be improved, but focusing on preserving single story, single use dive bars over hundreds of housing units is obnoxious.

My memory of all the details is pretty hazy, but didn’t Amazon decide to split HQ2 between VA and NYC, effectively creating three “HQs,” then decided to pull out of NY after some local opposition? Idk how much Covid changed plans, but I wonder if there’s a real chance to still establish an HQ3 here after pulling out of NY? If that is the case, I agree though. I would like to see a substantial office presence either downtown or somewhere else that isn’t going to contribute to all this sprawl. Amazon’s office plans for VA actually don’t look bad, after all.

Just some back of the envelope math, but a study I found out of NY found that about one job is created per 5958 sqft of data center space. If that pans out in New Albany, a complex of over 12.1 million sqft would produce ~2000 jobs. Not anywhere near HQ2 numbers, but still pretty impressive. I also came across this Reuters article from less than a week ago that reported Amazon plans to invest another $35 billion to expand their data centers in Virginia over the next couple of decades. And now this news for Ohio. Amazon apparently sees a lot of growth in this business. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/amazons-aws-invest-35-bln-virginia-2023-01-20/

Small update on this one: Looks like an L-shaped building containing 35 1BR and 5 2BR apartments with a max height of 40’ proposed for this block.

Another downtown option, within walking distance of the new CMR location: New Downtown Cup O Joe Opens Next Week “The new Cup O Joe takes up residence on the ground floor of The Vera. The development preserved the Broad Street building that the coffee shop now inhabits, with an eight-story, 100-unit apartment and three-level parking garage constructed in the vacant lot behind. Pre-leasing is underway with the building slated to open in April. Originally designed to be an amenity space for residents, the developers ultimately decided on a more community-focused use. The Downtown location will have the same menu as its Clintonville counterpart, including coffee and espresso drinks, and a selection of baked goods from Stauf’s German Village location, Pattycake Bakery and more. The bright interior space includes soft seating and abundant table-and-chair options.” https://columbusunderground.com/new-downtown-cup-o-joe-opens-next-week-sp1/

Some aerial shots of the progress at the RMH expansion site from the architect:

Wow, the amount of activity going on out there is going to be insane. It really will be like a “mini city.”

Columbus Crew adding new premium seating options to Lower.com Field “The new spaces, conceptualized in September and October of 2022, include a Party Deck and two Theater Boxes. The existing lower terrace above the north Nordecke seating section will be transformed into four bays of premium seating. High-end private premium seating will go in the northeast and southeast corners of the stadium. Two sections, behind Section 101 and 102 and behind Section 131 and under the scoreboard, will be turned into "mini-private suites," Green said, with four to eight seats per suite.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/25/columbus-crew-new-premium-seating.html

The article lists the Easton address as 4074 The Strand W, which I believe is the former Bon Vie location. I was expecting it to back fill the S&W spot too. I was at Easton yesterday and saw a construction crew had the Bon Vie area fenced off, but I’d just assumed they were doing plaza repair work. Has it been stated how many apartments are planned for the PNC building? Maybe CMR is banking on the growing residential on/near Broad and statehouse business.

Yet another reason to be excited for the PNC redev. Downtown steakhouse, new Easton eatery in the works for Cameron Mitchell Restaurants “Cameron Mitchell Restaurants is adding a pair of high-profile locations to its already busy slate of new restaurant development in Columbus. The restaurant group confirmed to Columbus Business First that it has two new projects in the works beyond restaurants it already has announced. One will be a steakhouse that will be part of the PNC tower in downtown Columbus on Broad Street. The other will be a "new concept" at Easton Town Center. Cameron Mitchell Restaurants is still working on names for the new restaurants and declined to share any other details at this time.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/25/downtown-steakhouse-new-easton-eatery-in-the-work.html

Columbus State to begin construction soon on new $3.5 million childcare center “Columbus State Community College is ready to begin construction of a $3.5 million childcare center, a little more than year after initially teasing the project. "This is one of the first projects out of the gate as part of our $300 million bond issue supported by Franklin County voters," Rebecca Butler, Columbus State executive vice president, told Columbus Business First. "The primary reason this (is a priority)... was because we know not only through our own students but (also) what the neighborhood and community are experiencing, access to childcare is in crisis in our community. We wanted to be part of the solution for that." The childcare center will be located on the college's downtown campus, adjacent to the Center for Workforce Development building, near Grove Street and Cleveland Avenue. It will have the capacity for nearly 100 children of Columbus State students and employees, as well as other parents in the community. There will be six classrooms, two large multipurpose rooms and an outdoor play area.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/25/columbus-state-new-campus-childcare-center.html

Buckeye Ranch, Nationwide Children’s to open 48-bed youth mental health center in Grove City “Two of the largest caretakers of Columbus’ youth are teaming up to open a state-of-the-art facility to house kids recovering from mental illness. On Jan. 10, The Buckeye Ranch and Nationwide Children’s Hospital announced their plans to break ground this spring on a 48-bed mental health treatment center in Grove City to bolster the support network for youth facing mental health challenges, according to Vickie Thompson-Sandy, president and CEO of The Buckeye Ranch. The 57,000-square-foot facility, set to open in 2025, will complement The Buckeye Ranch’s existing Grove City campus at 5665 Hoover Road. Most of its residents will be children who are transitioning from a hospital stay but aren’t quite ready to return home. A step down from inpatient psychiatric care, the new center is designed to allow youth additional time to stabilize before moving back to their communities – a way to avoid back-to-back visits to a hospital’s emergency room, Thompson-Sandy said.” https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/grove-city/buckeye-ranch-nationwide-childrens-to-open-48-bed-youth-mental-health-center-in-grove-city/

I wonder if Schiff owns the parcels in front of the weird box building with the night club and office too? Be nice to have the new tower wrap around that.

Yum! I Scream Gelato to open first Ohio store in Polaris mall with an eye toward expansion “Italian dessert eatery I Scream Gelato is set to open at Polaris Fashion Place, in between Charley's Philly Cheesesteaks and Sbarro in the mall's food hall this summer. Started in Breckenridge, Colorado, in 2018, the company's first Ohio location is expected to open in June. I Scream Gelato will offer a variety of gelato flavors, including seasonal and vegan flavors, made in-house daily. The eatery has a selection of nearly 70 gelato flavors, including Nutella, smores, donut, Oreo, cheesecake and crème brulé. Alcohol-infused flavors will not be offered at the Polaris location but could be in future locations. Chris Myers, owner-operator of the I Scream Gelato location at Polaris, said he will be looking to expand in the greater Columbus area over the next 18 to 24 months.“ https://www.dispatch.com/story/entertainment/dining/2023/01/24/gelato-eatery-with-70-flavors-to-open-at-polaris-mall-this-summer/69821431007/

Schiffty must’ve realized we were onto him! Ultimately, I think this is better land use than the bar and a huge parking lot. But, for such a prominent corner, I think they should go even bigger here. That is, if Schiff even follows through on this at all. Schiff Properties plans to build 18-story mixed-use building on former Main Bar site in downtown Columbus “The downtown site previously home to The Main Bar could redeveloped into a mixed-use tower with up to 350 residential units. Columbus' Schiff Properties plans to either co-develop the site with Chicago-based Mavrek Development or sell it to the firm, Scott Schiff said. The project is expected to cost between $50 million and $70 million, he said, depending on its ultimate height. The roughly 200,000-square-foot building would have ground-floor retail, a parking garage and luxury apartments, Schiff told me. The development would be up to 18 stories, he said. The development is still in its conceptual phase. But as envisioned now, its height and mass would complement what Lifestyle Communities has in the LC RiverSouth nearby, Schiff said. Schiff Properties and Mavrek Development are about six months out from going to the Downtown Commission for a certificate of appropriateness and about a year out from starting construction on the project, Schiff said.“ https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/24/schiff-properties-main-bar.html I also don’t like this quote: “Schiff told me that the city had hoped for affordable housing on the site, but he said that the "ground is too good," and that the numbers wouldn't work for such a plan. "Luxury housing makes sense on ground that is in this location," Schiff said.“ Build bigger then, add a couple floors so you can accommodate some sub-market rate units. (I say this fully aware that it’s not my own money being spent, but I still feel like more can be done here.)

The High St portion is similar to an idea I had, except I was thinking extend part of the tower on the parking lot behind Brew Dog (of course, would require acquiring part of that property). That way you could have first level parking behind Skully’s (preferably tucked under parking) to allow musicians to load/unload their equipment. But overall I really like it!