amped91

But…but High St isn’t able to handle any height! Three stories max! And all sex toy shops must be preserved! All joking aside, this looks awesome!

I know Lykens is getting ready to start on the smaller development in IV—the Bethany, or something? The last I heard about the beer barn, it was supposed to go to city council for rezoning, and then Lykens asked to table it indefinitely. Makes me think it’s more about wanting to change aspects of the building.

Yes. Here’s a link to a pic I’d posted in November showing the steel framing going up:

I think some of these are new announcements: University Square: (On High Street between 14th and 16th avenues) Genghis Grill: April A build-your-own Mongolian stir-fry chain restaurant boasting dozens of fresh ingredients and flavor combinations will set up shop at North High Street and East 16th Avenue. Dave’s Hot Chicken: May/June The popular chain will open its second Columbus-area restaurant in the building at North High Street and East 15th Avenue, bringing more chicken tenders to Ohio State’s campus. Smashburger: May/June A fast-casual burger joint known for its signature smashed beef burgers, Smashburger also serves chicken sandwiches and vegetarian options. It will open next to Dave’s Hot Chicken at North High street and East 15th Avenue. Gateway: (On High Street at 10th Avenue) Starbucks: May The international coffee conglomerate will open its fourth location near campus in late spring, making it the third Starbucks along North High Street within walking distance of Ohio State – and mere blocks away from one at 14th Avenue. Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon: June/July Chewy soft pretzels and gooey, sugary cinnamon rolls will take up the vacant retail space at North High Street and West 11th Avenue, where Panera Bread used to be. MacShack: June/July Next door to the incoming Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon will be MacShack, a mac and cheese bar born out of the Keystone Bar and Grill in Cincinnati. https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/restaurants-coming-to-high-street-in-university-district-this-spring-and-summer/

So we should be getting new beer halls from CBC and Jackie O’s at roughly the same time. Get ready, liver!

^I remember there was a proposal recently to replace an old office building with a 500+ unit apartment building nearby on Campus View. Haven’t seen anything recently but hopefully that still happens, since that should help support too. Marcus is too far out of the way for me now, but I went there often in high school and always had a good time. Glad to hear it’s still a quality theater.

Wonder if the dt commission will actually pursue any action when Schiff still doesn’t have any plans come June?

My Sim City hope is that he’ll put some version of Harmony on the site where Main Bar once stood. But I’m not holding my breath lol But I am still stoked over the amount of construction that will/should be ongoing during 2023.

TMB ground breaking should be v soon now, based on info posted to the NM’s website:

Virtue Vegan Salon Expanding with Brewery District Location “After 13 years of growth in Clintonville, Virtue Vegan Salon is ready for expansion into another part of Columbus. The local styling and services company announced last week that they’ll be opening a South High Street location in the Brewery District next month. “We had our eye on several different areas in Columbus during the decision making process,” she stated. “We wanted to be somewhere that had a vibrant neighborhood and growing small business front. We love the proximity to other businesses like Lawbird, Antiques on High, The Daily Growler and Emmett’s.” The new salon will be located at 690 South High Street, formerly occupied by the Mobile Center for Independent Living, a nonprofit disability resource center that relocated into a renovated medical office building at 1829 East Long Street. The opening date for Virtue is set for February 6th, and Guzzo says that customers of the Clintonville location can expect the same types of hair and spa services in the new spot.” https://columbusunderground.com/virtue-vegan-salon-expanding-with-brewery-district-location-we1/

Hmm, I guess it’s official: ”Goody Boy Burger Club, the Short North eatery known for its retro decor and classic burgers, has closed its doors. The closure was confirmed by Justin Kintz, Executive Director of One Hospitality, the restaurant group that owned Goody Boy. While the loss of the burger stop is a blow to Columbus foodies, Kintz said One Hospitality—which is also behind other popular concepts like Forno, Urban Meyer’s Pint House and Standard Complex—is planning to replace the Goody Boy space with a concept that has yet to be determined. “We are exploring ideas for a new, fresh concept to keep the Short North neighborhood special,” Kintz said.” https://614now.com/2023/food-drink/after-75-years-this-short-north-restaurant-has-closed I still stand by wanting to see the parking areas redeveloped with the diner staying intact.

The article mentions the city surveyed the area late last year and identified parcels that could be redeveloped. I’m sure there’s a way to find the results of their survey. I’m not super familiar with this area of the city, though.

Columbus creates tax incentives to spur affordable housing on Northwest Side “The city of Columbus has created a new Riverside Community Reinvestment Area north of West Henderson Road and west of Sawmill Road with the goal, officials say, of developing more affordable housing. The Northwest Side area is also the location of an apartment development proposed on the site of the former Premier of Sawmill Athletic Club on Hayden Road, now demolished, with the site weed-filled and surrounded by a chain-link fence. Columbus City Councilmember Shayla Favor, who leads the council housing committee, said the idea for a community reinvestment area for that neighborhood came about when the owner of the Premier at Sawmill property approached the city about the apartment development. "I think that there is a perception that area does not need any abatement," Favor said. "When thinking about housing equity, different types of employment opportunities, we cannot limit ourselves to areas of our city that should only have 'affordable housing.'"’ https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/01/17/columbus-creates-reinvestment-area-tax-abatements-near-sawmill-road/69786009007/

Brown now officially has a challenger: Ohio Sen. Matt Dolan to announce 2024 U.S. Senate bid against Sherrod Brown “Ohio's next U.S. Senate race is officially underway. State Sen. Matt Dolan plans to announce Tuesday that he's running for the chance to take on U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024. The Chagrin Falls Republican placed third in the crowded GOP primary in 2022 to replace former Sen. Rob Portman, surprising many who watched the race unfold. To Dolan, 2022 sent a clear message: Republicans want someone who can solve problems.” https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/01/16/ohio-u-s-senate-race-2024-matt-dolan-announces-bid-against-sherrod-brown/69792478007/

Good to see the inner-ring burbs following Cbus’s lead on this. I’ll be interested in seeing if Worthington voters are a supportive as Columbus voters were. Worthington considering asking for $1.1M affordable housing bond issue on November ballot “Worthington City Council is considering placing a $1.1-million affordable housing bond issue on the November general election ballot that the city council president said would be a landmark step for an older Columbus suburb. The bond issue is similar to, but much smaller than, the $200-million affordable housing bond issue that Columbus voters approved in November. Columbus voters also passed a $50-million affordable housing bond issue in 2019. Worthington City Council President David Robinson said the amount Worthington officials could ask for might change. He said the $1.1-million issue would be proportional population-wise to Columbus' first affordable housing bond issue. In a Jan. 5 memo to acting Worthington City Manager Robyn Stewart, Robinson wrote that a bond issue would provide meaningful incentives for developers to create affordable housing in the suburban city.“ https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/01/16/worthington-council-considering-1-1m-affordable-housing-bond-issue/69790203007/

I didn’t think of that. I know they said it was going to have a ghost kitchen and coworking space, but I’m sure that could change. Gay is a nice area with a good amount of activity. There’s a lot of vacant retail space along E Long I’d like to see activated too, but it’s all punctuated by ugly parking lots.

Doesn’t sound like this is officially tied to the CDDC’s plan; however, it does align with the plan’s goals, and it’s similar to the CDDC’s Common Thread project, so I’m putting it here. I think this could be great for downtown, if done well. I hope it’s successful. My pipe dream is for COTA’s Greyhound redev to include a new first floor Central Market, where this hub could start. But I’m going to guess the city will be looking for already available space. Columbus plans new downtown marketplace focused on women- and minority-owned businesses “Columbus' elected leaders want to help female entrepreneurs and minority-owned businesses set up shop in brick-and-mortar downtown spaces. To achieve that goal, Columbus City Council is taking steps to open a new downtown marketplace, Councilman Nick Bankston said. The marketplace program would include graduated rent support, a tenant renovation fund and technical assistance. Plans are still in the early stages and an exact location for the market has yet to be selected. But Bankston said the goal is to find an area that already has retail activity, and serve as a "catalyst" for continued growth of both the tenants and downtown Columbus. At the end of this quarter, the city will begin seeking an entity to offer the technical assistance. That entity could also serve as the master leaseholder for the facility, or two different organizations could be involved.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/16/downtown-columbus-minority-women-businesses.html

This is the development at the corner of Renner and Alton & Darby, right? I was out that way visiting family last month for Xmas, and I couldn’t believe the size of this development.

That’s why we went before—good and cheap. Now GV Coffee Shop and Tommy’s do a good job filling that void. Even if they’re packed on the weekends. And that’s what I was gonna suggest, @DTCL11. Some sort of L-shaped building would probably work well there. Preserve the cool-looking diner, get rid of more surface parking, and provide more housing.

According to some chatter on Reddit, the Goody Boy diner is permanently closed. I can’t find anything online to confirm it—Google says it’s temporarily closed, their website is currently down, and their last social media post was about being closed New Year’s Day—and I’ve not been since Corso took it over. Whether the closing is temporary or permanent, I’m curious what others think about the possibility of the site being redeveloped, and if anyone’s opposed to redeveloping?

New nonprofit and CMHA buy Northwest Side apartments for affordable housing ”A new nonprofit is teaming with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority to buy the Copperleaf Apartments off Sawmill Road on the city's Northwest Side with the goal, they say, of preserving affordable housing in a region that needs more of it. The Columbus Housing Enterprise and CMHA are paying $8.1 million for the 108-unit property from a partnership of companies headed by local developers Bob Weiler and Don Kelley. The units will be aimed at those making 80% or less of the area median income, which is $52,500 for one person and $74,950 for a four-person household. The Rev. John Edgar, retired executive director of the nonprofit Community Development for All People, is the president of the Columbus Housing Enterprise. He said people living at Copperleaf already are in that income range. "Our intention is for that to continue to be the case for years to come," he said.” https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/01/10/new-group-and-cmha-buy-northwest-side-apartments-for-affordable-housing/69790732007/

We need the zoning code update stat too. Take this sort of power away from the commissioners. High St should be the densest corridor in the city. We should be pushing for more density, not asking for less.

🙄🙄🙄 $25M Short North tower proposal headed back to the drawing board “The developers and architects this week presented the plan to the Italian Village commission. It was a conceptual review, meaning no action was taken, but commissioners offered a mix of feedback on the size and look of the building. Jonathan Barnes, architect for the project, said the team is making adjustments to the building design to respond to the commission’s comments. They plan to come back to the commission next month. During the meeting, Commissioner David Cooke said the section of North High Street in question was not meant to support this level of height and density. "This would be the oddest drop in," Cooke said of the project. Commissioner Paige Schmeling also raised concerns about the height of the building, saying that the project could step down in height closer to High Street or be set back further from High Street. "Ten stories on High Street is a tough sell," she said. Several commissioners said they would like to see part of the former Garden building or facade be preserved. "I want to see a way to not deconstruct that facade and keep the character of that," said Commission Jason Sudy. "I think more could be done to pay homage (to the Garden building."’ https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/13/short-north-stonewall-tower-density-height.html Wtf to the bolded quote. What a dumb thing to say.

Now we just need a new tower for the lot that Harmony was proposed to fill 😄

Actually looks really nice the way it appears to just keep stepping back from the front of the Eagle all the way back to the apartments.