amped91

Last I heard it’s supposed to open sometime this winter; it doesn’t appear to be open yet. This little area should become a hot spot over the next few years, with City Winery, a new brewery, Glass Axis, ~1000 housing units, and more business spaces planned on site.

It doesn’t look like any work has started on it yet, so it’s not too late to rethink, Equitas! In one of the articles, Porteous from Stonewall mentioned the revenue from the project would support the org longer into the future than the parking fees would. I would imagine Equitas wouldn’t have too much trouble finding a partner to fund redeveloping the payday site, which I think would to a similar revenue support. I think an LGBT-supporting pharmacy is good for the neighborhood, but I think even better is an LGBT-supporting pharmacy, more housing, and more financial support for the future of Equitas.

Sounds about right, at a time when we should be doing all we can to make sure affordable housing gets built 🙄

When did this happen?

Wonder if COCIC will get to control a portion of the property, with their involvement in the demo?

Pretty optimistic timeline in that article: ”Black Gold and Stonewall are planning to partner with one of three developers, Vyas said. They hope to break ground this summer and wrap construction by 2024.”

This is supposed to be the CVS building, right?

Four mixed-use buildings under construction along main corridor of Westerville “Saberi Development will build four structures featuring a mix of commercial and residential space at 280-290 S. State St. and 32 W. College Ave. Three buildings measuring a combined 28,264 square feet will be constructed on South State Street, while a single, 11,000-square-foot facility will occupy the West College Avenue site. The State Street project will include 18 residential units spread across the three buildings. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom units will be located on the upper floors above nearly 4,300 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. A total of 45 parking spaces will be included. Saberi said he has a letter of intent from a potential tenant to occupy some of the available commercial space on State Street. He did not reveal the name of the tenant, but said it is a chiropractor. Saberi is actively seeking additional tenants in the retail and medical industries for the remaining commercial space. Other potential tenants could include a skincare business, dental office and beauty salon, though those deals have not been finalized. The State Street component is currently under construction and is expected to be complete in April 2023. The West College part of the project will be a three-story building with 2,600 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and four residential units on the upper floors. There will be two two-bedroom luxury apartments on each of the upper floors.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/06/saberi-development-westerville-mixed-use-projects.html

A few more details on the new tower from the Dispatch, including a different working name from what CU is reporting. Also, why it’s important to have LGBT inclusive housing: ‘"It’s really difficult for LGBTQ seniors to find affordable housing, and they're creating that space," he said. "We have a lot of folks reaching out to us because of housing insecurity, who have been kicked out of their apartments because people found out they were gay." The building, to be called Garden Park in honor of the neighborhood's traditional name, would include 60 one- and two-bedroom apartments, along with 60 indoor parking spaces and a 10,500-square-foot commercial space on High Street that might be at least partially occupied by a juice bar. All apartments would have balconies and range from 606 square feet for the smallest one-bedroom to 1,641 for the largest two-bedroom. The entire top floor would be devoted to a wellness center, instead of a rooftop bar, which have dotted the neighborhood in recent years. Barnes said the design of the building, with its irregular High Street façade and colorful murals on the sides, also makes it stand out.” https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2023/01/06/proposed-10-story-short-north-building-linked-to-stonewall-columbus/69780393007/

Definitely wouldn’t be under $500,000 I wouldn’t imagine.

I was hoping someone had some inside scoop lol With it going silent since September, I hope it’s not been taken off the table.

I wonder if the CVS property is still being actively pursued. Anyone hear anything recently?

Generally these are just ran as LGBT affirming/friendly residences in other places, since it’s still legal in many places to discriminate based on sexual orientation. I would imagine the leasing of those 12 units would be operated by Stonewall, where, presumably, the majority of applicants would be LGBT community members. It was also mentioned in the app package that the wellness/amenity space would be available to Stonewall members, so I would imagine a portion of the programming there would be targeted towards the community.

Yes.

Well, this is pretty disappointing if it sticks. Looks like the 12 and 7 story proposals have been downgraded to 8 and 6, if this reporting is accurate. Ohio State-area project that would tear down Little Bar, church moves forward “An Austin, Texas-based developer has retooled its plan for a large mixed-use project at the northwest corner of Lane and High and is one step closer to making the development a reality. The University Area Commission Zoning Committee approved the project at 50 W. Lane Ave. earlier this week. It will go before the full commission on Jan. 18. The project would also have to go before Columbus City Council before breaking ground. The latest proposal features an eight-story building and a six-story building, with 141 units between the two. The buildings would be connected by a walkway. An earlier proposal, with taller buildings, was tabled at the commission's September meeting. No vote was taken in November.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/05/little-bar-lane-ave-austin-developer.html

Sounds like a win-win for SN and Stonewall. I like the idea of holding some units for LGBT seniors.

EVE Energy North America to expand in Lewis Center with construction of $5.7 million R&D facility “A global supplier of lithium batteries plans to spend nearly $6 million on a new Central Ohio research and development center. EVE Energy North America will build the R&D facility in Lewis Center, where it is based. The new operation will focus on the testing, design and storage of lithium-ion batteries that are often used to power electric vehicles and energy storage solutions. It will also house a solar-powered liquid cooling energy storage cabinet and help develop the company's new laser welding techniques for battery assembly. A news release from JobsOhio did not provide a construction timeline or specific location for the project. It's also unclear if EVE is moving into an existing building or plans to build something new. Columbus Business First has reached out to the company and JobsOhio, and will update this story as more information becomes available. The company, which licenses and distributes EVE Co. Ltd.'s battery products to various industries and customers across the nation, has an existing facility at 7910 N. Central Drive in Lewis Center. In addition to electric vehicles and energy storage solutions, EVE's products are utilized in the internet of things and consumer electronics. The new R&D center will create 12 jobs, more than doubling the number of employees in Lewis Center. EVE also will invest at least $5.7 million in machinery and equipment, building renovation and construction.” https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/01/04/eve-energy-north-america-r-d-center-lewis-center.html Apparently the battery company isn’t a fan of a proposed JEDD tax, however, which could impact their site selection: Possible Orange Township JEDD tax gives company second thoughts “A month after receiving zoning approval to set up a light industrial facility in Orange Township, Eve Energy North America is continuing to conduct a cost analysis to determine if the plan should be completed. Company officials said the analysis is in response to being notified by the township that the facility, which would be in a new building at 7910 North Central Drive, might be included in a joint economic-development district (JEDD), which would subject the business and its employees to an income tax. Township trustees approved the Eve Energy rezoning Dec. 7, when Eve Energy project manager Luke Gallant said that two weeks earlier, the company received a two-sentence notice from the township that its site might be included in a JEDD. "(Eve Energy received) no other information that … we can grow together and there's benefits we could receive in return or anything. We don't know anything about that. So that would all be very welcome for us to review, as well as what benefits from the JEDD could come back to support us," Gallant said. "Otherwise, it's kind of a deal breaker for us, that we're just paying an additional 2.5 percent (in income tax) that was unexpected. … I mean, there's plenty of other places, to be honest, around that we could move (to)."‘ https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/communities/olentangy-valley/2023/01/04/possible-orange-township-jedd-tax-gives-company-second-thoughts/69777890007/

We could potentially have multiple downtown at once! One for this, the Merchant Building, the Scioto Peninsula, and the Broad St tower. Maybe even the United Way redevelopment, although I imagine that start is still a ways off…

13 story Broad St tower as viewed from Long St.

Work continues on the rehab of the Madison’s and White-Haines buildings. And work should begin any day now on the neighboring 15 story tower. Building permits have been issued, fencing has been extended to cover the entirety of the site, and a few baby trees have been chopped down. Some equipment and survey crews were on site today.

Part of me just wants to see one since I’m sure a big ole tower crane looming over the neighborhood will make some German Villains’ heads spin 😆

No need to apologize! 😁 I hope so too, though. Seems like this time around, the developer is more serious about redev too, with vacating the building, and forming a partnership with Stonewall.

I’d brought that up here. It makes me wonder how the composition of the IV Commission has changed since 2017. Also, it appears to be a different developer this time. I think it would be a nice touch if the developer preserves the original facade, but I think the commission will face an uphill battle if they try to block any sort of redevelopment on a single story building.

CBF this morning reported that the Downtown NCJC project received funding from OHFA. Apparently, there were a handful of other Columbus-area construction projects that were recently awarded gap financing as well. - Dering Family Homes, 98 Dering Ave. 245 units from NRP on the South Side. - Granville Woods Lofts II, 1826 E Livingston Ave. 60 units from Woda Cooper set to replace the vacant cookie bakery in Driving Park. - Broadleigh Lofts, 3150 Allegheny Ave. 84 units from Woda Cooper on a vacant lot in the Broadleigh neighborhood on the East Side. - Seasons Grove, 1050 Lamplighter Dr. 82 units for senior citizens from CMHA in Grove City. https://ohiohome.org/ppd/funding.aspx

I mean, technically it is. This just isn’t a great example of it.