Luvcbus

A little more on that^ Planned 550-acre development would be 'game changer' for Plain City "A new project in the works north of Plain City could bring new economic development to an area that’s expecting exponential growth over the next few decades. A Columbus developer is planning a nearly 550-acre business park in Union County that will be a “game changer” for Plain City, said Jason Stanford, the development manager for the village. The scope of the project is two-fold, Stanford said: bringing in more commercial businesses to keep up with the significant residential growth in Plain City, as well as spurring more industrial and economic growth. The plan calls for Plain City to annex the land for the business park. If the annexations are approved, they would grow the land area of Plain City by approximately 34%. The site that's close to the Big Darby Creek could include approximately 130 acres for park land and greenspace, Stanford said. Construction could be underway within 18 to 24 months. This planned development is part of the growth that’s occurring throughout central Ohio, Phillips said. Previous projections have said the village's population is expected to mushroom from 4,065 in 2020 to 21,000 in 20 years." https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2024/08/18/union-county-development-would-expand-plain-city-land-area-by-34/74799394007/

LOAD 16 TO NEW ALBANY The sixteenth of nearly two dozen “superloads” will depart the dock site in Adams County on Thursday, August 22. The convoy will head to New Albany to deliver the load to the site of the new Intel plant on Sunday, August 24. Cargo: Tank Height: 19’ 1” Width: 16’ 1” Length: 196’ 11” Weight: 395,450 pounds • August 22 (Day 1) – Dock in Manchester to Ross County Fairgrounds • August 23 (Day 2) – Ross County Fairgrounds to Rickenbacker • August 24 (Day 3) – Rickenbacker to Intel site in New Albany https://siliconheartland.newalbanyohio.org/2024/07/01/upcoming-superload-deliveries/

Columbus health care startup on city's West Side plans major expansion "A young Columbus-based health care technology company that works to make prescription care more affordable and less complex received approval for state tax incentives on Thursday for a major expansion project expected to create 751 jobs. Gifthealth, which currently has 50 workers, has a new contract to distribute a gastrointestinal drug that will mean significant growth to the company’s pharmacy operations, according to the Ohio Department of Development. The new jobs will have a payroll of $56.5 million and will include a mix of pharmacists, technicians, patient care representatives and other workers. The current workers earn $4.2 million. As part of the project, the company plans to lease 30,000 square feet of space on at 4321 Equity Dr. close to Interstates 270 and 70 on the city’s West Side." https://www.dispatch.com/

$300 million Whittier Peninsula project lands state grant for brownfield cleanup "The state has awarded $10 million to help clean up a former industrial site on the Whittier Peninsula, paving the way for a $300-million apartment development on the Brewery District site. The $10 million will be used to clean a 16.5-acre site on the Whittier Peninsula formerly used as a rail and scrap yard, according to the state. The cleanup will allow Zimmer Development Co. of Wilmington, North Carolina, to proceed with its plans to build an apartment complex consisting of three seven-story buildings, each with 250 to 320 apartments, along with 5,000 square feet of amenity space and 350 parking spaces on the buildings' first two levels. Zimmer said in a news release that it is working with the Audubon Center on the peninsula "to consider sustainable elements to the design, including green roofs, pollinator gardens, rain gardens, bioretention ponds, reflection pools, and community meadows as part of the approximately 10 acres of usable green space that will be open to the public." Work has already started on site cleanup. A Zimmer representative said the company plans to start construction next year on the development." https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/real-estate/2024/08/16/columbus-ohio-grant-hundreds-apartments-whittier-peninsula-development-franklington-brownfield/74825745007/

New restaurant Chouette brings French cuisine to Downtown dining scene "On Tuesday, Aug. 13, Chouette, a restaurant offering authentic and classic French cuisine, opened its doors at 66 N. High St., and patrons are invited to try out its menu of French classics made approachable through a bistro style. While Chouette isn't Rockbridge-division Makeready's first venture into Columbus — its hotel, The Junto, moved into the city last year, and Hank's Low Country Seafood and Raw Bar, earlier this year — it is the first concept of its kind for the company. Like Hank's, which is just down the street at 6 W. Gay St., Chouette is also owned by Jeff Edwards, CEO and president of Edwards Companies, who recognized an opportunity for an establishment of its kind in the market. Chouette is open 4 to 10 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays and from 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Though the restaurant is open only for dinner service for now, they will be expanding to lunch and brunch services in mid-October." https://www.dispatch.com/story/entertainment/dining/2024/08/14/chouette-a-new-restaurant-brings-french-cuisine-to-central-ohio/74702033007/

A little more from the article: "Building with modulars also allows for more of the historic building to be preserved, DeHays said. "Each of the modulars has a floor system with pipes, so we don't have to cut as many holes or build a new ceiling," he said. "We're able to maintain more of the historic fabric." "This opens up a whole new realm of construction," DeHays said. "We can look at buildings differently." DeHays said he is in talks with a tenant that would take all of the office space and some of the retail space. The first two floors will be commercial use and the upper four floors will be apartments. Now that the project has $5.1 million in brownfield remediation grant funds, work will start immediately on abating the building. Construction on the commercial spaces will start at the end of this year, he said."

I read they'll eventually line the perimeter along the "backside" of the property to keep the "transient population" from cutting across the property on their way to/from the services on Harmon Road.

DeHays project downtown gets boost from state grant "A project that would brighten up Columbus' skyline has gotten the final boost it needs to move forward. The redevelopment of the former Job and Family Services building in downtown Columbus recently received brownfield remediation grant funds, along with five other area projects. Brad DeHays, of Connect Real Estate, is developing the building for the Columbus Partnership, turning it from a long-vacant limestone monolith into a building full of life with apartments, a pool and a cafe. The developer plans to create 94 apartments in the former office building using his modular construction method. This will cut a year off of the construction timeline, DeHays said. This project could be a test-case for how to repurpose other old, vacant office buildings in downtown Columbus and all over the country as remote and hybrid work trends continue to disrupt the office market." https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/08/14/the-civic-brad-dehays-downtown-columbus.html

Next New Albany data center promises to use less water, energy "New Albany is getting another data center, one meant to use less water and energy than other data centers. Edged Energy is building the data center at 6525 New Albany Rd. E. It is expected to open next July. Edged Energy pegged the investment at $246 million. The project will create 780 construction jobs and 20-25 permanent jobs. Edged Energy says the data center will be built to handle artificial intelligence workloads. What makes Edged Energy different is that its data center will use far less water and electricity." https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2024/08/13/edged-energy-data-center-in-new-albany-to-use-less-water-electricity/74768598007/

Shipping containers installed at former Cooper Stadium as redevelopment plan moves forward "A ring of shipping containers has been erected at the former Cooper Stadium on West Mound Street, the latest twist in the 16-year saga to redevelop the site. About three-dozen shipping containers, some double-stacked, surround the stadium's former grandstand and entrance building. The property owner and developer, SPARC, an arm of Arshot Investment Corp. in Columbus, asked for permission to place the shipping containers on the site as part of a redevelopment plan approved by the city in October. SPARC's plans then called for converting the 47-acre site into a mixed-use development with apartments, commercial buildings and an amphitheater. The plan approved in October called for up to 51,440 square feet of office space, up to 13,440 square feet of retail space, and up to 200 apartment units, with the potential to build up to 550 apartments." https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2024/08/13/cooper-stadium-site-sees-changes-as-redevelopment-looms-sparc-racetrack-amphitheater/74767640007/

Neighborhood bar that's part of transformational Franklinton project to open soon "Sweeney's Walnut Street Tavern will be the first to open in a project that's transforming a street of small homes in Franklinton. Sweeney's Walnut Street Tavern will open this fall at 500 W. Walnut St. Sweeney and Blake Compton, owner of Compton Construction, are working to transform the street of small homes into a quirky commercial corridor. There are eight houses slated for renovation in total: 494, 500, 510, 514, 530, 532, 536 and 544 W. Walnut St. Sweeney's Walnut Street Tavern will be the first of several new businesses on the block, and there are plans for the other houses to become a music hall, restaurant and other small retail shops. One of the homes also would have an artist in residency space. There's potential for some of the homes or backyards to be connected." https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/08/08/walnut-street-update.html

Real Dill officially backed out months ago: "Even though plans fell through for a company called Real Dill Pickleball Club to operate a pickleball club at Galaxy, the developer, NP Limited Partnership, will still proceed on the courts, said Franz Geiger, NP managing director. "We'll either build pickleball courts ourselves or with a third party," he said. "We're in negotiations with a couple of operators." https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/real-estate/2024/06/05/galaxy-at-polaris-columbus-apartments-germain-amphitheater/73906662007/

Continuing to ramp up at Intel !

Stumbled across this article earlier. According to it, Intel expects to be at the peak of the building phase on the first two fabs in about five months: "According to the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council, the first phase of the Intel buildout will generate more than 45 million work hours for members of the building trades, with the vast majority of workers being from Ohio. “We have an abundance of work right now,” she said. “Intel is expecting to have 6,000 to 7,000 people at the peak of the building phase, which will start in about five months.” Full story here: https://www.richlandsource.com/2024/08/05/tomorrows-talent-how-is-north-central-ohio-preparing-for-intel/

New Intel, AEP Ohio deal reveals how massive the power demand is for chip maker "AEP Ohio and Intel are asking state regulators to sign off on an agreement they've reached in which AEP will provide a load of electricity to Intel's 1,000-acre site in Licking County that is so vast it could run up to 450,000 homes. AEP Ohio will provide 500 megawatts of electricity to the site where Intel is spending $28 billion to build two factories, according to the agreement that the two companies filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The electricity will run the two factories and other operations around the plant. The filing said Intel's project comes with unique energy demands in terms of the size of the load coupled with the need for quality power to operate technical and sensitive semiconductor manufacturing equipment. AEP Ohio plans to build a new station called the Green Chapel Station that will serve the Intel area and will connect to AEP Ohio's existing transmission network. AEP Ohio said it will build two new transmission lines with a design that allows more power to be delivered." https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/energy-resource/2024/08/04/intel-aep-ohio-ask-state-to-sign-off-on-agreement-to-power-intel-site/74605232007/

New Albany City Council has approved the latest development plan for Gantt Parkway, proposing 294 residential units alongside commercial and medical offices. The rezoning aims to optimize land use while minimizing school impact, retaining the area’s residential unit cap but shifting the layout to accommodate additional commercial spaces and parkland. https://www.dispatch.com/

The city of Minneapolis passed something similar to our recent zoning changes in 2019. A guest columnist in today's Dispatch shares what their city is seeing five years after passage: Columbus zoning changes will work, as it did in Minneapolis Columbus just achieved a historic vote — a vote to help more neighbors find a home they can afford, a vote to say no to the racist practice of exclusionary zoning, and a vote to say yes, more people should be able to call Columbus home. In 2019, Minneapolis took similar action to what Columbus just passed — and it worked! I am a board member for Neighbors for More Neighbors in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who advocated for these changes, and I am glad to share that our city has successfully created more homes, housing costs have stabilized, and we are building healthier, more vibrant communities. While there is still more work to be done, Minneapolis has led other Midwestern cities in housing construction per capita over the last five years. Minneapolis allowed more housing along transit corridors — putting homes where it makes sense and giving people choices about how they get to work, school and play. Adding homes near transit also supports the health of our transit systems and reduces traffic. Columbus needs more housing Allowing more homes near transit and on commercial corridors — as the Columbus Zone In plan does — is important for many reasons. Homes near jobs, businesses and transit can create the thriving, walkable communities many of us want to live in. Alongside reforms to build more homes near transit, Minneapolis repealed parking mandates, allowing property owners to determine what parking they need on site based on transit access, walkability and bikeability. This has translated into more homes built at a lower cost — and still with parking, just not requiring more than they need. The impacts have made a real difference for families, housing stability and residents’ pocketbooks. While many Midwestern cities have seen rent increase nearly 30% since 2017, Minneapolis residents have seen decreases in rent following our zoning reforms, giving families more money in their bank accounts and greater ability to take care of their kids. Recent research from Pew Charitable Trusts shows that Minneapolis has seen a significant (12 - 13%) decrease in homelessness over the same period. Columbus can mirror Minneapolis’ success In closing, I wanted to share some of my hopes for Columbus — and what I believe will happen next. My hope is that you, your city and your elected officials continue to say yes to allowing more homes of different sizes and prices to meet the changing needs of communities. Based on our experience in Minneapolis, these ongoing changes will help set Columbus on a path forward to build more homes and see rents and home prices stabilize. These changes will help more of your neighbors and community members remain stable in their homes and communities, creating more vibrant, healthy and welcoming places to live. Take it from Minneapolis: These reforms work. Anton Schieffer is a board member for Neighbors for More Neighbors, a group that stands up for secure, abundant homes for everyone in the Twin Cities.

See inside the newest office at Gravity in Franklinton https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/08/01/gilbane-office-gravity-franklinton.html

New sports complex and commercial development planned in Reynoldsburg "A new sports complex and commercial development is taking shape in Reynoldsburg. The 9.4-acre site will be developed into two indoor sports facilities with retail, restaurant and office outparcels fronting East Main Street. The property includes two vacant parcels located next to Central Ohio Primary Care, which recently finished construction. The project is being developed by the owners of REP Fieldhouse, an indoor sports venue and training facility. The 23,000-square-foot venue along North Hamilton Road in northeast Columbus opened in August 2023. The two indoor sports facilities will measure a combined 109,000 square feet. The larger, 73,700-square-foot building will have a turf field that will mainly be used for football and soccer, but will also have the potential to host baseball, softball and lacrosse training. The other 35,200-square-foot building will mirror REP's current facility, which has basketball, volleyball and pickleball courts, a small turf field and mezzanine for spectator viewing and seating. The Reynoldsburg project also includes a pair of mixed-use buildings totaling more than 30,000 square feet, a shared plaza and 500-space surface parking lot." https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/07/26/reynoldsburg-sports-complex-mixed-use-development.html

Historic Resch's Bakery opening Gahanna store, production facility "A Columbus baking institution has a big expansion planned. Resch’s Bakery at 4061 E. Livingston Ave. has signed a lease for a new location at 150 N. Hamilton Road in Gahanna. That almost 12,000-square-foot space will become the primary production space for the 112-year-old family-owned business. It’ll have an expansive store there as well. Frank X. Resch said the family isn’t abandoning the Livingston Avenue space where it has operated for decades. Though most of the production will be moving, they plan to maintain a store there stocked with all the bakery’s favorites including donuts, cakes, pastries and cookies. Details are still being worked out, but Resch said they expect to open the Gahanna space by Easter." https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/08/02/reschs-bakery-opening-gahanna-store.html

A little more on that^ Union County agreement paves way for 750 acres to be developed in Jerome Township "A deal signed Wednesday paves the way for about 750 acres to be developed in Jerome Township in Union County. A related deal allows the Columbus development firm Schottenstein Real Estate Group to extend Houchard Road north of Route 161, allowing the development of roughly 750 acres in the Jerome Township Innovation District. The Union County Board of Commissioners reached the deal with the Jerome Township Board of Trustees, ending a year-long battle over control and financing of development in the township immediately west of Dublin. The agreement allows Schottenstein Real Estate Group to proceed with its plans for the 200-acre Jerome Summit development north of Dublin Plain City Road (161) and west of Weldon Road in the Innovation District. Jerome Summit is expected to include apartments, retail, industrial and technology uses. Schottenstein Real Estate Group plans to start the development in the spring by extending Houchard Road north of 161 into the site. Plans call for eventually extending Houchard to Warner Road. The extension will include a roundabout at the intersection of Houchard and 161, Narducci said." https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2024/08/02/jerome-township-development-on-houchard-to-include-apartments-retail/74631413007/

Couldn't get it to embed, but here's another video from Intel in today's Dispatch: (From Tuesday) https://uw-media.dispatch.com/embed/video/74639502007?placement=snow-embed

Drone pic from Tuesday at Intel

Microsoft shows proposed data centers project at open house in Heath "Microsoft said work on the Heath development will likely begin in summer 2025, with the first of five data center buildings completed in early 2028 on land west of Thornwood Drive and south of Hallie Lane. Microsoft said each data center site has a unique design, but typically the buildings resemble windowless warehouses, with fencing around the perimeter for safety and security and vegetative screening where possible. Microsoft also said it designs its data centers to cool with outside air when possible to minimize water use. Rainwater is collected when feasible, and water discharged into the environment is filtered to match the quality of the local water supply. Hebron hosted a similar open house earlier this year for a six-building Microsoft data center project on 215 acres west of Ohio 79 and THK Manufacturing, connecting to Canyon Road. The company said there would be an estimated 30 employees per building there, but material distributed by the company states data centers typically employ about 50 per building. Hebron Mayor Valerie Mockus said a development agreement has been executed and land acquisition completed. Construction begins in 2026." https://www.dispatch.com/

Columbus' first 3D-printed house rising in Linden "A 3D-printed home is rising in Linden. Makinde Enterprises, which is owned by local contractor Mayo Makinde, is printing the house on East 26th Avenue. The one-story house is being built on what was a vacant lot next to a vacant home. Makinde is using equipment from Spain, from a company called Be More 3D, and has spent about three hours printing the walls of the house so far. In another 13, it should be complete. Four people are needed to run the printing machine, Makinde said, which spans the entire site. The machine is printing exterior walls and interior walls." https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/07/29/3d-printed-house-columbus-linden.html