This article appeared in Business First of Columbus, 1/9/06:

 

 

More business and higher profiles in Linden's future

Scott Rawdon For Business First

 

The intersection of Cleveland and 11th avenues was a historic hub of activity for nearly a century.  It had easy access to major highways, thriving local businesses and was a gateway to the Linden community.  But as local industry faded, the South Linden intersection spiraled downward into a hub of violence and crime.  Nearly 30 years ago, community activist Clarence Lumpkin saw the Linden area begin to deteriorate and presented a vision for the beleaguered neighborhood to Columbus City Council. He wanted to revitalize Linden into a place that people could point to with pride.

 

Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/01/09/focus3.html

 

From the 3/11/07 Dispatch:

 

 

Ex-banker builds a neighborhood

Philanthropist gives Habitat for Humanity $1.1 million for 9 homes in North Linden

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Debbie Gebolys

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

A barren patch of ground will become North Linden’s newest neighborhood this year, thanks to retired banker and philanthropist John G. McCoy.  McCoy recently gave $1.1 million to Habitat for Humanity, enough to build nine houses on what is to become John McCoy Circle, northeast of Weber and McGuffey roads off of Melva Avenue.

 

The gift is the largest donation from a living person in the 20 years that Habitat has operated in Columbus, Executive Director E.J. Thomas said. "What a wonderful way, as he says, to pay it forward in the community."  It’s also McCoy’s third gift of more than $1 million to central Ohio beneficiaries in the past year.

 

Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/03/11/20070311-C3-00.html

 

This is from a Linden resident in OSU's City & Regional Planning program on improving the E Hudson St commercial corridor. As you can see from all the stills, it's mostly made up of auto-shops and carry-outs. For those unfamiliar with Linden, it's Columbus' poster-child of a neighborhood plagued by vacancies and violent  crime that might as well be a war-zone as far as most Columbus residents are concerned.

 

 

There's also feedback on CU here. While I agree for the most part, I think it's going to take more than shutting down some carryouts. Basically, the culture of violence & ignorance needs to be addressed and immediate superficial changes, like "Short North-ified" carryouts, don't change culture. Not only that, but what few improvements are occurring in Linden are taking place on Cleveland Ave, not Hudson. The city plan calls for moving all businesses here to Cleveland Ave and converting Hudson into residential park space along a calmed road (not bloody likely).

 

 

I have little faith in the Northeast Side. I think the East Side between DT and Bexley has a much better chance of getting better than Linden and pretty much all the way up to 270 along Westerville and Cleveland Aves.

+1

Are you *still* on this anti-carryout crusade?  Would it make you happier to just bulldoze a bunch of properties there and put in a suburban-style Acme?  Maybe a Save-a-Lot or an Aldi (assuming this isn't already too close to the one on the east side by 71)?

 

What did carryouts ever do to you, anyway?  There's one on my walk home from work and I stop there all the time.  Despite the fact that it's right next to a low-income/senior housing development (Mayflower Manor) and is regularly frequented by people of that social stratus, and I'm often stopping by in a suit, I have never had a problem with anyone there--neither the staff nor the customers nor the people just hanging around outside lighting up.

Are you *still* on this anti-carryout crusade?  Would it make you happier to just bulldoze a bunch of properties there and put in a suburban-style Acme?  Maybe a Save-a-Lot or an Aldi (assuming this isn't already too close to the one on the east side by 71)?

 

What did carryouts ever do to you, anyway?  There's one on my walk home from work and I stop there all the time.  Despite the fact that it's right next to a low-income/senior housing development (Mayflower Manor) and is regularly frequented by people of that social stratus, and I'm often stopping by in a suit, I have never had a problem with anyone there--neither the staff nor the customers nor the people just hanging around outside lighting up.

 

Did you even read anything before commenting? The proposal is from a Linden resident who knows the neighborhood better than both of us and states as a simple fact the high concentration of run-down carryouts do serve as magnets for crime. One of them that she highlights had spray-painted "Now Open" on the side of their building. There is a huge difference between these carryouts on E Hudson and those like C-Town market Downtown and the carryout on N High south of 5th Ave. Now improving the appearance of these places would be a step in the right direction, but it ignores the fact that there's a large cultural issue that needs to be addressed and more money, not less, needs to be spent on education.

 

There was a quadruple stabbing that occurred during a late night brawl on E Hudson recently near a Shell gas station, which just so happens to have a carryout. Over on Long and Champion (not Linden) a local cyclist was knocked of his bike and beaten by a large group of men hanging out at a carryout there before stealing his bike. Columbus has also targeted some carryouts, along with some bars, to have their licenses revoked. Similar to the bars targeted, the appearance you choose for your establishment sets the tone for the kind of clientele you attract. And how are you going to compare a carryout in Canton of all places to those in Linden?

 

Re:all - While I don't see Linden making a huge comeback anytime soon, there are some bright spots like some of the nice residential streets in North Linden along which the rash of immigrant-run businesses, which is also largely on the outskirts of North Linden and I'd argue that immigrants are pretty much the neighborhood's only hope. If they were able to revitalize rough urban neighborhoods in Philadelphia, of which Columbus has no equal, not even with South Linden, then there's really no reason it couldn't happen here. However, that would require the city of Columbus to officially and actively provide incentives for immigrants to breathe life into a neighborhood such as this.

The challenge for Columbus is that the immigrants aren't staying in the city. They seem to make a move to the suburbs as quickly as they can.

I'd say the immigrants that come to Columbus as opposed to say New York, or a perhaps a better example being Portland, are seeking the suburban American Dream. It can be done very inexpensively here.

The problem seems to be that the city does nothing to attract immigrants to the inner-city while providing incentives to move to the suburban-style outskirts of the "city".

Community garden blossoms in North Linden

Much-larger plot along Cleveland Avenue due to work of sponsors, volunteers

Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 2:58 AM

By Ben Wolford, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Even some of the out-of-town volunteers knew about Kwodwo Ababio's collard greens and cabbage.  Ababio owns the New Harvest Cafe and tends the Alma Vera garden next door, where he grows some of the food he often gives free to North Linden residents.

 

For five years, he worked the garden squeezed between buildings and picked produce that grew amid broken concrete.  But yesterday, the garden received a one-day makeover, thanks to sponsors who sent volunteers, supplies, soil and tools to 2455 Cleveland Ave., where the city razed an abandoned building in March.

 

Ababio started the garden and named it after Vera Breckenridge, who died after being caught in the crossfire of a neighborhood gunfight in 2005.  Columbus used about $60,000 in federal money to tear down the old Miller building, which had gone unclaimed from the city's land bank.

 

PHOTO OF THE ALMA VERA GARDEN AT 2455 CLEVELAND AVENUE

 

LOCATION MAP

 

Full article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/06/03/it-takes-a-village-to-make-a-garden.html?sid=101

COTA is studying a BRT route along Cleveland Ave from Downtown through Linden to a hospital or Easton. Could this plant the seed for some noticeable revitalization, particularly among the numerous vacant storefronts? Personally, I don't know why they can't remove all the extraneous bus stops (so many within one block of each other, I mean really now) and improve the remaining bus shelters (if they have a shelter) for the 21st century without going the BRT route. I'd also like to see the lane be a combined bus-bike lane.

 

COTA to study option of rapid-transit buses

Sunday, January 9, 2011  02:58 AM

By Robert Vitale

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Gov. Ted Strickland's 3Crail line is history. Mayor Michael B. Coleman's streetcars are shelved.

 

But that doesn't mean transit innovations are dead on arrival.

 

The Central Ohio Transit Authority wants to study something called "bus rapid transit" - a dedicated lane on Cleveland Avenue that could accommodate bigger, better buses.

 

The souped-up bus resembles a toned-down light-rail train and would be designed to get people to their destinations faster than traditional buses but would cost far less than rail.

 

The COTA line would run between Downtown and either Rt. 161 or Westerville. Officials say there are frequent requests for more service in that corridor.

 

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/09/copy/cota-to-study-option-of-rapid-transit-buses.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

The question is whether this is for Linden or really a way to provide better service from Easton and/or Westerville into downtown without the problems associated with commuter express lines.

I dont know if this is the same "Linden' area, but there is an interesting development @ Cleveland and 11th, in that Northeast area, where they are trying to create an old-style buisness district at the intersection of two busy streets (incorporates a bus hub or stop, too).  Pretty neat development, something I'd wish we'd see here in Dayton in the outer neighborhoods.

 

I could see this little development as a node on that BRT proposal. 

Same one. This Business First article claims part of the plan is to "support efforts to revitalize”.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2010/12/21/cota-gets-300k-for-service-study-of.html

A look at a redevelopment plan for the vacant Cleve Theater at 1750 Cleveland Avenue in the South Linden neighborhood:

 

 

New nonprofit begins raising money to transform long-closed movie house into South Linden asset

By Jerry Revish, WBNS-10TV

Friday, September 9, 2011 - 5:24 AM

 

A nonprofit group that incorporated in December, the Linden Cleve Theater & Cultural Arts Extension Center, wants to see the former landmark regain some of its past glory — and help South Linden in the process.  As its name suggests, the organization is seeking to transform the abandoned brick building into a multiuse community theater. 

 

“There’s nothing like this in this community — a venue where people can come and enjoy a play or a concert, or any type of activity like that,” said the Rev. Larry Cochran Jr., bishop of Columbus’ Heart of Christ Community Church and chairman of the nonprofit’s 12-member board, composed mostly of area businesspeople.

 

The 6,120-square-foot structure, described in Franklin County property records as a “commercial warehouse,” was part of a four-parcel package that ASI Corp. of Columbus bought a decade ago for $153,500.  The property, still owned by ASI, has a current assessed market value of $40,000, according to the Franklin County auditor’s office.

 

The nonprofit’s preliminary plans call for the construction of a main auditorium, as well as a flexible backstage area configured to accommodate rehearsal space, a classroom and storage for props and costumes.  Last month, Cochran’s group sponsored a three-day music festival to raise money for the project, which is expected to cost about $1.5 million.

 

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/09/09/theater-conceived.html

A look at a redevelopment plan for the vacant Cleve Theater at 1750 Cleveland Avenue in the South Linden neighborhood:

 

 

New nonprofit begins raising money to transform long-closed movie house into South Linden asset

By Jerry Revish, WBNS-10TV

Friday, September 9, 2011 - 5:24 AM

 

A nonprofit group that incorporated in December, the Linden Cleve Theater & Cultural Arts Extension Center, wants to see the former landmark regain some of its past glory — and help South Linden in the process.  As its name suggests, the organization is seeking to transform the abandoned brick building into a multiuse community theater. 

 

“There’s nothing like this in this community — a venue where people can come and enjoy a play or a concert, or any type of activity like that,” said the Rev. Larry Cochran Jr., bishop of Columbus’ Heart of Christ Community Church and chairman of the nonprofit’s 12-member board, composed mostly of area businesspeople.

 

The 6,120-square-foot structure, described in Franklin County property records as a “commercial warehouse,” was part of a four-parcel package that ASI Corp. of Columbus bought a decade ago for $153,500.  The property, still owned by ASI, has a current assessed market value of $40,000, according to the Franklin County auditor’s office.

 

The nonprofit’s preliminary plans call for the construction of a main auditorium, as well as a flexible backstage area configured to accommodate rehearsal space, a classroom and storage for props and costumes.  Last month, Cochran’s group sponsored a three-day music festival to raise money for the project, which is expected to cost about $1.5 million.

 

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/09/09/theater-conceived.html

 

This is probably the biggest news in Linden since the Four Corners development and once open it will be one of very few places to go for entertainment, so they won´t have to worry much about competition.

A good news/bad news situation has recently developed at the intersection of Hudson & Joyce Avenues in the Linden area. 

 

The first bit of good news is that the owners of the Hudson Street Market located just east of Hudson & Joyce have completed a renovation of the market.  The owners of the market (who also own Hills Market on the far north side and the future Hills Market Downtown) spruced up the exterior with a paint job, updated the interior and upgraded the market's inventory with increased varieties of fresh meat and produce.

 

The second bit of good news is that intersection of Hudson & Joyce is getting some much needed upgrades.  New water and sewer lines will be installed.  One of results will be better drainage - as well as new sidewalks, streetlights, and landscaping at the intersection.

 

The bad news is that this infrastructure work at Hudson & Joyce is interfering with the grand reopening plans of the Hudson Street Market.  After finishing their renovations, the Hudson Street Market scheduled a grand reopening for April 30.  The store manager learned on April 12 that construction would begin on April 16 at the intersection is expected to continue through late June.  Below is are reports from Columbus Underground and the Columbus Dispatch about this:

 

Columbus Underground: The Hudson Street Market Renovates, Faces Construction Woes

 

Columbus Dispatch: Road construction spoils Linden-area market’s party

 

Although there is an official detour around the intersection, the Hudson Street Market say it is too confusing and is negatively affecting their business.  The Hudson Street Market owners are appealing to Columbus City Council for some relief while the roadway construction is ongoing.  Possibly with some limited access through the intersection.  In the meantime, this publicity has inspired a group shopping event to help support the store during this Saturday, May 19th.  More information on the event can be found HERE at Columbus Underground.

 

More information about The Hudson Street Market can be found online at their Facebook page.

 

 

Here is an exterior photo of the renovated Hudson Street Market

 

 

Here is the infrastructure work being done at Hudson and Joyce Avenues.  The Hudson Street Market can be seen in the background.

I have little faith in the Northeast Side. I think the East Side between DT and Bexley has a much better chance of getting better than Linden and pretty much all the way up to 270 along Westerville and Cleveland Aves.

 

I tend to agree.  The way demographics are changing, I think that revitalization is much more likely to head east from Downtown through Bexley and Whitehall than to go northeast up through Cleveland Ave (even with proposed BRT).  Not to say those areas can't get better too (even small changes in a positive direction are better than nothing), but I don't think the push is there yet. 

 

Demographic pattern changes, 2000 and 2010, by % change in census tracts.

 

Whites in 2000: http://wapo.st/Kk9xrH

Whites in 2010: http://wapo.st/Kka2Sv

 

Whites dramatically increased in almost all of the central core areas including the Near East Side and the Easton area, but almost everywhere else the trend was more suburban.

 

Blacks in 2000: http://wapo.st/KkagZP

Blacks in 2010: http://wapo.st/KkaP5T

 

Blacks seem to be moving further out to the suburbs in general and seem to be abandoning the East Side just as much in both years, though they have increased more on the West and North Sides including closer to Downtown in more tracts in 2010 than in 2000.

 

Hispanics in 2000:  http://wapo.st/KkbO6a

Hispanics in 2010: http://wapo.st/KkbZ1r

 

Hispanic populations seem to be growing strongly almost everywhere, from urban to suburban areas.  However, there were noticeable differences on the North and West Sides, as well as Downtown, where growth seemed to accelerate in 2010 from 2000.  The Near East and East Side were still positive as well, but not as strong as other areas.  Still, this segment of the population is growing in areas that are generally losing other people.

 

Asians in 2000: http://wapo.st/Kkd3Co

Asians in 2010: http://wapo.st/Kkdf4x

 

Asians as a whole seem to be the one group that is not following the rest of the trends.  If anyone, the city had more losses in this population in 2010 than in 2000, where they seem to be moving increasingly to the suburbs.  The Southeast and North sides in particular seem to have completely reversed their population growth with Asians to a net loss.  However, that's not universally true.  The urban core remains a strong point with Asians, and parts of the Near East Side saw their rate of population growth increase 2000 to 2010.

 

Ultimately, there seems to be far more support and hope for the E. Main/E. Broad areas than Linden. 

 

 

The housing stock along E. Broad and Main is so much better even in its deteriorated state. The stuff on the NE side is a bad mix of way past abandoned and lots of crappy of postwar stuff.

I think the Near East Side can be OTR'd in five years in a way the North East side can't. It is stuck in death slide similar to Cincy's West Side. I agree that there are sections (and Easton, ODU, et al.) but I think it is mostly headed in the wrong direction.

 

If this was you're post that was removed, that means you need to cool it, whatever you may think of another forumer's opinions.

An update on the Hudson Street Market in the Linden area.  Construction on the intersection of Hudson Avenue and Joyce Avenue is now finished and open to vehicular and pedestrian traffic again.  Which is welcome news to the recently renovated Hudson Street Market located one block east of the intersection (profiled here).

 

The news prompted the Hudson Street Market to hold the grand re-opening celebration they postponed from earlier this year.  More below about the grand re-opening held last weekend from Columbus Underground.  And a Sunday profile piece from the Dispatch about the "restart" of the Hudson Street Market which also recaps the previous intersection construction and renovation of the food market.

 

Columbus Underground: Hudson Street Market Neighborhood Bash

 

Columbus Dispatch: Linden-area grocer hits restart again

Habitat For Humanity To Build New Homes In Linden Thanks To Grant

Friday, December 28, 2012 - 6:20 AM

WBNS - 10TV.com

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A national nonprofit will help Habitat for Humanity build three new homes in Linden.  Thrivent Financial for Lutherans gave a $250,000 grant to the organization to help more people in central Ohio.

 

EJ Thomas, chief executive officer for Habitat for Humanity Greater Columbus, said that his organization is all about rebuilding.  “This is one of the prosperities here on 15th Avenue that we will be razing to building new homes for three Habitat partner families that have been identified over the course of the next year,” Thomas said.

 

READ MORE & VIDEO REPORT: http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2012/12/28/columbus-habitat-for-humanity-receives-grant-to-build-more-homes-in-linden.html

Mayor Ginther planning to invest millions to boost low-income neighborhoods:

 

From the above linked article: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/02/24/mayor-ginther-planning-to-invest-millions-to-boost.html

 

"In new Mayor Ginther's 'State of the City' address, he announced $27 million in infrastructure for Linden in the city’s upcoming capital budget."

 

---

 

From a follow-up article in Business First:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2016/02/heres-what-61-million-will-do-for-hilltop-and.html

 

LINDEN: $27 million

- Sidewalks on Joyce Avenue

- Infrastructure for the American Addition neighborhood next to Linden (both are on the city's northeast side)

- Opening of the Douglas Community Recreation Center

Ginther looking for business partners for Hilltop, Linden redevelopment

By Tom Knox, Reporter - Columbus Business First

March 21, 2016, 11:09am EDT

 

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther wants to spend $61 million to help revitalize two downtrodden city neighborhoods, but Hilltop and Linden are different than similar investments the city has made.

 

Other regions helped by the city have received major boosts from private partners.  Wealthy families from venerable businesses, like the Grotes of Donatos, helped the south side.  So did the Crane Group and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which is the big business presence there.  Ohio State University has thrown its weight and incentives to spur improvements in neighboring Weinland Park, and American Electric Power threw its weight behind redeveloping neighboring Scioto Mile.

 

There are no such obvious partners for the Hilltop and Linden.  Getting buy-in from potential funders is one of the new mayor’s priorities, he told Columbus Business First in a weekly podcast at http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/feature/podcasts/2016/03/podcast-a-conversation-with-columbus-mayor-andrew.html

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/03/21/ginther-looking-for-business-partners-for-hilltop.html

City names location for first Department of Neighborhoods

 

 

Columbus' new Department of Neighborhoods will be based in Linden.

 

The department will move into the Point of Pride building at 1410 Cleveland Ave., the city said on Friday. A nonprofit established by the city will buy the building from the Greater Linden Development Corp. and lease the space it needs for the new department. A move is expected in early 2017.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/09/city-names-location-for-first-department-of.html

Easton tax break worth $68 million will also help Linden

By Rick Rouan, The Columbus Dispatch

Updated: January 31, 2017 - 8:48 PM

 

Columbus plans to give a tax break to the developer behind Easton in exchange for money that would be used to build up the city's struggling Linden neighborhood.  The city would give a 10-year, 100 percent property-tax abatement on new housing at Easton.  In exchange, The Georgetown Co., Easton's lead developer, would pay the city about $5.75 million, most of which would then be repaid to the company over 30 years by a tax-increment financing district, also known as a TIF.  The city plans to announce the deal on Thursday.

( . . . )

Georgetown would make an initial $2.5 million payment toward improvements in Linden within six months of the TIF's creation.  It would make a second $1.75 million payment by the end of 2021.  ...  Georgetown also would make a $1.5 million donation to the city to help revitalization efforts in Linden within three months of receiving its building permit.  The company and its partners would also provide in-kind services for development in Linden, such as real estate consulting and planning services.

 

Columbus Development Director Steve Schoeny said the city is still planning how it would spend that money in Linden, a focal point for Mayor Andrew J. Ginther since he was elected.  Columbus is bringing in others to help revitalization efforts there, too, including Ohio State University.

 

A plan for Linden likely will trickle out and not come in the form of a large document, said Greg Davies, Ginther's chief of staff.  And progress will be slow, as it was in other city projects.  "You're talking five or six years before you begin to see real progress," he said. "None of these neighborhoods turned around on their own. There is always a catalyst."

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170131/easton-tax-break-worth-68-million-will-also-help-linden

 

Religious center, indoor sports, retail, restaurants planned for Value City complex after a decade-long vacancy

By Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: July 26, 2017, 3:59pm EDT

 

A boarded-up former Value City department store could get new life as a bustling community hub for a Columbus religious group.  Ibnu Taymiyah Masjid and Islamic Center on Mock Road, one of Central Ohio’s largest and oldest mosques, pooled money to purchase the 26-acre property at 3251 Westerville Road in Clinton Township for $472,500 three years ago.

 

The 500,000-square-foot building on the property is L-shaped and has a warehouse with 40-foot ceilings that juts out close to Westerville Road and is connected via back hallways to the single-story retail and office portion.  The religious group announced plans to renovate the former Value City building into a $30 million Muslim Community Center of Ohio, which would include the following:

• Warehouse:  A mosque with capacity for 8,000, compared with 1,500 at Mock Road; auditorium; event space; separate men’s and women’s fitness centers and pools; a basketball court; and an indoor soccer field.

• Former store:  Mall with as many as 180 small retail stalls, restaurants and a food court.  The retail space would mirror the structure and incubator nature of other Somali-owned shopping centers in the Northland area and northeast side, such as Global Mall, Banadir Shopping Center and Shabelle Business Center.

• Office space at the rear of building:  Day care and office-based businesses.  Future phases might include a charter school, nursing home and medical clinic.  The mosque is asking Nationwide Children’s Hospital to establish an outpatient clinic, for example.

MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/07/25/exclusivereligious-center-indoor-sports-retail.html

^ Although this project is located in Clinton Township, it seems close enough to the Linden neighborhood to be included in this Linden thread.  The building's location of 3251 Westerville Road is only one block east of the Northern Lights Shopping Center, which serves as a neighborhood retail center for the Linden area:

 

 

Linden Kroger closing, but grocer offering assistance

 

Kroger is providing a ride for Linden residents who cannot reach the closest Kroger.

 

The Columbus division of the Cincinnati-based company Wednesday said it will provide a free shuttle seven days a week from the store at 3353 Cleveland Ave. to the store at 1745 Morse Road starting Feb. 1.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/01/24/linden-kroger-closing-but-grocer-offering.html

Bring on...

 

Bring on...

 

 

This would be the perfect time for an outside grocer to make a BIG play in Columbus.  They were hiring real estate folks a few months ago, but hopefully they can be the urban Fresh Thyme.

Linden getting some goodies in the City's latest capital improvements budget:

 

- $20 million for a new Linden Community Recreation Center

 

- $7 million to begin construction of Firestation 16 in Linden

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/04/columbus-1b-capital-budget-focuses-on-water-sewer.html

The Dispatch announced a yearlong, monthly series about the Linden neighborhood's struggles and possibilities.  Their June installment explored whether the lack of an obvious neighborhood anchor or champion with deep pockets is hindering redevelopment efforts there:

 

-- Without a major anchor, should Linden look to many smaller ones? -- http://gatehousenews.com/linden/home/site/dispatch.com

 

-- Through promises and peril, Linden seeks a path to success -- http://gatehousenews.com/linden/promises-peril-linden-seeks-path-success/

Linden was not built with any nodes outside of the older section of Cleveland Avenue. Instead, it was blasted with the sprawl cannon early in the development of non-streetcar sprawl. This is a lesson on how toxic sprawl can be when it is not new. The City can talk all they want about "fixing" Linden and throw a bunch of money at it but it will help little. The problem with Linden is not its citizenry, but rather its design. The poverty and crime is a symptom rather than a cause.

 

I can certainly picture the southern part of the Cleveland Avenue corridor with its lack of setbacks and somewhat intact storefronts going Broad Ripple one day, but expecting all that other '50s stuff that has no future worthwhile commercial development for thousands of feet to be desirable is a tall order.

 

This phenomenon is not unique to Linden either. It seems that Columbus struggles chronically with certain sprawl areas being "cool" for a very short period of time, say 10-20 years. Linden was "done" by the early '70s, The '60s parts of the South Side were over by 1980, the Southeast side's party was over by the late '90s (while still being built!) and even stuff in the southwest from the mid-2000s is already undesirable.

I think Cleveland Ave. has potential, especially the portion around Cleveland and Myrtle where the old streetcar centered commercial corridor is somewhat intact. Immediately off of Cleveland are housing stock not unlike Clintonville and the Hilltop. Any further east or west and you encounter post war cape cods with lower density. I think Linden south of Oakland Park has potential but improvements will take time. Areas north of Oakland Park are receiving investment as first (or second) time homeowners are priced out of Clintonville (lovingly called East Clintonville).

 

I've always thought this section of Cleveland Ave. along with Parsons Ave. have the potential to become arts focused corridors somewhat like the Short North due to cheaper rents.

Linden was not built with any nodes outside of the older section of Cleveland Avenue. Instead, it was blasted with the sprawl cannon early in the development of non-streetcar sprawl. This is a lesson on how toxic sprawl can be when it is not new. The City can talk all they want about "fixing" Linden and throw a bunch of money at it but it will help little. The problem with Linden is not its citizenry, but rather its design. The poverty and crime is a symptom rather than a cause.

 

I can certainly picture the southern part of the Cleveland Avenue corridor with its lack of setbacks and somewhat intact storefronts going Broad Ripple one day, but expecting all that other '50s stuff that has no future worthwhile commercial development for thousands of feet to be desirable is a tall order.

 

This phenomenon is not unique to Linden either. It seems that Columbus struggles chronically with certain sprawl areas being "cool" for a very short period of time, say 10-20 years. Linden was "done" by the early '70s, The '60s parts of the South Side were over by 1980, the Southeast side's party was over by the late '90s (while still being built!) and even stuff in the southwest from the mid-2000s is already undesirable.

 

At least quite of bit of Linden is built with a grid pattern, albeit larger than the older parts of the city.  This makes it much easier to infill over time and create commercial corridors, but it will take large-scale efforts to completely rebuild the neighborhood.  The housing stock is mostly very small, post-war stuff of low relative quality.  Replacing that over time (and I don't mean with Nashville-style McMansions) will do wonders for the area.

This phenomenon is not unique to Linden either. It seems that Columbus struggles chronically with certain sprawl areas being "cool" for a very short period of time, say 10-20 years. Linden was "done" by the early '70s, The '60s parts of the South Side were over by 1980, the Southeast side's party was over by the late '90s (while still being built!) and even stuff in the southwest from the mid-2000s is already undesirable.

 

What Linden does have going for it though is that it is on the north side, and generally more desirable places surround it in most directions. We're already seeing spillover across 71 to North Linden from young hipsters getting priced out of Clintonville. I think as outside pressure increases from neighborhoods to its south and west, that's how Linden will eventually get turned around - from the outside in

 

Those other areas you mentioned are very deep in the 'uncool crescent.' There's not really anything around them they could even start to grab onto. Nothing good is going to spillover into Eastland or the Southwest side. The only way I see them moving in the right direction is from the inside out - with the development/redevelopment of a strong neighborhood anchor

 

Cleveland Ave also has enormous potential to become a more vibrant urban spine (High St Lite), but I think the housing stock on at least one side has to be largely stabilized first before we see any real movement

Clintonville is not good urbanism in many places but still manages to be cool despite strong NIMBYism that keeps it from being cooler. NIMBYism certainly isn't a problem in Linden outside of possible standard anti-gentrification complaints about increases in property values.

Design Revealed for New Linden Community Center and Park

 

Plans for a revamped Linden Park and a new, 50,000-square-foot Linden Community Center were unveiled last night at a community event hosted by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department (CRPD).

 

The new center, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2020, will replace a 24,000-square-foot facility that was built in 1951. Work on the project is scheduled to begin in 2019.

 

Linden Park occupies 20 acres of land north of Briarwood Avenue and just east of Columbus Alternative High School.

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/design-revealed-for-new-linden-community-center-and-revamped-park-bw1

 

The Columbus public-sector mid-century architecture fad continues.

'Linden is personal,' Ginther says in launching revitalization plan

 

 

Mayor Andrew Ginther says that all that separates his neighborhood from one of the city’s most distressed areas is a “thin stretch of highway.”

 

“What we see in Clintonville is not the same as what our neighbors in Linden are seeing,” Ginther said at a meeting of the Columbus Metropolitan Club on Wednesday. 

 

The talk came hours after the city unveiled its One Linden plan, a comprehensive program to address affordable housing and other big issues. It's the result of 18 months of input from the neighborhood and stresses the need for investments to also improve on healthcare, education and employment challenges in the neighborhood. 

 

Among major provisions expected to come online over the next decade: 

 

*A $20 million Linden Community Recreation Center, to open by 2020.

*$2 million in Neighborhood Crisis Response funds for sidewalk repairs, wheelchair ramps and neighborhood cleanup.

*$1.2 million in streetlights on Cleveland Avenue between Chittenden and Hudson avenues.

*Using the Smart Columbus initiative for trip assistance to get pregnant women to healthcare appointments.

 

Full article below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/10/24/linden-is-personal-ginther-says-in-launching.html

^ This Dispatch video discusses the Downtown Linden component of the plan. I've always maintained that the existing structures and scale of the street can become a commercial corridor similar to N. High in Clintonville. The bones are there. 

Here's more from the Dispatch: http://gatehousenews.com/linden/home/site/dispatch.com 

 

 

City Hopes to Jumpstart Investment with One Linden Plan

 

City and community leaders hope that a plan unveiled this week will help to jumpstart a new era of investment in the Linden neighborhood.

 

The area has been a focus of Mayor Andrew Ginther’s administration since taking office in 2016. The new One Linden Plan is the result of a 14-month community planning process, led by the city in collaboration with United Way of Central Ohio, Ohio State University and the Neighborhood Design Center.

 

“Great neighborhoods do not happen by accident, but by vision and leadership and planning,” said Mayor Ginther in a statement announcing the plan’s release. “The One Linden plan will set the course for long-term transformation of the neighborhood through community involvement, city investments and important partnerships with private and other public sectors.”

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/city-hopes-to-jumpstart-investment-in-linden-with-new-plan-bw1

 

Moody Nolan building affordable home in Linden as a 'legacy project'

 

 

A Columbus architecture firm says it hopes an affordable home it's building in the Linden neighborhood will serve as the company's "legacy project."

 

Last year, Moody Nolan CEO Curt Moody and President Jonathan Moodybegan thinking about how the company uses its philanthropic dollars, and decided that it wanted to see those funds go toward a project that felt permanent, Curt Moody told me.

 

They took some of that money and embarked on a new venture – homebuilding.

 

Moody said they hope that home on McClelland Avenue could help spark ideas for solutions to the affordable housing crisis Columbus and other cities face.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/01/23/moody-nolan-building-affordable-home-in-linden-as.html

 

9 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Moody Nolan building affordable home in Linden as a 'legacy project'

 

 

A Columbus architecture firm says it hopes an affordable home it's building in the Linden neighborhood will serve as the company's "legacy project."

 

Last year, Moody Nolan CEO Curt Moody and President Jonathan Moodybegan thinking about how the company uses its philanthropic dollars, and decided that it wanted to see those funds go toward a project that felt permanent, Curt Moody told me.

 

They took some of that money and embarked on a new venture – homebuilding.

 

Moody said they hope that home on McClelland Avenue could help spark ideas for solutions to the affordable housing crisis Columbus and other cities face.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/01/23/moody-nolan-building-affordable-home-in-linden-as.html

 

 

Wait.. one house? 

Firm Building Modern Home in Linden Hopes it’s the First of Many

 

What started as one company’s desire to do something more tangible with a share of its annual corporate giving has turned into a modern, 750-square-foot home, now under construction in Linden.

 

In February, a soon-to-be-selected family will be given the keys to the home. And, later that month, the firm behind the house giveaway plans to announce an initiative geared toward encouraging more development in the neighborhood.

 

Curtis Moody, founder and CEO of the architecture firm Moody Nolan, hopes that the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on McClelland Avenue is only the beginning of something much bigger. He is calling it a “Legacy Project,” and he says the company will design one house like it per year, in each of the 12 cities it operates in nationwide.

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/firm-building-modern-home-in-linden-hopes-its-the-first-of-many-bw1

 

Photos: Moody Nolan’s Legacy House in Linden

 

 

Local architecture firm Moody Nolan’s Legacy Project has come to life. A family will be given the keys tomorrow to the modern, new house on McClelland Avenue in Linden.

 

The 750 square foot, three-bedroom, two-bath house is move-in ready for the family which was selected by the YMCA of Central Ohio and Southeast Inc. The refrigerator and cabinets are stocked with food; there are clothes in the closets and sheets on the beds thanks to the over $3,000 the Moody Nolan team raised to furnish the house.

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/photos-moody-nolans-legacy-house-in-linden-sp1

 

I applaud Moody-Nolan for getting the neighborhood renovation ball rolling with this new move-in ready home in Linden (refrigerator and cabinets are stocked with food and clothes in the closets - unusual but impressive!).  But I wonder if the neighbors are all like "I'm glad they built this house, but why does it look so weird?"