City approves first four buildings for massive Scioto Peninsula project

 

 

“While next steps include Downtown commission approval and city permitting, all signs point to a September start date for the private development, which will keep us on schedule for a summer 2022 grand opening. Public utility construction will begin earlier in the summer.”

Approved Tuesday were:

• A 240,000-square-foot 8-story office building with ground-floor retail and restaurant space, to be built by the Columbus builder Daimler.
• An 8-story, 197-room hotel built by Rockbridge, the Columbus hotel developer, with a rooftop bar, first-floor restaurant, meeting spaces, and a single-story “market” building that will house a yet-to-be-identified retail or restaurant user.
• Two residential buildings, one 11 stories and one 6 stories, built by Flaherty & Collins, an Indianapolis developer. The two buildings will include about 330 apartments and some first-floor retail.

Scioto Peninsula project lands key approval, plans September groundbreaking

 

The long-awaited Scioto Peninsula project is on track to start construction later this year.

 

The Scioto Peninsula redevelopment envisions 2 million square feet of office space, 1,800 residential units and extensive restaurant and retail space.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/05/26/scioto-peninsula-lands-final-approvals-to-start.html

 

Is that a new rendering? I know all of the buildings except for the 4 approved today are purely conceptual, but some of those taller buildings look very interesting and exciting.

17 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

Is that a new rendering? I know all of the buildings except for the 4 approved today are purely conceptual, but some of those taller buildings look very interesting and exciting.

Yea, that rendering has me very excited about the rest of the project.  So much potential for those riverfront towers.

15 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

Yea, that rendering has me very excited about the rest of the project.  So much potential for those riverfront towers.

 

There's a lot of potential, and I hope they don't take the conservative route. This first group of buildings, while not bad, is fairly sterile. I really hope they can do something unique in the future phases. Especially on the northern portion between Vet's Memorial and Gravity. We could end up with a handful of blocks full of very interesting architecture if they build something similar to what they are showing in the renderings.

3 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Especially on the northern portion between Vet's Memorial and Gravity. We could end up with a handful of blocks full of very interesting architecture if they build something similar to what they are showing in the renderings.

 

To me it looks as though they are planning a convention space of sorts in the building that fronts Broad; that would be a HUGE win in my opinion. 

^Something to replace the convention space lost when the old Vets was torn down. I realize the old Vets' facilities weren't super great (especially the part with the low ceilings) but it was a nice thing to have even after the GCCC went up.

New Scioto Peninsula garage, central alley move ahead

 

A new pedestrian-friendly central alleyway has been approved for Scioto Peninsula's redevelopment as well as its new parking garage.  The Downtown Commission granted certificates of appropriateness for these two crucial supporting elements of the $250 million first phase of the Scioto Peninsula mixed-use project.

 

The 1,400-space parking garage, which will be built on the grass area between Starling Street and the railroad tracks, will serve the parking needs of residents, office workers and shoppers who patronize the first phase of the development.  The six-level garage will be divided into two portions connected by a skyway over State Street.  There will be a pedestrian throughway to the Spaghetti Warehouse property on the other side for future development.

 

Also approved was the three-block-long High Water Alley, which will span from Capital Street to Chapel Street.  It is designed as a "curb-less pedestrian-friendly street" that bisects the first phase of the development, said Brian Kinzelman, principal at MKSK.  Funded by the new community authority, the street likely will see little traffic and would be easy to close for public events.

 

Developers got approvals for the first set of buildings for the development last month.  They include an eight-story, 232,000-square-foot speculative office building developed by Daimler Group Inc.; an eight-story, 132,000-square-foot, 197-room independent hotel that will be developed by Rockbridge; and two mixed-use buildings with 330 residential units and retail space developed by Flaherty & Collins.

 

MORE:  https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/06/23/new-scioto-peninsula-garage-central-alley-move-ah.html

 

I understand that they're basically utilizing the parking garage as a buffer with the railroad tracks... I do question why they wouldn't just add an additional floor or two to the larger parking garage and reserve that parcel to the south side of State St for future development (parking garage or other), especially since the piece at the corner of Town and Starling is left empty, even in the master plan...? 

Also, do we know if they plan to underground the powerlines as they redo the street infrastructure for this? I can only imagine that would be part of this brand new district...

Quote

There will be a pedestrian throughway to the Spaghetti Warehouse property on the other side for future development.

This part is interesting. I don't remember any discussion about development in the area between the tracts. 

 

I also agree with making the parking garage a floor or two higher, and also having an activated green roof/park space(but I get that there are budget constraints and all with regard to the roof part.)  I have a feeling the garage is likely to be pretty ugly as most of them are. Oh well-at least it is tucked in the back of the development-sort of exactly where I would expect one to be.

 

Quote

Also approved was the three-block-long High Water Alley, which will span from Capital Street to Chapel Street.  It is designed as a "curb-less pedestrian-friendly street" that bisects the first phase of the development, said Brian Kinzelman, principal at MKSK.  Funded by the new community authority, the street likely will see little traffic and would be easy to close for public events.

Is this what they are calling it-"High Water Alley"?...kinda different. Sounds nice though and would be good for festivals, etc.

58 minutes ago, Toddguy said:

There will be a pedestrian throughway to the Spaghetti Warehouse property on the other side for future development.

 

It's too bad they're closing that low clearance tunnel beneath the tracks to traffic. Columbus has very little quirky early 1900s things like this left. Every roadway is traffic engineered into homogenization. Maybe they'll keep the Capital St connection open.

 

11 hours ago, Pablo said:

 

It's too bad they're closing that low clearance tunnel beneath the tracks to traffic. Columbus has very little quirky early 1900s things like this left. Every roadway is traffic engineered into homogenization. Maybe they'll keep the Capital St connection open.

 

Oh, I sort of assumed this was what they meant by a pedestrian thoroughfare -- what reason do they have to close it up? It could literally be a pedestrian thoroughfare cut through the garage, visually extending Rush Alley through the garage but only allowing for pedestrians to utilize the tunnel

 

And, if that is the intention, what would be even cooler would be if they bore a small pedestrian tunnel under the the next set of tracks to the west, connecting through to Gravity 2.0!

 

I made a quick exhibit to illustrate my point...

Edited June 24, 20204 yr by jebleprls22

Pedestrian-Friendly Street Approved For Scioto Peninsula

 

 

A new, pedestrian-focused street that will run through the center of the new Scioto Peninsula development was approved by the Downtown Commission yesterday.

 

Also approved were two large parking garages that will sit next to the elevated railroad tracks that make up the western edge of the development.

 

Brian Kinzelman, Principal of MKSK, explained that the new private street will be funded by a community authority, and that it has been designed to be closed regularly to vehicular traffic. For example, on weekends and during special events it could function more as an extension of adjacent courtyards, he said.

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/pedestrian-focused-alley-approved-for-scioto-peninsula-bw1

 

1 hour ago, ColDayMan said:

"prominent design treatment for the street’s three intersections – illuminated metal pylons at each corner with a line indicating the high water mark from the 1913 flood"

That's awesome. Glad they're trying to maintain some historic identity in this development -- since they're starting at a wholly blank slate.

That reminds me of the lit pylons on W. Congress in Chicago.

Edited June 24, 20204 yr by Pablo

1 hour ago, jebleprls22 said:

"prominent design treatment for the street’s three intersections – illuminated metal pylons at each corner with a line indicating the high water mark from the 1913 flood"

That's awesome. Glad they're trying to maintain some historic identity in this development -- since they're starting at a wholly blank slate.

 

That is pretty neat.  And with it, naming the street "High Water Alley" makes sense too.

Hoping to see lots more historical Franklinton nuggets pop up in these developments.

National Veterans Memorial and Museum (Sat. 7-25-20)

 

From the top you can see the Crew Stadium, Park Edge and Hilton cranes

 

The public space around, and on top of, the NVMM is a tremendous addition to downtown and the peninsula. One thing that could have been done better though is where it meets the flood wall. There is a decent sized moat of asphalt between the memorial Grove and Scioto Greenway/River. The wall is only 10 or so feet high in this section. A closer connection between the two green spaces could be made while still maintaining a flood wall/barrier at the same height. 

 

View from the Greenway

 

View from the Memorial grove above the Greenway

 

 

 

 

 

 

No progress to report, just some "Before" photos at the center of Phase 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 minutes ago, NorthShore647 said:

From the top you can see the Crew Stadium, Park Edge and Hilton cranes

 

Really diggin' this shot! Great to see all the crane action on the northern arc of downtown. Nice knowing the new Chipotle HQ is back there somewhere too.

 

19 minutes ago, NorthShore647 said:

No progress to report, just some "Before" photos at the center of Phase 1

 

Looking forward to the "After" pics in a few years. 

^Is that "moat" of asphalt a drive leading to a service entrance to the museum?

22 minutes ago, Pablo said:

^Is that "moat" of asphalt a drive leading to a service entrance to the museum?

Yes. It is between the memorial Grove and flood wall. 

2 hours ago, DTCL11 said:

Yes. It is between the memorial Grove and flood wall. 

I'm not totally sure if it actually does act as service for the museum, because there is a different service drive going into the building directly from Belle St. I'm assuming it must be to literally service the flood wall? 

1 hour ago, jebleprls22 said:

I'm not totally sure if it actually does act as service for the museum, because there is a different service drive going into the building directly from Belle St. I'm assuming it must be to literally service the flood wall? 

 

If I remember correctly there are doors to some sort of underground facility. My assumption was that it always served the old vets and would be the same for the new but maybe it is flood control infrastructure underground there? 

 

Some of the construction photos, without doing major digging in to find old ones show that they tore it all to the ground and built it back up, including that access trench and the doorways etc. I apologize for the quality for what I could pull relatively quickly. 

 

Edit: maybe its just an over engineered emergency exit tunnel or emergency access like a fire road? Or the doors aren't there anymore and I'm imagining things the way they used to be?

Edited July 28, 20204 yr by DTCL11

22 hours ago, NorthShore647 said:

National Veterans Memorial and Museum (Sat. 7-25-20)

 

From the top you can see the Crew Stadium, Park Edge and Hilton cranes

 

The public space around, and on top of, the NVMM is a tremendous addition to downtown and the peninsula. One thing that could have been done better though is where it meets the flood wall. There is a decent sized moat of asphalt between the memorial Grove and Scioto Greenway/River. The wall is only 10 or so feet high in this section. A closer connection between the two green spaces could be made while still maintaining a flood wall/barrier at the same height. 

 

View from the Greenway

 

View from the Memorial grove above the Greenway

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great pics and it looks like they should still be able to make a connection to the pathway at the very top of the parking area where the path and the railway are about to meet. Maybe starting at the southwest edge of the little green triangle up there.

New article on CU, talking about the parking garages, this is from the article.

 

Also approved at this month’s meeting was an updated plan for two large parking garages that will sit at the western edge of the Scioto Peninsula development. Spaces for murals have been added to the garages; one on the south side of State Street and two on the north.
 

it has me excited until I saw the picture of the proposed murals...https://www.columbusunderground.com/design-for-new-downtown-riverfront-park-approved-bw1

Yeah, the garages are hideous.  No tiny murals can cover up that fail.  They should be built with wraparound residential, or at least built to be able to handle future upward development.  There is no reason to keep building these as single-use parking boxes.

7 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

Yeah, the garages are hideous.  No tiny murals can cover up that fail.  They should be built with wraparound residential, or at least built to be able to handle future upward development.  There is no reason to keep building these as single-use parking boxes.

Or at least built with some type of design on the outside. There are so many great examples of parking garages being made as art. 

Are we finally beginning to see some movement on the Scioto Peninsula project?

God, I hope so!

Scioto Peninsula 

8/16

I saw a post from yesterday stating the groundbreaking for the Scioto Peninsula Project was slated for Sept 14. There's a pretty cool video on on their website showing what the new project is projected to look like. 

 

https://www.columbusddc.com/scioto-peninsula/?fbclid=IwAR2M9sEmpZyN4pUA31tUiLtrqfwyP0dkQSxIq1Kzak9isOx7xALxWHaiMWc

24 minutes ago, 4N6science said:

I saw a post from yesterday stating the groundbreaking for the Scioto Peninsula Project was slated for Sept 14. There's a pretty cool video on on their website showing what the new project is projected to look like. 

 

https://www.columbusddc.com/scioto-peninsula/?fbclid=IwAR2M9sEmpZyN4pUA31tUiLtrqfwyP0dkQSxIq1Kzak9isOx7xALxWHaiMWc

 

I saw a stray dog at the 0:55 mark and now I'm sad.

 

Seriously though, that's a very cool video. I can't wait until construction gets going full force, and I really can't wait to see what gets announced for the future phases. 

I like the "The Peninsula" branding. Can't wait for this to happen!

Hopefully the future phases have different architectural ideas. This project has so much potential to be great, cannot wait to see it develop. 

Same vantage point 24 days later (Tues 8-18-20)

 

 

 

The 1 story building torn down on State near Belle was the first demolition on the peninsula in 13 years (excluding Franklin County Veterans Memorial)

 

State Street, Rush Alley and Capital St are closed at the tracks to Belle St, along with Starling from Broad to Town. 

This is so incredibly exciting.

On 8/28/2020 at 12:22 PM, Zyrokai said:

This is so incredibly exciting.

I seriously was wondering if there would be activity on this within my lifetime lol. If they are really breaking ground then yeah this is exciting. I think if the city just goes ahead and builds the public garage right off it will spur the rest since the parking will be in place. Start it off and the rest will follow-sort of like the other public improvements downtown like with the Scioto Mile, the Scioto greenway, etc. These public improvements help bring about the desired development. Maybe because it shows the business community that the city is strong enough about it's committal to downtown that it will put it's dollars into play?

Leaders Celebrate Scioto Peninsula Groundbreaking at Uncertain Time for Downtown

 

 

Work will officially get underway today on a major new mixed-use development on the Scioto Peninsula.

 

Now known as The Peninsula, the first phase of the new development will bring a 200-room hotel, 250,000 square feet of office space, 329 residential units and 1,400 parking spaces to about seven acres of land directly west of Dorrian Green, the park that serves as COSI’s front lawn.

 

Today’s ground-breaking ceremony marks the culmination of years of planning and decades of speculation about how this well-located but under-utilized piece of land should be developed.

 

Representatives of the entity responsible for the project – the nonprofit Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC) – have been emphasizing the historic nature of the development, as well as the significance of starting construction on it at a time when the future is so uncertain.

 

“The leadership of Columbus has really come together in these unprecedented times,” said Guy Worley, the CDDC’s President/CEO. “Not a lot of cities that would start a project of this significance during a global pandemic…it’s a testament to the city’s can-do attitude.”

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/leaders-celebrate-scioto-peninsula-groundbreaking-as-milestone-for-downtown-bw1

$500M Scioto Peninsula project breaks ground with a decade of work ahead

 

 

The massive project will add millions of square feet in a new urban district that extends downtown to the west.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/09/14/scioto-peninsula-redevelopment-breaks-ground.html

Scioto Peninsula developers hope height follows density in $500M project

 

When the first visual guide for the potential redevelopment of the Scioto Peninsula surfaced in 2017, officials were clear on an appetite for verticality.

 

The $500 million, 27-acre project, one of the largest developments in downtown's history, was to emphasize height. Concept art prepared at the time by Robert A.M. Stern Architects LLP envisioned two 30 to 35-story residential towers bookending the strip of development. Columbus Downtown Development Corp. CEO Guy Worley at the time said high-rises "really kind of set the stage for the entire development.”

 

Plans have changed a few times in the three years since then, but as the project starts turning dirt this month, Worley and other city leaders say they're mindful that they can shape the major urban redevelopment project to keep track with the accelerating pace of growth in the city center.

 

"The design has continued to evolve for the better since we first envisioned what it would look like," Worley said. "What we've learned is a need to make it as dense as possible. We're starting with the most dense first phase and hopefully set the tone for the overall density in the next phases, so they'll only be taller and more dense over the next decade."

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/09/14/how-tall-could-the-peninsula-go-developers-see-th.html

 

Daimler Group has created a website for their office building for the Peninsula. It says they will keep it update with progress and information. http://peninsula.daimlergroup.com/

On 9/21/2020 at 7:28 AM, VintageLife said:

Daimler Group has created a website for their office building for the Peninsula. It says they will keep it update with progress and information. http://peninsula.daimlergroup.com/

 

Pre-COVID I had been told that Deloitte was signing on for a rather large chunk of the office project (including building skyline graphics), I really hope COVID didn't dissolve that interest.

Edited September 22, 20204 yr by DevolsDance

From the Dispatch editorial:  https://www.dispatch.com/story/opinion/2020/09/24/editorial-scioto-peninsula-redevelopment-right-include-affordable-housing-options/3514304001/

Quote

The long-envisioned redevelopment of the Scioto Peninsula finally is happening: Work began Sept. 14 on “The Peninsula,” envisioned as 26 acres of offices, residences, retail and hotels.

 

Under the city’s new affordable housing policy, Peninsula developers are obligated to ensure that at least 20% of new housing units are priced as “workforce housing” — because they requested city tax abatements.

 

At least 10% of the overall housing in the Peninsula will be affordable to people who earn no more than 80% of the median income and another 10% affordable to those who make no more than 100% of that median.

 

Drilling at Phase 1 "Residential 1" Block (Tues. 10-7-20)

 

 

 

 

(Sat. 10-17-20)

 

 

Steel expected to start going up later this month:

 

 

^ So that means....more cranes!