This is a random thought, but I really wish they could incorporate some type of really nice amenity into this project. I remember there was a proposal for an aquarium by COSI that never happened, that is the exact kind of amenity that could help blow this area up! This is what we need!

3 hours ago, 614love said:

This is a random thought, but I really wish they could incorporate some type of really nice amenity into this project. I remember there was a proposal for an aquarium by COSI that never happened, that is the exact kind of amenity that could help blow this area up! This is what we need!

Well I am not sure about that in particular, but I agree we need a third cultural amenity in that location. And it needs to be big-like COSI big, if at all possible. Those last two parcels that are like wedges at the Southern end should be devoted to it. Now what that would be, who would pay for it, etc. I don't know. That stretch of Washington between Town and Main also needs to be made into a pedestrian promenade, with associated amenities.

On 3/2/2023 at 5:42 AM, amped91 said:

A typo, hopefully?? That would be a huge apartment, but I can’t see anything going for that high here!

Not a typo.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/real-estate/2023/04/26/welcome-to-columbus-most-expensive-apartment-all-8000-of-it/70139749007/

 

"For that almost $8,000 a month rent, the tenant will get 2,157 square feet of space, 25-foot ceilings, a balcony off each of the three bedrooms, a 48-foot-long living and kitchen space, three-and-a-half bathrooms, and floor-to-ceiling windows with a postcard view of Downtown from the 11th-floor perch."

 

"One at the Peninsula is one of at least four Columbus-area complexes with apartments that rent for more than $5,000 a month, according to Apartments.com. Others include:

 

• Hubbard Park Place, 797 N. Wall St. in the Short North, where a 1,750-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bath apartment can reach $5,995.
• The Quarry, near Marble Cliff on the West Side, where a three-bedroom, three-bath, 1,537-square-foot townhome with attached garage rents for $5,063.
• Bridge Park, off Riverside Drive in Dublin, where a four-bedroom, three-bath, 2,792-square-foot townhome tops out at $5,600."

36 minutes ago, aderwent said:

Not a typo.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/real-estate/2023/04/26/welcome-to-columbus-most-expensive-apartment-all-8000-of-it/70139749007/

 

"For that almost $8,000 a month rent, the tenant will get 2,157 square feet of space, 25-foot ceilings, a balcony off each of the three bedrooms, a 48-foot-long living and kitchen space, three-and-a-half bathrooms, and floor-to-ceiling windows with a postcard view of Downtown from the 11th-floor perch."

 

"One at the Peninsula is one of at least four Columbus-area complexes with apartments that rent for more than $5,000 a month, according to Apartments.com. Others include:

 

• Hubbard Park Place, 797 N. Wall St. in the Short North, where a 1,750-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bath apartment can reach $5,995.
• The Quarry, near Marble Cliff on the West Side, where a three-bedroom, three-bath, 1,537-square-foot townhome with attached garage rents for $5,063.
• Bridge Park, off Riverside Drive in Dublin, where a four-bedroom, three-bath, 2,792-square-foot townhome tops out at $5,600."

Absolutely insane, you can buy a condo unit in the miranova building that would make your payments that much a month. It will be interesting to see if that rents. I think they would be better off making that a condo unit. 

7 hours ago, 614love said:

This is a random thought, but I really wish they could incorporate some type of really nice amenity into this project. I remember there was a proposal for an aquarium by COSI that never happened, that is the exact kind of amenity that could help blow this area up! This is what we need!

We are missing a unique amenity here in the city, would be a perfect spot for one. We have nice and cool things here, they just seem to be things you can also find in other cities. Doesn't take away from them being good or us being appreciative of them, we just don't have that "must see" or "must do" activity or site to see if you are visiting from out of town.

 

I swear if I hear someone mention taking an out of towner to Easton or Polaris one more time my head is going to explode. They've seen a mall before! They have them everywhere! We still have stuff worth seeing like COSI, Veterans Memorial, Sporting Venues etc., but they are for us they aren't really to attract out of towners. Something that does attract out of towners here for visits that isn't an event like a big OSU game, a huge country concert or The Arnold would be awesome.

1 hour ago, aderwent said:

Not a typo.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/real-estate/2023/04/26/welcome-to-columbus-most-expensive-apartment-all-8000-of-it/70139749007/

 

"For that almost $8,000 a month rent, the tenant will get 2,157 square feet of space, 25-foot ceilings, a balcony off each of the three bedrooms, a 48-foot-long living and kitchen space, three-and-a-half bathrooms, and floor-to-ceiling windows with a postcard view of Downtown from the 11th-floor perch."

 

"One at the Peninsula is one of at least four Columbus-area complexes with apartments that rent for more than $5,000 a month, according to Apartments.com. Others include:

 

• Hubbard Park Place, 797 N. Wall St. in the Short North, where a 1,750-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bath apartment can reach $5,995.
• The Quarry, near Marble Cliff on the West Side, where a three-bedroom, three-bath, 1,537-square-foot townhome with attached garage rents for $5,063.
• Bridge Park, off Riverside Drive in Dublin, where a four-bedroom, three-bath, 2,792-square-foot townhome tops out at $5,600."

I'm happy to see this is some pretty niche rental pricing and not creeping up towards becoming normal everywhere around the city. These are absolutely for those transient rich people types which are a tiny minority in this city.

15 minutes ago, TIm said:

I'm happy to see this is some pretty niche rental pricing and not creeping up towards becoming normal everywhere around the city. These are absolutely for those transient rich people types which are a tiny minority in this city.

Or someone with super rich parents who wants, probably, the best view in the city for an apartment and isn’t ready to find a house somewhere. 

24 minutes ago, TIm said:

We are missing a unique amenity here in the city, would be a perfect spot for one. We have nice and cool things here, they just seem to be things you can also find in other cities. Doesn't take away from them being good or us being appreciative of them, we just don't have that "must see" or "must do" activity or site to see if you are visiting from out of town.

I think it would be a really really hard task to get something that is nowhere else. Most cities share common attractions, art museums, zoos, sporting venues and so on. It is hard to truly find something unique, especially when there aren’t a lot of billionaires in the city to help drop money for them. 

23 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

I think it would be a really really hard task to get something that is nowhere else. Most cities share common attractions, art museums, zoos, sporting venues and so on. It is hard to truly find something unique, especially when there aren’t a lot of billionaires in the city to help drop money for them. 

See? I even mentioned this last evening-we need a patron Saint Billionaire!(Wexner does not count).  Maybe we can 'court" and bat our eyes at some of these higher ups in Dubai, etc.????

2 hours ago, TIm said:

We are missing a unique amenity here in the city, would be a perfect spot for one. We have nice and cool things here, they just seem to be things you can also find in other cities. Doesn't take away from them being good or us being appreciative of them, we just don't have that "must see" or "must do" activity or site to see if you are visiting from out of town.

 

I swear if I hear someone mention taking an out of towner to Easton or Polaris one more time my head is going to explode. They've seen a mall before! They have them everywhere! We still have stuff worth seeing like COSI, Veterans Memorial, Sporting Venues etc., but they are for us they aren't really to attract out of towners. Something that does attract out of towners here for visits that isn't an event like a big OSU game, a huge country concert or The Arnold would be awesome.

They used to have concerts in the old veterans memorial. Would be nice to see that again instead of over at OSU.

14 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

They used to have concerts in the old veterans memorial. Would be nice to see that again instead of over at OSU.

They still do!

3 hours ago, TIm said:

We are missing a unique amenity here in the city, would be a perfect spot for one. We have nice and cool things here, they just seem to be things you can also find in other cities. Doesn't take away from them being good or us being appreciative of them, we just don't have that "must see" or "must do" activity or site to see if you are visiting from out of town.

 

I swear if I hear someone mention taking an out of towner to Easton or Polaris one more time my head is going to explode. They've seen a mall before! They have them everywhere! We still have stuff worth seeing like COSI, Veterans Memorial, Sporting Venues etc., but they are for us they aren't really to attract out of towners. Something that does attract out of towners here for visits that isn't an event like a big OSU game, a huge country concert or The Arnold would be awesome.

I mean, people come from out of state (WV is still out of state!) and all over the state for Easton and Cosi (and OSU football games, of course), so those are pretty big draws. 
 

But I do want to see some sort of cultural institution in the block next to Cosi (which I think has always been the plan). I’d personally love an aquarium, but I feel like there’s plenty of options. 
 

Whatever it is, I don’t think it has to be the only one, like @VintageLifesaid, that’s a big ask. But it should be best in class. 

Honestly, a big attraction like an aquarium would be great but I’d really just like Otherworld and other modern, interactive art museums (I envision a place like The Andy Warhol Museum or Color Factory) to come downtown. 

23 minutes ago, smjjms said:

Honestly, a big attraction like an aquarium would be great but I’d really just like Otherworld and other modern, interactive art museums (I envision a place like The Andy Warhol Museum or Color Factory) to come downtown. 

I still think it should be a big aquarium. Honestly an otherworld style place would be really cool, I don’t think it will happen, sadly. Speaking of otherworld I would love for them to move to the strip on W Broad and Buckeye Dr.
 

They had wanted to expand in their current location but the landlord was asking a ton of money, so they had mentioned a possible move. 

Something akin to City Museum in St. Louis would be great. Fun for kids and adults and fully interactive.

 

https://www.citymuseum.org/

 

2 hours ago, amped91 said:

I mean, people come from out of state (WV is still out of state!) and all over the state for Easton and Cosi (and OSU football games, of course), so those are pretty big draws. 
 

But I do want to see some sort of cultural institution in the block next to Cosi (which I think has always been the plan). I’d personally love an aquarium, but I feel like there’s plenty of options. 
 

Whatever it is, I don’t think it has to be the only one, like @VintageLifesaid, that’s a big ask. But it should be best in class. 

Yeah those are just regional pulls though. Not that impressive when the tourists are all folks whose closest city to visit is Columbus. They're doing that out of convince, not because Columbus is some tourist Mecca.

42 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

I still think it should be a big aquarium. Honestly an otherworld style place would be really cool, I don’t think it will happen, sadly. Speaking of otherworld I would love for them to move to the strip on W Broad and Buckeye Dr.
 

They had wanted to expand in their current location but the landlord was asking a ton of money, so they had mentioned a possible move. 

Damn, that's super disappointing to hear. They were talking about building a 2,000+ person venue in there for concerts that was all decked out like Otherworld and would be an extension of their current offerings.

Looks like they’re redoing the brick crosswalk at Belle and Broad. 

30 minutes ago, TIm said:

Damn, that's super disappointing to hear. They were talking about building a 2,000+ person venue in there for concerts that was all decked out like Otherworld and would be an extension of their current offerings.

Here is the article about it from 2022. 
 

Why Otherworld hasn’t expanded in Columbus — yet

 

But it may end up also moving its Columbus homes to facilitate its plans for growth.

 

Otherworld in 2021 announced plans for a 26,000-square-foot expansion at its current location in the Chantry Square Shopping Mall on the southeast side of Columbus.

But those plans haven’t come to fruition yet because the organization wasn’t able to secure a long-term lease at that location, CEO and founder Jordan Renda told me. 

Otherworld’s current lease at Chantry Square ends in 2025, he said.

 

“In terms of that larger expansion, it’s kind of on hold as we look at finding what we consider our long-term home in Columbus,” Renda told us. “That search process has been in the works.”

 

Renda said the organization would “love to own our own space and control our own destiny” in Columbus. 

As Otherworld expands into new markets like Philadelphia, Columbus will become the Midwest regional hub for the company, Renda said.

 

“We’re not forgetting Columbus,” Renda said. “We definitely have some big plans and ambitions here for the future. We do think it would be a great place to grow and expand.”

 

1 hour ago, VintageLife said:

Here is the article about it from 2022. 
 

Why Otherworld hasn’t expanded in Columbus — yet

 

But it may end up also moving its Columbus homes to facilitate its plans for growth.

 

Otherworld in 2021 announced plans for a 26,000-square-foot expansion at its current location in the Chantry Square Shopping Mall on the southeast side of Columbus.

But those plans haven’t come to fruition yet because the organization wasn’t able to secure a long-term lease at that location, CEO and founder Jordan Renda told me. 

Otherworld’s current lease at Chantry Square ends in 2025, he said.

 

“In terms of that larger expansion, it’s kind of on hold as we look at finding what we consider our long-term home in Columbus,” Renda told us. “That search process has been in the works.”

 

Renda said the organization would “love to own our own space and control our own destiny” in Columbus. 

As Otherworld expands into new markets like Philadelphia, Columbus will become the Midwest regional hub for the company, Renda said.

 

“We’re not forgetting Columbus,” Renda said. “We definitely have some big plans and ambitions here for the future. We do think it would be a great place to grow and expand.”

 

Maybe the silver lining is if they do end up leaving we could get a Meow Wolf location downtown somewhere. We need amenities to get people downtown.

3 hours ago, VintageLife said:

Here is the article about it from 2022. 
 

Why Otherworld hasn’t expanded in Columbus — yet

 

But it may end up also moving its Columbus homes to facilitate its plans for growth.

 

Otherworld in 2021 announced plans for a 26,000-square-foot expansion at its current location in the Chantry Square Shopping Mall on the southeast side of Columbus.

But those plans haven’t come to fruition yet because the organization wasn’t able to secure a long-term lease at that location, CEO and founder Jordan Renda told me. 

Otherworld’s current lease at Chantry Square ends in 2025, he said.

 

“In terms of that larger expansion, it’s kind of on hold as we look at finding what we consider our long-term home in Columbus,” Renda told us. “That search process has been in the works.”

 

Renda said the organization would “love to own our own space and control our own destiny” in Columbus. 

As Otherworld expands into new markets like Philadelphia, Columbus will become the Midwest regional hub for the company, Renda said.

 

“We’re not forgetting Columbus,” Renda said. “We definitely have some big plans and ambitions here for the future. We do think it would be a great place to grow and expand.”

 

This all sounds fine to me! My absolute biggest complaint with Otherworld is the horrible location. Doors generally don't open until 10:30pm there for events and there is literally nothing but a sea of asphalt and darkness surrounding the place. Imagine if it was somewhere downtown where you could go out to eat, grab drinks etc. in the area and then walk over to the venue.

Keeps the rent down

 

I wonder if the landlord plans on redevelopment. Right now it's just that and the R/C track in the building I think.

1 minute ago, GCrites80s said:

Keeps the rent down

 

I wonder if the landlord plans on redevelopment. Right now it's just that and the R/C track in the building I think.

I doubt it. The landlord just sees how popular otherworld has been so they tried to over charge them for the rest of the buildings they wanted. 

It's a hit for sure. I was just there last weekend. Everyone I was with had been there at least once if not multiple times already.

On 3/6/2023 at 8:26 AM, amped91 said:

It looks like Daimler has found a tenant to take up the other half of the 6th floor. Now floors 5, 6, 7, and 8 are all fully leased. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that the ground floor will end up playing host to Smith & Wollensky. 
 

As I’ve said before, I’m still bummed the Peninsula hasn’t been able to land an out of state expansion/relocation yet, but it’s still a good sign that jobs are moving back to the city core from suburbia. Hopefully as this building continues to fill up, we’ll hear something on the next phase. 
 

Cmon, CBF, I posted this over a month ago!

 

The Peninsula office building gains another tenant, now 50% leased

 

“The National Affordable Housing Trust has signed a lease for Daimler's office building at The Peninsula. 

 

NAHT is leasing about 5,500 square feet on the sixth floor of the building, according to the office developer. The eight-story 231,000-square-foot office building is part of the $250 million first phase of Columbus Downtown Development Corp.'s The Peninsula project.

 

The nonprofit currently leases space in the National Church Residences corporate offices in Upper Arlington. But because National Church Residences is expanding, NAHT needed a new home.
 

InSight also has signed a lease for an additional 7,892 square feet, also on the sixth floor, according to Daimler.“

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/04/27/daimler-office-building.html

 

Now can we please get an update on phase two? 🙏 

1 hour ago, amped91 said:

 

Now can we please get an update on phase two?

 

Welcome to Columbus' most expensive apartment, all $8,000 per month of it
 

With the info in this recent dispatch article, maybe there is a good chance we get the 30 story tower. Looks like there are a total of 16 penthouse rooms, 12 of them are already claimed and the 3 most expensive aren’t finished yet. Will be interesting to see if they all fill up quick. 

3 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

 

Welcome to Columbus' most expensive apartment, all $8,000 per month of it
 

With the info in this recent dispatch article, maybe there is a good chance we get the 30 story tower. Looks like there are a total of 16 penthouse rooms, 12 of them are already claimed and the 3 most expensive aren’t finished yet. Will be interesting to see if they all fill up quick. 

I would love that. Even if we’re not quite ready for the 30 story, I’d love to see other parts of the project continue to get built out. 
 

My guess is the stretch fronting Town will likely be mid rise residential, something similar to the One at the Peninsula buildings. Maybe start developing that while continuing to work on plans and financing for the tower?

17 hours ago, VintageLife said:

Here is the article about it from 2022. 
 

Why Otherworld hasn’t expanded in Columbus — yet

 

But it may end up also moving its Columbus homes to facilitate its plans for growth.

 

Otherworld in 2021 announced plans for a 26,000-square-foot expansion at its current location in the Chantry Square Shopping Mall on the southeast side of Columbus.

But those plans haven’t come to fruition yet because the organization wasn’t able to secure a long-term lease at that location, CEO and founder Jordan Renda told me. 

Otherworld’s current lease at Chantry Square ends in 2025, he said.

 

This is Great news!
Maybe I need to give Otherworld another shot. When I first stepped through the door I was initially immersed and excited....but then I kinda saw how you just freely walked through the rooms (some fo them don't transition smoothly) and I remember being done in just under an hour. I thought there was going to be more of a puzzle or performance aspect to the experience.

But I love art and sci-fi/fantasy so a concept like this should be a home run with me. Maybe I need to give it another chance? Either way I'm glad they're expanding. Would love to see what they can do, and even Brice Road isn't the greatest, glad that space is being used. 

Just now, PrestoKinetic said:

This is Great news!
Maybe I need to give Otherworld another shot. When I first stepped through the door I was initially immersed and excited....but then I kinda saw how you just freely walked through the rooms (some fo them don't transition smoothly) and I remember being done in just under an hour. I thought there was going to be more of a puzzle or performance aspect to the experience.

But I love art and sci-fi/fantasy so a concept like this should be a home run with me. Maybe I need to give it another chance? Either way I'm glad they're expanding. Would love to see what they can do, and even Brice Road isn't the greatest, glad that space is being used. 

Keep in mind this article is from last august, and I haven’t seen or heard any other updates, so who knows if they still plan on moving. 
 

there is a puzzle that you can do that connects a bunch of rooms I believe. It would be best to ask the people at the counter about it. 

Yeah those symbols that you see on things mean something and the phone and computers have clues.

I will admit I am struggling to get my mind around the concept of this otherworld. It sounds interesting. I always thought that whatever attraction we should have there should involve art in some way given how Franklinton has sort of become the arts district(and every effort should be made to keep it that way-so artists and galleries, places that produce or display art, etc. do not get priced out and we do not have another gentrification). 

18 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

Yeah those symbols that you see on things mean something and the phone and computers have clues.

I had learned probably like 30-40 minutes in that there was a puzzle, but it's very passively presented. I literally just bought my ticket and stepped through a doorway that I think most people were using as the exit. It's not like COSI with the Adventure Exhibit or Space Exhibit where it launches you into the theme or almost forces you to go across the bridge, you just kind of wander from room to room. The place needs clear designated areas and a way to introduce their visitors.

Edited April 27, 20232 yr by PrestoKinetic

Yeah the puzzle isn't supposed to be easy, they don't advertise it for a reason. If you solve it I'm pretty sure the staff pops out and does something as well. They also turn off the puzzle and noise making features if you were there for an event.

It sounds like this thing might not be a good fit for a major attraction that we want on this site JMO. Now somewhere else downtown, that is a different story.

I think the Ohio History Connection Museum that's off I-71 could have an opportunity to do a great Micro-Museum space with rotating exhibits.  There are so many artifacts that are in storage because there is simply not enough museum space to display it all at once.  (One of my ancestors restored buggies included).  With the proper curation and leadership you could easily have a quarterly rotation of educational and historical items on exhibit.

Edited April 27, 20232 yr by Gnoraa

1 minute ago, Gnoraa said:

I think the Ohio History Connection Museum that's off I-71 could have an opportunity to do a great Micro-Museum space with rotating exhibits.  There are so many artifacts that are in storage because there is simply not enough museum space to display is all at once.  (One of my ancestors restored buggies included).  With the proper curation and leadership you could easily have a quarterly rotation of educational and historical items on exhibit.

Yeah I feel like they don’t use that building enough. Ohio has a ton of history and that place should be packed all the time. Hopefully somebody comes in and wants to actually do it properly. 

Remember there would already be exhibit features on the Penninsula if the Koch Buddies hadn't butted in to Kochblock it.

34 minutes ago, Gnoraa said:

I think the Ohio History Connection Museum that's off I-71 could have an opportunity to do a great Micro-Museum space with rotating exhibits.  There are so many artifacts that are in storage because there is simply not enough museum space to display it all at once.  (One of my ancestors restored buggies included).  With the proper curation and leadership you could easily have a quarterly rotation of educational and historical items on exhibit.

 

It's criminal, really.  They should be build an actual State Museum on that parking lot next to the Veterans Building.

54 minutes ago, Gnoraa said:

I think the Ohio History Connection Museum that's off I-71 could have an opportunity to do a great Micro-Museum space with rotating exhibits.  There are so many artifacts that are in storage because there is simply not enough museum space to display it all at once.  (One of my ancestors restored buggies included).  With the proper curation and leadership you could easily have a quarterly rotation of educational and historical items on exhibit.

Aren't they building out that property to do exactly that? Or am I thinking of another place?

Whatever is there should utilize both triangular Southern parcels, be at least 150,000 square feet(preferable nearly double that.)

 

Now JMO here...

 

Involve art and history going back to the Adena and Hopewell cultures and their art all the way to the most cutting edge technology used to make various forms of contemporary art. It should incorporate displaying creating, explaining, and selling art. There should be as many interactive parts as possible to involve the public as well as teach and educate-especially with the cutting edge technology to appeal to younger people.  Art that represents Central Ohio should be prioritized first, and Columbus artists should be involved in the production and sale of art-it should be very well connected to our art community.

 

There should be pieces of art as sculpture about and around the area, including a plaza of some size, and it should incorporate That stretch of Washington St. as a pedestrian promenade with an "art walk" along it, and maybe facilities for some small special events or festivals, accommodate food trucks, etc.

 

There should be a water feature of some sort

 

At least part of the roof should be green/activated.solar

 

Various forms of art should be along the Main and Rich bridges(like more provocative deer lol)to emphasize a connection to Bicentennial Park. 

 

Now this would likely need public funds of a considerable size, so good luck getting the taxpayers to cough it up.

 

*Central Ohio Center of Art would work. We could have COCOA alongside COSI.

1 hour ago, TIm said:

Aren't they building out that property to do exactly that? Or am I thinking of another place?

The current construction is for storage of more stuff I believe. 

1 hour ago, VintageLife said:

The current construction is for storage of more stuff I believe. 

Hopefully to free up space in the main building to rotate exhibits!

One of the biggest problems the Historical Society faces is it has been criminally underfunded by the state for a long time

 

It's not as dire currently as it was about 10-15 years ago (when even the Ohio Village was closed entirely), but it's still very bare bones vs what Ohioans deserve

37 minutes ago, NW24HX said:

One of the biggest problems the Historical Society faces is it has been criminally underfunded by the state for a long time

 

It's not as dire currently as it was about 10-15 years ago (when even the Ohio Village was closed entirely), but it's still very bare bones vs what Ohioans deserve

I’m shocked that the republicans in control of this state don’t want to teach or fund history education....

I went to Otherworld 3 years ago and am honestly very surprised it's still a thing. I mean good for them, but I'm not under the impression they've changed anything. There were a few neat rooms that played with light and mirrors, and a couple fun interactive items, I didn't feel the art told a cohesive story nor were all the rooms different enough to live on their own.  It felt disjointed with like a theme that appeared in only half the rooms. We didn't do the secret puzzle, but I guess by definition they don't tell you about it, so maybe we missed some deep underlying link or something, but like it was neat to see once, for an hour, 3 out of 5 stars. Don't understand how they've expanded into multiple cities, etc. 

 

Anyway, I do like the idea of another cultural attraction on the peninsula. I think a natural history museum, our version of the Chicago field museum would be cool. Move the dinosaurs over from cosi (where it doesn't really fit) and go from there. 

8 hours ago, 17thState said:

I went to Otherworld 3 years ago and am honestly very surprised it's still a thing. I mean good for them, but I'm not under the impression they've changed anything. There were a few neat rooms that played with light and mirrors, and a couple fun interactive items, I didn't feel the art told a cohesive story nor were all the rooms different enough to live on their own.  It felt disjointed with like a theme that appeared in only half the rooms. We didn't do the secret puzzle, but I guess by definition they don't tell you about it, so maybe we missed some deep underlying link or something, but like it was neat to see once, for an hour, 3 out of 5 stars. Don't understand how they've expanded into multiple cities, etc. 

 

Anyway, I do like the idea of another cultural attraction on the peninsula. I think a natural history museum, our version of the Chicago field museum would be cool. Move the dinosaurs over from cosi (where it doesn't really fit) and go from there. 

Their Philadelphia location looks pretty awesome. I’m curious if they are stalling on renovating or adding more new stuff until their lease is up. If they are searching for or wanting their own building, they might just be holding off. 

10 hours ago, 17thState said:

I went to Otherworld 3 years ago and am honestly very surprised it's still a thing. I mean good for them, but I'm not under the impression they've changed anything. There were a few neat rooms that played with light and mirrors, and a couple fun interactive items, I didn't feel the art told a cohesive story nor were all the rooms different enough to live on their own.  It felt disjointed with like a theme that appeared in only half the rooms. We didn't do the secret puzzle, but I guess by definition they don't tell you about it, so maybe we missed some deep underlying link or something, but like it was neat to see once, for an hour, 3 out of 5 stars. Don't understand how they've expanded into multiple cities, etc. 

 

Anyway, I do like the idea of another cultural attraction on the peninsula. I think a natural history museum, our version of the Chicago field museum would be cool. Move the dinosaurs over from cosi (where it doesn't really fit) and go from there. 

They host a ton of EDM shows in the evenings. I've been to several shows there and they are always a good time and packed.  The whole facility is open during the shows.  So, you can walk around, drinking and just listening to the music.  I think I would be bored just walking around normally, but watching DJ sets there is amazing.  I wouldn't be surprised if that's where they are making most of their money.  They also purchased another large section of the abandoned mall and are adding a huge expansion.

Edited April 28, 20232 yr by TH3BUDDHA

Otherworld seems to be cornering the market as the Midwest/East Coast Meow Wolf. I would love to see them expand in to a dedicated facility in Franklinton and continue to grow. What they have done with their initial funding is pretty impressive, I just hope they can grow it organically and uniquely. 

2 hours ago, DevolsDance said:

Otherworld seems to be cornering the market as the Midwest/East Coast Meow Wolf. I would love to see them expand in to a dedicated facility in Franklinton and continue to grow. What they have done with their initial funding is pretty impressive, I just hope they can grow it organically and uniquely. 

And while Meow Wolf is a much larger footprint, Otherworld integrates the live events waaaaay better into the venue. Meow Wolf it's just a dedicated room with some cool stuff while Otherworld you walk through this maze to find live DJs playing in the middle and get to wander around this weird place with great live music. It's such a fun experience, never had a bad time at any event and I've walked into a mirror at two of them.

Amy Taylor from CDDC still being a tease:

 

”Plans were announced for a 30-story office and residential tower on the corner of W. Broad and Belle streets in a $211 million second phase. Originally expected to start in 2022, the tower is now on hold, in the hopes of receiving a $21 million state tax credit.

 

"We're still in discussions with the developers and hope to have an announcement soon," Taylor said.”

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2023/04/28/junto-hotel-the-heart-of-franklintons-250-million-peninsula-project/70129898007/