Posted September 26, 200618 yr From Business First of Columbus, 9/22/06: PHOTO: Battelle Hall, part of the original convention center at the top of the photo, is outdated and needs significant improvements, according to county officials. Janet Adams | Business First Battelle Hall in for a $20M upgrade Improvements aimed at drawing more events Business First of Columbus - September 22, 2006 by Adrian Burns Business First The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority is moving forward with a $20 million renovation of the oldest exhibition hall at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The 90,000-square-foot Battelle Hall, which opened 26 years ago, will be converted from an austere exhibition space with a concrete floor into one of the largest ballrooms in the state, said William Jennison, executive director of the Convention Facilities Authority, which oversees the downtown complex. The authority hopes to have designers in place by November, with construction expected to begin in late 2007 and finish by late 2009, he said. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/09/25/story7.html
September 27, 200618 yr Sounds great. The expanded walkway will also give the convention center a more congruent feel, especially from High St.
October 5, 200618 yr Author From Business First of Columbus, 9/29/06: Convention center retail area may be trimmed amid shopping drop Business First of Columbus - September 29, 2006 by Adrian Burns, Business First Stores along the retail concourse at the Greater Columbus Convention Center offer college football memorabilia, nuts and basic supplies for travelers, but the once-bustling commercial area has had little luck attracting anything else. The inability to lure additional tenants has left thousands of square feet of empty space and has spurred convention center officials to consider converting much of the unused space into meeting rooms. Created in 1980 as a shopping mall at what was then the Ohio Center, the convention center's south facility has 80,000-square-feet divided evenly between a food court and a retail concourse. The food court includes 12 restaurants and is busy servicing a steady lunchtime crowd. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/10/02/story9.html
July 3, 200915 yr Posting a 2007 Business First article to catch up to a current article about the on-going Battelle Hall renovation within the Columbus Convention Center... Battelle Hall facelift getting green light Business First of Columbus - by Adrian Burns Business First Friday, November 30, 2007 After three years of brainstorming and conceptual planning, the Greater Columbus Convention Center is set to begin its $35 million Battelle Hall renovation project. The governing board of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, which owns and oversees the convention center, on Nov. 20 approved spending $41 million, the bulk of which will be used on Battelle Hall. The project will undergo a detailed planning effort with construction expected to begin by October, said Authority Executive Director William Jennison. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/12/03/story5.html#
July 3, 200915 yr And here is the current article... Savings leave cash for more convention center upgrades Business First of Columbus - by Adrian Burns Saturday, June 27, 2009, 12:01am EDT The Greater Columbus Convention Center is getting more for its money thanks to the recession. Competitive bidding by contractors worried about the economic downturn dropped the construction price tag for Battelle Hall renovations by $3.9 million last fall. That’s allowed officials to sock away about $2 million while putting the remainder of the savings toward a host of other improvements under way at the convention center. All told, the $40 million project includes not only the original plans for Battelle Hall, but also new carpet throughout much of the facility, new common areas, more meeting space, fancier wall coverings and a new Nationwide Boulevard entrance with an elevator. “We got some aggressive (bids),” said William Jennison, executive director of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, which oversees the downtown complex. “We were able to complete our wish list.” The savings for the convention center illustrate the opportunities that can be created during a recession, when companies short on business may be more willing to slash prices to secure work. “People wanted the business, and there were not a lot of projects going to bid,” Jennison said. “They wanted to tie up work knowing that we were going into a (deeper) recession.” Battelle Hall at the Columbus Convention Center is undergoing a major renovation that will give it a blue ceiling, where decorative glass fins will be added. The first image is Battelle Hall being renovated into a ballroom. The second image is a rendering of the renovated ballroom with a new ceiling and a new bank of windows looking toward Nationwide Boulevard and the rest of downtown Columbus. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/06/29/story5.html#
July 3, 200915 yr So instead of renovating (part of) the facade to include businesses that attract customers inside, they're going to gussy up an indoor room that pedestrians never see. Great job!
July 4, 200915 yr Great job! "Finally the Columbusite seal of approval" exclaimed William Jennison, executive director of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority. :wink: Just kidding! I know you're not thrilled with a "gussied up indoor room that pedestrians never see". But millions of convention goers and visitors to the city will see that room. As well as all of the other upgrades in the convention center. And those millions of people provide alot of business to the surrounding Short North, Arena District and North Market.
July 4, 200915 yr Plus out of town attendees and exhibitors will get a better look at our city with the glass in place.
January 17, 201015 yr The new place to be Renovated, expanded Battelle Grand is ready to host gatherings amid upscale surroundings in the largest ballroom in the state Sunday, January 17, 2010 - 3:40 AM By Marla Matzer Rose, The Columbus Dispatch Before there was a Nationwide Arena or a Value City Arena, there was Battelle Hall. Built in 1980 as part of the Ohio Center, it was the place to be for arena football, basketball games, rock concerts, business gatherings and cheerleading contests. And in recent years, it was starting to show its age. Now, after a $32.5 million face-lift, the newly christened Battelle Grand is ready for its coming-out party. Those who remember the "old" Battelle Hall will be in for a surprise. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/01/17/battellehall_redo.ART_ART_01-17-10_D1_TFG9US8.html?sid=101
August 6, 201311 yr Take Two for this thread (since the original thread got lost in the great summer server collapse of 2013). The North Market had some big news to report over the July 4th weekend. Since there was no existing North Market thread, here is a brief background about the North Market. The original North Market was established in 1876 at Spruce and High Streets on the city's north side. It joined three other public markets established in the 19th century - the Central Market in downtown, the West Market in Franklinton and the East Market on the near east side of the city. By the mid-20th century, the North Market was the only remaining public market. In 1947, a fire forced the North Market to a new location a half-block west of Spruce & High. The North Market Merchant’s Association purchased a surplus World War II Quonset hut and placed on a city-owned parking lot. This "temporary" Quonset hut served as the North Market from 1947 to 1995, when the market moved another half-block west into a renovated two-story warehouse building facing Front Street. This warehouse building was purchased by the City of Columbus and renovated by the newly formed North Market Development Authority. The Quonset hut building was removed and its property turned into a public parking lot serving the new North Market location. The following site maps and aerials show the existing building and parking lot that comprise the current North Market. This is a view of the renovated two-story warehouse building from Spruce & Front looking southeast. Note the downtown development in the background - including the Nationwide Insurance HQ Tower (middle) and the Arena Crossing Apartments (far right) built in the nearby Arena District. This is a view of the renovated two-story warehouse building from Vine & Front looking northeast. This was taken in front of the previously mentioned Arena Crossing Apartments at the corner of the Vine & Front intersection opposite the market. At the far right in the photo is another residential development at Vine & Front - the Battleship Building Condos. So named because of its riveted metal exterior. Although the warehouse building is two-stories, most of the upper floor was left open to the roof - where new skylights were installed. The loft space on the second floor has been used as a combination of office space for market management staff, restaurant space and event space for the market. The entire ground floor is devoted to merchant space - which include of mixture of bakeries, produce stands, food stands and specialty goods stores. The 36 current merchants serve a diverse customer base - which includes neighborhood residents, downtown office workers and visitors from the nearby convention center. The North Market even gets the occasional celebrity visitor - like when Vice President Joe Biden showed up in 2012 to ham it up and sample waffles at the Taste of Belgium stall. This is a view of the North Market from its parking lot looking west. It is a public parking lot - but rates are structured to encourage its use for the North Market. If you park there for under 2 hours and purchase something at the North Market, you pay a reduced rate. Anything else is a much higher rate. This side of the North Market property also has an exterior canopy and plaza. These are used primarily on the weekends by farmers market vendors and for other special events. This side also contains a large neon sign, which serves as the primary signage for the North Market. This is a close-up view of part of that sign. The "O" in the "North" part of the sign contains a rooster head. The rooster also serves as the mascot for the North Market and is used in promotions for the market. More about the history of the North Market from the North Market website, Wikipedia and a 2005 Short North Gazette article on the 10th anniversary of the market in its renovated warehouse building: http://www.northmarket.com/about-us http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Market http://www.shortnorth.com/MarketAnniversary.html
August 6, 201311 yr And here's the North Market development news reported back on July 4th by Columbus Underground. The first article details near-term improvements involving the existing warehouse building. The second article looks at longer-term plans for the North Market that might expand its existing size. Below are the links: North Market to Undergo Major Renovations This Fall North Market Could Double in Size According to Long-Term Plan
August 6, 201311 yr The Dispatch also had an article last Saturday that looked at the near-term renovations to the North Market that will take place this fall: Dispatch: Renovation plan freshens North Market
September 8, 201311 yr The trend downtown in recent years has been converting one-way streets back to two-way traffic. So this two-way to one-way conversion for part of Vine Street and Spruce Street around the North Market at first seems to go against this welcome trend. However, in this limited case it seems to make sense. The Convention Center and the North Market petitioned the City for the traffic change due to congestion being caused by inflow and outflow of vehicles using the Vine Street Parking Garage. Vehicles making left turns into the garage would snarl traffic outside the garage. Also, vehicles making left turns from the garage would snarl traffic exiting the garage. The new one-way traffic flow eliminates those left turns and should make for easier use of this heavily used parking garage. One bonus will be the addition of seven new on-street parking spaces on Vine Street. Below are two reports about this from Columbus Underground and the Dispatch: Columbus Underground: Vine Street Partially Converting to One-Way for Parking Garage Traffic Columbus Dispatch: City: One-way streets to ease Vine St. garage tie-ups
October 31, 201311 yr A little more background about the North Market. The North Market has faced a shake-up in its management and its vendors. As Columbus Monthly reported in their February 2013 report (linked below), January 2013 saw the retirement of its 12-year executive director David Wible. At the same time, several vendors departed. All this coincided an already-in-the-works summit to determine how the market should adapt to changes like an increase of downtown residents and a proliferation of specialty and farmers markets that compete with the market. The result of that summit was to reposition some the existing vendors and attract new vendors for the North Market. The North Market board also hired a new executive director to implement this "market shift" (linked below). Along with this shift was an internal upgrade of the market's ventilation system. This $1.2-million project, which should be finished by next month, will eliminate the "odor conflicts" that sometimes occur between vendor stalls that cook and/or prep food in the market with other vendor stalls that do not. Columbus Monthly: Market Shift - Big changes hit city’s indie food hub ThisWeekNews: New North Market director is dreaming big
October 31, 201311 yr The excellent Columbus Underground website has been all over these evolutionary changes to the North Market. Below are links to their reports. The top link - 'Project Update: North Market Renovations and Relocations' - is an all-encompassing report that links to the other reports listed below. Plus it contains many photos of the new vendor locations and some construction photos of the on-going ventilation project: Project Update: North Market Renovations and Relocations The Barrel and Bottle is Expanding, Adding On-Site Drinking to North Market Jeni’s Relocates Within the North Market Pistacia Vera Opening Bakery Stand Inside North Market Mozart’s Bakery Leaving The North Market
December 13, 201311 yr More about the renovations and tenant changes to the North Market from the Columbus Alive publication: http://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2013/11/07/market-driven-renovations-make-way-for-a-new-improved-north-market.html
December 13, 201311 yr Two more reports from Columbus Underground about the North Market tenant changes: The first is about a new location for Nida's Sushi in the building. The second is about Pistacia Vera opening a location in the building. Pistacia Vera is a bakery that has been successfully operating a German Village store for the past few years. The additional North Market location is somewhat taking the bakery back to its roots when it first opened in the Short North under the name Pistachio. http://www.columbusunderground.com/nidas-sushi-relocating-at-the-north-market-aw1 http://www.columbusunderground.com/pistacia-vera-joins-the-north-market-family
January 19, 201411 yr One of German Village's culinary institutions - Katzinger’s Deli - is opening a satellite location within the North Market. More about this from Columbus Underground and Business First: http://www.columbusunderground.com/north-market-welcomes-new-vendor-katzingers-deli-aw1 http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/01/katzingers-setting-up-deli-in-the.html
March 26, 201411 yr Greater Columbus Convention Center could get 500-room hotel Four developers have proposed hotels as part of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority’s desire to develop surplus property along Goodale and High streets. But ordering ceremonial shovels for a ground breaking is more than a bit premature. Wagenbrenner Development got the juices going last year when it approached the public-sector developer and landlord of the Greater Columbus Convention Center. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/03/25/greater-columbus-convention-center-could-get-500.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 26, 201411 yr Courtesy of ColumbusUnderground... Two 15-Story Towers Proposed at Convention Center The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority is shopping for redevelopment ideas for the northwest corner of their Downtown footprint, and they’re inviting developers to dream big. Their board is currently reviewing four proposals for the site, one of which has been in the works by Wagenbrenner Development for around a year. “About a year ago, we were finishing the Hubbard plans and searching for potential redevelopment sites in the Short North,” explains Michael Amicon, a Developer at Wagenbrenner. “We’ve driven past the corner of High and Goodale a hundred times and thought that could be something fantastic.” Amicon says that Wagenbrenner approached both city officials and the convention authority to find out if they would be interested in allowing them to develop a limited-service boutique hotel concept at the southeast corner of Goodale and High. He said that the idea was met with hesitation, as the new Joseph development by Pizzuti is located only a block north and is bringing new capacity for boutique hotel service. Much more below: http://www.columbusunderground.com/two-15-story-towers-proposed-at-convention-center "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 26, 201411 yr Another rendering courtesy of ColumbusUnderground... Modern Towers Proposed for Convention Center Expansion Project Multiple companies have answered the call for new development on the north side of the Convention Center, including Wagenbrenner, Pizzuti and Starwood Hotels. A collaborative proposal has also been submitted from Daimler, Kaufman and Continental, which include two 12-to-15 story towers that would house a hotel, new residences, retail and office tenants. “It’s all pretty conceptual at this point, especially with this being a competitive process,” says Kaufman Development founder Brett Kaufman. “But the reason why where’re interested in this project is pretty simple for us in that it’s one that we feel incredibly important for the city that we all love. We think this property has an opportunity to further invigorate this area and connect the Short North with the Convention Center and Downtown.” More below: http://www.columbusunderground.com/modern-towers-proposed-for-convention-center-expansion-project "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 27, 201411 yr This Convention Center development proposal comes as both a pleasant surprise and a bit of head scratcher. The pleasant surprise is because part of this area was talked about last year as a parking garage to replace an existing surface lot. This was first posted here on 9/18/2013 over in the Short North developments thread. Then a little later, and posted here on 12/3/2013, the Convention Facilities Authority said they might add some commercial development to the parking garage that would compliment the Shops at Union Station (aka the I-670 Cap) next door. But these tower proposals go waaaay beyond those earlier reports. The head scratcher is because these proposals are so conceptual. Usually these types of early conceptual proposals don't get publicly viewed. Mostly because these early concepts tend to unrealistically raise public expectations. After budgeting and financing take their toll, the final project is usually less impressive - if it even gets built at all. But with that said, it is encouraging to see the CFA pushing the envelope here. I like the overall look of the Modern Towers proposal, where they talked about taking the Eisenmann Convention Center concept and expressing it vertically. The tower looks like an all-glass version of Zaha Hadid's Cincinnati art museum building. The downside is it doesn't do much at the street level. The opposite is true for the Wagenbrenner/Rockbridge 500-room hotel proposal. In this one, the High Street retail portion looks great. But the upper stories of this concept are a bland mish-mash. Plus, it looks like this concept would require the demolition of a good portion of the Convention Center along High Street. Not sure how realistic this is. Still, it's an interesting idea.
March 27, 201411 yr Here's the map they released last year of where the CFA parking garage would be built on the existing CFA parking lot north of Goodale and next to I-670. The other lot now apparently in play is the narrow plaza/green space south of Goodale and next to the Convention Center Columbus Underground has some photos of that plaza/green space next to the Convention Center at http://www.columbusunderground.com/wasted-space-in-downtown-convention-center-bw1. That CU piece also has some photos of the space that runs between the original Ohio Center part of the Convention Center complex and the newer Eisenmann-designed part that runs along High Street. That in-between space would be an ideal location for a future passenger rail station.
March 27, 201411 yr I did not expect to see this proposed. Hopefully this would help connect the energy of the Short North to Downtown.
March 30, 201411 yr This Convention Center development proposal comes as both a pleasant surprise and a bit of head scratcher. The pleasant surprise is because part of this area was talked about last year as a parking garage to replace an existing surface lot. This was first posted here on 9/18/2013 over in the Short North developments thread. Then a little later, and posted here on 12/3/2013, the Convention Facilities Authority said they might add some commercial development to the parking garage that would compliment the Shops at Union Station (aka the I-670 Cap) next door. But these tower proposals go waaaay beyond those earlier reports. The head scratcher is because these proposals are so conceptual. Usually these types of early conceptual proposals don't get publicly viewed. Mostly because these early concepts tend to unrealistically raise public expectations. After budgeting and financing take their toll, the final project is usually less impressive - if it even gets built at all. But with that said, it is encouraging to see the CFA pushing the envelope here. I like the overall look of the Modern Towers proposal, where they talked about taking the Eisenmann Convention Center concept and expressing it vertically. The tower looks like an all-glass version of Zaha Hadid's Cincinnati art museum building. The downside is it doesn't do much at the street level. The opposite is true for the Wagenbrenner/Rockbridge 500-room hotel proposal. In this one, the High Street retail portion looks great. But the upper stories of this concept are a bland mish-mash. Plus, it looks like this concept would require the demolition of a good portion of the Convention Center along High Street. Not sure how realistic this is. Still, it's an interesting idea. I believe the portion of the Convention Center that would be demolished would be the late 1990s addition and not part of the original structure. I'm fine with that. It'll still leave the longest uninterrupted useless wall on High Street.
March 31, 201411 yr I believe the portion of the Convention Center that would be demolished would be the late 1990s addition and not part of the original structure. I'm fine with that. It'll still leave the longest uninterrupted useless wall on High Street. Useless wall for sure. What a detriment. As Columbo said the upper floors of the initial renderings are kinda bland, but I really like what they're showing at street level. In contrast, the modern tower concept just looks foreboding.
March 31, 201411 yr I don't think they are going to tear down F Hall of the GCCC. The building would go in the open space between the Convention Center and Goodale. Perhaps a bit of the current north entry would be integrated into the new building.
April 3, 201411 yr The first rendering looks really nice. Not so sure about the second rendering! Great idea though
April 4, 201411 yr Street level interaction is far more important here than any design aspect of the tower.
April 27, 201411 yr Couple of coming event related news for the North Market from CU. - North Market will transform their parking lot into a temporary drive-in movie theater on May 3, June 13, and July 25: http://www.columbusunderground.com/north-market-to-show-drive-in-movies-this-summer - The North Market's former Artisan Sundays event will evolve into a pop-up artisan flea market on the outdoor Farmers’ Market Pavilion area from June 8 to October 26: http://www.columbusunderground.com/north-market-to-host-weekly-artisan-flea-market-events
June 10, 201411 yr Stauf’s taking over A Touch of Earth space at North Market There will be some new coffee brewing at North Market. A Touch of Earth, which has been serving sustainable coffee and local-sourced products since 1981, will give way to Stauf’s Coffee Roasters later this month. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/06/10/stauf-s-taking-over-a-touch-of-earth-space-at.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 13, 201411 yr According to Columbus Underground the idea of a mixed-use development at the corner of Goodale and High Street has been abandoned. :-(
June 14, 201411 yr Columbus need to keep up with Cleveland or they will kill us for convention business.
June 14, 201411 yr You can bet Cleveland will now get some of them. They have been out of the convention business forever but with this new center you can bet the state will have to spread the wealth politically.
June 14, 201411 yr State shows generally get the most attendees when they are located in the center of states. Industry statistics prove it; well, at least in states with fairly even population distribution such as Ohio.
June 16, 201410 yr According to Columbus Underground the idea of a mixed-use development at the corner of Goodale and High Street has been abandoned. :-( Yep, here's the link to that report: http://www.columbusunderground.com/convention-center-to-expand-but-abandons-mixed-use-concepts-bw1 Here's the news in the Dispatch: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/06/12/Convention_Center_addition_and_renovation_would_cost_125_million.html Here's a breakdown of the announced Convention Center renovation, expansion and parking garage projects:
June 16, 201410 yr According to the various sources (linked above), here's what we know about the Convention Center projects: 1) NEW CONSTRUCTION - Expansion of north end of Convention Center and two-story entrance from Goodale Street; $48 million: No renderings of this part of the project has been released yet. This addition would presumably be built on the wedge-shaped plaza at the corner of High & Goodale. This addition would add 36,000 sq. ft. to the northernmost exhibit hall, bringing the Convention Center's total exhibit space to 375,000 square feet. 2) RENOVATIONS - Complete interior renovation to the Convention Center; $66 million: The interior renovations to the 1990 original section and the 1999 expansion call for new ceilings, new wall coverings, new carpet, and new signage. According to the CFA, this would be completed in phases over the next two to three years. 2a) RENOVATIONS - Miscellaneous improvements such as new LED lighting for the CFA's existing parking garages and renovation work to preserve the exterior of the Convention Center; $11 million: This sounds like maintenance and upgrades that just barely go beyond routine. The LED lighting upgrades would presumably go into the Vine Street Garage located across from the North Market and behind the recently completed Hilton Hotel, as well as the internal Ohio Center Garage off Nationwide Boulevard. The exterior preservation part sounds like it might focus on the original exterior facing High Street. At 24-years-old, the 1990 post-modern dryvit/stucco features likely need some work beyond routine mainenance. 3) NEW PARKING GARAGE - 800 spaces on the north side of Goodale Street; $18 million: This is currently a surface parking lot located across Goodale Street from the Convention Center. The lot also abuts next to one of the two I-670 Cap buildings. According to the CFA, space is being reserved for a potential hotel that would be located between the new 800-space garage and the I-670 Cap building. The Dispatch shows a rendering of the parking garage without the hotel at http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/06/12/Convention_Center_addition_and_renovation_would_cost_125_million.html. CU shows two renderings of the parking garage with a hotel at http://www.columbusunderground.com/convention-center-to-expand-but-abandons-mixed-use-concepts-bw1.
June 16, 201410 yr The convention authority should be ashamed of itself. It took what could've been a signature project that could've actually helped them reach their goal of attracting new business and turned it into a glorified entranceway and 1970s parking garage, eliminating even the retail element of the garage that had previously been pushed. All this because they deemed the Hilton's business too valuable to face any competition from a private hotel (which didn't have to be part of the project at all). And then they have the gall to talk it up like they're doing something transformative. What's even worse is that they took a private investment and made it into an entirely taxpayer-funded endeavor. Awful decision by terrible convention leadership. This one is going to keep me bitter for a long time.
June 16, 201410 yr Personally I don't think it's worth the effort to expand the convention center by less than 10%.
July 31, 201410 yr http://www.columbusunderground.com/north-market-bell-tower-under-construction-aw1 Doesn't look like too much of a tower, but it will bring a small piece of market history out to the public. They should bring back the tradition of ringing it twice a day though.
August 20, 201410 yr Hope that is a joke. Nice photoshopping! Haha! So am I not the only one who is disappointed by this "tower?"
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