Wowzers :-o

 

$50M apartment, office complex proposed near Columbus Commons

 

 

Office developer Daimler Group has joined multifamily developer Kaufman Development on a 12-story, $50 million mixed-used development in the downtown’s River South district.

 

Daimler has tentative plans for 136,000 square feet of commercial office above street-level retail space, while Kaufman will top the offices with 156 apartments on seven floors.

 

The developers won a request for proposals for a 0.76-acre parking lot the city’s nonprofit Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. has owned for nearly 30 years. The project abuts a 3,600-slot parking garage Capitol South built for the now-demolished City Center mall.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/08/08/50m-downtown-apartment-office.html

Awesome.  Did I mention that's awesome?

I would love to see the Capital South parking garage go away or be redeveloped somehow.  The thing is taking up practically an entire city block.  The location next to the park has clearly become hot with all the new projects going on.  Tear it down and rebuild with mixed use, perhaps underground parking if necessary. 

Fantastic!  :clap:

 

I've been driving by that empty lot for the last 25 years or so waiting for something, ANYTHING to go there. This is much bigger than anything I ever imagined for that little bit of real estate.

WOW!!!  That is an outstanding announcement for that Cap South parking lot parcel.  This proposal seems a step above the previous development proposed for it in the 2000's.

 

Apparently, the project will be called 250 High.  Which is consistent with recent Kaufman projects like 600 Goodale and 801 Polaris.  Speaking of which - Kaufman Development is on a major roll with those two residential projects plus this one.  Below are two more reports about the 12-story mixed-use building (aka 250 High) from the Dispatch and the Underground (aka CU):

 

Columbus Dispatch: Offices, luxury apartments planned in new, 12-story building near Columbus Commons

 

Columbus Underground: Kaufman/Daimler Propose New 12-Story Mixed Use Building Downtown

 

I would love to see the Capital South parking garage go away or be redeveloped somehow.  The thing is taking up practically an entire city block.  The location next to the park has clearly become hot with all the new projects going on.  Tear it down and rebuild with mixed use, perhaps underground parking if necessary. 

I think we would all love to see the parking garage go away.  But having thousands of parking spaces in such a central location seems too valuable for that to happen.  And the garage is useful for supporting surrounding projects like this newly proposed 12-story office/apartment building.

 

But you raise a good point about all the new projects popping up around it.  The 1980's-era garage exterior looks even more dated compared to the newer development.  At the very least, an exterior upgrade would make sense.  Maybe a recladding to match the new 250 High building.  At the very most, a vertical addition could be built on top of the garage for more offices or apartments to go along with an exterior upgrade.

I've been driving by that empty lot for the last 25 years or so waiting for something, ANYTHING to go there. This is much bigger than anything I ever imagined for that little bit of real estate.

Someone over at CU found an image of a previous development proposal for that lot in one of UO's galleries: http://urbanohio.com/gallery/index.php?album=Central%20Ohio/Columbus/Neighborhoods/Downtown/Civic%20Center&image=Downtown55.jpg

 

That proposal was a five-story building from CASTO Development proposed in the mid 2000's.  That proposal would have had ground-floor retail and four floors of apartments above.  It seemed like the project was on the verge of breaking ground, but never did.  I remember thinking at the time that we missed out on a quality development.  But now it seems like losing that CASTO project might not have been that bad.  This new 12-story proposal is much better.

NBBJ might move into High Street tower it’s designing

 

 

Street talk that NBBJ had its eye on the office and residential project at 250 S. High St. solidified a bit at the Downtown Commission meeting Tuesday morning.

 

NBBJ partner A.J. Montero led the discussion on the project the firm designed as co-developers Kaufman Development and Daimler Group Inc. sought a certificate of appropriateness for the 12-story, $50 million project that will have about 150 apartments on seven floors atop five levels of commercial development.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2013/08/nbbj-might-move-into-high-street-tower.html

250 High approved, construction to break ground in November plus an updated rendering.

 

 

250 High, the 12-story mixed use building proposed for the southeast corner of Rich and High Streets downtown, was approved by the Downtown Commission today. Brett Kaufman of Kaufman Development and Bob White, Jr. of the Daimler Group spoke of their vision for the building, and Architect AJ Montero of NBBJ presented the latest plans and materials to the commission. Small changes to the design have been made since the project was first made public three weeks ago, but the scope of the project remains the same – ground floor retail with four floors of offices in the middle, seven floors of apartments above the office and a “rooftop amenity package” with both indoor and outdoor community space at the top of the building.

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/250-high-approved-construction-scheduled-to-start-in-november-bw1

The marketing agency Resource LLC will be moving from office space in the Arena District and the Grandview area into 60,000 of the 135,000 square feet of office space planned for the 12-story building at 250 High.  Also, according to the below linked Business First article, the building's architectural design firm, NBBJ, is interested in moving into 25,000 square feet of the building's office space, but hasn’t signed a lease yet.  250 High is now scheduled to begin construction in December and to be completed in 2015.

 

Business First: Resource will anchor 250 High project in downtown Columbus

I like the design generally, but I am disappointed that it does not come down to the corner/Main Street. I wonder if it will be setback off Rich as well.

I'm still trying to figure out what the green colored wall intends to be... the one that is running from the half-width of the building, perpendicular over towards Main. Are they possibly expecting to put an outdoor cafe seating area there?

I like the design generally, but I am disappointed that it does not come down to the corner/Main Street.

 

Agreed.

Work has started on 250 High. I can't wait for it to go vertical

 

Work has started on 250 High. I can't wait for it to go vertical

 

Wait no more.  Here's a June 8th post from Kaufmann Development's facebook page at

 

"The crane is up, and we're looking forward to 250 High! Coming Spring of 2015!"

 

And now, vertical construction.  Here's a June 14th post from Kaufmann Development's facebook page at

 

"We're moving right along on 250 High, and the steel is up in the air!"

 

 

 

I'm really excited about this building. Even at 12 stories, 250 High will fill in a gap in the skyline. This building will be quite visible driving into downtown along 70E.

NBBJ makes it official with signed lease at 250 S. High

 

The designer of the 315,000-square-foot apartment and office complex under construction at 250 S. High St. has signed a lease for 22,500 square feet in the 12-story property.

 

NBBJ communications director Carl Yost just sent me an email confirming the lease that has been in the works for 10 months.

 

Developers Kaufman Development and Daimler Group began site work for the project in late December. It will get delivered next spring.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/06/nbbj-makes-it-official-with-signed-lease-at-250-s.html

Some shots from last Friday

 

More photos of the steel going up at 250 High taken by Pablo at http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/new-12-story-mixed-use-building-announced-for-high-st/page/12.  These were taken about a week or so before Eridony's photos posted on July 1st.  And they were taken from the neighboring parking garage:

 

You can park and watch the steel framing being constructed:

 

And see I-Beams flying over your car too!!!

 

The view down the outer concrete wall of the parking garage shows how the steel framing for the 12-story building gets very close, but does not actually touch the wall of the parking garage:

Another photo showing the steel framing progressing upward.  Taken by CU user 'mbeaumont' over this past weekend from Columbus Commons Park and posted at http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/new-12-story-mixed-use-building-announced-for-high-st/page/13:

 

Nice. The downtown makeover continues!

Awesome! 250 High and the dual LC Buildings are going to have such a postive impact on this part of downtown. With the addition of roughly 1,000 units directly at the intersection of Rich/High, I'm looking forward to some much-needed retailers filling in the street level spaces.

 

It's such a shame though that HighPoint, arguably in the most high-profile location of them all, is so unbelievably ugly and poorly constructed.  :x

Well I guess there were a lot of photos taken of this project over the weekend, but I'm posting mine anyway. I found it interesting it has already started to change the skyline when viewed from the river (last photo). It will be nice to see it growing up from that vantage point.

 

One question I have is why does the building not go all the way to the corner of High and Main? Is that going to be a small surface lot? Room for a future addition?

Glad to see this project taking shape--looks like it will be a big plus for C-Bus.

 

Not knocking this particular project (which I think looks pretty good actually), but why does it feel like every rendering I see of a current mid-sized infill project has these sort of mish-mash windows and similar themes?  Architecture group think? 

One question I have is why does the building not go all the way to the corner of High and Main? Is that going to be a small surface lot? Room for a future addition?

 

I'm guessing a little bit here, but I'll bet it has something to do with the servicing of the building.  If you look at two renderings previously posted, they both show a "green wall" next to the neighboring parking garage plus a small entrance plaza into 250 High.  I'll bet that behind the "green wall" is some space for a loading zone and trash dumpster removal area that would service the offices and residences of 250 High.

A couple more 250 High construction views from CU's Walker Evans at http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-july-2014:

 

View from Rich and High

 

View from across High Street - mid-block

250 High is getting tall

 

I haven't been downtown much lately but I was at the Scioto Audubon yesterday and the progress 250 High has made is striking.

 

 

Business First reports that 250 High has topped out its 12-story structural framework and is halfway through its construction.  They also have a phototour of the project at http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/10/photo-tour-12-story-250-s-high-st-tops-out-marking.html

 

More photos of 250 High taken in late September (just prior to topping out) from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-september-2014

 

 

250 S. High's neighbor to the north, HighPoint at Columbus Commons, had a retail announcement for three unnamed retail tenants today.  Yesterday, 250 S. High made its own retail announcement for a tenant that would put its name to it.  And its a pretty good name too: German Village's Harvest Pizzeria.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/10/30/restaurant-coming-to-250-s-high-st-from-owners-of.html

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/harvest-pizza-owner-opening-new-restaurant-concept-at-250-high

Late November 2014 construction photos of 250 S. High from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-november-2014-part-1.  The views start on Rich Street, move around the building to High Street and then continue around onto a view from Main Street.

 

 

 

Some updated shots.

 

It's coming along.

Another retail announcement for 250 S. High Street:

 

Nature and food to marry at Salt & Pine

BY GARY SEMAN JR., THIS WEEK COMMUNITY NEWS

Monday, February 2, 2015 - 10:39 PM

 

Salt & Pine, meant to evoke the wonder of nature, is the name of Chris Crader's new downtown Columbus restaurant.

 

The local restaurateur, who owns three restaurants and a cocktail lounge, said his new spot will occupy 7,000 square feet of space in a new building at 250 S. High Street.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/germanvillage/news/2015/02/02/nature-and-food-to-marry-at-salt--pine.html

I have to admit to getting somewhat concerned about the 250 S. High facade as it was going up over the lower office half of the building.  The concrete panels being used as part of the otherwise all-glass facade just seemed like they didn't live up to the project's renderings.  The concrete panels seemed to weigh down an otherwise light and open design.  I was hoping that the total facade would look better as the top residential floors got filled in.

 

Here is a late January 2015 photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-january-2015:

 

 

Here is a late February 2015 photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-february-2015:

 

 

And here are two March photos from http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/new-12-story-mixed-use-building-announced-for-high-st/page/16/#post-1066675:

 

 

 

I think those inset balconies in the top residential half of the building help the overall look of the entire facade.  These inset balconies and those southern facing balconies (seen in the January photo) seem to balance out the "weightyness" of the concrete panels.  Hopefully this will continue to be the case as the entire facade gets finished out.

Hmm...not terrible, but not turning out as nicely as the rendering which is unfortunate. The facade is very flat. The difference in materials is nice and I actually like the mix of concrete and glass, but the fact that everything is in the same plane was the wrong move. I'll reserve final judgment until everything is finished but this isn't quite as nice as I was expecting.

Another retail announcement for 250 S. High Street:

 

 

Will 250 High fill their retail space before Highpoint?

One updated shot

This building is very noticeable from the freeway coming into the city from the south, and I like the depth it contributes to the city scape, but I don't love the look of the (nearly) finished product. Too much going on with all the panels, balconies, and different colors, IMO.

This building is very noticeable from the freeway coming into the city from the south, and I like the depth it contributes to the city scape, but I don't love the look of the (nearly) finished product. Too much going on with all the panels, balconies, and different colors, IMO.

 

I do like that it's visible and also agree on the underwhelming finished product.  However I have found this very typical of Kaufman; killer renderings with a very cheap looking finished product. The fake rock on the exterior of 600 Goodale is a prime example; which would've looked a 1,000 times better with a stainless or polished galvanized steel.

It doesn't help that we got one rendering showing off the short side of the building at a time of day that makes buildings look sexy as hell.

 

This is a huge reason that I, as an architect, abhor architectural renderings. Sure, they're a necessary evil, but they are always perfect or dreamlike and that almost never translates to reality unfortunately. This is one of those cases. The facade in the rendering looks like two separate entities on top of one another and quite glassy with great depth and a great mix of natural and manmade materials. IE: not what we received. It's not a bad building but it's nothing to write home about like the rendering would have suggested.

It may not look as good as the initial rendering suggested, but still puts HighPoint to shame at least.

 

And once the retail goes in, apartments and offices get occupied, landscaping is finished, the LC buildings go up, etc, I think it will look even better still.

It may not look as good as the initial rendering suggested, but still puts HighPoint to shame at least.

 

And once the retail goes in, apartments and offices get occupied, landscaping is finished, the LC buildings go up, etc, I think it will look even better still.

 

Agreed!

I'm hoping that once the retail in Highpoint fills in the angst about the building will somewhat diminish.  I think once awnings and businesses are at the ground level it will distract our eyes to the street level vs the building overall and also add some character which it is currently lacking.

CU has an inside/outside construction photo update of 250 S. High Street:  http://www.columbusunderground.com/project-update-250-high-bw1

 

Late April photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2015-part-2

 

A few different views of our new addition to the downtown cityscape.

 

A few different views of our new addition to the downtown cityscape.

 

This is what we need along High between Gay and Long-except standing on it's side! I rode by it today and it's looming attractive presence makes HighPointe almost tolerable.

 

If those LC buildings ever get built at that intersection it will make Highpointe even closer to tolerable....or maybe not as noticeable?

Couple more late July photos of 250 S. High Street from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-july-2015-part-1