Posted September 9, 20159 yr Hotel and Office Development Proposed for Park Street If a new development proposal is approved, then the Convention Center area may gain a new hotel at the expense of losing several smaller buildings in the Park Street area near the North Market. Columbus-based Continental Realty submitted an application to the Historic Resources Commission last week for conceptual review, which outlines a plan to demolish several interconnected one-to-three story buildings and surface parking lots in the Downtown block bounded by Park Street, Spruce Street, Armstrong Street and Interstate 670, and replace them with new two eight-story buildings. Read more: http://www.columbusunderground.com/hotel-and-office-development-proposed-for-park-street "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 10, 20159 yr Author 8-story hotel-office complex planned by the North Market Continental Real Estate Cos. has yet another hotel in the works. The developer filed plans with the Columbus Historic Resources Commission for an eight-story hotel and office complex at the northwest quadrant of Park Street and West Spruce Street, behind the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral and cater-corner from the North Market. More below + Slideshow: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/09/09/first-look-8-story-hoteloffice-complex-planned-by.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 11, 20159 yr One more local media look at this 515 Park / 100 Spruce development proposal: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2015/09/11/eight-story-hotel-proposed-near-arena-district.html Since most of the property is in the North Market Historic District, the plans need to be approved by the Historic Resources Commission. They are scheduled to review this project at the next HRC meeting, Thursday, September 17. This site is between the Short North and the Arena District. The proposed development would replace four buildings along Park Street, which includes Cameron Mitchell Restaurants’ headquarters, Park Street Saloon and Park Street Patio. Google Streetview Link showing these buildings facing Park Street - The first building - 515 Park Street - would be an 8-story AC Hotel by Marriott (BF & CU say its 149-rooms; Dispatch says 130-rooms). The hotel would include a first-floor bar/restaurant, 5,000+ sq. ft. of commercial space, plus a large outdoor terrace on the hotel's top floor, according to the submitted plans. - The second building - 100 Spruce in the plans - would have a four level, 232-space of parking garage topped by four floors of office space totaling 80,000 sq. ft. (20,000 sq. ft./floor).
September 11, 20159 yr It'll be interesting to see how the City's Historic Resources Commission receives this proposal. It would require the demolition of four buildings along Park Street. - Google Streetview Link showing these buildings facing Park Street - The existing buildings range from three-story at the corner of Park & Spruce to a one-story building that house Cameron Mitchell Restaurants' offices, to a pair of two-story buildings housing two Chris Corso-owned bars (Park Street Saloon and Park Street Patio). It's a nice collection of historic buildings on an intact block in the North Market Historic District. The HRC has two different directions it could go based on previous decisions made it has made in the North Market Historic District: - In 2004, the HRC denied an 11-story residential condo tower proposed for 504 N. Park Street. It would have replaced the (now) Bar Louie building at the northeast corner of Park & Spruce, across the street from this proposal. - In 1998, the HRC approved an 8-story Hampton Inn Hotel at the northwest corner of Spruce & High. Much of that site was vacant land at the time of that proposal. However, three very deteriorated multi-story brick buildings were still on the site. The HRC's condition for the Hampton Inn Hotel approval was to retain the High Street brick facades of those buildings and include them in the new hotel's construction. Given that history, I think this comment quoted below from http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/two-8-story-buildings-proposed-for-park-street/page/3/#post-1092645 probably makes alot of sense - and might be a likely compromise between the HRC and the developer: IMO really all they would need to do to fix this proposal is save the first ~20 or 30 ft of the three historic buildings. Then site the hotel tower immediately behind them, demolish the single-story piece, and pull the new building’s entrance out to Park St at that point. Keep the office/parking section pretty much as-is.
September 12, 20159 yr Historic districts are just another land use/zoning tool and the developer has acquired property with the wrong zoning. I do not see any reason to approve demolition as these are functioning buildings. If HRC is going to fold, I would rather see the compromise be in the number of buildings, rather than keeping a shallow front section or facade. Save the three story on the corner in its entirety, for instance. As we construct more towers in the Short North (which I'm all for) and run out of parking lots, it will create market pressure to tear down smaller buildings on High Street for taller, denser buildings (which I'm not for). Demolition here could set a bad precedent for this to occur.
September 14, 20159 yr Historic districts are just another land use/zoning tool and the developer has acquired property with the wrong zoning. I do not see any reason to approve demolition as these are functioning buildings. If HRC is going to fold, I would rather see the compromise be in the number of buildings, rather than keeping a shallow front section or facade. Save the three story on the corner in its entirety, for instance. As we construct more towers in the Short North (which I'm all for) and run out of parking lots, it will create market pressure to tear down smaller buildings on High Street for taller, denser buildings (which I'm not for). Demolition here could set a bad precedent for this to occur. Absolutely. The city needs to establish firm ground rules regarding the demolition of buildings in popular neighborhoods, to ensure that future development builds on what we already have. Having protections in place for existing developments should allow buildings taller than 5-stories to move forward in the development pipeline. Need to look at the big picture and not just one isolated project at once.
September 15, 20159 yr Historic districts are just another land use/zoning tool and the developer has acquired property with the wrong zoning. I do not see any reason to approve demolition as these are functioning buildings. If HRC is going to fold, I would rather see the compromise be in the number of buildings, rather than keeping a shallow front section or facade. Save the three story on the corner in its entirety, for instance. As we construct more towers in the Short North (which I'm all for) and run out of parking lots, it will create market pressure to tear down smaller buildings on High Street for taller, denser buildings (which I'm not for). Demolition here could set a bad precedent for this to occur. Some good points. Keeping the three-story corner building and incorporating it into the project could also be an option, as well as the other compromise option stated by 'heresthecasey'. But if the HRC would decide to approve something like this here, in the North Market District, it would not set a precedent for the Short North: 1) The North Market District is not the Short North and the Short North is not the North Market District. (see #2 below) 2) The North Market District is governed by the Historic Resources Commission. The Short North is governed by the Victorian Village Commission west of High Street and the Italian Village Commission east of High Street. The VVC/IVC do not share members with the HRC and do not share by-laws either. Each is an independent group making decisions for their specific area. The two commissions in the Short North are not bound by any decision the HRC would make regarding this project. Just as the German Village Commission and Brewery District Commission would also not be bound by any HRC decision. All of those individual commissions have different members judging projects on the specific context and wishes of each specific historic district. The HRC needs to do what it thinks makes sense in the North Market District - which is also located within the Downtown District (unlike all of the other commissions listed - VVC, IVC, GVC, & BDC). At this Park & Spruce location there are legitimate planning reasons for higher density construction, along with legitimate reasons for having a designated historic district. The HRC needs to find a way to address both of these concerns.
September 15, 20159 yr ^I absolutely agree in legal terms given the separate districts/commissions, although I think a developer could at least make an argument for treatment in another district based on what was permitted in another. Whether it has any legal merit is another point, but perhaps it could sway a commissioner. I disagree that the HRC needs to find a way to permit higher density construction. Their job is to protect historic resources.
September 16, 20159 yr ^I absolutely agree in legal terms given the separate districts/commissions, although I think a developer could at least make an argument for treatment in another district based on what was permitted in another. Whether it has any legal merit is another point, but perhaps it could sway a commissioner. Well, they could certainly try to make that argument. But with the separate districts/commissions being very well established with many years of decisions, I don't think it would hold much sway. I disagree that the HRC needs to find a way to permit higher density construction. Their job is to protect historic resources. The HRC has an interesting distinction from the neighborhood-based historic districts (VVC, IVC, GVC & BVC). The HRC manages the "others", so to speak. They hold jurisdication over individual buildings and districts that are too small in area to justify a separate commission. Some of these buildings and districts are located in residential settings. But some are like the North Market District, which is located within the City's Downtown District. Now, this can set up the dual concerns that I bought up earlier. The HRC is tasked with protecting historic resources. But the Downtown District and Commission is tasked with encouraging higher densities, mixed-uses and appropriate design in an urban setting. What if the developer, in this case, were to modify their proposal to use all or part of the existing historic buildings at Park & Spruce in their design? Does the HRC just flatly deny it? Or do they try to cut the best deal in terms of saving historic resources, while still allowing appropriate development in an area suited for it? I don't know what the HRC would do in that case. But reasonable minds could disagree as to which strategy is better.
November 13, 20159 yr Business First has an update on the proposed AC Hotel at Park and Spruce Streets. Unfortunately, this is one of their print-only updates - so you may not be able to read much past the opening paragraph if you use the article link. But here's the gist of the update. After their initial Historic Commission review, the AC Hotel developer is returning with a revised design that would keep three of the existing historic Park Street buildings and incorporate them into the proposed development. Revised Park Street hotel proposal keeps historic buildings By Brian R. Ball, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First Nov. 13, 2015, 6:00am EST A plan to incorporate several historic buildings into the development blueprint for a downtown Columbus hotel and office building could clear the way for its construction. The revised plan for a 151-room AC Hotel and adjoining office building at North Park Street and West Spruce Street would see three or four existing buildings blended into the project. ( . . . ) Continental Real Estate Cos. unveiled its plans for the high-end hotel in early September. But the proposal quickly raised concerns over the planned demolition of four buildings built in the early 1900s in a neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The revised design from the Columbus-based Meyers & Associates Architecture would put the hotel behind the multi-story buildings with its lobby entrance extending to Park Street through the site where a single-story building now stands at 515 N. Park Street. ( . . . ) Randy Black, the city’s historic resources officer, said the revised design marks an improvement from the initial proposal. “At first blanch, incorporating parts of the historic buildings on (North) Park Street and setting the new building back is a positive direction,” Black wrote in an email response to a Columbus Business First inquiry. He declined further comment until the commission hears more from the developer at a Nov. 19 session to review the changes. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2015/11/13/revised-park-street-hotel-proposal-keeps-historic.html
November 13, 20159 yr Here are the new renderings for the AC Hotel at Park & Spruce from http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2015/11/13/revised-park-street-hotel-proposal-keeps-historic.html View from Park Street: View from Park Street looking down Spruce Street:
November 13, 20159 yr Author Better. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 21, 20169 yr Revised Park Street Hotel Proposal Approved by Commission By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground May 20, 2016 - 3:01 pm The Historic Resources Commission voted last night to approve two eight-story buildings at the northwest corner of Park and Spruce streets near the North Market. A 163-room AC Hotel is planned for Park Street, while the other building would sit behind the hotel on Spruce and accommodate 234 cars in a four-level garage as well as 80,000 square feet of office space. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/revised-park-street-hotel-proposal-approved-by-commission-bw1
May 21, 20169 yr Nice! This proposal just got better and better each time IMO. The final product will really fit into the neighborhood and add a lot more activity to the North Market, High St, and Short North areas. Also, it will look pretty impressive from I-670. Can't wait for construction to start!
May 21, 20169 yr Like it a lot! Adds a lot of depth to the area while maintaining character. Any plans for the lots between Spruce and Vine? Seems like this is an area ripe for the development train, similar to The Gulch in Nashville.
May 23, 20169 yr Author Yeah, I like it too. Glad they kept the older buildings. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 23, 20169 yr Yeah, I like it too. Glad they kept the older buildings. Eh, the only thing really being kept are the facades, so the buildings aren't really being saved. It is similar to the early proposals for Pavey Sqare. I'm glad at least the historic streetscape is being preserved, but this really isn't much different than full-scale demolition. Better than nothing I guess. Otherwise, the design above the original buildings, for me, is a bit bland- at least the side facing Park Street. It's just a flat wall with small, square windows. It'd bet better if it was broken up some.
January 20, 20178 yr Author Continental Real Estate showing revised plans for 8-story hotel near North Market Sixteen months after unveiling plans for a hotel-office complex near the North Market, a Columbus developer has a revised proposal that breaks the project into phases. Continental Real Estate Cos., which in September 2015 outlined a vision for side-by-side buildings at the corner of Park Street and Spruce Street overlooking Interstate 670, wants to first build an eight-story AC Marriott hotel and surface parking lot to the west. The 65-space lot could be developed with a parking garage and offices in a later phase, according to plans being reviewed Tuesday by the city’s Downtown Commission. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/01/20/renderings-continental-real-estate-showing-revised.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 21, 20178 yr I think this new design shows more of a reference to that Hampton Inn project down Spruce at High Street. Keeping the facades of the current buildings lends a greater appreciation for the history of the area. I really like this style and wish that those Parks Edge Buildings being built at Neil and Spring would have incorporated the old Ohio Pen facade into it, if the facade still is around.
January 22, 20178 yr This area is going to redevelop with or without the historic facades. I think façadism is a good precedent in this area that will ground new development to the surrounding context.
November 28, 20177 yr Columbus Underground has an article stating the three bars impacted by this development are closing this weekend. The article doesn't specify, but I would imagine this means the development is finally going to break ground. http://www.columbusunderground.com/three-park-street-bars-closing-this-weekend
November 28, 20177 yr ^ Agreed! Hopefully this will encourage some development on the surface lots in this area as well.
April 4, 20187 yr Author Eight-story hotel near the North Market gets green light An eight-story hotel by the North Market has been given the go-ahead to proceed. The Downtown Commission approved the site plan for the 160-room AC Hotel by Marriott, which will be built at 511 Park St. over what is now a row of five attached buildings across the street from the market, just north of Downtown. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/03/eight-story-hotel-near-the-north-market-gets-green.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 4, 20187 yr Eight-story hotel near the North Market gets green light An eight-story hotel by the North Market has been given the go-ahead to proceed. The Downtown Commission approved the site plan for the 160-room AC Hotel by Marriott, which will be built at 511 Park St. over what is now a row of five attached buildings across the street from the market, just north of Downtown. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/03/eight-story-hotel-near-the-north-market-gets-green.html Bridge Park in Dublin got more interesting architecture than this (on another AC Hotel)... At least we're preserving the historic building fronts.
October 30, 20186 yr On 4/4/2018 at 1:42 AM, ColDayMan said: Eight-story hotel near the North Market gets green light An eight-story hotel by the North Market has been given the go-ahead to proceed. The Downtown Commission approved the site plan for the 160-room AC Hotel by Marriott, which will be built at 511 Park St. over what is now a row of five attached buildings across the street from the market, just north of Downtown. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/03/eight-story-hotel-near-the-north-market-gets-green.html Has anyone been past this site recently? Has construction started?
October 30, 20186 yr Just now, cbussoccer said: Has anyone been past this site recently? Has construction started? I work down the street from this site, and they've only really cleared out the businesses that were in these buildings. I also think they may have started some early demolition on them (keeping the facades of course) but nothing too major as of yet. I know they have been using the gravel parking lots behind these buildings for a TON if not all of the staging and equipment parts for the Short North Streetscape project, which is wrapping up on phase 2, so I'm wondering if they delayed this project by using the land for all this equipment and vehicles?
October 30, 20186 yr I drove past this the other day and got curious and now these comments made me go investigate. They do not have permits to built the tower and their site plan hasn’t been approved yet. They got permits to do interior demolition and stabilize the walls that will be saved.
January 7, 20196 yr Finally found the correct thread! Didn't know what this project was called. Anyway, when walking by it on my way to work this morning, it seems like they've officially started work and have torn some parts of the buildings down and gutted chunks of them. They were also tearing up bricks from the old patio that was at the one end bar.
January 14, 20196 yr Took a walk around downtown this weekend and snapped some shots of this project. Looks like they've done quite a bit of demo and are moving along swiftly. Sorry for potato quality in advance.
January 16, 20196 yr Thanks for the pictures. I still walk by this every morning and today they were continuing to do work. For some reason, I thought this project was in conjunction with North Market Tower but I guess not. Man, oh, man, would I like to hear something about that tower : p
March 11, 20196 yr 2 minutes ago, Pablo said: ^There's a rig on site drilling foundations. You can see it from 670. Awesome, thanks! It seems like we are about to see a lot of activity pick up all over the place as the weather warms up.
March 22, 20196 yr Looks like the project has submitted it's FAA application. Cool news is that the stated height of the project will be around 101' per the application. https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=399510999&row=6 With this application, should start seeing things kick into full gear on this real soon.
March 22, 20196 yr 4 minutes ago, DevolsDance said: Looks like the project has submitted it's FAA application. Cool news is that the stated height of the project will be around 101' per the application. https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=399510999&row=6 With this application, should start seeing things kick into full gear on this real soon. I just noticed that today too. No submission yet for a crane though. Can't wait for this project to start going up though, and hopefully the second phase of this will end up happening as well.
March 22, 20196 yr 1 hour ago, cbussoccer said: I just noticed that today too. No submission yet for a crane though. Can't wait for this project to start going up though, and hopefully the second phase of this will end up happening as well. Is the second phase the office? I thought the two projects were in tandem -- the parking is incorporated into the office component if I'm not mistaken? From Columbus Business First: "This the first phase of a project that also will see an office building developed on the site by Continental Real Estate Cos... The second planned building, on the parking lot west of the new hotel, will have structured parking and about 80,000 square feet of office space" Is there a different second phase that I'm forgetting? Edited March 22, 20196 yr by jebleprls22
March 22, 20196 yr On 4/4/2018 at 1:42 AM, ColDayMan said: Eight-story hotel near the North Market gets green light An eight-story hotel by the North Market has been given the go-ahead to proceed. The Downtown Commission approved the site plan for the 160-room AC Hotel by Marriott, which will be built at 511 Park St. over what is now a row of five attached buildings across the street from the market, just north of Downtown. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/03/eight-story-hotel-near-the-north-market-gets-green.html The final version of this project is the photo in this link and the approved site plan for it shows a hotel and surface parking where the office building was proposed. The surface lot might get developed at some point if they decide to build the office building in the future. I'm going to assume it's going to be a surface lot for quite some time. I love that they're preserving the existing facades on the site but I'm less excited about the tower because the final version is the worst out of all of the proposals.
March 28, 20196 yr https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190328/boutique-hotel-to-be-built-downtown-near-north-market Some photo updates from the Dispatch (link above) on the 8-story, 160-room, $40 million AC Hotel being built along with a retained row of brick buildings along Park Street that is expected to open in early 2021. Rendering of the AC Hotel with the retained buildings along Park Street: Aerial construction photo showing the row of buildings retained along Park Street:
March 29, 20196 yr 6 hours ago, Zyrokai said: 2021!? It's going to take that long to build?? Crazy..... Roughly the same amount of time to build Hubbard Park Place, so no not crazy at all.
March 29, 20196 yr 9 hours ago, wpcc88 said: Roughly the same amount of time to build Hubbard Park Place, so no not crazy at all. And half the amount of time it took to build the 8-story LC Riversouth building lol
March 29, 20196 yr 17 hours ago, Zyrokai said: 2021!? It's going to take that long to build?? Crazy..... Hotels take a longer time to build because there’s a lot more plumbing etc. compared to office space or even residential. Construction might also be slowed a bit as they have to work around the existing buildings on site.
March 29, 20196 yr I'm also looking at that Moxy hotel and thinking that went up super fast. Maybe it also won't open for a long time? Looks about 80% done from the outside, lol.
March 29, 20196 yr Construction began on the Moxy in late 2017. I imagine it will open late this year, roughly a 2 year construction duration. The AC Hotel looks to have a similar construction duration.
March 31, 20196 yr Hopefully this will look ok once it is up. Maybe we will be surprised and it will be better than the latest rendering iteration(yeah I know lol). At least they preserved the front and side facades so it will not intrude so much on the streetscape. I wish they would go ahead with the rest of it-the office and parking garage.
April 1, 20196 yr On 3/29/2019 at 2:02 PM, Pablo said: Construction began on the Moxy in late 2017. I imagine it will open late this year, roughly a 2 year construction duration. The AC Hotel looks to have a similar construction duration. This is kinda blowing my mind. I thought they started in summer 2018. Man.....time is just passing me by.......... ?
July 1, 20195 yr It's going to be really cool to see this building rise, especially when driving down 670. On somewhat unrelated note, anyone who thinks construction has slowed down in the Columbus area needs to check out all of the construction photos posted over the last few days. We don't have 30-story towers under construction (yet), but the amount of infill going on is impressive.
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