July 13, 20204 yr Knowing that under that brick is simple plywood -- total loss is my guess. Cant remember -- was there any form of concrete podium to this? if so, it would be relatively quick to get back to this phase once the old materials are cleared from the site down to just the podium.
July 13, 20204 yr 46 minutes ago, NightNectar said: Cant remember -- was there any form of concrete podium to this? I think there was....
July 13, 20204 yr 47 minutes ago, NightNectar said: Knowing that under that brick is simple plywood -- total loss is my guess. Cant remember -- was there any form of concrete podium to this? if so, it would be relatively quick to get back to this phase once the old materials are cleared from the site down to just the podium. There's an underground garage but I think the concrete for that only came up to ground level. There was also a concrete block exterior wall on the first floor. I think everything else is wood. From one of CU's updates:
July 13, 20204 yr Ugh. I just want to know what they're going to try to do with this. I hope they rebuild it ?
July 14, 20204 yr Really love all the development happening around the library and Topiary Park. I'm a huge fan of Grant-Oak Apartments new blue hue. The I hope the momentum continues, especially with the tragic loss of the Topiary Park complex. It is incredibly sad such a beautiful building was destroyed like this, but looking forward to better things to come for the neighborhood.
July 16, 20204 yr Glad that they're investing in granite curbs like in other parts of the city and OSU. Such a phenomenal long-term savings (and it looks great) Edited July 16, 20204 yr by jebleprls22
July 22, 20204 yr Renovation and New-Build Planned for Rich Street Site A plan to build a 30-unit apartment building behind two historic structures on East Rich Street is working its way through the approval process. Schiff Capital Group has proposed renovating the two original buildings, which are located at 530 E. Rich St. and were built around 1900, according to the Franklin County Auditor’s site. A connector between the two houses would be removed, and a brick and cinderblock rear addition would be demolished to make room for the five-story apartment building. The apartments in the new building would sit atop a 30-space, first-floor parking garage that would be accessed from Walnut Street. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/renovation-and-new-build-planned-for-rich-street-site-bw1 & https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/07/28/new-residential-development-pitched-in-southeast-d.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 22, 20204 yr Yeah, hopefully a better color pallet is what the commission is having them come back with.
July 22, 20204 yr 3 hours ago, GCrites80s said: I hope the old houses turn out more appealing than that. The last thing we need is more beige. Those houses could have some cool and distinctive color choices to liven the whole thing up. They need to take a look at parts of Victorian Village, etc. Overall I LOVE the idea of keeping the houses and infilling behind them. I guess it could be called the "Pavey way"? *I am so in support of more color after that 9 story red building(can't remember the name of it)turned out so much better than I thought it would. Ironically if anything it is the lower non-red portion of that building that is less than desirable. Edited July 22, 20204 yr by Toddguy
July 23, 20204 yr 12 hours ago, GCrites80s said: I hope the old houses turn out more appealing than that. It would look much better if the original brick was just exposed rather than painted again.
July 23, 20204 yr Is that easy to do? I know there are various medias available for media blasting from sand to crushed walnut shells to dry ice but these days it seems like nobody does that and instead just paints brick grey regardless if it was painted before or made it 150 years before someone insisted on making it greyscale.
July 23, 20204 yr 26 minutes ago, jonoh81 said: It would look much better if the original brick was just exposed rather than painted again. Yeah that would be optimal-maybe with some colorful trim or accents? I did not realize until I looked at the pic again just how completely white the buildings are-they look like naked albino buildings-just everything is covered in white paint. They look like ghosts of buildings or something. They actually look a bit creepy to me now. Edited July 23, 20204 yr by Toddguy
July 27, 20204 yr Xander on State (Sat. 7-25-20) Home 2 Suites by Hilton on Main (finished a few years ago)
July 27, 20204 yr 2 minutes ago, NorthShore647 said: Xander on State (Sat. 7-25-20) Thanks very much for posting this. Really love the above 2 photos - State St. hasn't looked that good in a long time! Hoping the parking lot fill-ins continue.
July 28, 20204 yr 20 hours ago, NorthShore647 said: Xander on State (Sat. 7-25-20) Home 2 Suites by Hilton on Main (finished a few years ago) Xander looks really good. The masonry at street level is well done and the color scheme is unmatched by any other recent podium-style development downtown.
August 1, 20204 yr On 7/22/2020 at 9:11 AM, ColDayMan said: Renovation and New-Build Planned for Rich Street Site A plan to build a 30-unit apartment building behind two historic structures on East Rich Street is working its way through the approval process. Schiff Capital Group has proposed renovating the two original buildings, which are located at 530 E. Rich St. and were built around 1900, according to the Franklin County Auditor’s site. A connector between the two houses would be removed, and a brick and cinderblock rear addition would be demolished to make room for the five-story apartment building. The apartments in the new building would sit atop a 30-space, first-floor parking garage that would be accessed from Walnut Street. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/renovation-and-new-build-planned-for-rich-street-site-bw1 & https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/07/28/new-residential-development-pitched-in-southeast-d.html In relation to this Rich Street proposal, I just posted a photo update to the 'Treetops at German Village' project thread in the Completed Projects section: https://forum.urbanohio.com/topic/586-columbus-treetops-at-german-village/?tab=comments#comment-973925 That project - completed 13 years ago - is similar to this proposal. Very similar concept - renovating two front street facing historic houses plus constructing a new larger residential building behind - at a different location. I remembered that project and thought it would be interesting to be able to compare those finished project images with this proposal.
August 5, 20204 yr Three Columbus Projects Get Historic Tax Credits Market Mohawk Center Total Project Cost: $8,506,900 Total Tax Credit: $842,267 Address: 250 E. Town St., Columbus, 43215 Constructed 50 years ago as part of Columbus’ effort at urban renewal, the Market-Mohawk Center is a four-story office building that will be converted to mixed-use office and residential spaces. Six apartments will be developed on the first floor with office spaces in the remainder of the building. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/three-columbus-projects-get-historic-tax-credits-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 6, 20204 yr Always happy to see a building get new life, but the mix of uses seems odd to me on this one. First floor apartments with offices above seems like the opposite of most buildings.
August 6, 20204 yr I just hate that this(not so old)ugly thing is getting new life with these tax credits. Sorry but these tax credits should go to buildings that really deserve them, not crap built in the 60's that should never have been built in our downtown area to begin with. I despise that row of 60's stuff along Town that looks like it belongs in some 60's aging suburban office park. Thanks to the idiots who brought about the Market-Mohawk demolitions(HATE). *That stuff would be fine in a suburban area or even on the very edge of downtown somewhere, but not in the heart of the city. And to think so many of those planners back then would have done this to the entire downtown if they could have.
August 14, 20204 yr Demolition has begun on the Topiary Park apartments. Spokeswoman for Encova "said demolition will take several weeks. She said she didn’t have any answers about the site’s future, but noted there is a meeting of the company’s board of directors during the coming week where the matter will be discussed." https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200814/demolition-begins-at-downtown-apartment-complex-heavily-damaged-in-may-arson-fire
August 14, 20204 yr On 8/6/2020 at 12:49 AM, 17thState said: Always happy to see a building get new life, but the mix of uses seems odd to me on this one. First floor apartments with offices above seems like the opposite of most buildings. Iknowrite? That was my first thought.
August 15, 20204 yr On 8/14/2020 at 4:24 PM, .justin said: Demolition has begun on the Topiary Park apartments. Spokeswoman for Encova "said demolition will take several weeks. She said she didn’t have any answers about the site’s future, but noted there is a meeting of the company’s board of directors during the coming week where the matter will be discussed." https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200814/demolition-begins-at-downtown-apartment-complex-heavily-damaged-in-may-arson-fire This one still hurts deep. I hope they decide to rebuild. There's no real reason not to, especially if insurance covered this.
August 19, 20204 yr New Plan for Downtown Lot Calls for Eight-Story Building They need to stop reducing building height downtown.
August 19, 20204 yr 9 minutes ago, VintageLife said: New Plan for Downtown Lot Calls for Eight-Story Building They need to stop reducing building height downtown. Sadly, with COVID I expected the project to go bust so I am glad to see the project moving. The height reduction does stink but if push comes to shove, I have a much bigger issue with the street level facade being a parking garage than I do with the height reduction. I do not understand why they cannot wrap it or mask it to match the rest of the building. Lazy, pure value engineering and laziness.
August 19, 20204 yr 25 minutes ago, DevolsDance said: Sadly, with COVID I expected the project to go bust so I am glad to see the project moving. The height reduction does stink but if push comes to shove, I have a much bigger issue with the street level facade being a parking garage than I do with the height reduction. I do not understand why they cannot wrap it or mask it to match the rest of the building. Lazy, pure value engineering and laziness. You’re not wrong. The parking is dumb, and in the end, new buildings during this time are a huge positive. Maybe the commission will try to make them wrap it, but doubt it.
August 19, 20204 yr At least they seemed to do a better job with the parking garage facade in this newer iteration... And honestly this scale fits nicely within the block. The height reduction here isn't as offensive as most are, especially with the amount of other future development sites in the immediate vicinity.
August 19, 20204 yr I would also love to see some greenery on the top of the 3 story building. I feel like it would add a lot to this.
August 19, 20204 yr 28 minutes ago, jebleprls22 said: At least they seemed to do a better job with the parking garage facade in this newer iteration... And honestly this scale fits nicely within the block. The height reduction here isn't as offensive as most are, especially with the amount of other future development sites in the immediate vicinity. Totally agree. While the lower floor count is a disappointment, the design and scale of this proposal do look good. Hopefully the Downtown Commission feels the same come next Tuesday. Also, here's the take on the news from the Dispatch: https://www.dispatch.com/business/20200819/apartments-offices-retail-proposed-on-east-broad-street-downtown Edited August 19, 20204 yr by CMHOhio
August 20, 20204 yr The new building is pretty awful. I can accept the lazy architecture as long as the street level is done right, but the parking garage along Grant is just horrible. Grant has the potential to be a good walkable corridor between all of the new development near the library and the Normandy area, and this will be a missed opportunity.
August 20, 20204 yr Parking is always one of the most expensive aspects of a development project. If money was the issue, parking should go away, not 3 stories of residential. And yes, developers who build street-level dead zones of parking should have their builder's licenses revoked. There's just no excuse for this terrible stuff. Downtown Commission is going to rubberstamp it without a second thought. It kills me that North High gets these amazing projects only to be killed by NIMBYism, but Downtown has every mediocre proposal built to specifications- actually worse considering how often they intentionally leave out planned details with no oversight.
August 25, 20204 yr On 8/19/2020 at 1:05 PM, VintageLife said: Update on the above project: Approved at today's Downtown Commission meeting https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/08/25/developer-returns-with-new-plan-for-8-story-tower.html The Architectural Alliance returned to the Downtown Commission Tuesday morning with a new plan for an eight-story tower (to be built behind) 366 E. Broad Street at the intersection of North Grant Avenue. The developer had first pitched the project as 11 stories earlier this year. It's termed the project "Vera on Broad." The new 8-story building would rise on the parking lot behind the historic three-story building on the site now, with three floors of structured parking and five floors of residential space above, and with rent targets from 60% to 120% of the area median income. In all, there would be 114 apartments, 1,900 square feet of retail space, 5,900 square feet of office space, 3,300 square feet of amenities and 128 parking spaces. Plans show mostly one-bedroom units, a few two-bedroom units and a rooftop deck. The development would cater to employees who work in the Discovery District and students who attend the schools there. The ground floor of the new construction features an art installation or mural, according to Brad Parish, with Architectural Alliance, who spoke during the virtual meeting. The ground floor of the new 8-story building doesn't have space for a retail strip, but the renovated portion of the development (the three-story existing building at 366 E. Broad, which law firm Carlile Patchen & Murphy used as its home for years) would have commercial space.
September 2, 20204 yr Encova has received a permit to demolish the wood portions of the Residences at Topiary Park but keep the parts that are structurally sound (the lower concrete parking deck, first-floor slab, stair towers, some structural steel framing). Encova didn't provide a comment but a city official said that Encova is planning to rebuild the same structure and will submit building plans to the city once they know the extent of what needs to be rebuilt. https://www.dispatch.com/business/20200902/burned-downtown-apartments-expected-to-rise-again
September 2, 20204 yr 8 minutes ago, .justin said: Encova has received a permit to demolish the wood portions of the Residences at Topiary Park but keep the parts that are structurally sound (the lower concrete parking deck, first-floor slab, stair towers, some structural steel framing). Encova didn't provide a comment but a city official said that Encova is planning to rebuild the same structure and will submit building plans to the city once they know the extent of what needs to be rebuilt. https://www.dispatch.com/business/20200902/burned-downtown-apartments-expected-to-rise-again This is amazing news!
September 4, 20204 yr Topiary Park apartment complex damaged in fire could be rebuilt Work could soon resume on the downtown apartment complex damaged in a fire shortly before its scheduled completion early this summer, according to filings submitted to the city. Anthony Celebrezze III, assistant director of the Columbus Department of Building and Zoning Services, confirmed that Encova Insurance has filed plans to rebuild the Residences at Topiary Park complex at 65 S. Washington St., along South Washington Avenue and Library Park. "We have issued a new building permit which will allow them to keep portions of the building that are structurally safe and sound," Celebrezze said. "A new set of building plans will be coming in once they know the extent of what they can keep and what needs to be rebuilt through certification and on the ground engineers examining the remains." More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/09/04/burned-topiary-park-apartments-to-be-re-built.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 6, 20204 yr Very good news! The red building looks good in that pic above just showing how "earthtoned" our downtown is.
September 15, 20204 yr On 8/5/2020 at 4:12 PM, ColDayMan said: Three Columbus Projects Get Historic Tax Credits Market Mohawk Center Total Project Cost: $8,506,900 Total Tax Credit: $842,267 Address: 250 E. Town St., Columbus, 43215 This is similar top Erieview in Cleveland (obviously not in terms of scale). Decades old office spaces built on Urban Renewal projects from the 1960s receiving historic tax credit for mixed use conversions in 2020. (Mon. 9-14-20) Some of its neighboring buildings built along Town street on the urban renewal clearance project These buildings represent the northern end of the Market-Mohawk Urban Renewal Project. Here is a map for additional context
September 15, 20204 yr ^^ Those 60's and 70's suburban low rise buildings should not be saved-they should never have been built in the form they are(low rise and set back from the street)in the first place, and they are also ugly as hell. I would like them replaced if at all possible. They are horrible for that part of downtown. Save one if needed for whatever "historic LOL" reason and then get rid of the rest of them. These would be ok in suburbia, but not near the center of our downtown where they are abortions/abominations. And they certainly do not deserve any protection or "historic" designation. Raze them!!!! ? Edited September 15, 20204 yr by Toddguy
September 16, 20204 yr Pizzuti's Library Park Phase 2 (Mon. 9-14-20) Library Park Phase 3 Grant-Oak Apartments On 8/25/2020 at 2:34 PM, Columbo said: Update on the above project: Approved at today's Downtown Commission meeting https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/08/25/developer-returns-with-new-plan-for-8-story-tower.html The parking lot to be replaced by this development
September 16, 20204 yr Glad to see them moving right along with cleaning up the Topiary Park mess so they can rebuild. No waiting around at all. They should be rebuilding in no time. Edited September 16, 20204 yr by Toddguy
September 16, 20204 yr 18 minutes ago, Toddguy said: Glad to see them moving right along with cleaning up the Topiary Park mess so they can rebuild. No waiting around at all. They should be rebuilding in no time. From that last image, the podium appears to be in great condition. The wood will rise like a weed!
September 16, 20204 yr 45 minutes ago, NorthShore647 said: Topiary Park Demolition (Mon. 9-14-20) That damaged Topiary Park apartments demo happened fast. Which is, ironically, very encouraging.
September 16, 20204 yr 5 hours ago, NightNectar said: From that last image, the podium appears to be in great condition. The wood will rise like a weed! Hopefully like a weed on fertile sun kissed soil after a warm summer rain. ?
Create an account or sign in to comment