Some fairly significant news out this morning about a major Capitol Sq landmark... Apologies if this belongs better in an existing thread, I couldn't find one that really fit:

 

Buyer of PNC Plaza building Downtown to add housing, boutique hotel

 

A major Downtown building is poised to follow a makeover similar to the one being undertaken at the LeVeque Tower, where residential and office tenants are being welcomed and a boutique hotel is on the way.

 

Columbus apartment developer Edwards Cos. has bought the PNC Plaza building on the south side of Broad Street between 3rd and 4th streets with an eye toward adding housing and a boutique hotel, an industry term for a smaller hotel in a unique setting.

 

The purchase price was $24 million, according to records filed with the Franklin County recorder’s office. The buyer is listed as 155 Spec LLC, with a mailing address that matches Edwards’ offices on High Street. Edwards has been talking to other developers about taking on parts of the development in partnership with it.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/11/03/buyer-of-pnc-plaza-building-downtown-plans-to-add-housing-boutique-hotel.html

Some fairly significant news out this morning about a major Capitol Sq landmark... Apologies if this belongs better in an existing thread, I couldn't find one that really fit:

 

Thanks for posting this.  When I saw this news, I was going to start a new thread for this (before you beat me to it).  This is definitely big enough to warrant its own thread.

 

I was very surprised to hear about this purchase by Edwards and potential mixed-use redevelopment.  It's a good idea, but I didn't expect it with this particular downtown skyscraper.  Older downtown towers, like the current LeVeque Tower mixed-use renovation and some smaller 12-story historic buildings like the Atlas Building, are a natural fit for this type of residential/hotel redevelopment.  There's been some discussion that eventually a post-World War II/modern era office tower might get a residential/hotel redevelopment.  But the likely candidates were those that were either less occupied or were actively for sale.

 

The PNC Building is currently 80 percent occupied and wasn't listed for sale.  According to the Dispatch article, the buyer (Edwards) approached the previous property owner for this purchase.  So it kinda makes one think that Edwards won't just be sitting still on this.

^ With that being said, the PNC/Galleria site is a first-class downtown property.  It's at a prime location - only one block from the Statehouse - and at one of the busiest spots downtown - Broad Street between 3rd and 4th streets.  The 24-story tower opened in 1976 and has been well maintained and occupied with high-profile tenants like National City/PNC Bank since it opened.  It's still considered Class A office space.  It's also got an adjoining retail component (The Galleria) facing Third Street and a retail component (occupied by PNC Bank) facing Broad Street.

 

The PNC Building also has two parking locations it can access.  One is a underground parking spot beneath the Galleria.  The other is an existing enclosed overhead walkway that connects to a large parking garage east of 4th Street (which is under separate ownership).  Below is an illustrated aerial view of the PNC/Galleria property and a streetview tour of the PNC/Galleria site:

 

 

 

Fourth Street looking toward Broad Street - enclosed walkway connecting to neighboring parking garage visible over 4th Street:

 

 

Broad & Fourth intersection - historic Columbus Club mansion visible to the left:

 

 

Broad Street between 3rd & 4th streets - PNC Bank retail location:

 

 

Broad & Third intersection:  The PNC/Galleria buildings were built around the historic Trinity Church at the corner.  The 24-story tower is visible in the background and the small-scale Galleria Building is visible between the church and the Dispatch building along Third Street:

 

 

Third Street - closer view of the Galleria Building with the 24-story tower in the background:

I was surprised about this one as well, but more power to Edwards. Aside from lacking the historic Cleveland Trust Rotunda space, the tower portion reminds me of the Ameritrust/the 9 project in Cleveland with its narrow windows.

Anyone remember Mario's Internationale? The ultimate Columbus power lunch/dinner restaurant located in the Galleria in the 1980's. I had an instant flashback when I read the news of the redevelopment of the property.

PNC Building Sold to Edwards Companies

 

 

The Edwards Companies has purchased the PNC Building Downtown for $24 million, according to public records.

 

The 24-story office tower, located at 155 East Broad Street, opened in 1976. It last changed hands in 2002, when Arthur Goldner & Associates of Chicago paid $40 million to buy the building from the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio.

 

More below:

http://www.columbusunderground.com/pnc-building-sold-to-edwards-companies-bw1

Quote

The Columbus developer The Edwards Companies is moving forward with plans to overhaul the PNC Plaza tower at 155 E. Broad Street. The company plans to convert 14 of the building’s 24 stories into residences while replacing a two-story atrium with a sunken garden plaza.

 

Quote

As part of the renovation, the company plans to demolish a two-story office atrium on the north side of the tower, along Broad Street. In its place, Edwards is proposing a lush sunken outdoor plaza connected to two restaurants in the tower and to a main entrance to the building.

In documents submitted to the Columbus Downtown Commission, Edwards said it will also add retail entrances to the east and west side of the tower, but it did not present specific plans for that phase.

Edwards is proposing converting floors 9 through 23 into residences while keeping the lower floors offices and retail/restaurants.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/business/20191216/downtownrsquos-pnc-tower-poised-for-overhaul

 

 

 

 

 

I was disappointed opening this thread and seeing this is not about a new tower, but this sounds like a great reuse/mixed use conversion.  

3 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

I was disappointed opening this thread and seeing this is not about a new tower, but this sounds like a great reuse/mixed use conversion.  

I had the same reaction lol

This makes me wonder if they know something about the new buildings going on the last plot on the square. Maybe a good sign that project will be big? 

The Dispatch has renderings:

 

 

Please excuse me while I dream for a second. I couldn't resist...

 

 

Stop. My heart.

10 hours ago, VintageLife said:

This makes me wonder if they know something about the new buildings going on the last plot on the square. Maybe a good sign that project will be big? 

While I wish this was true, I think it's just similar to all of the other office buildings downtown that have been renovating.  They need to adapt or die with all of the new class A office space coming online all over the metro.  Columbus Business First ran an article about it a few months ago:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/08/23/downtown-ultimatum-upgrade-or-wither.html

7 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

While I wish this was true, I think it's just similar to all of the other office buildings downtown that have been renovating.  They need to adapt or die with all of the new class A office space coming online all over the metro.  Columbus Business First ran an article about it a few months ago:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/08/23/downtown-ultimatum-upgrade-or-wither.html

Hey just let a person dream! But, I’m sure you’re not wrong. That front section of that building is horrible. 

It would be nice if something could be done about the abomination sandwiched between the beautiful old church and the old Dispatch building. 

 

2 hours ago, VintageLife said:

Hey just let a person dream!

Hey, I'm with ya there.  But, I see this as an absolute win.  Increase in competition is a good problem to have and is forcing these buildings to improve.  Shows how much is going on all over the area.  Also, a bunch of downtown buildings are having tens of millions of dollars poured into them for renovations.  To me, it seems like that means that downtown is looking like a solid investment moving forward.

2 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

Hey, I'm with ya there.  But, I see this as an absolute win.  Increase in competition is a good problem to have and is forcing these buildings to improve.  Shows how much is going on all over the area.  Also, a bunch of downtown buildings are having tens of millions of dollars poured into them for renovations.  To me, it seems like that means that downtown is looking like a solid investment moving forward.

Oh yeah, everything about this is great news. 

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

It would be nice if something could be done about the abomination sandwiched between the beautiful old church and the old Dispatch building. 

 

 

 

Is that a curtain wall over an older structure or is that the building?

Is there any mention of the number of units that may be a part of this? 

 

Wasn't there discussion of a similar conversion of the fifth third complex that has struggled as well a couple years ago? 

 

Hopefully, after the leveque and this, it might spur some more conversions, which might, consequently drive up the demand brand new dedicated class A spaced in a Millenial tower type project. 

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

It would be nice if something could be done about the abomination sandwiched between the beautiful old church and the old Dispatch building. 

 

It should be a requirement that if they take care of(remove)the black glass here they also have to remove it on the Hyatt.

45 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

Wasn't there discussion of a similar conversion of the fifth third complex that has struggled as well a couple years ago?

 

Given it's location next to the Commons and the growing River South district, the Fifth Third tower would be a great candidate for a partial (or full) residential conversion. 

44 minutes ago, Toddguy said:

It should be a requirement that if they take care of(remove)the black glass here they also have to remove it on the Hyatt.

Is that something that would actually be considered?  They're doing a $20 million room renovation soon.

The only good thing about the Hyatt is that it acts as a mirror for Nationwide Plaza....lol

 

This is Columbus; learn to embrace the flashcube aesthetic

25 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

Is that something that would actually be considered?  They're doing a $20 million room renovation soon.

I have no idea really. I have just never liked the very dark glass on it-or black glass in general-with a few exceptions

5 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

This is Columbus; learn to embrace the flashcube aesthetic

175 South Third Street:  ? 

 

Blue flash cube is better than black or *ugh* gold.

Edited December 17, 20195 yr by Toddguy

Plan for PNC Building Calls for New Plaza

 

 

Edwards Companies, which bought the PNC Building at 155 E. Broad St. in 2016, is now moving forward with plans to add a residential component to the 24-story office tower.

 

As part of those plans, the local developer wants to remove the two-story glass atrium that sits in front of the larger tower and replace it with a new landscaped plaza that would include a large sunken garden, complete with waterfalls and a pond.

 

Jeff Edwards, President of Edwards Companies, and architect Cindy Harvey, of Stantec, presented the proposal to the Downtown Commission this morning. They said the vision for the plaza is to serve both as an amenity for residents, and as a public space that will add a new dimension to the downtown streetscape.

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/plan-for-pnc-building-calls-for-new-plaza-bw1

The bizjournals articles offered a few new insights:

 

Quote

The restaurant would take much of the underground level of the building, with the other space devoted to residential amenities. The ground level of the building would have another restaurant on the west edge of the ground floor. The bank will continue to operate ground-floor branch in the tower at the corner of 4th and Broad.

...

Chicago architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP designed the original look of the building, including the dark glass northern portion that forms the tower's footprint into a square.

...

Meanwhile, plans for the upstairs residences have changed. While it was originally expected to include condominiums, the project will now feature an undetermined number of market-rate apartments.

...

Edwards didn't disclose a timeline for the project.

 

Interesting that the atrium is original. I would have never guessed. 

 

I'm a bit sad they have pulled the opportunity for Condos and I'd be curious to see the reasoning. It would be nice to see more large scale condo developments in the core as the apartment boom ticks on. 

13 hours ago, DTCL11 said:

The bizjournals articles offered a few new insights:

 

 

Interesting that the atrium is original. I would have never guessed. 

 

I'm a bit sad they have pulled the opportunity for Condos and I'd be curious to see the reasoning. It would be nice to see more large scale condo developments in the core as the apartment boom ticks on. 

 

I'm no expert, but I've seen on Zillow that condo prices downtown have been pretty stagnant over the last 5 years or so. Which seems odd to me because the prices of single family homes have skyrocketed.

Condos just don't sound like a good value to late Xers and Millennials. They just think of double bills and Morty Sienfeld arguing with the Del Boca Vista people all the time.

Idk. I know a fair amount of millenials that would love to own a decent condo without having to spent 500k+ to be downtown and don't want to have to live in the suburban assisted living model style condos. Boomers who can't afford 500k+ would probably qualify for this market. I personally know a boomer family that sold their Dublin McMansion and bought a condo downtown and a condo and Florida to split their time and I'm sure the market would be there for plenty of other empty nesters/boomers who still hold fast to the idea of equity over renting in additional to those that would now prefer to just rent. This just seems like an opportunity to test the waters with some more mid-range condos and see what happens as they don't have the traditional construction costs with building a tall structure. And while condo prices have remained stable, that is typically the case with condos from my experience and understanding.  They aren't as volatile as single family homes. This is also the case for neighborhoods in places like Chicago.

 

If course, in today's market, mid range condos would largely be bought up by people looking to rent air bnbs and do little to help the housing market. 

Edited December 26, 20195 yr by DTCL11

As a 32 year old Millenial, I would love nothing more than an affordable condo.

So, uh, what's this? 

 

http://meyersarchitects.com/case-studies/hyatt-centric-columbus/

 

 

Hopefully it’s something that gets built! 

1 minute ago, VintageLife said:

Hopefully it’s something that gets built! 

 

Let's hope! I'm guessing it's just a conceptual plan though.

39 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

So, uh, what's this? 

 

http://meyersarchitects.com/case-studies/hyatt-centric-columbus/

 

Unfortunately I think this was just a speculative/concept study. I remember seeing these renders a few years back when Edwards purchased the building, they were looking at pulling in a hotel operator and these were part of that exploration.

 

Hopefully someday this could be revived, would have made a great addition to the square.

2 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

 

Unfortunately I think this was just a speculative/concept study. I remember seeing these renders a few years back when Edwards purchased the building, they were looking at pulling in a hotel operator and these were part of that exploration.

 

Hopefully someday this could be revived, would have made a great addition to the square.

 

I figured that was the case. I love the idea so hopefully someone can make it happen. 

I wonder if with them PNC building and the eventual building of the dispatch parking lot, if it would get more consideration. Doubtful, but it would be cool. 

13-Story Apartment Building Proposed for Downtown

 

A proposal for a 13-story apartment building at 199-209 E. Broad St. will be heard by the Downtown Commission later this month.

That’s definitely not the prettiest building I’ve seen, but it does look like they are going to incorporate some of the facade of the existing building.
 

This height is the bare minimum of what should be expected along Broad, but I’m excited for it. We need some taller buildings along the south side of Broad. 

4 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

That’s definitely not the prettiest building I’ve seen, but it does look like they are going to incorporate some of the facade of the existing building.
 

This height is the bare minimum of what should be expected along Broad, but I’m excited for it. We need some taller buildings along the south side of Broad. 

Yeah, hopefully they make them change it up a bit. It looks like a sh*tty 80’s building with super small windows. Hopefully it’s just a super rough outline. The height is okay to me, being that close to the center of downtown, it should be higher. But it’s a start.

Looks like a preliminary rendering from a Revit model. Hopefully we’ll see better renderings as the project progresses. 

On 11/14/2020 at 1:14 AM, cbussoccer said:

That’s definitely not the prettiest building I’ve seen, but it does look like they are going to incorporate some of the facade of the existing building.
 

This height is the bare minimum of what should be expected along Broad, but I’m excited for it. We need some taller buildings along the south side of Broad. 

Yeah hopefully it will be refined(and maybe some extra height encouraged. At least it will help block the view from the north of that massive ugly parking garage. Could they go higher and utilize some of that garage for parking? And yes it will help that there will be some of that old building facade(and the ground floor retail that will go with it).

 

A nice surprise anyways.

I'm disappointed they aren't just keeping more of the existing buildings and just renovate what's there -- they look pretty handsome, especially rear building. Once again, they're proposing demolition of existing buildings instead of developing the MANY remaining empty parking lots around downtown.

Also, this proposal, literally adjacent to a giant garage, proposes 5 levels of parking...? I can't believe the PNC garage is actually at capacity...? Why not strike a deal for incorporating/offsetting the parking into that garage that is literally next door?

I think this is yet another lazy proposal, just putting a semi-floating monstrosity on top of historic facades that is 50% a parking garage... They should at least refer to the AC Hotel for an appropriate setback for the new construction behind the historic facades at street level. This need a LOT of work, I hope the commission really pushes back...

It’s Edwards, they don’t really do anything all that great. Still hoping they don’t ruin the Madison building. 

23 hours ago, jebleprls22 said:

I'm disappointed they aren't just keeping more of the existing buildings and just renovate what's there -- they look pretty handsome, especially rear building. Once again, they're proposing demolition of existing buildings instead of developing the MANY remaining empty parking lots around downtown.

Also, this proposal, literally adjacent to a giant garage, proposes 5 levels of parking...? I can't believe the PNC garage is actually at capacity...? Why not strike a deal for incorporating/offsetting the parking into that garage that is literally next door?

I think this is yet another lazy proposal, just putting a semi-floating monstrosity on top of historic facades that is 50% a parking garage... They should at least refer to the AC Hotel for an appropriate setback for the new construction behind the historic facades at street level. This need a LOT of work, I hope the commission really pushes back...

 

Developers can only utilize sites they own.  A lot of the surface lots aren't for sale because they're good income for the owners.  There should be more incentives to sell or develop these, though.  Until Columbus gets serious with mass transit, parking is going to continue to be an annoying addition to every development of significant size.  A whole lot of the population just doesn't care about anything but driving because Columbus- to date- has not developed a culture that emphasizes anything else.  The multiple proposed corridors for high-capacity transit- which at best will be BRT only and not guaranteed to have dedicated lanes- remain a "believe it when we see it" proposition.  The reality is, however, that a project like this probably would still be successful without parking as Columbus is growing fast enough that it would have demand without it, but the developer also probably wouldn't be able to charge as much for the units if that wasn't an amenity.  Money talks.  Remember the Swan Cleaners project on South High abandoned bike parking, more units and retail space pretty much exclusively to add more parking.  

 

If the city does end up getting a whole new code system like they're talking about, these should be some of the changes:

1. No more demolitions for permanent surface parking lots anywhere.  Any new surface lots should be temporary for no more than 1-2 years before new development plans be implemented.

2. No more standalone parking garages.  They must either be built to have development built on top at some point, or be built to be adaptable to other uses.  And none of them should be allowed to having parking on the ground floor level, period.  Preferably, they should all have mixed-use fronts like the Lincoln Street project in Italian Village or the Hubbard Garage.

3. No more parking minimums anywhere in the city.

4. Height and density maximums should instead be made into minimums.  This would help in areas like Downtown where there are no height restrictions, but we mostly still get low-rise development.  Half of the projects in the past decade never should've been approved as proposed.  

5. Single-family zoning should end.  

1 hour ago, jonoh81 said:

 

Developers can only utilize sites they own.  A lot of the surface lots aren't for sale because they're good income for the owners.  There should be more incentives to sell or develop these, though.  Until Columbus gets serious with mass transit, parking is going to continue to be an annoying addition to every development of significant size.  A whole lot of the population just doesn't care about anything but driving because Columbus- to date- has not developed a culture that emphasizes anything else.  The multiple proposed corridors for high-capacity transit- which at best will be BRT only and not guaranteed to have dedicated lanes- remain a "believe it when we see it" proposition.  The reality is, however, that a project like this probably would still be successful without parking as Columbus is growing fast enough that it would have demand without it, but the developer also probably wouldn't be able to charge as much for the units if that wasn't an amenity.  Money talks.  Remember the Swan Cleaners project on South High abandoned bike parking, more units and retail space pretty much exclusively to add more parking.  

 

If the city does end up getting a whole new code system like they're talking about, these should be some of the changes:

1. No more demolitions for permanent surface parking lots anywhere.  Any new surface lots should be temporary for no more than 1-2 years before new development plans be implemented.

2. No more standalone parking garages.  They must either be built to have development built on top at some point, or be built to be adaptable to other uses.  And none of them should be allowed to having parking on the ground floor level, period.  Preferably, they should all have mixed-use fronts like the Lincoln Street project in Italian Village or the Hubbard Garage.

3. No more parking minimums anywhere in the city.

4. Height and density maximums should instead be made into minimums.  This would help in areas like Downtown where there are no height restrictions, but we mostly still get low-rise development.  Half of the projects in the past decade never should've been approved as proposed.  

5. Single-family zoning should end.  

Along with these other things couldn't they also have a special tax on surface lots within a certain part of downtown?-something that might encourage some of the owners to sell to developers?

Tax land, not buildings.

The main problem is the owner of many of those lots has a last name starting with an S and ending with a 'stein.'  That family sits on everything.