Growth/Development News in Plain City and surrounding areas.

Edited June 7, 20232 yr by columbus17

Historic McCune Building restoration work and Phase II of uptown streetscape improvements. Lighting, decorative brick pavers, street trees, and benches remain to be installed. Behind the building work has started on the elevator core and ADA complaint restroom addition. The first floor storefront depicted above is slated for completion in August.

1 hour ago, columbus17 said:

Growth/Development News in Plain City and surrounding areas.

 

I think Plain City is just fine.  You can lump in New California, etc in here as it's basically Plain City Part II LOL!

This looks great - I had to find the "before" to remember what this used to look like.

3 hours ago, PizzaScissors said:

This looks great - I had to find the "before" to remember what this used to look like.

I wasn't involved in this one (though I know the owner well), but I've got some insight on the clock building and have my own project just down the street from here.

17 hours ago, columbus17 said:

Historic McCune Building restoration work and Phase II of uptown streetscape improvements. Lighting, decorative brick pavers, street trees, and benches remain to be installed. Behind the building work has started on the elevator core and ADA complaint restroom addition. The first floor storefront depicted above is slated for completion in August.

Absolutely love seeing these historic buildings in the downtowns of small towns and cities get brought back to life. When towns were popping up in Ohio in the 1800s they really set up the downtowns to be cool walkable pedestrian areas and it's just so awesome to see when cities realize that's something worth preserving.

 

I know it's not the correct thread, but what they've done in downtown Newark is a primetime example of this. It's actually nice, which from what I understand is not a word people ever said when discussing Newark before.

Sh!tty housing from DR Horton in the form of 128 townhomes that will probably also not pass inspection: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/135s6hytd633ypy/AABcvbO81lTTAmlKoWcObAFwa?dl=0&preview=PUD-23-6+Application+and+Attachment+-+Madison+Meadows+Subarea+B+Preliminary+Development+Plan+(PDP).pdf

38 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

Sh!tty housing from DR Horton in the form of 128 townhomes that will probably also not pass inspection: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/135s6hytd633ypy/AABcvbO81lTTAmlKoWcObAFwa?dl=0&preview=PUD-23-6+Application+and+Attachment+-+Madison+Meadows+Subarea+B+Preliminary+Development+Plan+(PDP).pdf

Yikes, more of the here’s my garage with some house attached builds.

Those are hideous.

Wow so they're basically bedrooms for your car that you also live in? This whole "garage forward" trend needs to stop, it just looks so damn bad, barely even like a home. Does nobody appreciate a nice front door anymore?!?!

8 minutes ago, TIm said:

Wow so they're basically bedrooms for your car that you also live in? This whole "garage forward" trend needs to stop, it just looks so damn bad, barely even like a home. Does nobody appreciate a nice front door anymore?!?!

All. Of. This.

People say we suburbia people hate development. This is why. Wrap them in brick and don't make the garage 50% of the building. Garage doors look bad enough - add vinyl siding with no character and its just horrid.

The window locations are clearly driven by the floorplan with little regard to the exterior, and those gables are clearly an afterthought - probably because it looked even worse before those were tacked on. 

I get what everyone's talking about, and generally I agree, but given these are townhomes/still-technically-multifamily housing I am generally more lenient.
I always thought of townhomes as the transition from apartment to SFH home ownership, having lived in one for a small time when I was young. Having a shared wall and possible community regulations can be some drawbacks, you're not going to have all the advantages of having your own house, but slightly more space and convenience than your apartment. 

With that said, you either seem to have two choices when incorporating an attached garage. Attach in the back and have road/alley frontage on both sides of your home. Or stick in the front, losing front window visibility but having a private backyard. I lived in the latter and that's how most townhomes look around here regardless of age. I actually don't mind the second floor of the plans here.

BUT...to all of your points, I AM seeing this in a lot of new, SEPARATE single-family starter-home developments where you wouldn't even have a first floor front-facing window, and I think THAT is utterly unacceptable.

9 minutes ago, PrestoKinetic said:

I get what everyone's talking about, and generally I agree, but given these are townhomes/still-technically-multifamily housing I am generally more lenient.
I always thought of townhomes as the transition from apartment to SFH home ownership, having lived in one for a small time when I was young. Having a shared wall and possible community regulations can be some drawbacks, you're not going to have all the advantages of having your own house, but slightly more space and convenience than your apartment. 

With that said, you either seem to have two choices when incorporating an attached garage. Attach in the back and have road/alley frontage on both sides of your home. Or stick in the front, losing front window visibility but having a private backyard. I lived in the latter and that's how most townhomes look around here regardless of age. I actually don't mind the second floor of the plans here.

BUT...to all of your points, I AM seeing this in a lot of new, SEPARATE single-family starter-home developments where you wouldn't even have a first floor front-facing window, and I think THAT is utterly unacceptable.

I get it, but there are ways to build townhomes that look great. Look at gay st, I get these would be more expensive, but there is no reason the garages couldn’t be hidden. 
 

 

I live in a townhouse in Clintonville. We don't have garages just a private little driveway/parking area for each 4 connected units, but if we did the logical thing would have been to move the actual houses closer to the street and build the garages on the backside, attached or unattached. And I gotta say, I do share walls but these things being old and made of brick I NEVER hear anything from either of my neighbors. Only time I've heard anything is when it's dead silent in my place and maybe someone dropped something heavy down the stairs which are on a shared wall. One of my neighbors has a newborn baby and I've never heard that baby from in my house one time!

 

I did not think I'd like living in a townhouses as much as I do and will probably look to purchase one sometime in the future. Having a little private outdoor space but also not having to do any yard work is kinda perfect for me haha. Yard work was a punishment when I was a kid so I don't get the same joy out of it as others do.

Edited June 13, 20232 yr by TIm

These are unacceptable they have done everything they can to actually emphasize the garages and this needs rejecting. Tell them to fire whomever thought up these nasty things and come up with something decent. These are literally snout houses shoved together with virtually no house and are ugly as sin.  Plain City should just say no.

31 minutes ago, Toddguy said:

These are unacceptable they have done everything they can to actually emphasize the garages and this needs rejecting. Tell them to fire whomever thought up these nasty things and come up with something decent. These are literally snout houses shoved together with virtually no house and are ugly as sin.  Plain City should just say no.

Congratulations. You should also see our 6' apart homes that are masses of vinyl siding and giant garages. I don't hate growth - I hate crappy architecture. If you essentially "ban" that, the price of higher quality housing will drop because its the only option. These builders act like they don't make 20-40% profit on these homes though...

 

The buildout of Darby Station continues on the edge of Plain City-

I would guess there's roughly 100 houses up on site now.

 

They were building more roads further back on the site today.

 

 

 

New mural coming to Plain City!

One of Amazon's eight(?) data center sites in Columbus.

 

Edited January 11, 20241 yr by aderwent

8 hours ago, aderwent said:

One of Amazon's eight(?) data center sites in Columbus.

 

We've got three in the area.

9 hours ago, columbus17 said:

We've got three in the area.

There are at least:

 

Two three sites in Plain City/Dublin, three in Hilliard, and three in New Albany.

Edited January 12, 20241 yr by aderwent

5 hours ago, aderwent said:

There are at least:

 

Two three sites in Plain City/Dublin, three in Hilliard, and three in New Albany.

At least ;)

Plain City purchases historic railroad depot for Public Square project

https://abc6onyourside.com/news/building-ohios-future-intel-beyond/plain-city-purchases-historic-railroad-depot-for-public-square-project-upper-arlington-brice-depot-community-building-construction-central-ohio

Plain City plots new public square featuring historic railroad depot, park and marketplace

 

A planned public square in Plain City's Uptown District will be anchored by a historic railroad depot along with a park and marketplace.

 

The village announced this week that it closed on the depot purchase, marking the first step toward creating the new community venue. It was acquired from the Fromm family, whose ownership began when Barry Fromm reconstructed and restored the original 1,473-square-foot structure in 2004. The depot was originally built in the 1800s in Brice, and served the Shawnee and Columbus Railway.

 

The depot will be relocated from Upper Arlington, where it had been the centerpiece of a larger rail collection. The move is expected to occur in June, with the facility opening to the public in early 2025. It will be called The Depot at Public Square.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/02/14/plain-city-public-square-historic-railroad-depot.html

 

Plain City’s Planned Public Square Project Marries Past and Present

 

Back in the 1880s, the Plain City community wanted a public square for their village. Little did they know that more than 140 years later, a future generation would have the same idea.

 

Fast-forward to 2024: Leaders in Plain City plan to revitalize several parcels in the Uptown district by combining them into one space, which is known as the Public Square Project. 

 

Last year, the village completed an Uptown master plan after pulling in community feedback.

 

“We surveyed a lot of our residents and got a lot of input about what they’d like to see in our Uptown district,” said Haley Lupton, village administrator for Plain City. “A resounding result was that people want more walkability. They want more public spaces that are free to access for everybody and more central locations.”

 

More below:

https://columbusunderground.com/plain-citys-planned-public-square-project-marries-past-and-present-ca1/

 

Plain City looks to annex 550 acres for mixed-use business park

 

Plain City is looking to annex about 550 acres for a new business park.

 

The village's council and planning and zoning commission reviewed plans last week for Creekview Commerce Park, a mixed-use commercial and industrial development to be built off Route 42 between Rickard and Converse roads.

 

The project's developer, Columbus-based Highland Real Estate, was on hand to present preliminary plans to council and commission members.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/08/12/creekview-commerce-park-plain-city-ohio.html

 

A little more on that^

 

Planned 550-acre development would be 'game changer' for Plain City

 

"A new project in the works north of Plain City could bring new economic development to an area that’s expecting exponential growth over the next few decades.

 

A Columbus developer is planning a nearly 550-acre business park in Union County that will be a “game changer” for Plain City, said Jason Stanford, the development manager for the village.

 

The scope of the project is two-fold, Stanford said: bringing in more commercial businesses to keep up with the significant residential growth in Plain City, as well as spurring more industrial and economic growth. The plan calls for Plain City to annex the land for the business park.

 

If the annexations are approved, they would grow the land area of Plain City by approximately 34%. The site that's close to the Big Darby Creek could include approximately 130 acres for park land and greenspace, Stanford said. Construction could be underway within 18 to 24 months.

 

This planned development is part of the growth that’s occurring throughout central Ohio, Phillips said. Previous projections have said the village's population is expected to mushroom from 4,065 in 2020 to 21,000 in 20 years."

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2024/08/18/union-county-development-would-expand-plain-city-land-area-by-34/74799394007/

 

14 minutes ago, Luvcbus said:

The site that's close to the Big Darby Creek could include approximately 130 acres for park land and greenspace, Stanford said.

I like this section. Hopefully they actually do this and don’t develop by it. 

Wilcox Communities set to open first phase of 226-unit apartment complex in Plain City

 

Wilcox Communities plans to open the first phase of a Plain City apartment project this year.

 

The Residences at Maren Reserve is being developed off Lafayette Plain City Road on the west side of the village. A clubhouse amenity included in the development will open first, most likely in May.

 

The project will feature 226 single-story apartment homes built in two phases. Each will have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a two-car garage and private outdoor space.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2025/04/15/wilcox-communities-maren-reserve-plain-city.html

 

50 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

Wilcox Communities set to open first phase of 226-unit apartment complex in Plain City

 

Wilcox Communities plans to open the first phase of a Plain City apartment project this year.

 

The Residences at Maren Reserve is being developed off Lafayette Plain City Road on the west side of the village. A clubhouse amenity included in the development will open first, most likely in May.

 

The project will feature 226 single-story apartment homes built in two phases. Each will have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a two-car garage and private outdoor space.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2025/04/15/wilcox-communities-maren-reserve-plain-city.html

 

Welcome home, to your garage! 

Plain City Public Square project completes first phase with installation of historic railroad depot

The first phase of Plain City's Public Square project is complete.

Dubbed The Depot at Public Square, it is the primary anchor of the overall development at the corner of Church Street and East Bigelow Avenue in Uptown Plain City. The broader Public Square project eventually will include multiple gathering spaces, a park and marketplace.

The Depot provides small event and meeting spaces, visitor amenities, historical displays and seasonal retail space. It is located inside a historic railroad depot that was restored and relocated to Plain City from Upper Arlington.

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2025/06/03/plain-city-the-depot-at-public-square.html