January 24Jan 24 1 hour ago, cbussoccer said: So true. I couldn’t agree more. So many people are convinced that big companies are going back to the office because of the commercial real estate holdings, but I really don’t think that’s playing into it much at all. If a company like AEP owns its own building, it’s mostly just a sunk cost. You already own the thing. Whether or not people are there doesn’t effect much. If you are leasing office space, you just break your lease or let it run out. Not a big deal. I think middle managers (like myself) all the way up to the C-suites have realized that wfh is often times a huge pain and makes things less efficient. WFH will continue for certain jobs, and that’s good, but by and large it will be going away. Within another year or so I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a job that doesn’t ask you to be in the office at least 3 days/week, with 4 days/week being the norm. Add a few years, add a few kids, add a basement office, and things will be nice as long as Corp doesn't mandate the return. When they do, we'll see what happens. I'm pretty comfortable in the WFH lifestyle.
January 24Jan 24 3 hours ago, cbussoccer said: So true. I couldn’t agree more. So many people are convinced that big companies are going back to the office because of the commercial real estate holdings, but I really don’t think that’s playing into it much at all. If a company like AEP owns its own building, it’s mostly just a sunk cost. You already own the thing. Whether or not people are there doesn’t effect much. If you are leasing office space, you just break your lease or let it run out. Not a big deal. I think middle managers (like myself) all the way up to the C-suites have realized that wfh is often times a huge pain and makes things less efficient. WFH will continue for certain jobs, and that’s good, but by and large it will be going away. Within another year or so I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a job that doesn’t ask you to be in the office at least 3 days/week, with 4 days/week being the norm. I'm still hoping they move to a 32hr/4 day work week. I find working less hours in a more focused manner makes me 2x more productive. Sometimes time is the enemy.
January 24Jan 24 7 hours ago, columbus17 said: I'm still hoping they move to a 32hr/4 day work week. I find working less hours in a more focused manner makes me 2x more productive. Sometimes time is the enemy. I've always said if I have 2 weeks to complete a project it takes 2 weeks. If I have 2 days to complete a project it takes 2 days.
January 24Jan 24 9 hours ago, columbus17 said: I'm still hoping they move to a 32hr/4 day work week. I find working less hours in a more focused manner makes me 2x more productive. Sometimes time is the enemy. A lot of the corporate world has kind of organically moved in this direction. Not necessarily to a 32hr week, more like a 36hr week, but it's better than what it was before Covid. I've worked at two different companies in the past year, and at both companies it was pretty common for people to log off on most Fridays around lunch time. I know of some companies that have more or less made this official policy, at least for parts of the year.
January 24Jan 24 14 hours ago, cbussoccer said: So true. I couldn’t agree more. So many people are convinced that big companies are going back to the office because of the commercial real estate holdings, but I really don’t think that’s playing into it much at all. If a company like AEP owns its own building, it’s mostly just a sunk cost. You already own the thing. Whether or not people are there doesn’t effect much. If you are leasing office space, you just break your lease or let it run out. Not a big deal. I think middle managers (like myself) all the way up to the C-suites have realized that wfh is often times a huge pain and makes things less efficient. WFH will continue for certain jobs, and that’s good, but by and large it will be going away. Within another year or so I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a job that doesn’t ask you to be in the office at least 3 days/week, with 4 days/week being the norm. And in the current market office towers sell for shockingly little, at least in Ohio.
January 24Jan 24 1 minute ago, GCrites said: And in the current market office towers sell for shockingly little, at least in Ohio. That’s everywhere.. suburban ones are somewhat hot
January 26Jan 26 This posted here yet? Zero info about it though, but form the post - "Detroit developer Woodborn Partners expects to start construction sometime this year or early 2026." 14 Story apartment building coming to 40 E Long Street downtown : r/Columbus - from Reddit - Edited January 26Jan 26 by futureman
January 26Jan 26 34 minutes ago, futureman said: This posted here yet? Zero info about it though, but form the post - "Detroit developer Woodborn Partners expects to start construction sometime this year or early 2026." 14 Story apartment building coming to 40 E Long Street downtown : r/Columbus - from Reddit - Yeah, I posted about it a few weeks ago or something. I’m hopeful it would come to the commission soon, but who knows.
January 27Jan 27 ah gotcha - looked through the thread and at first didn't see it. here's hoping it goes through <crossing fingers>! I'd love to see the lot across the street developed as well, seems ideal as you already have a parking garage behind it. Years back there was a proposal, but nothing came out of it. Hopefully this one doesn't have a similar fate.
January 27Jan 27 31 minutes ago, futureman said: ah gotcha - looked through the thread and at first didn't see it. here's hoping it goes through <crossing fingers>! I'd love to see the lot across the street developed as well, seems ideal as you already have a parking garage behind it. Years back there was a proposal, but nothing came out of it. Hopefully this one doesn't have a similar fate. I can’t see the commission having much negative to say, so if it gets proposed I’m sure it would go. It just depends on if the developer actually has the funds and the ability. After looking at their site, it would be their largest project to date.
January 27Jan 27 Has anyone heard news on the old Greyhound station Downtown? It's been vacant for a very long time...
January 27Jan 27 1 minute ago, Kriegs said: Has anyone heard news on the old Greyhound station Downtown? It's been vacant for a very long time... Not a peep.
January 27Jan 27 6 minutes ago, Kriegs said: Has anyone heard news on the old Greyhound station Downtown? It's been vacant for a very long time... I would guess that won’t have anything for a few years. I would be shocked to hear anything this year. I would bet they wait until they have some of the BRT lines finished and start to up ridership again. Hopefully whatever gets proposed is at least 15 stories. Edited January 27Jan 27 by VintageLife
January 27Jan 27 So this is great news, hopefully we see more info on both of these projects soon! 4 Columbus-area projects awarded Transformational Mixed-Use Development state tax credits Edwards Cos. was awarded $33 million in tax credits for its Capitol Square Renaissance project at Monday's Tax Credit Authority meeting. The proposed project spans five buildings on Broad, 3rd and 4th streets downtown. If fully built out, it would create more than 1,000 new apartments, eight new restaurants and nearly 200,000 square feet of Class A office space. The Edwards Cos. project was awarded the most funds in this round of the program. A Cincinnati-area project was awarded the next highest amount, at $26 million. Bluestone Brothers Capital received $4.5 million in tax credits for the firm's downtown Columbus project, dubbed The Estrella. Bluestone plans a 24-story tower with 290 apartments at 175 - 199 E. Rich St. The project is planned to include a grocery store, public plaza and structured parking.
January 27Jan 27 Let's hope these developments start ASAP! Spring groundbreaking would be amazing on both of the downtown projects 😉
January 27Jan 27 11 minutes ago, sono4315 said: Let's hope these developments start ASAP! Spring groundbreaking would be amazing on both of the downtown projects 😉 I would guess the Edwards stuff won’t start until the broad street project is done. I would guess they start with the building in the ywca parking lot first and then go from there. It would be amazing if they did both the east and west side of 4th at the same time.
January 28Jan 28 2 hours ago, sono4315 said: Let's hope these developments start ASAP! Spring groundbreaking would be amazing on both of the downtown projects 😉 You'll be disappointed then... I'd say give it years...
January 28Jan 28 Two Projects on Third Street Approved by Downtown Commission The Downtown Commission this morning approved two South Third Street projects – affordable housing on the former United Way headquarters site, and the transformation of the former Central Presbyterian church into a music and events venue. Built in 1860 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the church at 132 S. Third St. was bought by the Columbus Association of the Performing Arts (CAPA) in 2012, about a year after the last service was held there. The approved plan, which has been revised multiple times, still calls for the 1920s rear addition to be demolished and replaced with a new addition that will wrap around the church into what is now a parking lot. The look and size of that addition has been changed since the plan was first brought before the board last year – materials were updated to better complement the historic church building and an outdoor stairway was removed, among other changes. More below: https://columbusunderground.com/two-projects-on-third-street-approved-by-downtown-commission-bw1/ "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 28Jan 28 Glad to see the CAPA plan finally getting approval! As for the CMHA project, objectively speaking, nearly 100 units of affordable is obviously far better than a vacant, outdated office building. But man, I still feel so disappointed every time I see news about it, knowing how much this project got downgraded.
January 28Jan 28 14 minutes ago, amped91 said: Glad to see the CAPA plan finally getting approval! As for the CMHA project, objectively speaking, nearly 100 units of affordable is obviously far better than a vacant, outdated office building. But man, I still feel so disappointed every time I see news about it, knowing how much this project got downgraded. Even more because there were other projects that might have been better, that lost because this developer pulled a bait and switch Edited January 28Jan 28 by VintageLife
January 28Jan 28 18 minutes ago, VintageLife said: Even more because there were other projects that might have been better, that lost because this developer pulled a bait and switch The developer is not a developer - it's CMHA - they're non profit basically formed by the state legislature in the depths of the depression in 1934. What exactly is the bait and switch? They disappointed you by not constructing a taller building? They have to follow federal rules when financing and the cause for the reduction was a reevaluation of the income levels in the area. They didn't qualify for the higher funding anymore. It's not like they benefited from the reduction. If anything, they lost a bit too since their mission is to build affordable housing. Who knows if this will ultimately get funded since the current Trump administration just put a freeze on all loans and grants.
January 28Jan 28 2 minutes ago, Pablo said: The developer is not a developer - it's CMHA - they're non profit basically formed by the state legislature in the depths of the depression in 1934. What exactly is the bait and switch? They disappointed you by not constructing a taller building? They have to follow federal rules when financing and the cause for the reduction was a reevaluation of the income levels in the area. They didn't qualify for the higher funding anymore. It's not like they benefited from the reduction. If anything, they lost a bit too since their mission is to build affordable housing. Who knows if this will ultimately get funded since the current Trump administration just put a freeze on all loans and grants. Thats fair, it’s just annoying the only reason they got the site was because of their original design and plan. If they presented this current version to United way, it would not have been chosen. This is from the article, he seems a little too optimistic. Robert Bitzenhofer, VP of Planning & Development for CMHA, replied that it could be, but that the impact likely wouldn’t cause an immediate delay in construction. “The [housing] voucher funding is an issue that will only come in once people are living there,” he said. “It’s the [federal] capital source that would be first up to be used, and I think CMHA would obviously step in as sort of bridge loan funder if there’s an extended pause in any of that capital funding not coming through.”
January 28Jan 28 I don't know the details between United Way and CMHA - maybe because they are both non profits United Way was more willing to sell to CMHA than a for profit developer.
January 30Jan 30 Former United Way HQ to come down this spring to make way for CMHA development downtown The demolition of the former United Way of Central Ohio headquarters will make way for new affordable housing in downtown Columbus. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2025/01/30/cmha-demo-united-way-hq-downtown.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 4Feb 4 State Employees Ordered Back to Office by Governor DeWine An executive order was signed today by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, ushering state workers back to the office after nearly five years of remote work flexibility. The order says that all “state agencies, boards, and commissions under the authority of the Governor shall require all permanent employees to routinely perform their duties in the physical office or facility assigned by their appointing authority, and not routinely from a remote location” and requires compliance by March 17th. The order does allow for some exemptions for field workers, offices that have been sold, or other exceptions approved by the Director of the Department of Administrative Services. More below: https://columbusunderground.com/state-employees-ordered-back-to-office-by-governor-dewine-we1/ "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 4Feb 4 This is great news for the vibrancy of the downtown area. I've said it many times here before, but wfh is going bye-bye, and all the people threatening to quit and go find another wfh gig are going to be in for a rude awakening. The weekday pedestrian activity in the downtown area is going to look much different come summer time than it did last summer.
February 4Feb 4 Yeah the last thing you want to tell a potential employer is that you left the previous because they did away with WFH only to hear the company you're interviewing with just decided to go back to in-person. And it will look suspicious to them that your job search coincides with your old employer returning to in-person. And if you moved to the Ozarks to save money you get to rejoin the Columbus housing shortage train.
February 5Feb 5 2 hours ago, GCrites said: Yeah the last thing you want to tell a potential employer is that you left the previous because they did away with WFH only to hear the company you're interviewing with just decided to go back to in-person. And it will look suspicious to them that your job search coincides with your old employer returning to in-person. And if you moved to the Ozarks to save money you get to rejoin the Columbus housing shortage train. There's positions like customer support that don't need to be in house. 100% agree with that. I'm not paying for a lemming to take up space they can take up at home, and their pay won't be that much anyways if they slack a little. Not a big loss. Higher paid, more creative or leadership based positions need to be in office though to collaborate. I do believe that. But I also think its important to have a culture where people enjoy coming to work, and they need to provide some sort of compensation for transit, as most people don't live by their job and due to rates are not going to move closer. A lot of people picked up jobs further in the city living further out over the pandemic and I can't blame them for not wanting to add ~$200/week in drive expenses + parking and time.
February 5Feb 5 11 hours ago, columbus17 said: A lot of people picked up jobs further in the city living further out over the pandemic and I can't blame them for not wanting to add ~$200/week in drive expenses + parking and time. Assuming your job was going to be permanently remote was insanely stupid though. I switched jobs about six months ago and I refused to consider fully remote positions at companies located outside of the Columbus area for this exact reason. I was not willing to move when the company inevitably ended wfh.
February 5Feb 5 I personally like the separation between work and home. During Covid I was never sure if I was working from home or living at work. My commute is only 15 minutes (South Clintonville to Downtown) so that's not bad. I used to commute an hour each way and that sucked.
February 5Feb 5 1 hour ago, Pablo said: I personally like the separation between work and home. During Covid I was never sure if I was working from home or living at work. My commute is only 15 minutes (South Clintonville to Downtown) so that's not bad. I used to commute an hour each way and that sucked. I kinda felt the same way. I never had trouble closing my laptop and switching off of work mode, but it drove me crazy just constantly being in the house. It made work feel less "real", so to speak. I get everyone is different and not everyone feels that way, but that's how I felt.
February 5Feb 5 Something I wasn't prepared for when we moved to the farm when I was 12 is that our home was a workplace. It was not just my folks. There were always men banging on the door and calling the house to work. Things broke constantly so there were always men showing up to fix everything. I would never get home from school and there wasn't someone there. I didn't even get keys there until I got my driver's license. When we lived in town I had keys at 8 years old.
February 5Feb 5 15 hours ago, columbus17 said: There's positions like customer support that don't need to be in house. 100% agree with that. I'm not paying for a lemming to take up space they can take up at home, and their pay won't be that much anyways if they slack a little. Not a big loss. Higher paid, more creative or leadership based positions need to be in office though to collaborate. I do believe that. But I also think its important to have a culture where people enjoy coming to work, and they need to provide some sort of compensation for transit, as most people don't live by their job and due to rates are not going to move closer. A lot of people picked up jobs further in the city living further out over the pandemic and I can't blame them for not wanting to add ~$200/week in drive expenses + parking and time. This... With a lack of housing and continual sprawl there has to be other forms of transportation. I can already hear ODOT in 2029 saying we need to add more lanes to the roads (Which do not improve traffic) right after completion of the 70/71 split.. Light/heavy rail needs to be implemented. More train tracks, less highway lanes please.
February 6Feb 6 Special Improvement Districts Vote to Downsize After Defunding After 23 years of operations, the Capital Crossroads and Discovery Special Improvement Districts (SIDs) are on shaky operational grounds. An effort to combine the groups as subsidiaries under the nonprofit development corporation Downtown Columbus Inc. (DCI) failed to move forward last year, and the resulting aftermath has left the SIDs in a precarious position. As Columbus Underground previously reported, the conversations around merged groups began in May of last year, spearheaded by communications from Michael Stevens, Director of Development with the City of Columbus and Robin Davis, Director of Strategic Visioning with Experience Columbus. “We were given a directive at that initial meeting on May 13, 2024, and we were told that we were going to be a subsidiary of DCI, and that it was a done deal, and that was going to happen by the end of 2024,” explained Marc Conte, Executive Director of both SIDs, during yesterday’s Capital Crossroads board meeting. “That’s not how you start an open and collaborative discussion.” More below: https://columbusunderground.com/special-improvement-districts-vote-to-downsize-after-defunding-we1/ "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 4Mar 4 I have a friend moving back to Columbus after a few years down in Florida. They are looking at downtown apartments. Do we know if the Continental Center conversion project has a website yet? You'd think they'd like to start pre-leasing soon with it scheduled to be completed in the next few months. Wasn't sure if anyone had info on a website.
March 4Mar 4 5 minutes ago, Gnoraa said: I have a friend moving back to Columbus after a few years down in Florida. They are looking at downtown apartments. Do we know if the Continental Center conversion project has a website yet? You'd think they'd like to start pre-leasing soon with it scheduled to be completed in the next few months. Wasn't sure if anyone had info on a website. I’ve only seen the retail spaces up for rent. They don’t appear to have anything else anywhere. It does seem like they would want some social media stuff going so people could see the units and information for future rentals.
March 4Mar 4 4 minutes ago, VintageLife said: I’ve only seen the retail spaces up for rent. They don’t appear to have anything else anywhere. It does seem like they would want some social media stuff going so people could see the units and information for future rentals. I wonder if they are running behind schedule. LoopNet is saying the retail space won't be available until August 1, 2026.
March 4Mar 4 2 minutes ago, cbussoccer said: I wonder if they are running behind schedule. LoopNet is saying the retail space won't be available until August 1, 2026. That’s what I was thinking. If it was opening this summer I would think it would have some more info out and possibly a website already.
March 4Mar 4 10 minutes ago, VintageLife said: That’s what I was thinking. If it was opening this summer I would think it would have some more info out and possibly a website already. Yea that would make sense. They are definitely working on the building though. I go by there every day and there's always construction activity.
March 4Mar 4 Originally it said Q1 2025, and I do see on the investor website it now quotes Q2 2025, so it still must be relatively soon. I'll keep my eye out for a pre-leasing site hopefully soon.
March 5Mar 5 Bricker Federal Building on Non-Core Property List, Could be Sold The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has posted a list on its website of federally-owned property that it considers “non-core” and therefore eligible to be sold. The Bricker Federal Building, located at 200 N. High St., along with an adjacent parking garage, are the two Columbus properties on the list. According to a statement on the website, the list identifies “buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties for disposal.” “Selling ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces,” it continues. “Disposing of these assets helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.” More below: https://columbusunderground.com/bricker-federal-building-on-non-core-property-list-could-be-sold-bw1/ "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 5Mar 5 Yanno, I wouldn't mind seeing it getting replaced with something else. I mean if it was all preserved '70s and spaceship cool inside like some other buildings I've seen elsewhere it might be worth saving but I don't think that's the case. We have nothing like that in Columbus and barely ever did.
March 5Mar 5 51 minutes ago, ColDayMan said: Bricker Federal Building on Non-Core Property List, Could be Sold The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has posted a list on its website of federally-owned property that it considers “non-core” and therefore eligible to be sold. The Bricker Federal Building, located at 200 N. High St., along with an adjacent parking garage, are the two Columbus properties on the list. According to a statement on the website, the list identifies “buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties for disposal.” “Selling ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces,” it continues. “Disposing of these assets helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.” More below: https://columbusunderground.com/bricker-federal-building-on-non-core-property-list-could-be-sold-bw1/ High st needs some retail in the section bad in my opinion.
March 5Mar 5 12 minutes ago, 614love said: High st needs some retail in the section bad in my opinion. Yep, it is a shame that the short north and downtown are cut off from each other because of nationwide and this building, and many others. Hopefully someone can buy it and build a decent 15+ story mixed use. Then they can demo the garage and build something decent there and reactivate pearl st
March 5Mar 5 I wouldn't advocate for tearing down either the building or garage. We need to be more focused on adaptive re-use. I would venture to guess that a brutalist building and garage would both be prime examples of structures where building on top would help easily satisfy density and reduce overall cost and be more environmentally friendly. Want a 15 story mixed use building? Luckily the first 7 are already built! Punching holes in the concrete walls, building out the open spaces, etc should also provide ground level activation and aestetic. Plus, maintaining the existing garage reduces the pressure (rational or not) that other developers in the immediate area will feel to incorporate parking in potential new infill builds. Like Gcrites, I think a sleek reno with a modern additional set of floors would be really neat. A space age mid century boutique hotel would be really cool and help bolster convention center goals. And even if it's not the world's greatest re-use, it's probably going to be better than any tear down and rebuild would be. I know we focus alot on building up surface parking, but we should also be critically looking at the potential for increasing density by building up on existing structures, particularly parking. As an aside, we also need to make sure we are requiring new decks be convertible, at least on ground level. Edited March 5Mar 5 by DTCL11
March 5Mar 5 I think it would be a difficult building to adapt to anything other than office. The floor plate is too wide. I have a vague recollection that President Ford was at the ribbon cutting for this building in 1976.
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