I guess I stand corrected.  The new buildings at B&H look wonderful. The corbelling and stone detailing is really sensational.  Still not sold on the advertising, but isn't it nice that we all don't agree on everything?  8 East Broad has always been one of my favorites and I'm glad that it is finally getting some love after so many years of neglect. 

An update on the Gay Street construction progress via columbusing.com

 

We’re almost there guys… here’s the latest, straight from the Mayor’s office:

 

Gay Street Project Update:

October 15, 2007

 

1. Paving will start October 15 at Grant Street and proceed west.

 

2. Angle parking will not be available for use until traffic is open in both directions. Meters and signage have been installed for the final two-way conversion. Meters facing the new eastbound direction are currently bagged. Parking will be made available as construction sequencing continues.

 

3. The target for opening Gay Street to two-way traffic is the first week of November. Construction and traffic maintenance will continue after that date for work behind the curbs and in the medians.

 

4. The Third Street signal was replaced this past weekend, and the Fourth Street signal will be replaced next weekend (10/20).

 

5. Columbia Gas continues to work at Pearl Alley to install gas lines. This work will require gas to be shut off for periods for the businesses between Pearl and High.

 

6. Conduit work for the Edwards’ development continues at 5th Street. Various utilities also will work at this intersection while a broken pole is replaced and existing overhead lines are shifted.

 

7. Pre-marking for striping the new traffic pattern will start the week of 10/22.

 

 

rider's on a roll here!  Posting like a city planner! :clap:

Thanks, Noozer.  Just trying to spread the word about some of the good things happening in Columbus.  I appreciate the compliment about posting like a city planner (or at least I hope that was a compliment).  :wink:

Shops ready for 2-way traffic

Gay Street conversion expected Wednesday

Monday,  November 5, 2007 3:44 AM

By Tim Doulin

 

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

There will be a grand "reopening" of Gay Street on Wednesday. No fanfare is planned, and the street never was officially closed, but tell that to merchants who have struggled to attract customers during the six months it's taken to convert Gay from a one-way street.

 

For more, click the link

www.dispatch.com

[email protected]

 

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/11/05/GAYSTREET.ART_ART_11-05-07_B1_6I8CHDK.html?sid=101

A couple of reports on the Oct. 28 condo auction for the Carlyles Watch project at 100 E. Gay Street.  Here's one from the Dispatch.

 

At least 8 bidders win condos at auction

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

By Marla Matzer Rose, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Eight buyers got what one real-estate agent called "great values" on condos in the Carlyles Watch building at an unusual auction of some of the lofts at the 100 E. Gay St. building.  An additional 21 bidders will find out by the end of today whether their bids for the units, originally priced between $205,000 and $450,000, will be accepted.

 

The partners in Urban Loft Ventures, the building's owners, said they held the auction to pay off lenders and move units that have been slow to sell. More than half of the building's 54 units were offered at the auction Sunday, although the number that end up being sold that way could end up being less than a dozen.  With winning bids still well above $100,000, the condos didn't exactly go for bargain-basement prices. But the auction was closely watched by many as an indicator of the health of the Downtown residential market.

 

Read more at http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/09/30/Condo_auction.ART_ART_09-30-07_A1_FN81AQN.html?sid=101

Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/11/02/story5.html

 

Carlyles Watch auction falls short of developers' hopes; 8 condos sell

Business First of Columbus

Brian R. Ball, Business First

Friday, November 2, 2007

 

The developer of the seven-story Carlyles Watch condominium building in Columbus got plenty of publicity but only eight sales at its closely watched Oct. 28 auction. It left the marketer of the downtown property wondering how much to ask for the remaining 28 unsold condos. Nearly 150 bidders lined up for as many as 36 condos that Cleveland auctioneer Chartwell Group LLC offered for sale.

 

The eight units sold brought in combined bids of just less than $2 million, or more than $1 million less than the cumulative list prices on the condos. Developer Urban Loft Ventures I LLC was going to reject the high bids on 21 other condos that were subject to the seller's acceptance by Oct. 31, said Mike Berland, a Chartwell principal and executive vice president. Seven other lower-priced condos never made it onto the auction block because of the bidding trend.

 

 

It's official now - Gay (Street traffic) goes both ways.

 

Gay St. opens to 2-way traffic

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - 2:51 PM EST

Business First of Columbus - by Matt Burns Business First

 

The City of Columbus has wrapped a nearly $8 million project spanning six months that opens Gay Street to two-way traffic.  The city announced that the conversion to two-way traffic between Cleveland Avenue and Front Street began shortly after morning rush hour Wednesday. 

 

The project, which cost an estimated $7.7 million, is part of the city's larger move to give downtown a neighborhood feel, one that can't be achieved with so many one-way streets, said Mary Carran Webster, the city's assistant director of public service.

 

The Gay Street corridor, which some city officials have unofficially labeled the "strip of hip," is the nexus of that growing sense of liveability.  The few blocks surrounding the west end of Gay Street represent the most densely packed residential area in downtown's central business district, with about 10 completed housing projects since 2002 and a few more in the pipeline.  One of those is a $70 million, 260-unit condominium project being developed by Columbus-based Edwards Cos. at East Long and Gay.  And along with the spike in housing has been an increase in restaurants, including Cafe Brioso, Due Amici and Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/11/05/daily20.html

I know that Gay Street's two-way traffic opening was previously reported.  But I just couldn't resist sharing this local report on it.  Gotta love that sign!

 

 

Right Now Downtown Blog

Inside 43215: Building Blocks

November 20, 2007

 

Gay can go both ways.

 

At least when it’s Gay Street.  After endless months of construction, the all-new Gay Street made its official debut on November 7.  No longer for the exclusive use of westbound traffic, the thoroughfare is now open to eastbound-ers too.

 

While downtown drivers appreciate the shift, the improvement actually has more impact on pedestrians.  The construction makeover also includes very user-friendly crosswalks, and those walkways are making jaunts across the road survivable for bipeds.

 

Pedestrians are also in a great position to admire the street’s cosmetic improvements.  The scene is prettier these days, especially when illuminated by the elegant old-school streetlights.  Project Manager Thomas Murphy says that the city is still working on the street’s aesthetics.  He pledged, “The work will continue for the installation of amenities.”  More trees, decorative fencing and art installations are all on the list.

 

As for Gay Street businesses, Tip Top Kitchen celebrated the re-opening with a “Gay Goes Bi” party.  The restaurant’s manager, Cabby Lawry, forecasts a bright future for the passageway.  She’s pleased with the changes: “It makes Gay more accessible as a destination street.  People can more easily find their way to Tip Top, as well as the other wonderful places in this area.”

 

link to story: http://www.downtowncolumbus.com/rndb/

I was able to get outside this morning and snap some progress photos for Broad & High.  The last photos posted had progressed to the point of the brick, stone, metal etc. being applied to the outside walls. 

 

Now the "Times Square" type graphics are being installed on the corner building at Broad Street and High Street.  The black bands on the corner building are LED graphic panels.  The metal structure at the top of the corner building is where a round video screen will be installed.  Also, quite a bit of sidewalk is being done - but you really can't tell from these photos. 

 

Its kinda difficult to fit the entire project into one shot.  It stretches both horizontally on Broad Street and High Street and vertically with the 16-story 8 E. Broad tower building.  So I've tried to compose the photos to show the project as completely as possible.

 

Enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

View from the corner of Broad Street and High Street

 

 

Another corner view - shows more of the Broad Street side then the previous view

 

 

Similar view - further back to show the 8 E. Broad tower

(some traffic mast arm clutter)

 

 

Closer view of the corner (the black bands are LED graphic panels)

 

 

View from Broad Street sidewalk looking toward the corner

 

 

View from High Street looking back to the corner

 

 

View from High Street further down the street looking

back to the corner (this one got a bit too dark)

 

Not bad!

CONSTRUCTION ZONE

Monday,  December 10, 2007 - 6:45 AM

By Mike Pramik, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Casto has signed another tenant for its Broad & High project.  The Original SoupMan will lease space facing High Street for its soup-and-salad restaurant concept.  It's the second SoupMan location to be confirmed in central Ohio.  The other is at the Shoppes at 5th Avenue, which is under construction.  The SoupMan chain was founded in New York by Al Yeganeh, the chef made famous as a character in the television show Seinfeld.

 

More at www.dispatch.com

 

 

^funny, because before i read that last line, that was the person that came to my mind. 

Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/12/10/focus1.html

 

Friday, December 7, 2007

Gay St. project teams up styles to become neighborhood

Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball Business First

 

Designers of a 7-acre neighborhood under construction along East Gay Street downtown looked to the older urban neighborhoods of Chicago and Philadelphia.  But when finished in five or six years, what community developer Edwards Cos. has envisioned will not look like some residential project emerging from the existing sea of parking northeast of Capitol Square.

 

"We don't want everything to look the same," said Kim Ulle, the president of Eclipse Real Estate Group, the Edwards Cos. division managing the development.  The mix of townhouse styles "is what you see in Chicago's Gold Coast and Georgetown (section of Washington, D.C.) or Boston and Philadelphia," she said. "That's what makes it seem more like a neighborhood than a project."

 

East Gay residential project

Location: More than 7 acres on nine quarter-blocks between North Fourth and Sixth streets and East Gay and Long streets.

Delivery: The first townhouses scheduled for completion in January. The neighborhood could take five years to build, depending on demand.

No. of units: 265

Pricing: $140,000 to $650,000

Amenities: Detached garages, seven parks

Developer: Edwards Cos.

Cost to develop: $70 million

Construction manager: Edwards Cos. affiliates Duffy Homes Inc. and Multicon Construction

Architects: Brian Kent Jones Architects Inc. and Lupton Rausch Architects Inc. Sales Team: Sue Cass of Duffy Homes

Web site: www.neighborhoodlaunch.com

 

I also have some recent photos of the project's progress.  While at a conference in the Athenaeum located across Gay Street from the Edwards project, I was able to shoot a few pics from the third floor of the building looking across Gay Street.  Couldn't get all the buildings in one shot.  But its a more clear view than you get from the street.  There is alot of ground clutter right now. 

 

 

 

 

 

oh i like the blue.  and i dont think the density is an issue.  it will be dt c-bus's little village.  i dont think the area can support tons of high density stuff.  these are a huge improvement to what was there.  go cbus.

The blue is going to have to grow on me.  This thing may turn out better than I first imagined.  I just hope they keep with the Landscape Architecture that they have in some of there renderings.

 

^atlas, shouldn't you be working now?  ;-)

 

The blue is going to have to grow on me.  This thing may turn out better than I first imagined.  I just hope they keep with the Landscape Architecture that they have in some of there renderings.

 

^atlas, shouldn't you be working now?  ;-)

 

 

ha! 

Props to Casto for a splendid project.  Local developers apparently know how to do it right. 

Walked through the construction zone yesterday, and everything seems to be coming along nicely.

Broad, High billboards to go live

Business First of Columbus

 

The Times Square-like multimedia billboards at the corner of Broad and High streets in Columbus are ready for their own countdown.  Developer Casto, Mayor Michael B. Coleman and billboard designer Orange Barrel Media are scheduled to light the downtown project at 5 p.m. Thursday.  When the complex at the corner opens in early January, stock tickers and advertisements on the billboards will be a visual anchor for the $22 million retail, office and residential development.

 

Full story at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/12/17/daily21.html?jst=b_ln_hl

 

Yay!

I just rode by there and the signs are lit up and working. It really gives that corner new life!

I like the project and actually like the blue. The blue looks better than these photos. On a side note, I miss the old Pyramid though. I did get a brick from the demolition of the site to send to my friend in Florida. He was a batender there.

Text messaging to the max

Capitol Square's video billboards, ticker signs form vibrant montage

Thursday,  December 20, 2007 3:26 AM

By Mike Pramik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Several news tickers and video screens have surfaced on Capitol Square, and like fireworks on the Fourth of July, they have captured the attention of pedestrians and drivers alike.  Get ready for an explosion.  The developers of the Broad & High project in the heart of Downtown today plan to unveil today an elaborate text-and-video montage they hope will take multimedia marketing to a new level.

 

Casto's office, residential and retail project will feature two tickers and six video screens.  The eye-grabber is a 68-foot-by-15-foot screen that wraps around the corner of Broad and High and stands atop a new four-story office building.  Casto formed a venture with Orange Barrel Media to create the complex sign display, which has attracted seven of the eight major sponsors the venture was seeking.

 

Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/12/20/ticker_mania.ART_ART_12-20-07_A1_818R1MG.html?sid=101

 

I strangely love it.

^interesting, I thought it was iligal to advertise alcholic beverages.  :-P 

 

Anyways, it looks really good.  Not the best quality photo, anyone have one better? 

 

Also, I think that study about it being distracting is a load of crap.  People can and should be able to decide for themselves if somehting is distracting.  Besides, if you are in your car, you'll prolly watch it when you are stopped at the light. 

 

Oh, and I am really glad that Eye Sore is gone.

http://highstreetart.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html#4638459856695276672 has a short video of the Broad & High electronic signage. 

 

And a decent photo as well...

 

 

Noozer had some good photos of the December 20 grand lighting ceremony, which got lost with the recent forum events.  Reposting them would be greatly appreciated, please?

 

 

i like the news ticker -- the rest not so much w/o the ballgame, draft beer and hotdog.  :laugh:

 

kidding. overall its fun and fine. anything beats the decrepit junk that was there for so long.

 

 

 

Wow. I don't know how I missed this entire thread (probably because I tend to ignore Columbus threads), but I just went through this entire thread and I am pleased to say, this is a really nice project! It's good to see that you can reuse an older building like this without tearing it down and yet be able to blend it in with new construction this way.

 

I may just have o make a trip to Columbus soon and check this out in person!

well, living in manhattan i can hardly complain!

 

but i will. a little.

 

let's just come right out with it....that gaudy signage seems way out place at "the crossroads of ohio" and across from the statehouse.

 

also, this may be a good thing, the signage covers rather middling architecture (i know, i know, it sure beats the decrepit trash that was there). the news tickers are fine, but it goes outside the bounds of tastefulness at the top (that stuff reminds me of newer sports stadiums). maybe they could have promoted a more green roof image w/ a garden/solar panels or something?

 

but....those weak complaints aside, i like it! come on. it's better than hanging vinyl banners. very unusual to do something like this. it's fun. it's modern. it's city.

 

 

I'll be honest; I like the wavey-ness of it but that's about it. Yeah there's a lot "going on" with that building but it's definitely an attempt to give one a sense that they're in New York when they're at the intersection of the two main roads intersecting in downtown Columbus. It really is trying too hard in my opinion.

^----Is New York, Chicago or LA the only cities that get to have any fun with their town? Honestly, half of the Columbus population will probably never set foot in the the big apple in their lifetime, so let them dream. This is akin to Dayton and their "tallest hotel proposal, let the smaller cities dream big for a change I say. ;-)

LA and New York are cosmopolitan. They're huge. They get tons of foot traffic. There are four Kroger ads on this thing.

Ok, get rid of the Kroger signs and I agree this would probably be better in Cincinnati which is much more compact and walkable than Columbus, but overall I still think it is a pretty good project for the city.

Don't get me wrong; I don't think my opinion is any better. It's all subjective. If it's what the people want, more power to them. But God help us if Corporate Architecture becomes a major.

Ok, get rid of the Kroger signs and I agree this would probably be better in Cincinnati which is much more compact and walkable than Columbus, but overall I still think it is a pretty good project for the city.

 

True, but that's why they're building it... They are trying to make Columbus more walkable, more dense...

Bright lights warm crossroads of metropolis

Sunday,  January 6, 2008 - 3:39 AM

By JOE BLUNDO, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Until recently, you could describe the four corners of Broad and High as stately (southeast), businesslike (northwest), vacant (southwest) and decrepit (northeast).  In other words, the picture at the crossroads of Columbus wasn't pretty.  Then decrepit became under construction and has emerged as -- well, let's call it busy.  This is good.

 

I like the big video display that splashes across the face of the new building at the northeast corner of our most important intersection.  By the time it was being designed, video itself was no longer a novelty Downtown, thanks to various screens and streamers.  But this latest addition improves on the trend with undulating "ribbons" of video that wrap around the building.

 

Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/wwwexportcontent/sites/dispatch/images/jan/1ABLUN06_broad_high_01-06-08_F1.html

 

• To see historical slides of Broad and High, visit www.dispatch.com/multimedia.

 

 

 

 

 

LAsam posted some new photos of the Broad & High signage in this City Photos - Ohio thread http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=14871.0.  Here's a few...

 

 

 

 

 

 

LAsam posted some new photos of the Gay Street residential development in this City Photos - Ohio thread http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=14871.0.  Here's a few...

 

 

 

 

LAsam posted some new photos of the Carlyles Watch (i.e Condos at 100 E. Gay) residential development in this City Photos - Ohio thread http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=14871.0. 

 

Nice view from Third & Gay Streets.  It's hard to tell from the photos but a coffee shop has moved into the retail storefront at the corner of the building.  Looks good, especially now that the Gay Street landscaping is now planted and the new streetlights are in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where in down town are these located.  I think the asthetics on the outside are pretty intriguing minus the panama city beach style balconies on the one corner/half-side.  If I moved back to Cbus I would consider living there.  What is the social scene like in that area?

Northeast corner of Third Street and Gay Street.  Located one block north of the Ohio Statehouse/Capitol Square.  Real nice central location. 

 

Gay Street is quickly becoming a restaurant row.  The long-time upscale Mitchell's Steakhouse and the new upscale Latitude 41 restaurant are located on different corners of Third & Gay.  New restaurant/bar Tip Top Cafe is down the street along Gay Street.  Tip Top is located next door to Due Amici restaurant.  And Cafe Brioso, a great locally owned coffee shop, is located one block away at the northeast corner of High Street and Gay Street. 

Glutmax: About a half mile north is Short North, which is a happening place.  Mainly younger people and lots of restaurants, bars, art galleries and the like.  The area is fairly dense although it is difficult to live a non-car lifestyle in C-bus, but as far as I can tell parking is really cheap compared to other cities.

According to this article meters in Midtown are $2 an hour while Downtown it's $1.50. We are not 3/4 Midtown, but we pay like it is. That's why I have a bike:free parking.

More info on the restaurant tenants opening up and moving into the Broad & High project.

 

ON RESTAURANTS

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

By Bill Chronister

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Office workers Downtown, get ready: Cafe Lola opened last week on the north side of Broad Street at High Street, and the Original Soupman is within a week of opening its store next door.

 

Cafe Lola

Cafe Lola is the latest venture by Kevin Ames, who has started a number of widely known restaurants, including Frezno, Dagwoodz and the Press Grill in the Short North and Cafe Iliana on Gay Street and Riverside Drive.

 

The Original Soupman

The Original Soupman is the chain born from the Soup Kitchen International that Al Yeganeh started in New York City in 1984.  He was made famous on Seinfeld as the "Soup Nazi" in the early '90s.

 

More at www.dispatch.com

Praise Jesus for a Cafe Lola!

This isn't the same as the Lola in Cleveland, if that's what you're thinking...

Oh, trust me, I don't want that Lola (it's out of my price range)!

Review of the newly opened Cafe Lola in the Columbus: Restaurant Openings, Closings & Relocations thread at http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,11782.180.html.

Casto announces first retail and office clients move-in at Broad and High project in Columbus

Posted by Paul Bonneville on March 11, 2008 at Columbus Retro Metro

 

press release

Columbus, Ohio – CASTO, one of the country’s leading real estate organizations, opens doors at Broad and High project to first retail tenant, Café Lola and office tenant, Paul Werth Associates.

 

Paul Werth Associates, a full-service public relations, advertising, public affairs and research firm, occupies 10,441 square feet of office space at Broad and High.  In business for 45 years, Werth decided to make their first move in 44 years, just blocks away from the firm’s old offices.  “We are committed to downtown and moving to the most exciting corner of the city is an extraordinary occasion for our firm”, says Sandy Harbrecht, President of Paul Werth Associates.

 

Café Lola, owned and operated by restaurateurs Lori and Kevin Ames occupies 1,600 square feet of space.  Open Monday to Friday from 7:30am-4pm, they offer an array of delicious breakfasts and sandwiches with great price points.  After being open a few days, their lunch crowd is already booming with a line out the door just yesterday!

 

The rest of the project anticipates an opening this Spring, including the condominium component, 8 on the Square, with available homes ranging from $219,000 to over $1 million.  For more information on retail, office and residential availability, please visit www.broadandhigh.com.

 

http://columbusretrometro.typepad.com/columbus_retrometro/2008/03/casto-announces.html#more