2 hours ago, CbusG said:

Proposed Tower Grows to 24 Stories, Dirty Frank’s Building to Remain

 

Plans for a large tower near the intersection of East Rich and South Fourth Streets have been tweaked once again and will be presented to the Downtown Commission next week.

 

Last year, local developer Bluestone Brothers proposed a 19-story, 180-unit building on the site. In July, a second iteration of the design called for a 23-story, 290-unit building on an expanded footprint, meaning that the existing buildings holding Dirty Frank’s and 16-Bit Bar+Arcade would both be demolished to make way for added commercial space.

 

Commissioners advocated for preserving the buildings, and this month the developer is back with a design that keeps them intact. The new proposal calls for a tower that has less commercial space but is one story taller, so the total number of residential units stays the same (290). The size of the parking garage decreased slightly from the previous proposal (from 347 spaces to 327).

 

Another change made in response to feedback from the commission is concerning plans for the three-story building at 232 S. Fourth St. The existing building will still be torn down, but instead of open park space, a new concept is being presented this month that proposes building a two-story metal and glass structure that would extend to the corner.

https://columbusunderground.com/proposed-tower-grows-to-24-stories-dirty-franks-building-to-remain-bw1/

 

2 hours ago, KyleofColumbus said:

I personally think the new extension is a huge improvement, and the 4th street buildings all remain except for the small end unit (which I thought looked out of place compared to the other structures). The height even increased to 24 stories! 

 

yes, the building is still a giant box, but I still say proceed. 

Ground floors need major work. Once those are redesigned with more natural elements I agree. Upper floors need a little more variation as well. It’s not a fully baked design, but a great step in that direction.

4 hours ago, columbus17 said:

This is better. However, the main structure is still a giant box with no depth or detail. Furthermore, the front facade needs broken up. I like the design on the corner but that shouldn't continue to the actual main structure. It needs variation. They need to continue to move back to the original design details.

Some of my favorite buildings are essentially giant boxes. Sometimes giant boxes look cool, I personally always appreciate the symmetry of some nice 90° angles.

7 hours ago, CbusG said:

Proposed Tower Grows to 24 Stories, Dirty Frank’s Building to Remain

 

Plans for a large tower near the intersection of East Rich and South Fourth Streets have been tweaked once again and will be presented to the Downtown Commission next week.

 

Last year, local developer Bluestone Brothers proposed a 19-story, 180-unit building on the site. In July, a second iteration of the design called for a 23-story, 290-unit building on an expanded footprint, meaning that the existing buildings holding Dirty Frank’s and 16-Bit Bar+Arcade would both be demolished to make way for added commercial space.

 

Commissioners advocated for preserving the buildings, and this month the developer is back with a design that keeps them intact. The new proposal calls for a tower that has less commercial space but is one story taller, so the total number of residential units stays the same (290). The size of the parking garage decreased slightly from the previous proposal (from 347 spaces to 327).

 

Another change made in response to feedback from the commission is concerning plans for the three-story building at 232 S. Fourth St. The existing building will still be torn down, but instead of open park space, a new concept is being presented this month that proposes building a two-story metal and glass structure that would extend to the corner.

https://columbusunderground.com/proposed-tower-grows-to-24-stories-dirty-franks-building-to-remain-bw1/

 

Alrighty, I'm back on board. Love that we're keeping the buildings along 4th and I'm a fan of beer garden type structure on the corner. 

 

Full send let's go build it. 

Edited September 20, 2024Sep 20 by 17thState

100% approve!

Can someone please post the article: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/09/24/estrella-24-story-tower-downtown.html

11 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

Can someone please post the article: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/09/24/estrella-24-story-tower-downtown.html

Here is part of it, 

 

In response to commission comments from the July meeting, the developer increased the tower from 23 to 24 stories and is no longer proposing a five-story commercial building to front 4th Street. Instead of that commercial building, the existing brick buildings will remain.

 

The only building on 4th Street planned to be demolished is 232 S. 4th St., which in the current plan would become an extension of whatever tenant is next door. Renderings showed uses ranging from a restaurant patio to an outdoor market.

 

Commissioners praised the changes to the project, thanking the developer for listening to feedback. Stanley Lan, CEO of Bluestone Brothers, thanked the commissioners for their feedback at the July meeting.
 

Ailabouni said Lan expressed interest in extending the lease to 2027 once he buys the building. Bluestone Brothers plans to buy the 4th Street buildings, which are currently owned by a few different entities, once the project moves forward. Bluestone Brothers already owns the building it plans to tear down at 199 E. Rich St.

4 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

I don’t think I’m really a fan of that, it’s gotten worse each time. 

Edited November 21, 2024Nov 21 by VintageLife

34 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

I don’t think I’m really a fan of that, it’s gotten worse each time. 

What's the record of this developer even following through on large projects? Any other names of projects they have worked on?

12 minutes ago, sono4315 said:

What's the record of this developer even following through on large projects? Any other names of projects they have worked on?

They did the project at 223 E Town, so they do follow through, but that project is much smaller 

21 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

They did the project at 223 E Town, so they do follow through, but that project is much smaller 

Thanks! I had a friend who lived there and quite a few of the units at 223 Town were used as Airbnb.

3 hours ago, columbus17 said:

 

No.

Yeah I liked the previous rendering better plus I think we lost a floor.

I think the white needs to be brick and it would look okay, still prefer the 2nd iteration. 

Hey @columbus17 if you work with these guys or know them, tell them they are idiots for strong arming little palace and el Camino out of their spaces. Those businesses are what made that area interesting, and anything they bring in to replace it won’t be the same. 
 

unless this is still the current landlord, which would make even less sense. 

Edited November 22, 2024Nov 22 by VintageLife

The Estrella (Franklin County)

Total Development Cost: $122,605,000

Total Tax Credit: $4,500,000

 

Located at 175-199 Rich St. in downtown Columbus, the Estrella is a 24-story, 503,103-square-foot mixed-use tower development. The project will remediate brownfield conditions and add to the revitalization of the 4th street district corridor with a mix of residential units, restaurants, grocery, office space, event venues, recreation areas, a public plaza, institutional spaces, and structured parking. The project will include a fresh-food grocery store, providing much-needed access to healthy food options in a food desert. The project is expected to create approximately 1,239 construction jobs and 808 permanent jobs at the project site.

 

https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/OHIOGOVERNOR/2025/01/24/file_attachments/3142703/2025 0127 TMUD Award Descriptions.pdf

Does anyone else think the 808 permanent jobs figure is outlandish? I live in a building with almost double the amount of units and two retail spaces on the ground floor and if I had to guess there are only 50 people max employed at the site post construction for the residential and commercial portions. 

15 minutes ago, cityscapes said:

Does anyone else think the 808 permanent jobs figure is outlandish? I live in a building with almost double the amount of units and two retail spaces on the ground floor and if I had to guess there are only 50 people max employed at the site post construction for the residential and commercial portions. 

I guess depending on the size of the grocery, that could have a decent number of employees. This is also an office building so won’t be just residential. I wouldn’t doubt that they county the jobs from that. 

I don't see this going anywhere for years

11 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

I don't see this going anywhere for years

Why?

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

Why?

Rates too high, and construction is 2x more expensive. I don't know a single developer (and I've asked around) that is moving forward on anything right now.

10 hours ago, columbus17 said:

Rates too high, and construction is 2x more expensive. I don't know a single developer (and I've asked around) that is moving forward on anything right now.

 

There are numerous projects around town that are currently moving forward though. 

15 hours ago, cityscapes said:

Does anyone else think the 808 permanent jobs figure is outlandish? I live in a building with almost double the amount of units and two retail spaces on the ground floor and if I had to guess there are only 50 people max employed at the site post construction for the residential and commercial portions. 

Don't underestimate the amount of people that could be working in a restaurant either. During dinner on a weekday for example, there are upwards of 50 people working at a Texas Roadhouse.

3 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

 

There are numerous projects around town that are currently moving forward though. 

Bids are locked in or the shops are big enough to hold out for a little. 

13 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

 

There are numerous projects around town that are currently moving forward though. 

Yea that’s more the problem, much like everything else. Jess Howard is the only local contractor working on the airport for example. A lot of developers aren’t moving forward because the contractors available are extremely limited.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Demolition is expected to begin this spring to make way for a new mixed-use Columbus tower that recently earned a tax credit from the state of Ohio. 

Bluestone Brothers Development was awarded a $4.5 million tax credit on Jan. 27 from Ohio’s Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program for “The Estrella” project. Plans call for the 24-story tower to be built on the southeast corner of East Rich and South Fourth streets, currently home to single-story buildings that will face a bulldozer.

 

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/24-story-columbus-tower-with-grocer-receives-4-5-million-ohio-tax-credit

12 minutes ago, CbusG said:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Demolition is expected to begin this spring to make way for a new mixed-use Columbus tower that recently earned a tax credit from the state of Ohio. 

Bluestone Brothers Development was awarded a $4.5 million tax credit on Jan. 27 from Ohio’s Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program for “The Estrella” project. Plans call for the 24-story tower to be built on the southeast corner of East Rich and South Fourth streets, currently home to single-story buildings that will face a bulldozer.

 

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/24-story-columbus-tower-with-grocer-receives-4-5-million-ohio-tax-credit

Wow, didn’t think they would be moving ahead so quick. Hopefully that’s a good sign and they start building soon after. 

21 minutes ago, CbusG said:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Demolition is expected to begin this spring to make way for a new mixed-use Columbus tower that recently earned a tax credit from the state of Ohio. 

Bluestone Brothers Development was awarded a $4.5 million tax credit on Jan. 27 from Ohio’s Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program for “The Estrella” project. Plans call for the 24-story tower to be built on the southeast corner of East Rich and South Fourth streets, currently home to single-story buildings that will face a bulldozer.

 

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/24-story-columbus-tower-with-grocer-receives-4-5-million-ohio-tax-credit

Hopeful they announce which independent grocery or chain will be taking up the first floor. Between this and the new building at the Peninsula we have a good chance of something really great to shop at! Adding a well known name would be a huge boost to downtown! Personally I would love to see Kroger or Trader Joe's but with two Krogers within a few miles each way that's probably not going to happen. I could see a whole Foods taking up home at the Peninsula.  We will have to see. 

9 minutes ago, sono4315 said:

Hopeful they announce which independent grocery or chain will be taking up the first floor. Between this and the new building at the Peninsula we have a good chance of something really great to shop at! Adding a well known name would be a huge boost to downtown! Personally I would love to see Kroger or Trader Joe's but with two Krogers within a few miles each way that's probably not going to happen. I could see a whole Foods taking up home at the Peninsula.  We will have to see. 

I’m hoping for a meijer, they are starting to show up in downtown areas, and everything about meijer is amazing. 
 

The Estrella is supposed to have 18,000 sqft which is pretty small. Meijer downtown locations are around 38,000. Do we know the sqft of the peninsula project? 

Edited February 6Feb 6 by VintageLife

I’m not sure if it’s related to this project but I’ve seen lots of utility work at the intersection of Rich and 4th street. 

2 hours ago, VintageLife said:

The Estrella is supposed to have 18,000 sqft which is pretty small. Meijer downtown locations are around 38,000. Do we know the sqft of the peninsula project? 

 

Trader Joe's are typically around 16,000 sqft so that could work.

I can’t wait for this project to get started. I’m going to have a perfect view of the progress from my office window. 

4 hours ago, VintageLife said:

I’m hoping for a meijer, they are starting to show up in downtown areas, and everything about meijer is amazing. 
 

The Estrella is supposed to have 18,000 sqft which is pretty small. Meijer downtown locations are around 38,000. Do we know the sqft of the peninsula project? 

City Target would be awesome too but I could see that more at the Edwards project near the capital building. 

Edited February 7Feb 7 by sono4315

Ok photoshop warriors, someone with skills please add this building to our skyline.

3 hours ago, CbusG said:

Ok photoshop warriors, someone with skills please add this building to our skyline.

Pleasee! This would be a good photo to use.  I feel like it's in this vicinity 😅

Here's an extremely rough idea of how the Estrella will fit in, as well as the planned Edwards buildings and Merchant Tower. 

 

19 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

 

Trader Joe's are typically around 16,000 sqft so that could work.

Aldi stores are generally between 17,825-18,000 so it would be the perfect location. For actual grocery shopping, Aldi beats Trader Joe’s by miles and miles, in my opinion. 

Or, GOD FORBID, a Lidl.

10 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Or, GOD FORBID, a Lidl.

That would be surprising, but it does look like they are moving west slowly, so it is possible. 

17 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Or, GOD FORBID, a Lidl.

They tried about 10 years ago.

Lidl's expansion model is based on density. Not of population, but of stores. They like clusters. So to enter the Ohio market (again), they'd have to identify multiple locations they feel will be successful in a cluster. Kind of like Sheetz. 

Aldi doesn't have the strict income requirements of a lot of other small-format grocery chains.

6 hours ago, DTCL11 said:

Lidl's expansion model is based on density. Not of population, but of stores. They like clusters. So to enter the Ohio market (again), they'd have to identify multiple locations they feel will be successful in a cluster. Kind of like Sheetz. 

Is that insider info on them?

 

They're so randomly placed throughout NC. That’s the only place I’ve seen them, I know they’re in the Delmarva area too.

37 minutes ago, wpcc88 said:

Is that insider info on them?

 

They're so randomly placed throughout NC. That’s the only place I’ve seen them, I know they’re in the Delmarva area too.

 

Forbes did a piece previously on Lidl and why they closed their stores outside the East Coast. They found that widespread approach wasn't working and hindered their growth so they closed up non east coast shops, and abandoned plans to open new ones elsewhere and bore down on the east coast. For example, they spent millions on a property in Erie PA that never opened as they shifted the growth model. Even then, they struggled through the pandemic. 

 

And perhaps cluster isn't the right term. Targeted regional growth? Basically, they will grow from current markets outward. Any new markets come with multiples, even if they don't seem particularly close.  

 

They're holding steady with openings coming in the existing clusters but haven't announced any massive growth like they did in 2020 when they targeted 50 new stores in 2 years. It's an old graphic but shows alot of their footprint. 

I have never been, is Lidl closer to a Trader Joe’s or Aldi, or a mix of both? Looking at their website and grocery items they seem more like a TJ’s to me. 

1 hour ago, VintageLife said:

I have never been, is Lidl closer to a Trader Joe’s or Aldi, or a mix of both? Looking at their website and grocery items they seem more like a TJ’s to me. 

 

Closer to an Aldi. But they offer more name brand items, larger produce section, and have a bakery. 

My in laws live in the Tidewater area and do go to them. But still frequent Aldi more due to familiarity.

 

I’ve only been to one in the Raleigh area just to check it out. I also didn’t know they were in the Charleston area. When I was going there a lot for work I never saw them so I wonder if they opened within the past 2-3 years.

 

That being said it looks like they’ve chosen the 95ish corridor to grow. Outside of that Charlotte, Greenville(which must be new too) are relatively close and not too far away from the others. Completely understandable for trying to enter a new country/market.

On 2/6/2025 at 8:58 PM, ColDayMan said:

 

Trader Joe's are typically around 16,000 sqft so that could work.

They were targeting this last time I heard so...

I decided to do a little more very poor "conceptual" sketches of what this area of downtown could become in the next 10-15 years with a bit of infill work on the numerous surface lots that dot the area. All the green blobs area buildings I have "envisioned" being build on certain surface lots around the area, mostly just in the 6-12 story range. I really don't think this amount of infill is too far out of the question in the next decade or so. If The Estrella can be successful and actually bring a legitimate grocery store option to the area, I think we will see this section of downtown start to take off. The proximity to two different hospitals should also help make it a desirable place for the many employees of both hospitals. The area could probably support another hotel as well due to the neighboring hospitals.