April 17, 20241 yr In the past a lot got done with interest rates this high or even higher but today's economy got addicted to them in the same way fields get addicted to too much fertilizer and won't produce if you take it away. Homespun sayings brought to you by The Farm
April 18, 20241 yr 7 hours ago, columbus17 said: Spoke with a major developer yesterday. The numbers are really tight on all projects right now - as upsetting as it is they really have their hands tied. Most projects aren't even feasible as it is... Their hands aren't tied. Sell and move on. We can't keep sacrificing what's left simply because developers can't afford to rehab a building. It's not a valid excuse.
April 18, 20241 yr 9 hours ago, columbus17 said: Spoke with a major developer yesterday. The numbers are really tight on all projects right now - as upsetting as it is they really have their hands tied. Most projects aren't even feasible as it is... Somehow these warehouses survived interest rates in the teens during the 80's. If they can't pencil out a project without destroying what little original buildings this city has left maybe they shouldn't do it. Plenty of empty lots to build stick boxes covered in cardboard.
April 18, 20241 yr 10 hours ago, 17thState said: Somehow these warehouses survived interest rates in the teens during the 80's. If they can't pencil out a project without destroying what little original buildings this city has left maybe they shouldn't do it. Plenty of empty lots to build stick boxes covered in cardboard. The problem is everyone has gotten accustomed to cheap money. The recent rise in interest rates has screwed up everyone's business models. I don't know squat about business but to me it seems like developers are whining. Rates were high in the 80's and yet there was a ton of construction locally. These were the 30 year fixed mortgage rates.
April 18, 20241 yr 34 minutes ago, Pablo said: The problem is everyone has gotten accustomed to cheap money. The recent rise in interest rates has screwed up everyone's business models. I don't know squat about business but to me it seems like developers are whining. Rates were high in the 80's and yet there was a ton of construction locally. These were the 30 year fixed mortgage rates. And those stuck around for a LONG time. We are only in year 2/3 and folks are not prepared to consider it will last longer than another year or two. We have also entered the era of profit stability is not an acceptable model and that profit should grow every year. While this probably impacts developers less, investors generally only want to see profit growth year over year and facing years of perhaps stagnant profit is not acceptable. While the margins may still be good, they aren't better than the year before so that makes investors mad.
April 18, 20241 yr 15 hours ago, DTCL11 said: Their hands aren't tied. Sell and move on. We can't keep sacrificing what's left simply because developers can't afford to rehab a building. It's not a valid excuse. No one can afford to rehab it. That's the point I'm making. Financing is tight and these projects are higher risk. I love saving the old but the fact of the matter is the proformas just aren't working in anyone's favor right now.
April 19, 20241 yr 1 hour ago, amped91 said: Oh wow. Did the tower get approved? Or is this just a demo? Just demo probably, that property was sold or rented the one story on the corner of gift st is a school now.
April 20, 20241 yr On 2/29/2024 at 9:22 PM, ColDayMan said: Three More Walnut Street Homes Added to Live Music Project Plans to convert a row of homes in Franklinton into a live music corridor have taken another step forward. A group known formally as Walnut Street Franklinton Partners, spearheaded by Blake Compton and Jim Sweeney, received preliminary approvals yesterday from the East Franklinton Review Board to convert three more houses into mixed-use live music spaces. “The idea is to create a music hall with an artist residency,” explained Compton. “Traveling bands that might come to record across the street at Secret Studio might want a place to stay and play on the street.” The first phase of the project got underway recently, with construction starting at 500 W. Walnut St., which Sweeney is renovating into a bar. Compton expects to start construction soon at 494 W. Walnut St. which is being converted into a restaurant on the ground floor with an apartment unit above. The three homes that received conversion approvals yesterday are located at 530, 532 and 536 W. Walnut St. More below: https://columbusunderground.com/three-more-walnut-street-homes-added-to-live-music-project-we1/ Work well underway on the Live Music Project at 500 W Walnut St *No movement yet at the other four homes involved in the project
April 22, 20241 yr Looks like the Columbus Historical Society should be starting on the building on Broad shortly, they just submitted the final plan revision and I believe I saw some pictures of them getting the inside ready for work.
April 22, 20241 yr 3 hours ago, VintageLife said: Looks like the Columbus Historical Society should be starting on the building on Broad shortly, they just submitted the final plan revision and I believe I saw some pictures of them getting the inside ready for work. Are you talking about a submission to the commission? I check here and haven’t seen anything posted in months: https://www.columbus.gov/planning/efrb/
April 22, 20241 yr 11 minutes ago, smjjms said: Are you talking about a submission to the commission? I check here and haven’t seen anything posted in months: https://www.columbus.gov/planning/efrb/ I checked the Columbus permit portal page, I wonder if they will have any renderings at this months meeting Edited April 22, 20241 yr by VintageLife
April 25, 20241 yr 1 hour ago, CbusOrBust said: Exterior work wrapping up at Prim Mason So happy they saved this and it turned out great.
April 25, 20241 yr On 4/23/2024 at 10:25 PM, CbusOrBust said: Fencing finally completely down in front of McDowell Place They need to make developers rebuild the curbs as part of these projects a lot of the elements within the right of way in Franklinton look really bad because of it. How do you have really good new buildings and the sidewalks, curbs etc all look janky?
April 25, 20241 yr 23 minutes ago, cityscapes said: They need to make developers rebuild the curbs as part of these projects a lot of the elements within the right of way in Franklinton look really bad because of it. How do you have really good new buildings and the sidewalks, curbs etc all look janky? With all the construction work that is happening in that area, I am guessing that the sidewalk and road improvement is going to happen after most of that is done. I would rather it look like crap right now than to have them fix it all, only for some construction equipment to damage it and have to have it repaired over and over.
April 25, 20241 yr 1 minute ago, VintageLife said: With all the construction work that is happening in that area, I am guessing that the sidewalk and road improvement is going to happen after most of that is done. I would rather it look like crap right now than to have them fix it all, only for some construction equipment to damage it and have to have it repaired over and over. Couldn't agree more. I feel like one thing Columbus does not skimp on, specifically in it's downtown when they are re-doing streets and what not are it's curbing/sidewalks. Every curb that has gone into Columbus in the last few decades is granite, not concrete. It lasts and looks sharp. Even when they have to do maintenance, they can remove the granite slabs, and re-install them after. I've had countless friends and family from Houston, Austin, Denver, etc.....that have commented on how clean and nice our streets are compared to theirs when they visit our city. Let the dust settle from the massive influx of construction and I'm sure the city will give Franklinton this treatment as well.
April 25, 20241 yr 3 minutes ago, Gnoraa said: that have commented on how clean and nice our streets are compared to theirs when they visit our city. Not fully related to this, but I agree 100% with how clean and nice the city looks. I’m always confused when people on reddit post about how dirty and ugly everything is in Columbus, even when I see post from visitors stating the opposite. I don’t really ever see trash or garbage on the roads, but I also don’t take highways ever so maybe that’s why. the granite always looks super nice, and you’re correct it seems to last and hold up so much better.
April 25, 20241 yr ^People who come up to town from the south see a lot of dirty stuff since that's where our industrial stuff and quarries are. People like that have to drive through miles of that stuff to get to the clean parts. Or they work in that part of town. That's where your most hardcore city haters come from.
April 30, 20241 yr I couldn't grab a picture this morning (bc driving) but it looks like work is well underway on the former Engine House No. 6 at 540 W. Broad St, the future home of the Columbus Historical Society. It looked like a civil engineer was surveying the parking lot at the Spaghetti Warehouse site as well.
May 1, 20241 yr 45 minutes ago, CbusOrBust said: Few different looks at Gravity Greenhouse I still think they missed out by not making those colorful units condos/townhomes.
May 1, 20241 yr Kaufman selling Gravity 2.0 in Franklinton The second phase of Gravity, developer Brett Kaufman's transformative Franklinton project, is for sale. The large mixed-use project was listed for sale this week, according to multiple listings. The listings do not include asking prices. Gravity 2.0 comprises several buildings, including one with 257 apartments and ground-floor retail, an office building with 180,000 square feet of space, a building with shared and private living options and a McDowell Street building with six luxury townhomes and 18 apartments. The office building is located at 455 W. Broad St. and the apartment building is at 470 W. State St.
May 1, 20241 yr 17 minutes ago, VintageLife said: Kaufman selling Gravity 2.0 in Franklinton The second phase of Gravity, developer Brett Kaufman's transformative Franklinton project, is for sale. The large mixed-use project was listed for sale this week, according to multiple listings. The listings do not include asking prices. Gravity 2.0 comprises several buildings, including one with 257 apartments and ground-floor retail, an office building with 180,000 square feet of space, a building with shared and private living options and a McDowell Street building with six luxury townhomes and 18 apartments. The office building is located at 455 W. Broad St. and the apartment building is at 470 W. State St. A picture from the listing:
May 1, 20241 yr 29 minutes ago, aderwent said: A picture from the listing: I thought Kaufman did asset management too? Or no? This shocks me - he seemed so involved in this development and to just sell it after all that work…
May 1, 20241 yr 21 minutes ago, columbus17 said: I thought Kaufman did asset management too? Or no? This shocks me - he seemed so involved in this development and to just sell it after all that work… Wonder if he is using it to fund phase 3 or if he has another project planned somewhere.
May 1, 20241 yr 2 hours ago, GCrites said: They used to keep everything for at least a few years, yes. Capital is much harder to come by than a few years ago. If you're trying to acquire resources/funding for your next project, you want to have as little debt as possible in your books right now. I imagine Greenhouse will be on the market soon after it wraps, too. At its core, Kaufman is still a developer, not an asset manager. On another note, it still seems wild to me that they went with asphalt for the courtyard/art walk. I understand them doing the asphalt curbside because the city will likely do a full streetscaping in this area soon... but the courtyard? I just do not understand this choice. It feels unfinished/value engineered imho.
May 2, 20241 yr 12 hours ago, VintageLife said: Wonder if he is using it to fund phase 3 or if he has another project planned somewhere. Please please Kaufman go do some projects in another area of downtown like Brewery District or Warehouse District. Edited May 2, 20241 yr by 614love
May 2, 20241 yr 59 minutes ago, 614love said: Please please Kaufman go do some projects in another area or downtown like Brewery District or Warehouse District. Would love to see him do some stuff in the warehouse district.
May 7, 20241 yr On 3/19/2024 at 1:28 PM, CbusOrBust said: Quick check on the 19 new townhomes rising near Dodge Park Sullivant and Grubb Rich and Skidmore Vertical at Rich and Skidmore
May 9, 20241 yr 11-Story Building Proposed for Small Lot in Franklinton Preliminary plans have been submitted to the City of Columbus to construct an 11-story building on a tenth-of-an-acre lot in Franklinton. The proposal, from Pink Development and Construction, is for 278 S. Glenwood Ave., a vacant lot located between two warehouse-style buildings. The proposed building would hold a total of 81 apartments, with retail on the ground floor, a bar on the 11th floor and a rooftop amenity deck. The residential units would be a mix of studios and one-bedroom apartments, ranging from 264 to 407 square feet in size, and the plans as they have been presented so far do not call for any internal parking. “Structured parking [for this proposal] would run probably $3 million; that parking would take up six stories and by eliminating it, we are able to deliver more units,” Ellis says, adding that the target average rent for the development is $1,300 a month, which “represents a substantial savings opportunity for tenants.”
May 9, 20241 yr Just now, Pablo said: Weird location for an 11 story building. I’m here for it though. He isn’t wrong when he says a lot of other cities have taller buildings all over. It works just fine and people learn to live with them. if we want to tackle the housing problem, we need more stuff like this all over the city. I’m pretty sure the commission will say no anyway.
May 9, 20241 yr Just now, VintageLife said: I’m pretty sure the commission will say no anyway. Franklinton Commission tends to be much more open than other communities. The fact that it's a shiny new tall development west of 315 may excite them as there's a fair bit of lamenting over the attention 'East Franklinton' gets vs 'West Franklinton' It also sets a good precedent out of the gate for alot of the old warehouse lots along Glenwood.
May 9, 20241 yr 4 minutes ago, VintageLife said: I’m here for it though. He isn’t wrong when he says a lot of other cities have taller buildings all over. It works just fine and people learn to live with them. if we want to tackle the housing problem, we need more stuff like this all over the city. I’m pretty sure the commission will say no anyway. I'm not against height - just seems strange. Zone-In calls for 4 story max on Sullivant just to the south. Maybe it can be the start of something interesting in the City?
May 9, 20241 yr 1 minute ago, columbus17 said: It’s intentional. They want to be the catalyst in that area. A genius business move. and based on the small home pictured beside it in the renderings, I bet they want to buy up the area, which is fine, if they bring projects like this.
May 9, 20241 yr 18 minutes ago, Pablo said: Interesting night life nearby at Sullivant and Glenwood.... Herbet's Market and Charley's Place is the entertainment nexus of SoFra (South Franklinton).
May 9, 20241 yr The unit sizes are insanely small and the overall aesthetic looks like it was copy pasted here straight from Tokyo. It's completely crazy but kinda fun and just might work So if this isn't a joke I say let them build it (if they can manage to pull that off)
May 10, 20241 yr The developer for this project was commenting on some Columbus underground comments and left this one when responding to someone saying this should be downtown. Bold part was done by me. “downtown land the cheapest plot is $400k it's a parking lot near the south east Side of 43215. the economics of downtown with unlimited height, lot coverage, and density help a lot, but this plot like someone else pointed out was about 10x cheaper. if you follow these tracks north you'll find several commercial planned development districts on olentangy and others that were rezoned from manufacturing and 60' height to 110' in height. pushing the density allows for economies of scale as well. our backup is always to build a 6 story structure but we are pushing for maximum density and housing unit deliveries as possible like you see in other markets with much higher affordable housing issues.”
May 10, 20241 yr On 5/1/2024 at 8:47 AM, VintageLife said: Kaufman selling Gravity 2.0 in Franklinton The second phase of Gravity, developer Brett Kaufman's transformative Franklinton project, is for sale. Interview in Business First with Brett, dove into some of the details of this sale and project. - Franklinton/Downtown residential is soft right now due to amount of Class A units coming online at once, the office component is struggling - Project facing shortfall on loans with "imminent maturity dates". - Attempts to raise $7.5M in funds to stabilize project have failed, high interest rates and banks denying bridge loans on projects nationwide. - Despite challenges, interest in project from buyers has been "phenomenally strong" - Will not impact future projects or existing projects in the portfolio (GreenHouse SN exceeding lease expectations and project schedule) He brings up some interesting tidbits, which confirm that downtown is still facing headwinds while the overall market (even the core) remains strong. As always, every public/private investment in Downtown/Franklinton will help strengthen things. The SN had the benefit of critical mass prior to COVID, while Downtown/Franklinton just was not there yet... seems like COVID impacts will be felt for quite some time.
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