The $126 million Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry building (CBEC) opened to students in January but had its official grand opening ceremony last Friday.  OSU's campus newspaper had a couple of articles on the CBEC grand opening and an older article about the research that will take place in the new building:

 

http://thelantern.com/2015/04/cbec-building-officially-opens-with-ceremony/

 

http://thelantern.com/2015/04/cbecs-friday-opening-brings-new-room-for-research/

 

http://thelantern.com/2015/02/cbec-aims-to-be-hub-for-research-with-new-space/

 

Goodbye Shell station...

 

Ohio State Lane-High project revamped

 

 

Elford Development Ltd. has unveiled revamped plans for an apartment and commercial complex at the High Street-Lane Avenue entrance to the commercial corridor that fronts Ohio State University.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2015/04/24/ohio-state-lane-high-project-revamped-by-elford.html

On the campus side of High Street, the new Chilled Water Plant has been completed.  Late April photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2015-part-1

 

One block north, the massive North Dorms Reconstruction Project continues on.  Late April photos from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2015-part-1

 

 

 

 

 

And across the street on the city side of High Street, the View on High mixed-use project (that replaced the free-standing Wendy's formerly on the site) is finished.  Late April photos from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2015-part-1

 

 

 

 

With all the new apartments being planned for the area, CU takes a look at the University District rental market.  Here's a clue, the recently completed View on High (pictured above) and Norwich Flats are both fully leased for the upcoming fall semester:

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/rental-market-in-university-district-showing-no-signs-of-slowing-bw1

 

University District Leaders See Opportunity in New Development, Special Improvement District

By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground

April 30, 2015 - 11:44 am

 

Although some University District residents have expressed concern about the impact of new development in the neighborhood, community leaders are hopeful that the influx of new mixed-use developments on High Street and Lane Avenue – along with plans for the redevelopment of nine acres at the corner of 15th Avenue and High and another seven acres between 8th and 9th avenues – will bring additional vibrancy to the main corridors of campus while freeing up space in the area’s many historic, single-family homes for more families and young professionals.

( . . . )

Leaders also sees potential in a new SID, or Special Improvement District, to help keep the neighborhood clean and safe in the face of all these changes. ... When City Council approved the new SID in March for the stretch of High running from 7th Avenue to two blocks north of Lane, it marked the fulfillment of a long-term goal of neighborhood leaders.

( . . . )

The campus area SID will be the city’s fourth such district (after the Capital Crossroads and Discovery SIDs downtown, the Short North SID, and the Morse Road SID).  An additional tax assessment from property owners will fund a range of initiatives, including additional security patrols, litter and graffiti control, infrastructure maintenance, and new landscaping.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/university-district-leaders-see-opportunity-in-new-development-special-improvement-district-bw1

 

Ohio State wants to expand medical center project, increase budget by $10 million

By Carrie Ghose, Columbus Business First

Updated June 2, 2015, 2:36pm EDT

 

Construction costs for Ohio State University’s new sports medicine center would increase by $10 million if trustees approve a request to add an outpatient surgery center.

 

Foundation work is under way on the OSU Wexner Medical Center's Jameson Crane Sports Medicine Institute off the Ackerman Road exit of Route 315, to create a facility for OSU Sports Medicine and clinical space for 15 interdisciplinary specialties.

 

Trustees first approved the project at $35 million two years ago.  On Tuesday, medical center trustees recommended the OSU board on Friday approve an increase to $45 million.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/06/02/ohio-state-wants-to-expand-medical-center-project.html

Interview: Keith Meyers and Campus Partners on the 15th and High Plan

By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground

June 5, 2015 6:00 am

 

In late February of this year, OSU and Campus Partners unveiled an ambitious plan for redeveloping a nine-acre area centered on the intersection of 15th Avenue and North High Street. The underlying zoning for that plan – which calls for new mixed-use development along with a public square, a hotel, and a parking garage – has since been approved by both the University Area Commission (UAC) and the University Area Review Board (UARB) and will soon be considered by the city’s Development Commission and City Council.

 

Given the scale of the proposal, and the number of questions that seem to remain about what effect it will have on existing businesses and buildings within the development zone, we thought that now would be a good time to sit down with some of the architects of the plan for a more in-depth look.

 

Keith Meyers (Associate Vice President of Physical Planning and Real Estate at OSU), Amanda Hoffsis (President of Campus Partners) and Erin Prosser (Director of Community Development at Campus Partners), have worked with neighborhood groups, property owners, the City of Columbus and many others to craft the plan.  They will also be the team tasked with implementing it in the coming years.  What follows is an edited version of my conversation earlier this week with Meyers, Hoffsis, and Prosser:

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/interview-keith-meyers-and-campus-partners-on-the-15th-and-high-plan-bw1

More about the 15th & High Plan.  An update from CU on what is likely the first move in OSU's redevelopment plan for the 15th & High area.  I liked what the author said in the below article's opening sentence about this 15th & High redevelopment being "a complicated and years-long game of Tetris".  That's one of the more interesting ways to describe the many difficulties in redeveloping a built-up urban area!

 

 

Proposed Building on East 15th Could Enable Future Development

By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground

June 23, 2015 - 7:00 am

 

Campus Partners has made the first move in what could be a complicated and years-long game of Tetris in the University District.  The OSU-affiliated non-profit submitted plans to the University Area Review Board (UARB) last week for a 12-unit, three-story apartment and office building to be built at 66 East 15th Avenue, the site of an unusual office building that used to be a church.

 

“I would consider this an enabling project of the larger 15th and High plan,” said Erin Prosser, Director of Community Development for Campus Partners. “It’s a functional building, and it will provide a nice transition to the neighborhood, but the reality is, it enables us to do the other stuff.”

 

Prosser explained that in order to eventually build the public square, boutique hotel, and multiple mixed-use buildings called for in Campus Partners’ 15th and High Urban Framework Plan, a parking garage will likely have to be among the first things built.  And in order to build that parking garage – which is slated for an area east of Pearl Alley between 15th and 16th avenues – a number of buildings would have to be torn down.  The new proposed building would allow tenants of those buildings to remain in the area and would free up the land for the parking garage.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/proposed-building-on-east-15th-could-enable-future-development-bw1

Here is the current office building mentioned in the previous article. I had never noticed it because it is set back far from the street.

 

^OOOOhhh that building. Too bad; I've always admired it.

^OOOOhhh that building. Too bad; I've always admired it.

 

I think it's much more interesting than the building proposed to replace it.

Edwards planning more student housing by Ohio State

 

 

Edwards Cos. is hoping to expand its housing portfolio serving Ohio State University students.

 

The Columbus-based developer wants to build a four-story complex at 144-162 W. Lane Ave. offering 125 beds in 45 units.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/12/11/edwards-planning-more-student-housing-by-ohio.html

 

APPROVED: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/03/24/edwards-student-housing-project-approved-on-lane.html

 

Demolition on the old buildings has begun.

^OOOOhhh that building. Too bad; I've always admired it.

 

I think it's much more interesting than the building proposed to replace it.

 

Looks like an office from the movie Rollerball.

More Ohio State student housing on the way at Lane, Tuttle Park

 

 

A small manufacturing plant on West Lane Avenue near Ohio State University could make way for 54 apartments, storefronts and offices under a proposal from 4 Points Development.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2015/08/28/more-ohio-state-student-housing-on-the-way-at-lane.html

Looks like a pretty good size for the location. The sun shining from so far north is a little worrying though.

Here is the current office building mentioned in the previous article. I had never noticed it because it is set back far from the street.

 

Wow, what a cool building.

 

I totally understand Campus Partners' assessment that High Street needs revitalization. However I can't believe they'd chose a collection of blocks that punches above its weight in architectural resources. There is a lot already here with which to work - they could have gone the historic rehabilitation route.

 

If they just wanted to build some new stuff, they could have acquired many other blocks covered in junk like UDFs.

Here is the current office building mentioned in the previous article. I had never noticed it because it is set back far from the street.

 

Wow, what a cool building.

 

I totally understand Campus Partners' assessment that High Street needs revitalization. However I can't believe they'd chose a collection of blocks that punches above its weight in architectural resources. There is a lot already here with which to work - they could have gone the historic rehabilitation route.

 

If they just wanted to build some new stuff, they could have acquired many other blocks covered in junk like UDFs.

 

UDF doesn't want to sell, so it's not that easy after all.  I really wish people would stop the " they should build here" armchair quarterbacking. You can only build where you own.

Here is the current office building mentioned in the previous article. I had never noticed it because it is set back far from the street.

 

Wow, what a cool building.

 

I totally understand Campus Partners' assessment that High Street needs revitalization. However I can't believe they'd chose a collection of blocks that punches above its weight in architectural resources. There is a lot already here with which to work - they could have gone the historic rehabilitation route.

 

If they just wanted to build some new stuff, they could have acquired many other blocks covered in junk like UDFs.

 

UDF doesn't want to sell, so it's not that easy after all.  I really wish people would stop the " they should build here" armchair quarterbacking. You can only build where you own.

 

He said "like UDF", so it does not matter what UDF wants to do.

 

Campus Partners does not own the majority of the buildings on High Street that they plan to destroy, so they can pick and choose. As he mentioned, they are choosing to buy and replace some of the best stuff on the street.

 

Frankly I'm tired of people defending poor development decisions in Columbus and making up general excuses for developers and organizations. You can only build where you own yes, so don't buy property that already has something valuable on it--especially if you are supposed to be quasi-public like CP.

^There is nothing terribly valuable or worth saving on these properties you mention, especially that ugly office building that you "admire" so much that is a disaster of urban planning by being set incredibly far back from the street. It's not Over the Rhine or Cleveland's Warehouse district. These are nondescript buildings. You can be tired all you want, but this isn't an "excuse for developers" or "poor planning". Contrary to your opinion, Columbus has actually been improving their development game in the last several years, with occasional missteps like those apartments on Columbus commons.

The public sector has a tremendous opportunity to direct where investment goes, not by telling them hey go there instead, but instead by directing where certain types of investment are more suitable. The city has the ability to withhold demolition permits for buildings that contribute to the neighborhood fabric.

 

While they don't have a historic district along this part of High, they do have an officially-sanctioned city plan that does recommend better maintenance and occasional renovation of historic University District buildings. Historic preservation is a proven investment opportunity, although I don't think Campus Partners pursues any of their development activities for the sake of profit.

 

When a developer proposes to tear down the Greystone Building at Hubbard/High for an 11-story neogeorgian mid-rise, the prevailing thought will also be "hey isn't there a surface parking lot next door??" To which one should respond, "yes so that indicates that there are currently enough suitable and developable sites that they could pursue instead", and not "gee I wish stupid people would stop tryna tell developers where to go and what to do."

 

The suggestion of other sites is not to point the developer there, but to provide legal backing for denying the demo permit without depriving a developer of economic opportunity. It is not the public sector's fault, nor my fault as a nearby resident, that the developer has wasted time pursuing a site he/she can't adapt X project for. This happens often when developers have X project in mind first and then go looking for a site... kind of typical.

Update on this 7-story apartment project proposed for Lane & Tuttle Park, from the Dispatch:

 

Apartment building planned near Ohio State has critics

By Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch

Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - 6:17 AM

 

A controversial seven-story apartment project planned just north of the Ohio State University campus has raised a question in some minds: “What do you want Lane Avenue to look like?”

 

A developer wants to build the 54-unit apartment building with stores on the first floor at the northeast corner of Lane and Tuttle Park Place, across the street from the Varsity Club.  ...  The University Area Commission’s zoning committee already has voted against zoning variances that developer 4 Points A$$et Management sought.  The developer wants to increase the allowable height in the area from 35 feet to 72 feet as well as reduce the number of parking spaces from 90 to 53.  ...  The full University Area Commission was scheduled to take up the proposal on Oct. 21, but the developer asked to table it so it could continue to address neighborhood concerns.

 

With the recently adopted University District Plan allowing taller buildings along Lane, neighborhood leaders realize the 4 Points project is just the beginning, said Susan Keeny, chairwoman of the commission’s zoning committee.  ...  The new University District Plan allows buildings along Lane as tall as 45 feet east of Neil Avenue and as tall as 72 feet west of Neil - that includes the 4 Points site.

 

The Columbus City Council approved the University District Plan on Feb. 2.  City code, however, has not been changed to reflect that yet.  ...  Lane Avenue already has its share of tall buildings, including the 11-story Riverwatch Tower and the 11-story former Holiday Inn, which has been converted into an Ohio State University dormitory.  Across Lane at N. High Street, the university is spending $370 million to build dormitories, a dining hall and recreation center — the North Residential District — including seven- and eight-story buildings.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/10/27/apartment-building-near-osu-has-critics.html

^ 4/4 insightful comments. I didn't expect that.

^ Shocking isn't it?

Ohio State's next sports plan has nothing to do with football

By Evan Weese, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First

July 17, 2015, 6:00am EDT

 

The next page in Ohio State University’s athletics playbook looks well beyond the Buckeyes football team.  Following years of multimillion-dollar facelifts to the iconic Ohio Stadium and Woody Hayes Athletic Center for football training, the university is ready to turn attention to major projects that will make up its larger athletics district, uniting about 1,000 student-athletes with training centers, arenas and fields on a site between Route 315 and Olentangy River Road north of Lane Avenue.

 

Ohio State’s athletics village, first introduced in 2010 as part of the university’s 50-year campus plan, is primed to take shape with physical transformations that will impact more than just athletics and the university.  Groundwork for the plan is being laid, first with a $30 million, 4,000-seat Covelli Multi-Sport Arena and a $30 million Student-Athlete Performance Center training complex for 32 of the Ohio State’s 36 sports teams.

 

The need for such a district comes as the 58,322-student university rethinks its physical presence, from a new north residential district to an overhaul of its High Street front door.  Athletics Director Gene Smith says that broader undertaking makes it as good a time as any to embark on spending that will see new facilities join the likes of the athletics district’s Jerome Schottenstein Center, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium and Bill Davis Stadium.  Elsewhere in the district, foundation work is underway on the $45 million Jameson Crane Sports Medicine Institute on Ackerman Road, an asset serving more than just Ohio State – it will provide athletic trainers and team physicians to the Columbus Clippers, area high schools and more.

 

Beyond an initial 10-year vision, the layout of Ohio State’s athletics facilities will start to look completely different as long-range planning calls for a small arena and indoor track in the athletics village.  That eventually would allow for the demolition of the venerable St. John Arena, French Field House and the ice rink, clearing that stretch of Lane Avenue for academic buildings.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2015/07/17/ohio-states-next-sports-plan-has-nothing-to-do.html

Here's more about the three most imminent projects scheduled for the athletics district located north of Lane Avenue mentioned in http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2015/07/17/ohio-states-next-sports-plan-has-nothing-to-do.html:

 

Ohio State's transformation of their North Residential District is about halfway finished.  Four new residence halls and three new dining facilities opened for the Fall 2015 semester:

• Bowen House (2125 N. High Street) is a 380 co-ed residence hall that includes a community lounge and reading room.

• Raney House (33 W. Lane Avenue) is a 456 co-ed residence hall.

• Torres House (187 W. Lane Avenue) is a 532-person co-ed residence hall.

• Scott House (160 W. Woodruff Avenue) is a 390-person co-ed residence hall that includes a convenience store and the Connecting Grounds coffee shop.

• Curl Hall is a deli and market at 80 W. Woodruff Avenue that includes a second-story meeting space.

• Traditions at Scott is a two-story, 28,000-square-foot dining hall at 160 W. Woodruff Avenue that seats 900.

Here are some articles about the new residence halls and other facilities in the North Residential District that opened for the Fall 2015 semester:

 

-- http://www.columbusmonthly.com/content/stories/2015/08/new-digs-for-ohio-state-freshmen-and-sophomores.html

 

-- http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/10/first-look-inside-ohio-state-s-4-new-dorms.html

 

-- http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/09/28/New_Ohio_State_dormitories.html

 

-- http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2015/08/31/new-traditions-dining-hall-opens-to-osu-students-public.html

And here are some pics of the new residence halls and other facilities in the North Residential District:

 

Bowen House residence hall and Raney House residence hall viewed from Lane & High from http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/10/first-look-inside-ohio-state-s-4-new-dorms.html:

 

Closer view of Raney House residence hall from http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/10/first-look-inside-ohio-state-s-4-new-dorms.html:

 

View of the Torres House residence hall on Lane Avenue from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-july-2015-part-2:

 

Curl Hall deli and market - exterior view from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-in-columbus-august-2015 and interior view of second floor meeting space in Curl Hall from http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/09/28/New_Ohio_State_dormitories.html:

 

 

Traditions at Scott dining hall - exterior view from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-in-columbus-august-2015 and interior view from http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2015/08/31/new-traditions-dining-hall-opens-to-osu-students-public.html:

 

 

September view after fall semester began from http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/09/28/New_Ohio_State_dormitories.html with the 8-story Blackburn House residence hall under construction in the background:

In...sane.  North Campus went from suburban Moscow to suburban DC.

Some January construction photos of OSU's North Campus Residential District from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-update-osu-north-campus-gateway.  First three photos are from Woodruff Avenue:

 

 

 

 

This last one is from Lane Avenue:

Edwards planning more student housing by Ohio State

 

 

Edwards Cos. is hoping to expand its housing portfolio serving Ohio State University students.

 

The Columbus-based developer wants to build a four-story complex at 144-162 W. Lane Ave. offering 125 beds in 45 units.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/12/11/edwards-planning-more-student-housing-by-ohio.html

 

The four-story Edwards student apartment building on Lane Avenue next to Tommy's Pizza is going up.  January construction photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-update-osu-north-campus-gateway

 

On Friday, Edwards announced another student apartment building for the campus area.  This one is being proposed for a block of High Street between 16th and 17 Avenues across from the OSU campus.  Here are the stats for their proposed six-story mixed-use building:

• 445 beds in 170 apartments from the second to sixth floors.

• Two interior courtyards.

• 171 underground parking spaces.

• Five ground-floor retail storefronts that could be broken up into smaller spaces.  Huntington National Bank would have a branch along 17th Avenue, as it does now.

Here are some links with more info about this Edwards High Street proposal from Business First and Columbus Underground:

 

-- Business First:  445-bed apartment project planned for block of High Street by Ohio State

 

-- CU:  Proposal at 16th & High Calls for New Six Story Building, Eight Demolitions

Here is a current view of High Street between 16th and 17th Avenues across from the OSU campus:

 

 

Here is the proposed High Street elevation for the Edwards mixed-use building between 16th & 17th:

 

 

Here is the proposed site plan for the Edwards mixed-use building:

As an OSU grad I'm honestly pretty upset about these high street proposals. Sad to see so many campus staples being forced out.

And those staples made it a long time whereas high rents in these new buildings,  expensive build-outs, slow summers and no Xmas can kill the chains easy.

This latest proposal from Edwards is the worst. And losing the two historic buildings along 16th Ave would be a tragedy.

I'm concerned High St. is becoming too generic; soulless. The current block (Bernies) just looks so much more inviting.

Yeah, that corner should never be taken out. They can incorporate it into the design but they went cheap.  Shame, really.

Does Columbus consider any building on the East side of High street along campus to be historically or architecturally significant?

So much on the east side of High Street is an architectural and historical hodge-podge.  There's some good stuff there.  But there's also alot of awful stuff.  Within this proposed project block you see both.  I thought this Walker post over at CU summed it up pretty well:

 

 

Most of the facades on this block are horrible hack-jobs plonked down in front of the older buildings in back.  Keeping the facade of the Charley’s Philly Steaks is not something I’d want to see.  Would you?

 

 

That being said, I do think The Wellington and the taller building behind it (photo below) should be saved and incorporated to the new design.  I’m sure that would complicate things on Edwards’ end, but I would think they should even push taller (8 stories? 10 stories?) with the rest of it if it meant preserving those two three-and-four story buildings in the process…

 

 

I'd go along with this suggestion.  The Wellington building at 16th & High and the 4-story brick building behind it are both good quality that could be incorporated into the redevelopment of this block.  But the rest of the block north of the Wellington is some really bad stuff nobody should be sorry to see go away.

Putting architectural/historic preservation issues aside:

 

On one hand, I like the continuing densification and building upwards. That can only be a good thing for walkability and future transit potential. , but on the other hand, new buildings have high rents. That means all you get is corporate business. It's a shame so many of the older buildings around town and around the state are one story single use. Or maybe two story mixed use if you're lucky.

 

It'll be interesting to see what we'll have in 20-30 years when the south campus gateways of the world are well worn and aged, and there are third and fourth generation tenants in there. Hopefully a return to economic diversity but with much denser buildings.

^I give it 50/50 odds that in 30 years it will all be torn down and replaced again

:x

 

Ohio State lays out 2 options for 15th and High arts district redevelopment, including demolishing Mershon

 

 

The two options for the $200 million redevelopment include differing plans for Mershon and adjacent buildings that house visual arts and music programs.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/01/28/ohio-state-lays-out-2-options-for-15th-and-high.html

Ohio State sees promise in innovation districts like MIT's Kendall Square

 

The renovated Pomerene Hall, part of Ohio State University's new Big Data initiative, contains dedicated space for outside companies.

 

The concept of putting industry next to students is of increasing interest at the some of the best schools in the country. Ohio State is considering joining the rising tide of universities adding innovation districts, a next level of research parks.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/01/29/ohio-state-sees-promise-in-innovation-districts.html

I would also suggest OSU look at Tech Square in Atlanta, which is adjacent to this year's ULI Hines competition site. OSU needs examples of blending respectfully into the surrounding community, rather than aggressively redeveloping it.

 

I'd argue most of Campus Partners' work has been good, but I'm with everyone else that saving two distinctive buildings - incorporating them into the larger plans - would really make a difference in not just their work, but raise the bar for others. That's the bigger picture for a public-private partnership such as this, rather than just effectively making easy development happen.

 

Instead of Mershon, the Wex should be threatened with demolition. Mershon is a beautiful mid-century landmark that is being used in the wrong way.

Campus Partners is good at bulldozing, building ephemeral structures, not the hard work of civic planning or neighborhood building.  Their idea of historic preservation is keeping a sign from one of the original buildings.

 

If this "Kendall Square" idea is to take shape, Campus Partners should not be involved in the slightest.

Changes made to Lane & High apartment project by OSU campus

 

 

The last undeveloped parcel at the corner of High Street and Lane Avenue near Ohio State University has moved a step closer to reuse with architects answering concerns over setbacks, height, parking and mix of apartments for a proposed building.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2016/02/05/lane-high-project-closer-to-approval.html