The buildings are not really historic or architecturally significant in any way. 

 

I would not agree with that statement. Perhaps they are not ornate architecture and perhaps they do not hold the most positive history, but they still have significance.

 

That said, I would not necessarily advocate for preservation of the complex. It would be interesting to keep an example block as was done with the Laurel Homes in Cincinnati, however.

The politics of this smells of Cincinnati just before the riots.

 

Don't let Chief Baba Shongo's antics fool you.  This is nothing like Cincinnati.

He seemed to be doing a pretty good impression of General Kabaka Oba (sp?) - some of the 'activist' community from outside of the community that got engaged in this also had the same vibe as the anti-globalization folks in cincy of the riot era.

You might be right about the similarities in style.  But I just don't see the east side breaking out into riots anytime soon.  The local neigbhorhood activists simply have a disagreement over part of PACT's plan to revitalize the neighborhood. 

 

By the way, the Dispatch just ran an article about what Chief Shongo was going on about in that public meeting.  The City's Historic Preservation Office finished their review and recommended that at least four buildings of the former Poindexter Village public housing complex be preserved.

 

Columbus Dispatch: Review backs saving four Poindexter buildings

Current photo of "The Charles" at the corner of East Long Street and 17th Street in The King Lincoln District from Columbus Underground.  The Charles building will have offices of the Affordable Housing Trust on the ground floor and 10 apartments on the upper two floors.  Previous updates on "The Charles" redevelopment project can be found in this thread here, here, here and here:

 

"The Charles", the three-story mixed-use building at Long & 17th in the King-Lincoln District, is now finished.  More about the development from Columbus Underground at the link below:

 

CU: Mixed-Use Development Completed in King-Lincoln District

News about a project on the eastern-most edge of the Near East Side.  Closer to Franklin Park than King-Lincoln, but close enough to be included in this thread.  St. Charles Catholic School in Bexley is expanding across Alum Creek into Columbus to build an athletic complex on the site of a former lumberyard located at the the northwest corner of Nelson Road and Long Street.  Article excerpt from Business First below, along with a location map, site plan and a project slideshow:

 

St. Charles’ long wait for expansion fulfilled at former lumberyard site

Business First by Jeff Bell, Staff reporter

Date: Friday, November 2, 2012, 6:00am EDT

 

St. Charles Preparatory School is expanding its athletics facilities, and helping improve a nearby Columbus neighborhood in the process, as part of a $6 million building project.  The new Robert D. Walter West Campus will include a 400-meter running track, practice field with artificial turf and a 14,000-square-foot weight and agility training center.  All are being constructed on the former Dealers Lumber Co. site at the northwest corner of Nelson Road and Long Street on the city’s east side.  The project is targeted for completion by the end of the school year in June.

 

The project will relieve some of the scheduling pressure on St. Charles’ Walt Plank Field, where football, soccer, baseball and lacrosse are played.  It also will give the 89-year-old, all-boys Catholic school its first track, ending years of its teams using ones at other high schools. ... A foot bridge over Alum Creek connects the new facilities to St. Charles’ main campus on East Broad Street in Bexley.  The west campus also will include a 75-space parking lot next to the training center and 45 spaces across Nelson Road north of an Old Bag of Nails restaurant.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/11/02/st-charles-long-wait-for-expansion.html

 

 

 

PROJECT SLIDESHOW:  St. Charles building new athletic complex in boost to neighborhood

Oh, that will be nice. Abandoned lumberyards in the middle of a city are never good.

It coming along quite nicely - though it will make the traffic in that area worse (and that is not area that needs more congestion).

I don't think the traffic's really all that bad. The traffic lights are just really boring.

Walker Evans of Columbus Underground posted a great interview with PACT Project Manager Autumn Williams.  PACT (Partners Achieving Community Transformation) is the group formed by the City of Columbus, Ohio State University and Columbus Metro Housing Authority to analyze and revitalize the Near East Side.  Walker talked with Ms. Williams to find out more about where the effort currently stands.  Full Q & A with some conceptual renderings and plans at the link below:

 

Columbus Underground: New Plan Calls for Retail, Housing Development on Near East Side

Poindexter Tower is going . . .

 

 

 

. . . almost gone

 

 

Photos from Columbus Underground

Plan may keep part of Poindexter Village

By Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch

Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - 7:57 AM

 

Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority officials are considering preserving 10 buildings of the Poindexter Village housing complex on the Near East Side.  And because officials must wait until a historic-review process of Poindexter Village is finished, the timetable to present a final comprehensive plan to redevelop the neighborhood near University Hospital East has been pushed back to March from December.  "You cannot have a master plan without Poindexter Village," said Bryan Brown, the housing authority's senior vice president of planning and business development.

(. . .)

Last night, planners from Boston-based Goody Clancy presented draft ideas for the final plan during an open house for a group of at least 100 at the King Arts Complex, after 18 months of meetings and discussions.  They suggested 600 mixed-income housing units on the Poindexter Village site, including 100 reserved for senior citizens.  They also envision:

 

- Rehabilitating the closed Pilgrim Elementary School on Taylor Avenue or building a new structure for an OSU nursing program.

- Redeveloping Mount Vernon Plaza with up to 100 multifamily housing units, plus retail.

- An urban farm and farmers' market.

- A new library and grocery store at Long Street and Taylor Avenue.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/11/28/plan-may-keep-part-of-poindexter-village.html

From Columbus Underground: Columbus City Council Meeting Highlights - December 17, 2012

 

KING LINCOLN IMPROVEMENTS: Since its grand re-opening in May 2009, the Lincoln Theater has entertained thousands of people who have attended shows, concerts, and exhibitions at the theater and ballroom.  Now the area surrounding the historic venue is getting an upgrade.  Ordinance 2734-2012, sponsored by Public Service and Transportation Committee Chair Eileen Y. Paley, authorizes the Director of Public Service to enter into a contract with Danbert, Inc., for their bid of $1,323,456.71 for the construction of the NCR - Lincoln Theater Phase 2 project.  This project is a streetscape improvement project between a point just west of the intersection of East Long Street and Hamilton Parkway and Garfield Avenue.  The project will move underground or offsite all utility poles and overhead lines, provide ornamental street lighting, provide new sidewalks at various locations, construct new curb ramps, and install a special flashing-beacon crosswalk at East Long and Garfield.

The PACT Group that is leading the master planning effort for the Near East Side released a compilation of the feedback they received during its November public meetings:

 

http://eastpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121207_Matrix_Boards_Filled.pdf

Another round of State Historic Preservation Tax Credits were awarded earlier this week.  And Columbus made out pretty well with four projects being awarded historic tax credit funds.  The largest tax credit awarded was for a long-delayed project on the Near East Side: The Broadwin Building at 1312 E. Broad Street

 

The Broadwin is an 8-story apartment building at the northeast corner of E. Broad Street and Winner Avenue built in 1925.  It is located between the Tifereth Israel Jewish Synagogue - immediately east of the Broadwin - and the offices of the Columbus Foundation - across Winner Avenue then immediately west of the Broadwin.  The offices of the Columbus Foundation are located in the former Governors Mansion.

 

An earlier effort to restore the Broadwin by condominiumizing the building failed.  Now the 8-story building will be renovated into 42 apartment units.  More about this from the Business First article on the Tax Credit Announcement: Edwards project, Med Science and Broadwin rehabs getting $2.4M in tax credits

 

"... the long-stalled effort to return the vacant Broadwin building at 1312 E. Broad Street into renovated housing gained $1.1 million in state historic tax credits.  That 1925 building at East Broad Street and Winner Avenue originally was planned as a condo development about a decade ago before the project ran into a legal tangle with the lender.  The state agency said 42 market-rate apartments are planned for the eight-story building as part of the $8.8 million renovation plan."

 

Here's the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program page from the Department of Development and the announcement press release for this round of tax credits from the state.  Below is a photo of the Broadwin Building at 1312 E. Broad Street from the County Auditor's GIS site.  Also below is a site map and aerial map for the Broadwin from the County's GIS site:

 

 

 

Good news for the NES.

Came across a nice set of photos showing the Broadwin Building at 1312 E. Broad Street - which recently received Historic Tax Credits for its rehab - and the surrounding East Broad Street area.  Below are two smaller-size photos of the Broadwin Building.  The full set with larger size photos are at: East Broad Street

 

 

Ohio State set to create east-side version of Campus Partners to boost hospital neighborhood

By Carrie Ghose, Staff reporter

Business First - Jan 30, 2013, 5:47pm EST

 

Ohio State University trustees Friday will be asked to approve the creation of an affiliated nonprofit that would make good on the university’s 2010 promise to spend $10 million on neighborhood improvements in Columbus' near east side region surrounding University Hospital East.

 

The entity, to be called PACT for Partners Achieving Community Transformation, would be similar to Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment, the university’s affiliate that developed and manages the South Campus Gateway and is spurring housing revitalization in the Weinland Park neighborhood near the main campus.  The city and the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority are partners in PACT and provide money toward the administrative budget.

 

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/01/30/ohio-state-set-to-create-east-side.html

Hey guys. I haven't participated around here in a while, so I don't know whether or not this has been touched on yet.

 

The Landmark Grain Elevator at Main and Alum Creek is coming down. I live a block away and have been taking pictures.

 

March 28:

 

 

 

 

Looks like the silos may not be coming down after all.  From the Columbus Dispatch's February 10, 2013 article - Neighbors want old, crumbling silos razed:

 

The current owner of five years, a limited liability corporation doing business as Main and Nelson Station, was granted a demolition permit in June, said Cynthia Rickman, spokeswoman for the city’s development department.  The permit expired in December.  The city has heard of no further plans to raze the buildings.

 

The owners paid $45,000 for the property in 1998.  It sold for $2.4 million in 1990.  Currently, they owe almost $60,000 in back taxes but have made regular payments.  The city rarely is successful challenging a limited-liability corporation in court, said Richard C. Pfeiffer, Columbus city attorney.  “We can’t hold a person responsible."  The property also might have little value if it were taken by Franklin County’s land bank, and the city would be stuck with the demolition cost.

MODERATOR NOTE: Reposting articles wiped out by the server crash

 

The Whitney Apartments previously posted in this thread here, here and here is now open with tenants moving in.  This highly visible project at Mt. Vernon and Hamilton Avenues got bailed out by the City in order to finish its construction.  Below is an excerpt from the Dispatch:

 

Troubled project is taking tenants

By Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch

Saturday, March 2, 2013

 

Work is progressing on a Near East Side apartment complex that nearly died before the city bailed it out two years ago.  About a quarter of the 28 apartments already are leased at the Whitney, although not all of them will be finished before spring, said Bryan S. Brown, senior vice president of business development for the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.  “We’ve projected the units will be completed in April.”

 

The goal is for tenants to move in right away. Some units could be completed as early as March.  Nina Masseria of Carriage Trade Realty, which is marketing and managing the apartments, said she hopes they’ll all be rented by summer.

 

The Whitney Young Collaborative, a partnership of the Columbus chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and the development charities of Shiloh and Trinity Baptist churches, broke ground for the complex in 2007.  But the partners struggled to find financing for the project that city leaders hoped would boost a struggling neighborhood.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/03/02/troubled-project-is-taking-tenants.html

 

PACT Plans $165 Million Strategic Redevelopment for Near East Side

By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on March 6, 2013 - 12:15 pm

 

An updated neighborhood plan for the Near East Side was discussed last night at a community meeting held at the King Arts Complex.  There, the latest draft of the master plan from PACT (Partners Achieving Community Transformation) was presented for review and feedback.  The nearly completed plan is the result of two years of public input meetings and consultations with strategic partners to create a more vibrant and healthy environment in the King-Lincoln District, the Mount Vernon Area, and other Near East neighborhoods.

 

The 800 acre area of study that PACT encompasses was broken down last night into five targeted areas that have the potential for up to $165 million in community investment for redevelopment: Taylor Avenue, Poindexter Village, Mount Vernon Avenue, Long Street, and the Broad Street Grocery.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/pact-plans-165-million-strategic-redevelopment-for-near-east-side

 

---

More about the Broad Street Grocery targeted area in this report from Columbus Underground: Olde Towne East Grocery Store Called for in Neighborhood Plan

More reposting of articles/news wiped out by the server crash

 

Hope for near east side revival dawning with PACT initiative

By Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter

Business First - Mar 15, 2013, 6:00am EDT

Updated: Mar 21, 2013, 6:44pm EDT

 

Ohio State University executive Trudy Bartley recalls the bustle of Mount Vernon Avenue when visiting her father’s dental practice as a child. “I grew up in this area,” Bartley said, recalling her early days in the Franklin Park neighborhood south of East Broad Street in Columbus. “I knew what it used to be. There was a vibrancy, a lot of things happening. ... It was a thriving African-American community.”

 

But the 800-acre area north of Broad Street has been in steep decline since then.  The population has fallen from 8,456 residents in 1990 to 7,757 in 2010, an 8.3 perent decline, in the area east of Interstate 71, south of I-670 and west of Woodland Avenue.  More residents left last year when Poindexter Village was shuttered.

(. . .)

Restoration plans for the area have come and gone over the past 25 years, but in the last two the city and Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center have renewed efforts with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority to develop a revitalization blueprint for the neighborhood.  Their aim: Make it attractive for mixed-income housing development and commercial projects that produce jobs.  The effort is tied to the medical center’s University East Hospital campus at Long Street and Taylor Avenue.

 

Bartley is interim executive director of an Ohio State entity dubbed PACT – Partners Achieving Community Transformation.  The nonprofit organization is expected to make good on the university’s 2010 promise to spend $10 million on neighborhood improvements.  The initiative will be similar to efforts by Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment, the university affiliate that developed and manages the South Campus Gateway and is spurring housing revitalization in the Weinland Park neighborhood near campus.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2013/03/15/osu-leading-new-dawn-for-east-side.html

 

More reposted news about Poindexter Village below.  Demolition for 25 of the 35 buildings on the 26-acre site was granted and has begun.  The remaining 10 buildings are currently being studied for restoration and may be part of the future development of the site.

 

Business First: Poindexter Village coming down as redevelopment proceeds

 

Columbus Underground: Demolition of Poindexter Village Begins

 

Columbus Dispatch: Panel says 10 Poindexter Village buildings should be saved

This thread originally started in 2005 as under the title of "NoBo" when it tracked the North of Broad or NoBo development by the Columbus Housing Partnership.  The thread eventually morphed into a larger Near East Side neighborhoods thread to track developments and news outside of the smaller NoBo development area.  But the Columbus Dispatch recently took a look back at the NoBo developments.  Columbus Housing Partnership renamed themselves as Homeport since 2005, but their good work continues.  Below is an excerpt from the Dispatch article and a photo of two of Homeport's infill houses under construction:

 

 

Turning a corner: North of Broad neighborhood shows promise

Work of nonprofit housing organization has noticeable effect

By Jim Weiker, The Columbus Dispatch

Sunday, June 2, 2013 - 9:02 AM

 

Homeport expects to build 14 homes in the neighborhood this year, on top of the 35 it has already sold and the 12 it owns and rents out.  In addition, the organization plans to renovate four vacant homes to sell.  Contractors will spend the summer erecting homes on 30- to 34-foot-wide lots in the area.

 

While tree-lined NoBo includes some grand turn-of-the-century brick Italianate homes, most of the neighborhood is dominated by traditional two-story, front-gabled homes with front porches.  Homeport’s houses are designed to match and range from about 1,200 square feet to 1,800 square feet.  Most feature three bedrooms, a front porch, a detached garage, open layouts, deep basements and unusual energy efficiency.  (One of the homes is central Ohio’s only LEED- certified single-family home.)

 

Homeport has also built a 7-unit condominium complex (at Long & 21st Street) at the Long Street entrance to NoBo.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/home_and_garden/2013/06/02/1-turning-a-corner.html

And finally, some new (not re-posted) news about the Near East Side.  Last week, the PACT group released their final development plan for their 800-acre focus area.  More details and a PDF link to the full plan are available at the Columbus Underground link below:

 

Urban Plan Finalized for Near East Side Redevelopment

By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on July 10, 2013 - 10:30 pm

 

The “Partners Achieving Community Transformation” (PACT) working group unveiled their finalized plan tonight for the redevelopment of the Near East Side of Columbus after a three-year process. The plan, known as “The Blueprint for Community Investment”, seeks to enhance the quality of life for the area by focusing on housing, workforce development, neighborhood assets, education, wellness, retail, greenspace and other factors.

 

The PACT blueprint seeks to achieve those improvements through a physical development framework that targets five key neighborhood focus points located within the larger 800 acre study site: Taylor Avenue, Poindexter Village, Mt. Vernon East, Mt. Vernon Business District and Long Street Business District.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/urban-plan-finalized-for-near-east-side-redevelopment

More reposted news about Poindexter Village below.  Demolition for 25 of the 35 buildings on the 26-acre site was granted and has begun.  The remaining 10 buildings are currently being studied for restoration and may be part of the future development of the site.

 

Business First: Poindexter Village coming down as redevelopment proceeds

 

Columbus Underground: Demolition of Poindexter Village Begins

 

Columbus Dispatch: Panel says 10 Poindexter Village buildings should be saved

Update on Poindexter Village from Columbus Underground.  The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority announced that they will preserve two of the original Poindexter Village buildings from the 10 buildings not previously demolished.  More about this from Columbus Underground (linked below):

 

Columbus Underground: Two Poindexter Village Buildings to be Preserved

^ More about this from Business First:

 

Poindexter Village owner saving 2 buildings in compromise with critics

By Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter

Business First - July 23, 2013, 7:45am EDT

 

Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority's board on Friday voted to save two of the 35 Poindexter Village buildings off Champion Avenue in a bid to buy a little peace among neighbors who had wanted to renovate the public housing complex dating back to the early 1940s.  The agency in early June began demolishing 25 of the 35 buildings but agreed to further study the possible renovation of the 10 other structures.

(. . .)

The 14-unit apartment property at 290 N. Champion Avenue and a 10-unit property at 1297 Granville Street are close to the Union Grove Baptist Church, one of the community’s oldest congregations.  CMHA Senior Vice President Bryan Brown said the Champion property could end up serving as offices, classrooms and a “community life” center for the church at 266 N. Champion Avenue as well as a place for an exhibit on Poindexter Village.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2013/07/poindexter-village-owner-saving-2.html

Pretty good looking infill apartment development being propsed for a vacant lot in OTE.  More from Columbus Underground...

 

 

Forty-Unit Apartment Development Proposed for Olde Towne East

By: Brent Warren, Columbus Underground

Published on January 31, 2014 - 12:50 pm

 

A 40-unit, three-building apartment development has been proposed for a long-vacant lot at 122 Parsons Avenue.  The project, which is being developed jointly by Woods Development Group, Brexton, and Arch City Development, has been presented to the Near East Area Commission but still awaits final approval from the group.

 

The proposal calls for a four-story building facing Parsons, with two-story townhomes on the ground floor and twelve one-bedroom apartments above.  The buildings along Gustavus Lane and East Chapel Street would each be two stories and face each other, with a green space in between.

 

In all, there would be 28 townhomes, each with two bedrooms, a den, a finished basement and a one-car garage.  Two small parking lots would provide additional spaces for the townhomes and apartments.  The name chosen for the development is 122 Olde Towne.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/forty-unit-apartment-development-proposed-for-old-towne-east-bw1

More information about the 122 Olde Towne project:

 

- The developers have filed a zoning variance application with the city at http://bzs.columbus.gov/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=64132.  It contains more non-rendered elevations of the four-story building facing Parsons Avenue and elevations of the two-story buildings behind the Parsons building.

 

- The rendering in the above posted CU article shows what the proposed four-story building would look like built next to the existing Parsons Avenue.  Here is a link to a Google Map of that existing street configuration and the vacant lot for the 122 Olde Towne project:  http://goo.gl/maps/PdPm7

 

- The above posted CU article also has a site plan that shows a reconfigured intersection in front of the 122 Olde Towne project.  This reconfigured intersection is part of ODOT's long-planned I-70/71 reconstruction project.  It looks like those plans - which haven't started construction yet -would not prevent this apartment project from moving forward.  However, it would change the streetscape in front the four-story building.  The existing Parsons Avenue would be changed into the configuration shown below.  The existing Parsons Avenue would be removed in front of the proposed four-story building and turned into an intersection with a new Elijah Pierce Boulevard that is part of the I-70/71 project.

 

Pretty exciting to see infill beginning on that side of town. A few infill projects could really change the face of Olde Towne East.

 

Columbo, have you ever seen documents that show the larger plan for the phase of the 70/71 split project that lies in front of this project? The tiny bit one can see in that site plan is a tease.

Columbo, have you ever seen documents that show the larger plan for the phase of the 70/71 split project that lies in front of this project? The tiny bit one can see in that site plan is a tease.

 

No.  Whatever I've found I posted to the I-70/71 thread in the transportation section.  You might PM noozer about this.  He replied once in that thread that he was working in some capacity with ODOT on the I-70/71 project.  Maybe he has something.

^ Still don't have anything to the level of detail as the 122 Olde Towne site plan posted above.  But I did look around ODOT's !-70/71 project website at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/7071/Pages/default.aspx - and they do have a phasing map of the project.  Below is a small version of that phasing map.  A large version is at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/7071/PublishingImages/Phasing%207-25-13.png

 

 

ODOT has this OTE area in "Phase 3", which might begin construction in 2017.  Below is a close-up of the Parsons Avenue area shown in the 122 Olde Towne site plan:

 

Thanks!

Columbus City Council has approved the city buying the vacant Carl L. Brown Foodliner property at 1315 Mount Vernon Avenue for $600,000.  The city is purchasing the 1.9-acre site to aid efforts to redevelop the Near East Side neighborhood in and around the former Poindexter Village public housing complex through the collaborative Partners Achieving Community Transformation (PACT) nonprofit formed by the City of Columbus, Ohio State University and the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.

 

More about this purchase from Columbus Business First and the Dispatch.  Below those two article links is a location map of the purchased property and a photo of the vacant Foodliner property.  The photo of the Foodliner property shows the round tower of University Hospital East in the background.

 

Business First: City buying Brown Foodliner site for redevelopment

 

Dispatch: Columbus pays premium for former grocery near Poindexter Village

 

 

 

Columbus Underground has a report on the first part of the PACT plan to redevelop the neighborhood in and around the former Poindexter Village public housing complex and the vacant IGA Foodliner property that was mentioned in the previous post.  Below is a link to and an excerpt of CU's report.  Below that are some images showing the outline and phasing of this plan.  These are small-scale versions of the images available at the CU report.  For larger-scale versions of the below images plus renderings, go to the CU link:

 

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Poindexter Plan Calls for 350 Multi-family Units, Urban Farm

By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground

Published: March 8, 2014

 

The latest plan from the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) for Poindexter Village calls for eventually building about 350 mixed-income, multi-family units on the site.  It also proposes a collection of commercial uses along Mt. Vernon Avenue, including a three-story mixed-use building, an urban farm, and a “Food Hub” on the former IGA site at the corner of North Champion Avenue. 

 

- Funding for Phase One – the 104-unit Poindexter Place Senior Building – has been secured; a ground-breaking is scheduled for April 17th with the goal of completing the building by August of 2015.

 

- A site plan and phasing map (images below) show the overall vision for Phases Two through Five of the project, which CMHA and partner McCormack Baron Salazar hope will receive a $30 million Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

 

- Plans for the second phase of the project include the mixed-use building on Mt. Vernon, a new park at the corner of Champion and Hawthorne, and a mix of townhomes and two- to three-story apartment buildings between Champion and Ohio Avenue.  Phase Two would see the completion of 87 units, 30 of which would be market-rate.  If CMHA is awarded the HUD grant, construction could start as soon as the summer of 2015 on this portion of the project.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/poindexter-plan-calls-for-350-multi-family-units-urban-farm-bw1

 

 

The apartment project that would replace a vacant lot at 122 Parsons Avenue - previously posted here in the thread - was approved earlier this week by the Board of Zoning Adjustment.

 

According to the Dispatch article at http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/03/26/zoning-board-oks-controversial-olde-towne-east-apartments.html, the developer agreed to cut the number of apartment units from 40 to 34, which would take off one story from the main building and reduce parking areas.  So now its a 34-unit apartment project with a three-story main building facing Parsons Avenue and 2 two-story buildings behind it.

The largest federal grant ever awarded to a Columbus neighborhood was announced on July 1.  The $29.7 million Choice Neighborhood Initiative Grant for the Near East Side is said to leverage $225.4 million in projects listed in the grant application, said Bryan Brown, senior vice president for the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, which applied for the competitive grant last year.  The money will be used to build hundreds of apartments and pay for education, health and job-training initiatives in the area.  Mayor Coleman piggybacked on the news of the federal grant to announce that the city is spending $24 million to redevelop the Poindexter Village area: $16 million for roads, water lines, sewer lines and other infrastructure, and $8 million for housing.

 

Below are the local media reports about the HUD grant announcement.  Also below is a map of the area served by the Choice Neighborhood Initiative Grant for the Near East Side and the top 10 funding commitments listed by the CMHA in their grant application.  The COTA listing ($39.4 million) is for a bus rapid-transit line that will run along Cleveland Avenue between Downtown and Delaware County.  Its inclusion was explained in the Dispatch article, as follows, "Although the bus line won’t service the Near East Side, it was included in the application because it will benefit residents there who will use it to go to work, said Roberta Garber, CMHA’s assistant vice president for planning and development."

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/06/30/big-HUD-grant-to-help-near-east-side.html

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/near-east-side-receives-30-million-grant-for-urban-redevelopment-plans

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/07/03/near-east-side-redevelopment-gets-30m-from-hud.html

 

CMHA Receives Proposal for Poindexter Village Buildings

By Anne Evans, Columbus Underground

November 4, 2014 - 11:15 am

 

A public meeting was held last night at the Poindexter Community Center for ‘Taking Next Steps Together,” a public forum regarding next steps for the future of the two remaining original buildings of Poindexter Village.

 

Deidre Hamlar, Project Facilitator, and Julialynne Walker of the James Preston Poindexter Legacy Committee led the meeting.  The group has presented the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) with a proposal for the two remaining Poindexter buildings that proposes one be used as an African American Cultural Museum and Resource Center, and the other as an income generating property with possible uses being a Bed and Breakfast, or a fellowship house to provide housing for those who wish to study the site and the migration of African Americans from the South.  The CMHA board of commissioners will vote whether to accept the proposal in January, 2015.

(. . .)

Long term plans for the Poindexter Village site includes 350 multifamily housing units and other neighborhood amenities.  The group overseeing the redevelopment of the area was awarded a $30 Million federal grant for the project earlier this year.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/cmha-receives-proposal-for-poindexter-village-buildings

The Dispatch had an interesting Sunday feature about Olde Towne East, the near east side neighborhood just across I-71 from downtown.  The feature profiles one of the large homes renovated in OTE and new businesses moving into the area.  However, despite the neighborhood's revival, it still has what is termed in the article "the extremes of upkeep".

 

Below is the link to the OTE feature, a map of OTE and a photo of two side-by-side houses on Franklin Avenue that show "the extremes of upkeep" still present in OTE:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/home_and_garden/2014/11/09/1-olde-towne-no-longer-down.html

 

Construction has begun on new 104-unit senior housing building in the King-Lincoln neighborhood.  This is going up at the corner of Ohio and Hawthorne Avenues on the former Poindexter Village site.  More late November construction photos of this at http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-november-2014-part-1

Makeover Planned for Parsons Avenue in Olde Towne East

By Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

December 10, 2014 - 12:17 pm

 

The small stretch of Parsons Avenue that runs along the western edge of Olde Towne East has always been a hotspot of activity for the neighborhood. Home to numerous restaurants, bars, shops and businesses, Parsons Avenue is the default place to go for an art gallery exhibition, a haircut, or a cup of coffee.

 

The City of Columbus has plans to further enhance the area with a new program that will upgrade the infrastructure, the environment and update it with a public art component as well. ...  A public meeting (was) held (Dec. 10) at the Columbus Public Health Auditorium at 240 Parsons Avenue from 6pm to 8pm to introduce Olga Ziemska, the Cleveland-based artist who selected for the project through a statewide call for submissions.

(. . .)

The art component in this streetscape program stems from an Executive Order from Mayor Michael Coleman signed earlier this year that established the inclusion of public art in all significant capital improvement projects.  This stretch of Parsons between Broad Street and Franklin Avenue will connect at the south end with a future phase of ODOT’s I-70/I-71 redevelopment, which will see the realignment of Parsons to connect to a new highway feeder street located closer to the highway trench.

 

The project is expected to officially begin in mid-2015 with the burying of utilities, followed by roadway reconstruction in the Summer of 2016 and a planned completion of the public art component in the Spring of 2017.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/makeover-planned-for-parsons-avenue-in-olde-towne-east

News from CU about two commercial building renovations on the Near East Side - starting with the King-Lincoln neighborhood.

 

CU post about the historic Theresa Building at 823 E. Long Street being under new ownership and being renovated for ground-floor retail and second-story offices:  http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/theresa-building-on-long-street-being-renovated

 

In the Olde Towne East neighborhood, an article from CU about this two-story building at the northwest corner of Oak Street and Ohio Avenue:  http://www.columbusunderground.com/historic-oak-street-building-to-see-retail-and-apartment-renovation

 

 

The owners of The Olde Towne Tavern and the Corner Stone Carry Out, located in this neighborhood, have recently purchased this long-vacant corner building.  They plan to renovate this building for ground-floor retail and second-story apartments.

 

More at http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/commercial-property-in-ote-sold

Great stuff!

Renovation and New-Build Proposed for Corner of Oak and Wilson in Olde Towne East

By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground

January 25, 2015 - 9:03 am

 

Plans have been presented to the Near East Area Commission to build a two-story, mixed-use building on a vacant lot at the southeast corner of Oak Street and Wilson Avenue.  Before beginning the new construction, though, the developer plans to renovate the dilapidated building next door.

 

Joel Simmons, CEO of the Gordon James Company, said that their initial meeting with the commission went well.  Pending the necessary approvals from the commission and the city, they hope to start renovating the existing building at 178 Wilson this June, with the goal of completing the project by summer of 2016.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/renovation-and-new-build-proposed-for-corner-of-oak-and-wilson-in-olde-towne-east-bw1

 

EXISTING VIEW OF OAK & WILSON

 

PROPOSED PROJECT AT OAK & WILSON

Historic Bryden Road Building Bought, Apartments Planned

By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground

February 4, 2015 - 9:34 am

 

Another historic Olde Towne East building has been purchased by an owner with preservation and renovation in mind.  A prominent three-story building at 738 Bryden Road – which has sat empty for years and at one time served as a dormitory for the Columbus School for Girls – was bought in January by a group of developers hoping to turn it into apartments.

 

The development group includes Arch City Development and Woods Development Group, the same team that is building a 40-unit apartment complex at 122 Parsons Avenue (which is set to begin construction this spring).

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/historic-bryden-road-building-bought-apartments-planned-bw1

 

OTE is doing really well. If it weren't for the Buster Douglas properties, East Main would be seeing some of this revitalization activity as well.

 

It's really encouraging to see such a complimentary mix of market rate and affordable housing.

Photos of two buildings recently renovated in the block where Yellow Brick Pizza opened at Oak & 18th from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-march-2015-part-1

 

This building is attached to the corner building at Oak & 18th that Yellow Brick Pizza is in:

 

This building is further west on Oak Street in the same block:

In the Olde Towne East neighborhood, an article from CU about this two-story building at the northwest corner of Oak Street and Ohio Avenue:  http://www.columbusunderground.com/historic-oak-street-building-to-see-retail-and-apartment-renovation

 

 

The owners of The Olde Towne Tavern and the Corner Stone Carry Out, located in this neighborhood, have recently purchased this long-vacant corner building.  They plan to renovate this building for ground-floor retail and second-story apartments.

 

More at http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/commercial-property-in-ote-sold

 

Discouraging update for this building: http://www.columbusunderground.com/wall-collapses-at-historic-building-in-olde-towne-east

 

 

 

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