September 14, 200618 yr Columbus needs City Center destroyed, and a magnificent monument to ColDay erected in its place. This would truly inspire all her citizens to greatness.
September 14, 200618 yr You'll be promoted to Mod position next week. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 14, 200618 yr Columbus needs a NASCAR track around the state house.. and real rivers. Like the Rocky, Grand, Chagrin, or even....the Cuyahoga? :-P
September 15, 200618 yr ^ :-D Well at least we have the Lake to make up for all of those "rivers" :wink:
September 15, 200618 yr So does Columbus. Alum Creek :D "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 15, 200618 yr So does Columbus. Alum Creek :D You mean Delaware, with Hoover, O'Shaunacesy, and Delaware (to go along with Alum Creek).
February 2, 200916 yr Columbus Alive is asking what Columbus needs. I figure it was worth bumping this thread which has been dormant for over 2 years. I'd say that alongside rail, an immediately implemented bike boulevard system, and urban development standards, Downtown Columbus needs a shot in the arm in the form of a plaza. I'll also add that Columbus is severely lacking in the late-night coffeeshop department (no, Buckeye Donuts don't count). Take the survey and share your thoughts!!!
February 2, 200916 yr The east side needs help. I actually think light rail would do really well in Cbus (even compared to Cincy for instance). The region definitely needs something to tie it closer together.
February 3, 200916 yr Woah, a blast from the past. Why doens't someone send a link to this thread to Columbus Alive?
February 3, 200916 yr cols needs something to give it a better visual identity, like a jazzy new signature downtown development that doesn't look like anytown, usa or a new iconic tower. maybe whatever eventually happens to city center can be it?
February 3, 200916 yr Hence my suggestion. Downtown Columbus needs a damn plaza. A survey in the Columbus Alive asking "What Columbus Needs" rekindled my desire to see a plaza Downtown. Not a strip-mall "plaza", I'm talking about the kind that Americans are captivated by when they travel to Europe, but can't find in American cities. Currently, Downtown's premier urban street, Gay st., dead ends into this. The problem is that neither the city nor developers know what should go in here. Keeping in mind that this parking lot extends well outside of the photo consisting of two blocks from Gay to Long, wouldn't the best use of this parcel of land be for a plaza to accentuate Gay St. and promote the use of empty retail spots across from this lot on both High and Gay St.? http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/1922535.jpg[/img] (photo by Diego Compán Vázquez on Panoramio) Notice that like High St. this plaza has a road right along side of it while there is a wide open space with benches and greenery all flanked with mixed-use buildings that have seating spilling out and there is a fountain (not featured) which serves as a focal point, instead of a parking lot with a garage in the background. Such a public space would be very unique not just in Columbus, but nationwide, and would certainly make Downtown very attractive while maybe even encouraging more infill along High St. The question I have is: why not?
February 3, 200916 yr I don't think it's active enough to necessitate a plaza of that caliber. Just look at the density and the variety of uses along the edges of that plaza. The problem with planning plazas and parks in the U.S. is that there's no emphasis on what exactly is going on at the edge that will force people into it.
February 3, 200916 yr It wouldn't have to be of that size, but I used it as an example since I walked through it all the time. This is in a city of 230,000, just fyi. Even if it was only for one block instead of both I'd be all for it. There are numerous residential infills on High and off of High, especially on Gay St., along with some retail all within easy walking distance. I think creating a unique public space which you can't find elsewhere would work as a destination, make the surrounding area more attractive to residents, businesses, visitors and help boost our image.
February 3, 200916 yr It wouldn't have to be of that size, but I used it as an example since I walked through it all the time. This is in a city of 230,000, just fyi. Even if it was only for one block instead of both I'd be all for it. There are numerous residential infills on High and off of High, especially on Gay St., along with some retail all within easy walking distance. I think creating a unique public space which you can't find elsewhere would work as a destination, make the surrounding area more attractive to residents, businesses, visitors and help boost our image. One thing I really like is the Gateway on High St. Like KOOW said, it's a very unique place. (sorry, I'm getting philosophical again) You feel so drawn into it, out of curiousity. It's not immediately clear what's bordering the awkward public space in the center so you want to explore it. Since there's so much going on at the edge, it makes sense for there to be street performers - musicians, clowns, whatever they have there. When people come out of those buildings, they're immediately in the open public space. It would also be easy to allow public drinking in that space at certain times of the night (maybe with a few security guards). There's also a movie theater and great places for lunch to ensure that the space is used during different times of day. Plus, the way the space acts as a path that terminates into a parking garage (which itself is a great thing). I would love to see more spaces like that in Columbus. I really..hate to say this..because I love the arena district, but I think they could have made that space in front of the entrance of the arena so much better. It really is dead most of the time. I don't think a plaza would spur development around it, I think the buildings around it make a plaza vibrant but maybe I'm wrong. I've never done any case studies on it or anything.
February 3, 200916 yr i think that's a great idea. no buildings is no reason not to plan ahead for a grand plaza. in fact it's a perfect situation for developing an all-new one. it could be iconic if done right. plus we just don't have enough of that euro vibe as it is in the usa....that is, the good parts of europe like the city plazas.
February 5, 200916 yr Anyone familiar with the Group plan in Cleveland? Is that similar to what is being discussed?
May 10, 200916 yr Well whadya know? Columbus Alive is getting on the UO bandwagon with this series of surveys on ... wait for it ... What Columbus Needs! What Columbus Needs What Columbus Needs: City Life What Columbus Needs: Discussion What Columbus Needs: Downtown What Columbus Needs: Jobs What Columbus Needs: Transportation What Columbus Needs: Youth movement
May 12, 200916 yr I think it's clear that Columbus needs to take action. If you look at the official neighborhood plans, they've known that we need complete streets and multi-modal transportation everywhere. Duh, now do it!
May 12, 200916 yr I think a serious 3C rail can only help Columbus' sports teams, OSU, NHL, and MLS. They could all sponsor special trains from the other C's to Columbus for the games - this happens all the time in Europe. Party train time, baby. Columbus needs to develop a serious plan to deal with its declining core neighborhoods and first ring suburbs that have piss-poor quality housing.
May 12, 200916 yr There's scattered talk of getting an MLS team in (or around) Cleveland, but until the market just demands a team here, I kind of like being in the Crew's market. And I would love to take a train to see a Crew game.
May 14, 200916 yr I think a serious 3C rail can only help Columbus' sports teams, OSU, NHL, and MLS. They could all sponsor special trains from the other C's to Columbus for the games - this happens all the time in Europe. Party train time, baby. Columbus needs to develop a serious plan to deal with its declining core neighborhoods and first ring suburbs that have piss-poor quality housing. First ring suburbs don't have piss-poor housing. Bexley, Grandview, and Upper Arlington are well-off with quality housing stock. For core city neigborhoods in decline (Franklinton, Hilltop, Reeb-Hosack, Livingston Park, Driving Park, Milo-Grogan, North Central, East Columbus, and Linden) the answer is simple: streetcars. They brought development to most of these neighborhoods and after being torn out + highways wiping out homes and businesses, these neighborhoods can again benefit from modern streetcars once again from the development they would attract. Forget High St., put a streetcar line on Parsons and you'll get High St part II. I'll also add that in most of the neighborhoods mentioned the housing stock is quite good and even superior to new builds in the burbs. Short of a streetcar, serious re-urbanization via attractive traffic calmed streets would be the next best thing. They dissuade sprawling development (who would ever put a bunch of drive-thrus on a 25MPH street?) and encourage urban development while welcoming other modes of transportation aside from cars like bikes and scooters (bike racks and scooter/motorcycle parking would be great).
May 14, 200916 yr I had in mind more the first-ring that happen to be in Columbus but would be separate towns and townships in the rest of the state. The post-war neighborhoods and especially those built from the 60s through the 80s, with a little bit of unique 70s stuff excepted. Whole swathes of the east side outside of the Bexley. I was thinking first-ring outside of the urban core rather than first-ring as getting outside of the initial urban settlement.
May 14, 200916 yr Well now, that is a whole other can of worms. Examples like Berwyn and sprawl surrounding dying malls (Westland, Eastland, Northland) serve to show that these places have and will turn into ghettos. These places need major urban retooling for functionality, including only allowing urban infill on their commercial streets and turning those winding residential streets into a grid. People in Whitehall might not be happy when half their yard is turned into a through-street.
May 14, 200916 yr I had in mind more the first-ring that happen to be in Columbus but would be separate towns and townships in the rest of the state. The post-war neighborhoods and especially those built from the 60s through the 80s, with a little bit of unique 70s stuff excepted. Whole swathes of the east side outside of the Bexley. I was thinking first-ring outside of the urban core rather than first-ring as getting outside of the initial urban settlement. What city doesn't have this? I don't think it's particularly bad in Columbus compared to other cities. There are some really exceptional post WW2 neighborhoods in Columbus. I was just walking through Murray Hill which is a subdivided portion of Lincoln Village. The architecture is pretty unique and futuristic for suburban homes. The sewer caps say 1958 so I'm assuming it was developed around that time. It's a very clean, well kept neighborhood too. It was featured in Life magazine in the '60s as being a 'wave of the future' neighborhood.
May 14, 200916 yr Columbus' challenge is that most of those neighborhoods are within the city boundaries, while the core may be getting ever better, these neighborhoods are falling off a cliff and I don't see them having the sort of renaissance that pre-war neighborhoods can have. So much of Columbus' growth came late in the century, which means that Columbus' future will have a sort of reverse donut - nice core and nice suburbs along the beltway with a swathe of ghetto in between (though the High Street corridor keeps the circle from completing mostly). There are decent post-war neighborhoods, no doubt, but from driving around there are broad swathes that don't have much future. If OSU ever shrank (which depending on the financial health of the state of Ohio could happen again), even the High Street corridor could suffer as the blight spreads from the east.
May 14, 200916 yr Mid-Century is hot as hell! Doesn't even have to be that architecturally mod on the outside. A few funky details on the interior like flagstone walls, a built in shadow box, or a built in aquarium are desirable. Columbus should target some of those neighborhoods and create a buzz. The midwest is behind on this trend, but I think the demographics and stock of 1950's and 60's architecture would make it a perfect place for a Mid-Century belt around the city.
May 14, 200916 yr A streetcar system from Ohio State to German Village and light rail connectivity to the burbs I think would really transform Columbus. It's a pretty big city on a relatively small chunk of land. Tieing it all together like that I think would just do wonders. Do this and watch Short North, the Arena District, downtown, and German Village explode in development and population. I agree with everything in this statement except the bold print...Columbus is over 200 sq miles, while both Cleveland and Cincy hover below 80 sq miles, yet in Clevelands case, the infrastructure was built for almost a million people. I am not sure how Columbus can be considered a pretty big city on a small chunk of land?
May 14, 200916 yr He's talking about the old 50 sq mi Columbus. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 14, 200916 yr Columbus should target some of those neighborhoods and create a buzz. The midwest is behind on this trend, but I think the demographics and stock of 1950's and 60's architecture would make it a perfect place for a Mid-Century belt around the city. This is also the Dayton areas hidden secret. But isnt that retro trend over now?
May 14, 200916 yr Unfortunately, so many of these houses are so small and not built well. They provide less of a quality foundation for interesting transformations than the older generation. I guess smaller families could go for neighborhoods filled with tiny cape cods and bungalows, but I just don't see a long term demand for those or for the split-levels that so dominated sixties and seventies 'burbs.
May 15, 200916 yr "I was just walking through Murray Hill which is a subdivided portion of Lincoln Village. The architecture is pretty unique and futuristic for suburban homes. The sewer caps say 1958 so I'm assuming it was developed around that time. It's a very clean, well kept neighborhood too. It was featured in Life magazine in the '60s as being a 'wave of the future' neighborhood." I got to check this out. Directions?
May 15, 200916 yr "I was just walking through Murray Hill which is a subdivided portion of Lincoln Village. The architecture is pretty unique and futuristic for suburban homes. The sewer caps say 1958 so I'm assuming it was developed around that time. It's a very clean, well kept neighborhood too. It was featured in Life magazine in the '60s as being a 'wave of the future' neighborhood." I got to check this out. Directions? N Murray Hill Rd Columbus, OH 43228 Type that into google maps. Basically it's to the right of those woods in the center. It sucks that google maps basically has every street view for the area EXCEPT that sub-neighborhood.
May 15, 200916 yr But isnt that retro trend over now? No, it's alive and well. Pick up a Dwell magazine. Unfortunately, so many of these houses are so small and not built well. They provide less of a quality foundation for interesting transformations than the older generation. I guess smaller families could go for neighborhoods filled with tiny cape cods and bungalows, but I just don't see a long term demand for those or for the split-levels that so dominated sixties and seventies 'burbs. I disagree about the quality of 1950's and 60's homes...many were pretty solidly built brick and have hardwood floors and some great custom quirky features. Levittown NY is a great example of how the homes can be expanded and re-used. The trend is going toward living in smaller spaces as well so it plays into that. In Columbus, expansion and build out should be pretty easy too because of larger midwest lot sizes. I also think the neighborhoods are built closer to new urbanism standards...with sidewalks, parks and walkable shopping and schools....a lot of emphasis on curvy streets yes, but they tend to be through streets and lack cul-de-sacs. I agree that the 1970's and 80's is a different story. My friends that have moved from NY to Columbus drool over some of those mid-century homes in Columbus.
May 15, 200916 yr ^ Yea, there is some really sweet '50s-'60s stuff if you know where to look. Parts of UA, Bexley are a good place to start, and also around Noe-Bixby between Broad and Main. Sometimes it will go, "Bland, bland, sweet, bland, sweet, bland, bland".
May 15, 200916 yr I am going to redouble and say that as I've driven around, in general, I see more plastic-wrapped crap in low-rent subdivisions than I've seen neighborhoods that would lend themselves toward any sort of mid-century retro renaissance. The nice neighborhoods of Cbus certainly have postwar homes that are capable of finding new hope, but I think it is overwhelmed by those areas within the city that just won't be able to compete long term. I would say that the east side of town on the whole is basically lost north of 670 and south of 270, it is a question of when not if. The Sawmill Corridor looks rough, even parts of Hilliard, Dublin, Westerville have not held up well. The SE side isn't doing very well, as it is the heart of the foreclosure in the area.
May 17, 200916 yr Hi - I didn't see a great thread to put this in and didn't want to start a new one, but I did a longish post on Columbus similar to my Cleveland and Cincy ones. Hope you enjoy. http://theurbanophile.blogspot.com/2009/05/columbus-new-midwestern-star.html It does include a section on what Columbus needs, so it is on topic I guess.
May 18, 200916 yr Woops, I meant Dominion Homes. They have the highest foreclosure rate out of all the builders in Ohio. Also, the houses are cheaply made. M/I isn't much better though.
May 18, 200916 yr The biggest vinyl village developer in Indianapolis, CP Morgan, recently went out of business.
May 18, 200916 yr I can eventually picture a Youngstown-esque demolition of '90s-early '00s Columbus subdivisions within 30 years as they become unloved, uninhabited and undergo rapid decay.
May 18, 200916 yr I agree completely. I'd also add there are neighborhoods from the 60s and 70s that are already poised for that kind of disinvestment. Those vinyl villages seem to be like weeds on the east side, they pop up in places that make no sense and with nothing around them.
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