May 17, 20169 yr CU: http://www.columbusunderground.com/millennial-tower-will-complete-riversouth-plan The Columbus Underground update included a more comprehensive recap of RiverSouth projects. The CU list (with links to each project at the CU site) also included recently completed projects, under construction projects, and proposed projects, like the Dispatch update. But CU also included some older completed projects (like the Lazarus building renovation in 2007 that kick-started the RiverSouth development) and some larger infrastructure work that helped the RiverSouth area (like the Rich & Main Street Bridges and the Scioto Mile riverfront park project): The LC’s five-story Matan Building – Replacing surface parking – Construction starting this summer. Two 8 and 10 story LC Riversouth buildings – Replacing shorter buildings – Construction delayed. The LC Annex at Riversouth buildings – Replaced surface parking – Completed in 2009. Borror Properties five-story building – Replace a two-story nightclub – Construction starting this summer. The Milestone 229 restaurant at Bicentennial Park – Opened in 2011. The redevelopment of the old Columbia Gas HQ – Ongoing office renovation. The conversion of streets to two-way traffic – Completed in 2011. The new Scioto Mile park and trail system – Completed in 2011. The RiverSouth parking garage – Completed in 2009. The reconstruction of the Rich Street and Main Street Bridges. The renovation of the Lazarus Building — Completed in 2007. The 25-story mixed-use Millennial Tower - Replacing surface parking – Scheduled to open in 2018.
May 18, 20169 yr That's just sad. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 18, 20169 yr ^Now they have steel studs framing out some of the first floor and two levels of cinder block stairwell....but still no steel rising.
May 31, 20169 yr Nice idea for a temporary conversion of an alley space just west of High Street in the RiverSouth area. Possibly part of a more permanent public space in the area: Pop-Up Project will Transform RiverSouth Alley to Pedestrian Space By Walker Evans, Columbus Underground May 25, 2016 - 6:00 am In just a couple of weeks, an underutilized alleyway in the RiverSouth neighborhood will take on a new life as a temporary pedestrian-centric outdoor amenity space, thanks to Transit Columbus — the same group that is currently installing the Parklet Project on Gay Street. Starting on June 9th, the block of West Cherry Street between High and Front Streets will transform with new signage, planters, seating, and more. ... Once open, West Cherry Street will host a variety of programming, including a biweekly interactive marketplace called ”Cherry Sundays”, a mural painting event with local artist Rebecca O’Neil during the Arts Fest, and a Visual Artists Night featuring short films. While the conversion of Cherry Street will come and go this summer, Transit Columbus Board Member and project organizer Jess Mathews said that a more permanent installation is already in the planning stages. During stakeholder meetings with nearly a dozen private developers and public organizations, she discovered that the efforts by Transit Columbus were actually becoming more of a trial run. “I found out that West Cherry Street has been part of a larger, long-term vision in which all of these partners have hopes to transform it into a permanent pedestrian public space from High Street to Civic Center Drive,” she explained. “So, this two month public engagement project is the first phase of that conversation.” MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/west-cherry-street EXISTING WEST CHERRY STREET AT SOUTH HIGH STREET (Nov. 2015 Google Streetview) PROPOSED WEST CHERRY STREET CONVERSION RENDERING
May 31, 20169 yr I dig it. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 3, 20169 yr Author That was quick. This is actually something I wish the city and downtown civic associations would do with all the alley streets in Columbus (Pearl, Wall, Lynn, Noble, etc). I think it would be a nice way to create something relatively unique to Columbus and the downtown area. Keep it coming!
June 3, 20169 yr ^Like button that. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 3, 20169 yr When the infrastructure work on Pearl Alley is done, one hopes they'll incorporate some of what works in this temporary space to decorate/utilize the alley.
June 9, 20169 yr The West Cherry Street transformation project is getting noticed. And so are the people behind the project: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/06/09/transit-columbus-helps-turn-strip-of-cherry-street-into-paved-park-downtown.html http://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2016/06/02/people-jessie-mathews-passion-for-placemaking.html
June 9, 20169 yr The people behind the West Cherry Street project are documenting the prep work behind this transformation at their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PlaceMakes View from the High Street sidewalk looking west down Cherry: View from the 250 Building across High Street looking west down Cherry: Flowers being planted at Cherry Street: West Cherry vertical mural being painted on the adjacent Swan Cleaners buildling: Finished West Cherry vertical mural (with YarnBomb added at ground level): Lots more info and photos at https://placemakes.org/pedestrian-alleys/cherry-street/ and at https://www.facebook.com/PlaceMakes
July 19, 20168 yr Mid-July photo of the 8 and 10-story LC Riversouth building sites at two corners of Rich & High from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-july-edition: View from the mid-block alley looking north toward Rich Street at the 8-story project. It's still slooooowly going up with the first floor framed in now (second level at the alley side in this photo) and the elevator core a few floors above that. The 10-story LC project site at the southeast corner of Rich & High is fenced in to the right in this photo:
July 19, 20168 yr It's still slooooowly going up I've never seen anything like it. Just incredible inexperience, I guess, with finance, construction, urban development, etc.
July 19, 20168 yr The elevator shafts are actually 7-8 stories up now and a lot of work has been done internally on the first floor. It's definitely been a slow moving project but things seem to be speeding up now.
July 19, 20168 yr I hope so! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 2, 20168 yr Steel framing is going up on the third floor of the north LC building. Construction seems to be making a dent. Also noticed an excavator working in the basement of the south LC building.
August 22, 20168 yr As of Friday it looked like quite a bit of work has begun on preparing the site for the South building. I wouldn't be surprised to see an additional crane going up for the South building before too long.
September 7, 20168 yr 11-Story Building Proposed for Swan Cleaners Site Downtown The proposed building would have 120 apartment units, first-floor retail and a roof-top terrace. Significantly, a below-grade parking garage accessible from Wall Street is only slated to hold 22 cars. A specialized bike-storage area on the first floor is designed to hold 60 bikes. http://www.columbusunderground.com/11-story-building-proposed-for-swan-cleaners-site-downtown-bw1
September 7, 20168 yr I have a feeling that the Downtown Commission will have something to say about the fact that it's only going to have parking for 22 cars. Other than that I'm excited about this project. Hopefully they spruce the design a bit though, but 11 stories is a pretty good height.
September 7, 20168 yr Yeah, we'll have to wait for the final rendering to judge. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 8, 20168 yr I have a feeling that the Downtown Commission will have something to say about the fact that it's only going to have parking for 22 cars. Other than that I'm excited about this project. Hopefully they spruce the design a bit though, but 11 stories is a pretty good height. There are no parking minimum requirements Downtown, so it is up to the discretion of the developer. I don't think it'll be that controversial considering the requirements were removed not that many years ago.
September 15, 20168 yr New Visuals Unveiled for 11-Story Downtown Development Proposal http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-visuals-unveiled-for-11-story-downtown-development-proposal
September 15, 20168 yr RiverSouth is fastly becoming mini-Downtown DC in the height limit thing. That's fine, though, for now... "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 15, 20168 yr RiverSouth is fastly becoming mini-Downtown DC in the height limit thing. That's fine, though, for now... It's not just RiverSouth. I guess we should be glad that there are more proposals now reaching 10+ stories, an improvement over how long we were stuck at the 5-story ceiling. By the time we move on to 20+ stories, though, most if not all of the prime lots near High and the river will be gone. There are still plenty of lots in the eastern half of Downtown, but I suspect that we'll be seeing low-rise there long into the future.
September 15, 20168 yr Yeah, it's quite strange. I can kinda see why the Short North would have that 10-story ceiling (even though I still think it's ridiculous) but having that scale in the actual CBD is silly, particularly along the riverfront. Milwaukee is putting 30+ story highrises along their lakefront; Nashville is experiencing unprecedented highrise growth in their city; even NIMBY-friendly Portland placed this on their riverfront: There really is no excuse, particularly as there is high-demand for residential in the core. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 15, 20168 yr Yeah, it's quite strange. I can kinda see why the Short North would have that 10-story ceiling (even though I still think it's ridiculous) but having that scale in the actual CBD is silly, particularly along the riverfront. Milwaukee is putting 30+ story highrises along their lakefront; Nashville is experiencing unprecedented highrise growth in their city; even NIMBY-friendly Portland placed this on their riverfront: There really is no excuse, particularly as there is high-demand for residential in the core. When it comes to Downtown, I don't think NIMBYism is at play. In the Short North, neighborhood commissions are the ones that are typically requesting height reductions, along with the local resident population who don't seem to understand that they live in an urban neighborhood that is changing rapidly. That is not the case Downtown. The Downtown Commission encourages height and density, and there is really no organized resident component against those things. The problem seems to be with the developers. Whether it is because they are too small to make the financials work for larger projects, or just aren't comfortable with larger scale, almost all proposals have been undersized for their locations. 10+ stories is a start, but it's still not where things need to be. There have been only 2 projects in the last decade or so that I thought were pushing the established envelope, and they are the Millennial Tower and the recently announced mixed-use project at 500 W. Broad. The latter project has an amazing number of really cool, unique features that I've never seen in another Columbus project, and the former only because it breaks from the pack on height and is not a typical design you'd see in the city.
September 22, 20168 yr Yeah, it's quite strange. I can kinda see why the Short North would have that 10-story ceiling (even though I still think it's ridiculous) but having that scale in the actual CBD is silly, particularly along the riverfront. Milwaukee is putting 30+ story highrises along their lakefront; Nashville is experiencing unprecedented highrise growth in their city; even NIMBY-friendly Portland placed this on their riverfront: There really is no excuse, particularly as there is high-demand for residential in the core. When it comes to Downtown, I don't think NIMBYism is at play. In the Short North, neighborhood commissions are the ones that are typically requesting height reductions, along with the local resident population who don't seem to understand that they live in an urban neighborhood that is changing rapidly. That is not the case Downtown. The Downtown Commission encourages height and density, and there is really no organized resident component against those things. The problem seems to be with the developers. Whether it is because they are too small to make the financials work for larger projects, or just aren't comfortable with larger scale, almost all proposals have been undersized for their locations. 10+ stories is a start, but it's still not where things need to be. There have been only 2 projects in the last decade or so that I thought were pushing the established envelope, and they are the Millennial Tower and the recently announced mixed-use project at 500 W. Broad. The latter project has an amazing number of really cool, unique features that I've never seen in another Columbus project, and the former only because it breaks from the pack on height and is not a typical design you'd see in the city. I think it's definitely possible that developers have soured on the high end condo market. The Miranova disaster (originally sold for 500,000-1 million, now going for <500,000 for the most part) while the rest of the market was inflating was definitely something I always remind myself of when I wonder why there aren't bigger residential/condo developments.
September 22, 20168 yr Cherry Street downtown could be permanently closed as part of 11-story apartment tower project A two-block stretch of West Cherry Street downtown was recently transformed into an art-filled, pedestrian-friendly public space. The change would be permanent if the developer behind an 11-story apartment tower planned along South High Street gets its way. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/21/cherry-street-downtown-could-be-permanently-closed.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 6, 20168 yr Couple of very nice photo galleries of the finished Julian Apartments at Front & Main: - http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/23/photo-tour-see-the-julians-transformation-from-95.html - https://www.thejulian.com/
October 18, 20168 yr New 11-Story Building Approved Downtown A new 11-story mixed-use building that was unveiled last month has quickly been approved by the Downtown Commission during this morning’s monthly meeting. The project, being developed by Crawford Hoying at the Swan Cleaners site at the corner of South High and West Cherry streets, was presented last month for conceptual review, and re-presented today for approval with minor changes to the overall plan. More below: http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-11-story-building-approved-downtown "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 18, 20168 yr Excited to see what else Crawford Hoying will bring to the table once they start wrapping up their Dublin projects. Seems like they're keen on developing the type of infill that most on this site appreciate.
October 18, 20168 yr It's nice to see this part of downtown really starting to come together. Now if we could just get some plans off the ground for the empty lots at Main/High (county-owned grass field and Schiff's surface lot) ...
January 12, 20178 yr I drove past the LC construction site last night. It looks like the north building is close to being topped out and there is a crane base in place for the south building so a crane will probably be going up there soon. Also, has anyone heard anything about Millennial Tower? I thought I read in the original reports that they wanted to hopefully get the green light in early 2017, but I haven't heard anything.
January 12, 20178 yr Honestly, I'd be shocked if Millennial Tower happens at all. Bill Schottenstein has a history of big ideas and pretty renderings, but hasn't really been able to get much off the ground in the last 20 years or so. So don't hold your breath. But, the good news is a lot else is happening in the area, and more and more players are getting involved. LC is finally moving on their projects, Borror is well underway on their first in the area, Crawford Hoying's should be starting soon, and Daimler/Kaufman have broken ground for 225.
January 12, 20178 yr I'm going to continue holding my breath until we hear otherwise although I understand why you wouldn't. The reason I'm still hopeful is because of all the projects you listed that are under way. The developers obviously see a lot of promise in this area and a tower like Millennial Tower, even if it gets scaled back a bit, will probably be a huge success.
January 22, 20178 yr If you look a little closer at the "Millennial Tower" you'll realize it's primarily a parking garage with some space on top of it. They may be waiting for other developments to create parking demand to drive the core of their project.
January 23, 20178 yr If you look a little closer at the "Millennial Tower" you'll realize it's primarily a parking garage with some space on top of it. They may be waiting for other developments to create parking demand to drive the core of their project. So what you're suggesting is that they are waiting for more cars to fill their parking garage before they start building? If so, then that's one of the worst development plans in history, so I doubt that's the plan.
January 23, 20178 yr If you look a little closer at the "Millennial Tower" you'll realize it's primarily a parking garage with some space on top of it. They may be waiting for other developments to create parking demand to drive the core of their project. So what you're suggesting is that they are waiting for more cars to fill their parking garage before they start building? If so, then that's one of the worst development plans in history, so I doubt that's the plan. It's the Schottensteins, all talk no action approach. Then when there is action you end up with cheaply built product like their relative Kauffman builds.
February 12, 20178 yr The 5-story, 89-unit apartment building at southwest corner of Front & Main, aka the 303 S. Front St. building, aka the former RedZone nightclub site is under construction. Feb. 1 photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-february-2017: Project rendering and article at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1965.msg795966.html#msg795966
February 12, 20178 yr And catching up with our favorite LC RiverSouth residential project, the 8 story, 106-unit Trautman Building at the northwest corner of Rich & High: Construction site tour from CU near the end of October: http://www.columbusunderground.com/hard-hat-photo-tour-lc-riversouth-bw1 Late November 2016 photo of Trautman Building facing Rich Street from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-photos-downtown-columbus: Jan. 2 photo of Trautman Building facing High Street from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-downtown-columbus: Feb. 1 photo of Trautman Building facing Rich Street from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-february-2017:
February 28, 20178 yr Swan Cleaners downtown set for demolition in March to make way for 11-story apartment tower A Dublin developer is preparing to raze a Swan Cleaners in downtown Columbus to make way for an 11-story apartment high-rise. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/02/27/swan-cleaners-downtown-set-for-demolition-to-make.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 22, 20178 yr The 5-story, 89-unit apartment building at southwest corner of Front & Main, aka the 303 S. Front St. building, aka the former RedZone nightclub site is under construction. Feb. 1 photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-february-2017: Project rendering and article at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1965.msg795966.html#msg795966 UPDATE: March 20, 2017 photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-italian-village-downtown-more -- not quite topped out, but coming along quickly:
March 22, 20178 yr Update on the two LC RiverSouth buildings under construction at the northwest and southwest corners of Rich & High: March 20, 2017 photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-italian-village-downtown-more -- The north building (Trautman Building: 8 stories, 106 apartments) is nearly topped out. -- The south building (Beatty Building: 10 stories, 137 apartments) now has a construction crane on its site.
April 5, 20178 yr As of about 8:15 when I drove by tonight the Swan Cleaners building was being demolished. This area is going to be dramatically different in about a year and a half and I can't wait!
April 10, 20178 yr UPDATES: Steel has officially begun to rise at 225 Commons. Looked like a tower crane base was being erected as well. I'm living for all the tower cranes popping up right now. The first (and shorter) LC building also now appears to have reached full height after all this time. This area is filling in quite well. Sorry for the image quality, it was rainy, windy, and I was on a mission for tacos. PS... It also looks like the space between Jeni's and Tortilla is being remodeled? Anyone know whats happening there for sure?
April 10, 20178 yr Great updates! Can't wait for 225, the 2nd LC, and the Crawford Hoying building to all start rising! These new builds should really create a vibrant cluster of activity which can finally support some meaningful retail and street life along High through here. Also, they have the added bonus of distracting from/obscuring HighPoint, which initially stuck out like a sore thumb because nothing else was around it. As far as the work going on at the Commons itself, they seem to just be re-configuring the seating area, adding more trees, etc. A rendering of the improvements is below, and an image of the old setup for comparison.
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