Some shuffling to prepare for the new courthouse project:

 

Franklin County Sheriff's office moving to East Main Street

 

 

“The sheriff's office will move to 55-57 E. Main St., which was formerly occupied by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. That agency moved to 2600 Corporate Exchange Dr.

 

The sheriff's offices were in the James A. Karnes Building at 410 S. High, but Franklin County sold that building to the city of Columbus to make way for the municipal courthouse. 

 

With the planned construction, the sheriff's office will move in the next six months, a county spokesman said. The new courthouse will be built on the site of the Karnes Building and Dorrian Commons Park. 
 

The new courthouse will replace the current, leased building at 375 S. High St., which has needed many repairs over the years, the city said.”

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/07/24/franklin-county-sheriffs-office-moving-to.html

Key takeaway here seems to be "preliminary site construction could begin in late 2025" :/ 

 

Five years on, progress stalls on new Franklin County Municipal Courthouse as costs rise

 

Next month will mark five years without any signs of construction activity — aside from a chain-link fence cordoning off the former Dorrian Commons park at the southeast corner of South High and Mound streets, the site of the Downtown project. Franklin County erected the fence and shuttered the park in 2018 in preparation.

 

The project is still moving along behind the scenes, said Chris Long, a spokesperson for the city of Columbus Finance Department, which is managing the courthouse project. However, half a decade on, the city still isn't exactly sure what will be built in terms of the number of stories, square footage or number of courtrooms. Nor could it provide provide an architectural rendering of what it might look like.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2024/04/26/new-franklin-county-municipal-courthouse-project-stalled-as-costs-jump-over-60-percent/73439213007/

 

21 minutes ago, NW24HX said:

Key takeaway here seems to be "preliminary site construction could begin in late 2025" :/ 

 

Five years on, progress stalls on new Franklin County Municipal Courthouse as costs rise

 

Next month will mark five years without any signs of construction activity — aside from a chain-link fence cordoning off the former Dorrian Commons park at the southeast corner of South High and Mound streets, the site of the Downtown project. Franklin County erected the fence and shuttered the park in 2018 in preparation.

 

The project is still moving along behind the scenes, said Chris Long, a spokesperson for the city of Columbus Finance Department, which is managing the courthouse project. However, half a decade on, the city still isn't exactly sure what will be built in terms of the number of stories, square footage or number of courtrooms. Nor could it provide provide an architectural rendering of what it might look like.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2024/04/26/new-franklin-county-municipal-courthouse-project-stalled-as-costs-jump-over-60-percent/73439213007/

 

It’s gonna be a 5-6 story building for sure. 

42 minutes ago, NW24HX said:

Key takeaway here seems to be "preliminary site construction could begin in late 2025" :/ 

 

Five years on, progress stalls on new Franklin County Municipal Courthouse as costs rise

 

Next month will mark five years without any signs of construction activity — aside from a chain-link fence cordoning off the former Dorrian Commons park at the southeast corner of South High and Mound streets, the site of the Downtown project. Franklin County erected the fence and shuttered the park in 2018 in preparation.

 

The project is still moving along behind the scenes, said Chris Long, a spokesperson for the city of Columbus Finance Department, which is managing the courthouse project. However, half a decade on, the city still isn't exactly sure what will be built in terms of the number of stories, square footage or number of courtrooms. Nor could it provide provide an architectural rendering of what it might look like.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2024/04/26/new-franklin-county-municipal-courthouse-project-stalled-as-costs-jump-over-60-percent/73439213007/

 

Which wouldn’t be too far off from the timeline reported by CU….in 2022. Must be a slow day for the good ol’ Dispatch 🙃

7 hours ago, amped91 said:

Which wouldn’t be too far off from the timeline reported by CU….in 2022. Must be a slow day for the good ol’ Dispatch 🙃

 

Thanks I couldn't remember the original timeline, if any

 

I do think it's a shame that they closed the park just to let it sit for years behind a chain link fence, and also that we're losing it at all. Large, mature trees are in short supply downtown and that park has a lot of them. If they kept the park it would also force the new building to be taller to fit only on the Karnes building's footprint (which is about the same size as the existing municipal courthouse)

 

Oh well 🙃

2 hours ago, NW24HX said:

 

Thanks I couldn't remember the original timeline, if any

 

I do think it's a shame that they closed the park just to let it sit for years behind a chain link fence, and also that we're losing it at all. Large, mature trees are in short supply downtown and that park has a lot of them. If they kept the park it would also force the new building to be taller to fit only on the Karnes building's footprint (which is about the same size as the existing municipal courthouse)

 

Oh well 🙃

I think they closed the park to avoid the homeless the potential new courthouse 5 years into the future was a convienant reason. 

 

 

Franklin County's closed Downtown jail to become childcare and learning center

 

"The now-closed Franklin County jail in downtown Columbus is on its way to being razed and transformed into a child care and early learning facility — a transition that county officials believe may be a first in the nation.

 

The Franklin County Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a $1.39-million design contract to begin the process of turning the shuttered lockup, adjacent to the Franklin County Court Complex on the southeast corner of Mound and Front streets, into a 400-plus child care center for county and city employees, as well as the general public and parents who have to appear in court.

 

The center would be up to 50,300 square feet on three levels of about 16,700 square feet each, with its entrance aligned with and connected to the Franklin County Government Center main entrance and concourse level. An outdoor play space of about 18,500 square feet would also be included."

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2024/06/24/franklin-county-to-demolish-downtown-jail-build-childcare-center/74137578007/

 

Mayor’s Capital Budget Includes Money for Housing, New Courthouse

 

Some of the biggest allocations include $150 million for a long-planned municipal courthouse building, about $104 million directed toward affordable housing initiatives, and $50 million to build a Real Time Crime Center and public safety campus in North Linden (on city-owned property at 757 Carolyn Ave.).
 

 

$150 million seems like a decent sized project could come from it. 

14 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

$150 million seems like a decent sized project could come from it. 

 

What was the Hilton Tower? $250m? Seems like $150m could get you a decent size building depending on what kind of special infrastructure you need inside of it. 

6 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

What was the Hilton Tower? $250m? Seems like $150m could get you a decent size building depending on what kind of special infrastructure you need inside of it. 

I hope they build it like the original on that lot and not some modern box.

Just now, columbus17 said:

I hope they build it like the original on that lot and not some modern box.

 

What's the original? 

22 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

What's the original? 

1971 courthouse

31 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

1971 courthouse

 

Not sure what you mean by that. Could you provide a picture or something? Or are you talking about the 1800s courthouse that was demolished in the mid-1970s?

 

23 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Not sure what you mean by that. Could you provide a picture or something? Or are you talking about the 1800s courthouse that was demolished in the mid-1970s?

 

Yeah I would love for them to do something like this, even if it was only around 7 stories, at least it would look amazing. 

1 minute ago, VintageLife said:

Yeah I would love for them to do something like this, even if it was only around 7 stories, at least it would look amazing. 

 

I would love it too, but there's absolutely no way they would build anything remotely as good as that. We just don't build like that anymore, unfortunately. 

6 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

I would love it too, but there's absolutely no way they would build anything remotely as good as that. We just don't build like that anymore, unfortunately. 

I would actually guess that rebuilding it exactly like that would cost double the $150 million. 

I say go all-in modern like Antwerp's courthouse.

 

42 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

I say go all-in modern like Antwerp's courthouse.

 

Pointy Sydney Opera House? I dunno...

4 hours ago, CMHOhio said:

Pointy Sydney Opera House? I dunno...

How...DARE you!  Would you call the RenCen in Detroit a "Straight Leaning Tower of Pisa?"  The Space Needle "a White Eiffel Tower?"  The Brooklyn Bridge "A Young Wheeling Bridge?"  

BANNED!!!

6 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

 

I would love it too, but there's absolutely no way they would build anything remotely as good as that. We just don't build like that anymore, unfortunately. 

Check out Yale's new residence halls... check out infill in Chicago... check out the performance hall in Tennessee. We can build like that and contrary to popular belief, it doesn't cost much more. Human scale architecture is a necessity in a thriving urban community.

41 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

Check out Yale's new residence halls... check out infill in Chicago... check out the performance hall in Tennessee. We can build like that and contrary to popular belief, it doesn't cost much more. Human scale architecture is a necessity in a thriving urban community.

Can you link to some of the examples you have in mind? I wasn’t aware that developers were actually diving in to such quality architecture, but if that’s the case that’s quite exciting. We’ve been building ugly for so long. I’d love to see us get back to beauty. 
 

I completely agree about the importance of human scale architecture. I’m on record many times on this site stating that height (as in 250’+ towers) is relatively unimportant when it comes to creating a quality urban environment. 

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

Can you link to some of the examples you have in mind? I wasn’t aware that developers were actually diving in to such quality architecture, but if that’s the case that’s quite exciting. We’ve been building ugly for so long. I’d love to see us get back to beauty. 
 

I completely agree about the importance of human scale architecture. I’m on record many times on this site stating that height (as in 250’+ towers) is relatively unimportant when it comes to creating a quality urban environment. 

I was a big hater of neighborhood launch until I understood it. Now I wish it was everywhere.

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

Can you link to some of the examples you have in mind? I wasn’t aware that developers were actually diving in to such quality architecture, but if that’s the case that’s quite exciting. We’ve been building ugly for so long. I’d love to see us get back to beauty. 
 

I completely agree about the importance of human scale architecture. I’m on record many times on this site stating that height (as in 250’+ towers) is relatively unimportant when it comes to creating a quality urban environment. 

Ik this isn't US but I just saw it on FB and had to share. This is the kind of new development we need.

 

I'm fast-tracking some of my life plans in hopes of starting a development company to create housing like this. We'll be using creative financing, innovative technology, and consumer (and government) education to create vibrant communities like this that will last and age beautifully.

15 hours ago, columbus17 said:

I was a big hater of neighborhood launch until I understood it. Now I wish it was everywhere.

 

I still basically am. I like some elements of it, but it's all too undersized IMO. People act like human scale development either has to be 2-3 stories or that larger projects can't have any, but that's just a failure of imagination. I like, for example, the Gay Street townhomes. They look good and they have nice street interaction, but for my money, I would've liked to see them backing much more significant developmet that brought in more pedestrianization, retail space and a much higher number of units. It's mostly just a single-use development that has very little street interaction outside of people walking in and out of their buildings. This is particularly egregious on Long Street, where you have these new larger buildings, but zero restaurants, cafes, retail or anything for people to walk to. 

1 hour ago, jonoh81 said:

 

I still basically am. I like some elements of it, but it's all too undersized IMO. People act like human scale development either has to be 2-3 stories or that larger projects can't have any, but that's just a failure of imagination. I like, for example, the Gay Street townhomes. They look good and they have nice street interaction, but for my money, I would've liked to see them backing much more significant developmet that brought in more pedestrianization, retail space and a much higher number of units. It's mostly just a single-use development that has very little street interaction outside of people walking in and out of their buildings. This is particularly egregious on Long Street, where you have these new larger buildings, but zero restaurants, cafes, retail or anything for people to walk to. 

I think a corner cafe here and there would be fine, but keeping some residential-only streets like that is ok. Leave the commercial stuff for long. And I agree, it isn’t perfect. But it’s an example of what could be. And its aged beautifully in 15 years.

4 minutes ago, columbus17 said:

I think a corner cafe here and there would be fine, but keeping some residential-only streets like that is ok. Leave the commercial stuff for long. And I agree, it isn’t perfect. But it’s an example of what could be. And its aged beautifully in 15 years.

Yeah I think people need to remember that this was a huge shot in the dark also. When they did neighborhood launch there was no guarantee that anything would work. It worked out amazingly and stuff will build up around it.

 

I would say that the only thing I would want to see is the south side of gay bought up and built in with a mix of condo and retail. I think it could work great. Have the bottom basement floors be used for retail space and keep the above housing. Maybe add a floor or two. 

1 hour ago, VintageLife said:

Yeah I think people need to remember that this was a huge shot in the dark also. When they did neighborhood launch there was no guarantee that anything would work. It worked out amazingly and stuff will build up around it.

 

I would say that the only thing I would want to see is the south side of gay bought up and built in with a mix of condo and retail. I think it could work great. Have the bottom basement floors be used for retail space and keep the above housing. Maybe add a floor or two. 

 

Maybe you could say that for the Gay Street stuff, but by the time Long was developed, Downtown had been seeing successful residential development for the better part of 20 years. To have no restaurant/retail space at all on a major street Downtown is just bad. I get the argument of a few residential-only streets, but not there. It's almost as dead there as the Front Street parking garage wall. 

32 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

 

Maybe you could say that for the Gay Street stuff, but by the time Long was developed, Downtown had been seeing successful residential development for the better part of 20 years. To have no restaurant/retail space at all on a major street Downtown is just bad. I get the argument of a few residential-only streets, but not there. It's almost as dead there as the Front Street parking garage wall. 

You’re not wrong but long does have some stuff, but you’re right, it needs a lot more. I think with the continued building along long, it will happen.

The one retail spot in the MUB has sat vacant for years….

10 minutes ago, amped91 said:

The one retail spot in the MUB has sat vacant for years….

What is MUB? Along long there is slammers, Roosevelt coffee, Jimmy John’s, not great but it’s there. There are also some gyms and random little things. not to mention right off long you have a couple art studios, district west and technically you could count pins. It will start to fill in once more parking lots disappear. 
 

The industry Columbus apartment has a retail space that is empty. I would guess the population isn’t there yet to bring in a willing business. 

30 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

What is MUB? Along long there is slammers, Roosevelt coffee, Jimmy John’s, not great but it’s there. There are also some gyms and random little things. not to mention right off long you have a couple art studios, district west and technically you could count pins. It will start to fill in once more parking lots disappear. 
 

The industry Columbus apartment has a retail space that is empty. I would guess the population isn’t there yet to bring in a willing business. 

Mixed use building. Industry is what I’m referring to. My point is that not every apartment building needs to be lined with (vacant) retail spots. 

38 minutes ago, amped91 said:

Mixed use building. Industry is what I’m referring to. My point is that not every apartment building needs to be lined with (vacant) retail spots. 

100% agree, it’s good to have a mix of everything. 

10 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

100% agree, it’s good to have a mix of everything. 

Not only is it nice to have a mix of environments but it’s also not possible to line every street with commercial space. It’s not sustainable. You would end up with vacant commercial space all over the place. 
 

As has been mentioned, there is a decent amount commercial space in the area, but I think the nature of Long Street makes pedestrian activity pretty much impossible. It desperately needs to changed to a two way rather than urban highway it is right now. 

2 hours ago, VintageLife said:

100% agree, it’s good to have a mix of everything. 

Also mix housing types. Its a terrible idea to build block after block of apartments. Too many renters in one area...

13 hours ago, amped91 said:

The one retail spot in the MUB has sat vacant for years….

 

Which could mean a lot of different things. It could also mean that the sales team is bad or not being aggressive enough in renting it out. I could mean that the space itself is poorly designed for most potential customers. It could mean that the owners are looking for a specific type of renter they haven't found yet. It could mean that the price they want for the space is not competitive with the market. We shouldn't assume that it's vacant specifically because no one wants any retail space in that area.

Edited June 29, 2024Jun 29 by jonoh81

12 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

Not only is it nice to have a mix of environments but it’s also not possible to line every street with commercial space. It’s not sustainable. You would end up with vacant commercial space all over the place. 
 

As has been mentioned, there is a decent amount commercial space in the area, but I think the nature of Long Street makes pedestrian activity pretty much impossible. It desperately needs to changed to a two way rather than urban highway it is right now. 

I agree about converting it to two way. Unfortunately, I believe Long, Spring, 3rd and 4th will be the last to convert to two way, if it ever happens at all. 
 

Regardless, we do have a good mix of retail on Long. I’m excited to see what the renovation of the 118 building will bring. Keep filling in the empty lots and I think this area will continue to grow and thrive. 

9 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

 

Which could mean a lot of different things. It could also mean that the sales team is bad or not being aggressive enough in renting it out. I could mean that the space itself is poorly designed for most potential customers. It could mean that the owners are looking for a specific type of renter they haven't found yet. It could mean that the price they want for the space is not competitive with the market. We shouldn't assume that it's vacant specifically because no one wants any retail space in that area.

They don’t even have the space listed on LoopNet so I wonder if they decided to use it for something else or just aren’t interested in renting it out yet 

14 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

 

Which could mean a lot of different things. It could also mean that the sales team is bad or not being aggressive enough in renting it out. I could mean that the space itself is poorly designed for most potential customers. It could mean that the owners are looking for a specific type of renter they haven't found yet. It could mean that the price they want for the space is not competitive with the market. We shouldn't assume that it's vacant specifically because no one wants any retail space in that area.

None of that changes the fact that there’s already too many vacant retail spots downtown and adjacent neighborhoods….

6 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

They don’t even have the space listed on LoopNet so I wonder if they decided to use it for something else or just aren’t interested in renting it out yet 

It’s listed on Crexi

County Planning Downtown Childcare Center on Former Jail Site

 

Franklin County is moving forward with plans to build a new childcare center on its Downtown campus. The three-story structure would be built at the southeast corner of Mound and Front Streets, where the county jail was located for nearly 50 years.

 

The former jail building, which is vacant but still stands at 370 S. Front St., would be demolished to make way for what is being called the Early Learning Center. The Franklin County Board of Commissioners voted on June 18 to approve nearly $1.4 million to design the new facility. DLZ Architecture was selected to lead a design team that includes BBCO Design and other firms.

 

DLZ designed the new county jail on the West Side – the $360 million James A. Karnes Corrections Center at 2551 Fisher Rd., which opened in 2022 – and also worked with the county to assess its corrections facilities prior to the opening of the new jail.

 

More below:

https://columbusunderground.com/county-planning-downtown-childcare-center-on-former-jail-site-bw1/

 

1 hour ago, ColDayMan said:

County Planning Downtown Childcare Center on Former Jail Site

 

Franklin County is moving forward with plans to build a new childcare center on its Downtown campus. The three-story structure would be built at the southeast corner of Mound and Front Streets, where the county jail was located for nearly 50 years.

 

The former jail building, which is vacant but still stands at 370 S. Front St., would be demolished to make way for what is being called the Early Learning Center. The Franklin County Board of Commissioners voted on June 18 to approve nearly $1.4 million to design the new facility. DLZ Architecture was selected to lead a design team that includes BBCO Design and other firms.

 

DLZ designed the new county jail on the West Side – the $360 million James A. Karnes Corrections Center at 2551 Fisher Rd., which opened in 2022 – and also worked with the county to assess its corrections facilities prior to the opening of the new jail.

 

More below:

https://columbusunderground.com/county-planning-downtown-childcare-center-on-former-jail-site-bw1/

 

Please don't make it ugly like the others...

$170M dedicated to Columbus & Franklin County municipal courthouse in capital budget

 

The long-planned Columbus and Franklin County municipal courthouse is one step closer to reality, as the city has dedicated about $170 million for construction of the facility in the 2024 capital budget.

 

Chris Long, deputy director of Columbus' finance and management office, said that construction could start as soon as next year on the courthouse, depending on the pace of the design of the project.

...

The site is about 1.8 acres and the new building is expected to be between seven to 10 stories, plus a full basement. The building could be up to 375,000 square feet and have about 26 courtrooms.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/07/03/municipal-court-downtown.html

 

#sad #lowenergy #meh

On 6/27/2024 at 2:58 PM, cbussoccer said:

 

Not sure what you mean by that. Could you provide a picture or something? Or are you talking about the 1800s courthouse that was demolished in the mid-1970s?

 

 

This was the 1887-1974 courthouse, there actually were a few that were earlier! Including the first permanent courthouse in Columbus, the Franklin County Courthouse (1840–1884).

1 hour ago, M said:

 

This was the 1887-1974 courthouse, there actually were a few that were earlier! Including the first permanent courthouse in Columbus, the Franklin County Courthouse (1840–1884).

All better than the modern box monstrosities.