Columbus: Northland Developments and News

Posted March 12, 200520 yr

ARTICLE DELETED

March 12, 200520 yr

Oops. Nice foresight!

September 14, 200519 yr

First, some background. DeadMalls.com provided a link to a photo tour of the 1960s mall that closed down in 2003. These photos were taken in September of that year.

Northland Mall was outdated, and Polaris and Easton sealed its doom.

I have no idea what happened in Phase I during 2004. Columbus Business First reported on Phase II in December, which included the purchase of the theater as well as a Taco Bell and a credit union in the outlots:

Vaud-villities, added streets on a path for Northland Park (12/27/04)

There were some problems with an office component, as reported by the same paper in January 2005:

Retail Ventures' review shakes up Northland nerves (1/31/05)

If anyone can fill in the backstory, please do. That leads us to the most recent article....

From ThisWeek Newspapers (Northland), 9/1/05:

Continental contract renewed

Urban Growth confident in park developer

Thursday, September 1, 2005

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Columbus Urban Growth Corp. has renewed its contract with Columbus-based Continental Realty for the NorthlandPark project, citing progress made in redeveloping the former mall property. However, one Northland leader has been openly critical of Continental; others, not as vocal, have expressed concerns during Northland Community Council meetings. Urban Growth officials have defended the company's work.

September 26, 200519 yr

From ThisWeek Newspapers (Northland), 9/15/05:

Advisory committee named for NorthlandPark

Thursday, September 15, 2005

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Columbus Urban Growth Corp. is establishing a NorthlandPark advisory committee to keep representatives from several Northland community organizations abreast of progress in developing the former Northland Mall site. Urban Growth spokesman Mike Duffy said the new advisory committee, which will be called the NorthlandPark Quarterly Roundtable, will hold its first meeting in October. The meetings will not be open to the public, Duffy said.

Roundtable members are Northland Community Council president Tom Nann, NCC development Committee chairman Jeff Murray, Northland Alliance chairman Fred Damsen and executive director David Hull, Northland Area Business Association president George Hadler and NABA vice president Greg Gerhard. Columbus Planning Division administrator Vince Papsidero will also be asked to join the advisory committee, as well community representatives Mark Bell and Ruby Hackett.

October 25, 200519 yr

From ThisWeek (Northland), 10/20/05:

MORSE ROAD SID

Hudson: Effort is 'a step in right direction'

Thursday, October 20, 2005

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Columbus City Council's jobs and economic development committee gave its approval Oct. 12 to a the latest draft of a petition seeking property owners' support of a Special Improvement District along a 2.6-mile section of Morse Road. Northland Alliance executive director David Hull briefed the committee on the Morse Road SID Task Force's progress and plans, including sharing information concerning the proposed SID's budget, its annual costs and assessments, its boundaries and service plans and the latest version of the petition that will be circulated.

The service plan will match the progress of the $19.3-million Morse Road improvement project that is currently underway. Hull said the assessments would be phased in as more property owners are affected by the completion of sections of the Morse Road project. Phase one of the project is scheduled to be finished in next fall.

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/thisweek.php?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/102005/Northland/News/102005-News-31093.html

October 26, 200519 yr

As Council Member Hudson rightly states, this is a step in the right direction, but the fact that this is being done after the fact is so typical of the Coleman administration when it comes to transportation projects: either incomplete or not well-thought out.

Five years ago, they announced a major downtown re-development plan that made absolutely no provision for public transportation and instead suggested building more parking garages! And the silence from City Hall is deafening when it comes to COTA's light rail plans (or lack of plans), or the Ohio Hub intercity passenger rail plan. Meanwhile, the mayor's of Cleveland and Lima... about as diverse a pair of Ohio cities as you can find.... have both publically and strongly endorsed the Ohio Hub Plan.

November 2, 200519 yr

From ThisWeek (Northland), 10/27/05:

NORTHLAND PARK

Advisory group aims to inform residents

Thursday, October 27, 2005

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Northland area community leaders met with Columbus Urban Growth Corp. officials Oct. 18 as part of a new effort to keep them abreast of the progress being made redeveloping the site where the Northland Mall once stood. Northland Community Council president Tom Nann said the NorthlandPark Quarterly Roundtable is an important avenue of communication between Urban Growth, the nonprofit group overseeing NorthlandPark's redevelopment, and Northland officials and residents.

Those attending the inaugural roundtable meeting included Nann, Columbus Urban Growth managing director Odis Jones, NCC development committee chairman Jeff Murray, Northland Alliance executive director David Hull and Northland Area Business Association president George Hadler. The roundtable was formed in the wake of the announcement in May that Home Depot is considering building a 130,000-square-foot store at NorthlandPark.

November 3, 200519 yr

From Suburban News Publications, 10/26/05:

Formal signature gathering for SID begins today

By JENNIFER WRAY

After months of planning, the Morse Road Special Improvement District exploratory committee is expected to begin its formal petition process today. The committee, drawn from area property owners and business managers, is seeking support to create a district that would, if approved, levy a tax-like assessment on property owners along Morse Road as well as parallel service roads to pay for cleaning and maintenance along the 2.6-mile corridor.

For the SID to be enacted, petitioners must collect the signatures from property owners representing at least 60 percent of the front footage along the corridor of 75 percent of the square footage of property abutting Morse Road.

The Northland Community Council, the Northland Area Business Association and the Northland Alliance have all endorsed the district's creation. The alliance even provided the services of David Hull, its executive director, to get the effort started.

Full article at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS10-26/10-26_nnsid.htm

November 15, 200519 yr

Tax breaks may fuel expansion

Council approves special Northland district

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Jodi Andes THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Council approved three tax credits and an abatement worth $453,410, a property-tax abatement on 289 new condominiums along the Olentangy River, and allowed the creation of a special improvement district in the Northland Area. If at least 60 percent of the 88 business owners along 2.6 miles of Morse in that area agree, they all will have to pay more in taxes to clean up and improve the area, said David Hull, executive director of Northland Alliance.

November 25, 200519 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 11/17/05:

Northland businesses sign SID petition

Thursday, November 17, 2005

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

The Northland Alliance committee seeking to designate a 2.6-mile stretch of Morse Road a special improvement district (SID) officially started its petition drive Nov. 15 at the Huntington Northland Center on Morse Road. A number of owners of businesses within the proposed SID boundaries -- including Huntington Bank, National City Bank, Bank One, Bob Daniels Buick GMC, Kreiger Ford, Roush Auto Sales and the Franklin Square Shopping Center -- attended the gathering and signed the petition to support creating the district.

Northland Alliance president David Hull, who is heading the SID exploratory committee, said 4-D Holding Co., the Cloak & Dagger dinner club and Walker Properties, which owns Morse Center and Northtown Center, have already signed the petition. NorthlandPark, which is overseen by Columbus Urban Growth Corp., also signed the petition supporting the establishment of the SID. Columbus City Council approved legislation Nov. 14 allowing Urban Growth to sign the petition on behalf of NorthlandPark.

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/thisweek.php?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/111705/Northland/News/111705-News-48214.html

December 1, 200519 yr

From the 11/23/05 Northland News:

Landowners support Morse Road improvements district

Organizers have obtained many signatures to start new assessment.

By JENNIFER WRAY

It might be a marathon, but those working to create a special-improvement district have sprinted off to a strong start. Backers of the SID have collected more than half the signatures they need to enact it along Morse Road, as well as its parallel service roads, from Indianola Avenue to Cleveland Avenue.

For the SID to be enacted, petitioners must collect the signatures from property owners representing at least 60 percent of the front footage along the corridor or 75 percent of the square footage of property abutting Morse Road. So far, the petitioners have passed the halfway mark on both standards, organizers said.

Those who have signed on include Bob Daniels Buick-GMC, National City Bank, Bank One, Huntington National Bank, Krieger Ford and Columbus Urban Growth -- the city's nonprofit development arm and owner of NorthlandPark, at the former Northland Mall.

Full article at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS11-23/11-23_nnsid.htm

December 6, 200519 yr

From ThisWeek Westerville, 12/1/05:

NORTHLANDPARK

Officials remain optimistic about Home Depot plans

Thursday, December 1, 2005

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Home Depot officials say the company is still "moving forward" with plans to build at NorthlandPark, although its real estate committee has yet to give final approval. Home Depot spokesman Yancey Casey said the company's real estate committee postponed a November meeting at which it was to make a final decision about whether to build a 130,000-square-foot store on the former site of Northland Mall. He said that meeting is expected to be held sometime in December but would not give a specific date.

December 20, 200519 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 12/15/05:

Council OKs funds for Morse rights of way

Thursday, December 15, 2005

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

The city has set aside $1-million to begin acquiring or leasing the property it needs to begin the second phase of the Morse Road improvement project. Columbus City Council approved the funding for the right-of-way acquisitions Monday. Much of the $1-million will be used to temporarily lease the property the city needs to do construction work related to the phase two improvements, according to Mary Lu English of the city's transportation division.

"Sometimes we only need the property so the construction work can be done," English said. "When the construction is done, we turn the property back over to the original owner." English said she could not yet provide the locations of specific tracts of land that will be leased or bought by the city.

Phase two of the $19.3-million road improvement project includes work along Morse Road between Karl Road and Cleveland Avenue. The first phase of the project covered the section of Morse Road from Indianola Avenue to Karl Road. It is expected to be completed by November 2006.

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/thisweek.php?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/121505/Northland/News/121505-News-64458.html

December 23, 200519 yr

Home Depot drops Northland site

Something else may be in store for former mall location, city says

Friday, December 23, 2005

Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Home Depot has dropped plans to build a store on the former Northland Mall site. Columbus Urban Growth Corp., the city’s nonprofit development division and master developer for the site, announced late yesterday afternoon that discussions have discontinued with Home Depot "in anticipation of other plans for the site expected to be announced in 2006." Yancey Casey, spokesman for Atlanta-based Home Depot, indicated the site’s proximity to a Home Depot less than 4 miles away at 6333 Cleveland Ave. might have played a role in the decision.

December 28, 200519 yr

From Northland News (SNP), 12/21/05:

Organizers confident they can gather SID signatures

By JENNIFER WRAY

Although they probably won't finish collecting signatures this year, those working to create a special-improvement district along Morse Road are well on their way to completing the task in January. "We are satisfied with the steady progress we have been making on getting signatures on a petition to get a Morse Road SID," said David Hull, executive director of the Northland Alliance and facilitator for the effort. "We are now four-fifths of the way there," he said.

For the SID to be enacted, petitioners must collect signatures from property owners representing at least 60 percent of the front footage along the corridor or 75 percent of the square footage of property abutting Morse Road. Hull said the SID backers have met signatures representing more than 52 percent of the front footage and nearly 67 percent of the square footage of property along Morse Road.

Plans for the district call for it to be implemented along Morse Road, as well as its parallel service roads, from Indianola Avenue to Cleveland Avenue.

Full article at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS12-21/12-21_nnsid.htm

January 17, 200619 yr

From the 1/11/06 Northland News:

NorthlandPark panel discusses life without Home Depot

By JENNIFER WRAY

Home Depot is no longer moving into NorthlandPark, but what will has yet to be made public. Odis Jones, managing director of Urban Growth -- the site's master developer -- gave Northland Community Council members a broad description of what's in the works. When it was announced, Urban Growth lauded landing Home Depot for the former Northland Mall site. But some Northland area residents and council members said original plans did not include a big-box store.

In 2003, Urban Growth and representatives from the council, the Northland Area Business Association, the Northland Alliance and the city "created a redevelopment plan for the mall area that includes commercial, retail and office space, recreation facilities and residential units," according to Urban Growth's Web site.

February 27, 200619 yr

Property owners present Morse SID plan to council

Business First of Columbus - 2:53 PM EST Monday

Property owners along the Morse Road retail corridor expect to complete formation of a special improvement district at the Columbus City Council meeting Monday night. Supporters of the Morse Road Special Improvement District will petition the council to create a 10-year service plan for the stretch of Morse between Indianola and Cleveland avenues. Approval would complete a year-long effort to form the district.

David Hull, executive director of the Northland Alliance, said the district will have a annual budget of $135,000 for its first three years to provide 24 annual mowings of median and shoulder grass areas, pay for weekly litter cleanups as well as maintenance of city-planted trees.

Property owners in Ohio can create SIDs to raise property taxes for common maintenance of streetscapes, safety services and marketing if they obtain the sufficient support.

Full article at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/02/27/daily4.html

February 28, 200619 yr

Excerpt from Columbus Dispatch article Feb. 28, 2006.... follows up on City Council action from Monday night.

• A special-improvement district was formed along a 2.6-mile stretch of Morse Road, after business owners agreed to a special tax that will generate $135,000 the first three years and more in the following seven years. A business will pay depending on the value of its property, its square footage, and how much frontage its building has along Morse Road, said David Hull, director of the Northland Alliance.

The money will be used for maintenance efforts in the stretch between Indianola Avenue and Karl Road.

http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/02/28/20060228-D5-00.html

April 12, 200619 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 4/6/06:

City to buy rights of way for 17 properties

Thursday, April 6, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Columbus City Council approved two legislative items Monday to prepare for the next step in completing a $19.3-million project that is at the heart of revitalization efforts in the Northland area. According to John Klein, the city's chief real estate attorney, council approved the purchase of rights of way for 17 properties in the second phase of the Morse Road improvement project.

The Morse Road project is designed to create a gateway into the Northland area by improving traffic flow along Morse Road from Cleveland Avenue to Indianola Avenue. Work will include installing sidewalks, improved street lights, traffic signals and pedestrian crossings.

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/040606/Northland/News/040606-News-128430.html

June 13, 200619 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 6/8/06:

Three named to board of revision

Thursday, June 8, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Organizers of the Morse Road Special Improvement District (SID) put two more pieces of their puzzle into place Monday night, courtesy of Columbus City Council. Council passed two legislative items -- one that establishes a board of revision to hear any objections to assessments from the property owners in the SID corridor, which stretches between Indianola and Cleveland avenues.

A item approved Monday sets up a three-party agreement that will help fund the SID organizers' efforts over the next 10 years. According to Northland Alliance executive director David Hull, KIMCO Realty Corp. and another unnamed property owner are objecting to assessments they will be forced to pay, beginning in January 2007, under the terms of the SID.

Hull said the objections from the two property owners, neither of whom signed the petition establishing the SID, are vague and aren't the kind of objections normally encountered during a SID's commissioning. "It appears that they just don't like the idea of having to pay the assessments that will be leveled against them as part of funding the SID," he said.

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/060806/Northland/News/060806-News-167562.html

June 15, 200618 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 6/8/06:

Northland leaders create 161 NABA Task Force

Thursday, June 8, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Members of what is now officially called the 161 NABA Task Force say their efforts to improve the business climate along state Route 161 should focus on beautification, security and code enforcement. "Northland used to be the place to go to shop or eat out," said Northland Area Business Association vice president Dave Cooper, speaking at a June 1 meeting. "Things have changed over the years and now we want to stabilize the market. We have to stop the hemorrhaging and get more businesses back onto the strip."

The corridor in questions runs through Northland from the eastern edge of Worthington east to Ponderosa Drive. The task force's leader, NABA president Greg Gerhard, established an eight-member steering committee that will begin organizing the group's overall efforts. The steering committee also will approach residential landowners and businesses to raise money to maintain Route 161, particularly grass cutting.

Full story at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/060806/Northland/News/060806-News-167554.html

June 26, 200618 yr

From Northland News (SNP), 6/21/06:

NABA adopts mission to make corridor more appealing

Beautification, police issues and traffic and street improvements will be improved upon, officials said.

By JENNIFER WRAY

The 161 NABA Task Force is on a mission. The Northland Area Business Association's mission, adopted by consensus at its steering committee meeting Thursday, calls for it to: "develop and implement programs that involve and benefit business stakeholders along the state Route 161 (East Dublin-Granville Road) business corridor ... along with the residential communities that adjoin that corridor" and help to "preserve and enhance the corridor's appeal to current and future business tenants, property owners and their customers."

Full story at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS6-21/6-21_nn161taskforce.htm

July 4, 200618 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 6/29/06:

Board rejects assessment protests

Thursday, June 29, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

A board of revision created by Columbus City Council June 5 has rejected the objections of two Morse Road property owners who were fighting special improvement district assessments scheduled to begin in January 2007. KIMCO Realty Corp. and W. Limited filed written objections to the assessments with the city and were scheduled to appear before the board of revision June 22 to explain their complaints, but no one from the companies attended the meeting.

Board members Jeffery Porter, Gary Baker and Deborah Diggs were to hear the objections. When KIMCO and W. Limited representatives failed to show up for the board's meeting, they rejected their objections, meaning the companies will be assessed for improvements within the Morse Road SID corridor, which stretches between Indianola and Cleveland avenues.

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/062906/Northland/News/062906-News-178618.html

July 11, 200618 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 7/6/06:

PHOTO: The newly elected board of directors for the Morse Road Special Improvement District (SID) are (from left) Wyatt Kingseed, Kent Stuckey, David Bush, Susan Crotty, Greg Gerhard, Doug Krieger, Aaron Gilbert and Fred Damsen. Not pictured is Jim Shea. By David Rea/ThisWeek

Nine to oversee Morse Road SID

Thursday, July 6, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

The first nine board members for the Morse Road special improvement district (SID) were elected at the group's initial membership meeting June 28. The group also adopted its code of regulations, ratified the actions of its initial incorporators and gave itself the short name of Morse Road SID during its inaugural gathering.

Jim Shea of Huntington Bank was named board chairman; Doug Krieger of Krieger Ford was named vice chair; Aaron Gilbert of the Gilbert Group is the board's treasurer; and Kent Stuckey of Vaud-Villities was named secretary. "This is a great day because the SID has taken a further step toward reality," said Northland Alliance executive director David Hull. "We've now elected a board and appointed directors, and adopted a code of regulations. We're in business."

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/070606/Northland/News/070606-News-183511.html

July 11, 200618 yr

Exciting stuff, it would seem. A broad base of heavily-invested businesses is key to the success of a daunting project such as this. Proof that the number one way to get people behind a tax is to guarantee visible, tangible results. Good luck, SID!

July 18, 200618 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 7/13/06:

City council approves final piece of Morse Road SID legislation

Thursday, July 13, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Columbus City Council approved the final piece of legislation necessary for the creation of a 10-year special improvement district (SID) along a 2.6-mile stretch of Morse Road Monday. Council's latest action approves the SID's plan of services and allows levies to be assessed against property owners in the district.

"This legislation is really just another step in the process of making the Morse Road SID official," said council spokesman Scott Varner. "There's nothing new in it, but council has to approve several pieces of legislation as part of the process of setting up a SID."

Council first approved the SID organizers' petition process in February 2006. In March 2006, council approved the SID's plan of improvements and services. Council approved the third ordinance required by the Ohio Revised Code in April 2006. That legislation declared the necessity to implement the plan of services and levy assessments for services. Monday's action simply allows the execution of the SID plan to proceed.

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/071306/Northland/News/071306-News-187145.html

July 24, 200618 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 7/20/06:

Task Force launches fund-raising campaign for 161 corridor

Thursday, July 20, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

The Northland Area Business Association's state Route 161 Task Force will soon launch a fund-raising effort aimed at business owners within the 161 business corridor. The task force will initiate the campaign by sending out a four-page color brochure by July 21, encouraging up to 1,000 potential contributors to make donations in one of six sponsorship categories.

Full story at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/072006/Northland/News/072006-News-191559.html

August 7, 200618 yr

From Northland News, 8/2/06:

New Route 161 group pleased by response to brochure

By JENNIFER WRAY

The NABA-State Route 161 Task Force already is seeing green in its efforts to clean up the business corridor along state Route 161. Only a few days after task force members sent out a brochure advertising the need for businesses to fund improvements and maintenance along common areas in the corridor, a pledge of $1,000 for the effort has come in, said chairman Dave Cooper.

Full story at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS8-2/8-2_nnwe161taskforce.htm

August 29, 200618 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 8/24/06:

SID board seeking management firm

Thursday, August 24, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

The board of directors of the Morse Road special improvement district (SID) is seeking a property management firm to oversee its mission to maintain the landscape and streetscape within the Morse Road corridor from Karl Road to Indianola Avenue. The board issued a formal request for proposals for the work Aug. 21.

"Now that the Morse Road SID has been set up and organized, we are ready to retain property management services," said Jim Shea, board chairman. "We are pleased that the major property management firms in the region are showing considerable interest in working with the SID."

The firm that is eventually hired will be responsible for finding and retaining a company to maintain the landscaping within the first phase of the Morse Road improvement project. The initial phase of the $19.2-million road project is slated for completion in November. Phase two is scheduled for completion in 2012 and phase three in 2016.

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=Northland&story=thisweeknews/082406/Northland/News/082406-News-211328.html

September 12, 200618 yr

From Northland News, 9/6/06:

Task force considers creative fundraising for 161 work

By JENNIFER WRAY

The NABA-161 Task Force is continuing on with its work to grow maintenance efforts along state Route 161. Task force members met Aug. 24 for an update on their efforts. "The mailing went out on schedule -- now the primary focus is on going out" and making individual contact with businesses, said Dave Cooper. He's chairman of the task force, vice president of the Northland Area Business Association and owner of The Ink Well on Dublin-Granville Road.

More information about its efforts is available online at its Web site: www.naba161taskforce.org or by calling 888-2201.

Full story at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS9-6/9-6_nntaskforce.htm

October 4, 200618 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 9/28/06:

NorthlandPark development

Urban Growth, Stonehenge discuss project

Thursday, September 28, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI, [email protected]

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Columbus Urban Growth Corp. officials are in talks with local developer and builder Stonehenge Co. to take over the redevelopment project at NorthlandPark, according to Fred Damsen, chairman of Urban Growth's board of directors.

The two parties have been meeting on and off for months trying to hammer out an agreement that would allow Stonehenge to redevelop the site based on the original site plan for NorthlandPark. That plan focuses on redeveloping the site as a mixed-use project, including a residential component, Damsen said.

October 11, 200618 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 10/5/06:

Council OKs gap funding for Morse Road SID

Thursday, October 5, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Columbus City Council approved legislation Oct. 2 that provides the Morse Road special improvement district (SID) with $15,000 for various legal and administrative expenses. Morse Road SID board member David Hull said the $15,000 represents an advance on 2007 assessments established under a tri-party cooperative sharing agreement with the city's development and public service departments.

The money will come from the city's $2-million Job Growth Initiative Fund. "This money is simply an advance from the roughly $50,000 we will get from the city each year for mowing services on city-owned land in the Morse Road corridor," Hull said. "So we'll get $35,000 from the city in 2007 instead of $50,000." He said he expects the city to forward the $15,000 to SID officials by the end of October.

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/index.php?sec=northland&story=sites/thisweeknews/100506/Northland/News/100506-News-236618.html

October 28, 200618 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 10/26/06:

NCC development committee

Hamilton, 161 considered for SuperTarget

Thursday, October 26, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

The chairman of Northland Community Council's development committee said last week that land at the corner of state Route 161 and Hamilton Road is being considered as the site for a SuperTarget store. The site in Northland is in Casto's and M/I Homes' 300-acre Albany Park development, according to NCC development committee chairman Jeff Murray.

An artist's rendering that Casto filed with the Columbus Development Department as part of its rezoning application package depicts a SuperTarget store, and the preliminary site plan shows a 150,000-square-foot retail building near the northeast corner of Hamilton Road and state Route 161. A second building on the site designated for retail use is 50,000 square feet in size.

January 5, 200718 yr

From the 12/3/06 Dispatch:

GRAPHIC: Northland's comeback

NORTHLAND AREA

Morse Road gets face-lift, but Rt. 161 losing luster

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Morse Road has fresh pavement and new sidewalks, traffic lights and streetlights. A new median updates the Beatles-era street for the 21 st century. It’s a sign, say Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council President Matt Habash, that the future remains bright in the Northland neighborhood, an area they identified for improvements starting in the late 1990s.

But neighborhood leaders remain concerned about the slow pace of redevelopment at the site of the former Northland Mall, shuttered four years ago and later demolished. Some say the city needs to do more to fight crime in the area. And they’re particularly worried that Rt. 161, the neighborhood’s other major east-west thoroughfare, is continuing to slide even as Morse Road gets a face-lift.

Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/03/20061203-B1-04.html

January 5, 200718 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 12/7/06:

Northland groups to focus efforts on 161

Thursday, December 7, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Now that the Morse Road special improvement district (SID) has been established, Northland leaders are ready to begin seriously exploring whether its possible to replicate the effort on state Route 161. In a Nov. 30 letter to city officials, Northland Alliance officials announced they are launching an initiative to redirect their energy toward enhancing and developing the economy of the Route 161 corridor in Northland.

Full story at http://www.thisweeknews.com/index.php?sec=northland&story=sites/thisweeknews/120706/Northland/News/120706-News-274412.html

January 5, 200718 yr

From Northland News, 12/20/06:

NABA leaders want to build on successful '06

By JENNIFER WRAY

The Northland Area Business Association celebrated its accomplishments in 2006 and its goals for 2007 at its quarterly meeting Dec. 12. The NABA-161 Task Force started this year and has so far been successful in raising funds to cut grass along Dublin-Granville Road, said Dave Cooper, vice president of NABA, head of the task force and owner of the Ink Well.

Moving forward, the task force will look for additional ways to collect funds for maintenance along the road, from Worthington to Ponderosa Drive. Such a mechanism could include the creation of a special-improvement district akin to the one established along Morse Road, he said.

Full story at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS12-20/12-20_nnnabagoals.html

March 18, 200718 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 3/15/07:

New owner plans to remodel Northland Plaza

Thursday, March 15, 2007

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

A New York City-based realty company that purchased the Northland Plaza in December plans to renovate the retail space and is looking for new tenants. Nassimi Realty Corp. vice president Oliver Nassimi said Monday he could not yet provide specific details about the rehabilitation project or when it will get underway because it is still in the planning stages.

"We usually do a head-to-toe rehab when we buy a center, so it'll be a substantial renovation," he said. "Some of the renovation work may be directed by the new tenants." Nassimi purchased the shopping center and the 23 acres it sits on on Dec. 22, 2006, from Indianapolis-based Simon Property for $3.6-million. The land and buildings are valued at $7.5-million, according to the Franklin County Auditor's Web site.

March 30, 200718 yr

From Northland News, 3/28/07:

Route 161-Hamilton Road plans face uphill climb

By LISA AURAND

Plans for the intersection of state Route 161 and Hamilton Road are expected to face strong opposition again from neighbors and environmentalists at the Northland Community Council's Development Committee meeting today. An e-mail from Friends of the Big Walnut and Rocky Fork Watersheds sent last Wednesday to members of the Columbus Department of Development and development committee chairman Jeff Murray raised concerns about a lack of wetland preservation within two of the proposed developments' subareas.

April 5, 200718 yr

From Northland News, 4/4/07:

Board wants more time to review Hamilton-161 plans

By JENNIFER WRAY

Despite a revamped proposal, plans for development at the intersection of state Route 161 and Hamilton Road continue to be on hold to give the Northland Community Council's Development Committee time to review them.

Representatives for developers Casto and the New Albany Co. shared plans at the committee meeting Wednesday. They said they believed the updated proposal would be amenable to residents in the surrounding areas, particularly those in the Albany Park area who complained that they would be adversely affected if retail development were constructed near their homes. "We kept hearing 'we want office, we want office,'" said Casto attorney Jeff Brown.

April 7, 200718 yr

Route 161 and Hamilton

NCC group tables Casto request

Thursday, April 5, 2007

By RANDY NAVAROLI, ThisWeek Staff Writer

Officials from Casto Development will have to wait until the end of April to learn whether Northland officials will endorse their plan to rezone and develop hundreds of acres near Albany Park and The Preserve. Northland Community Council's development committee tabled the developer's request at its March 28 meeting to give committee members additional time to consider a number of modifications made by Casto.

April 13, 200718 yr

Casto opponents seek clarification on wetlands

Thursday, April 12, 2007

RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Opponents of a plan to develop a sprawling commercial and residential development on nearly 450 acres near state Route 161 and Hamilton Road are asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conduct a new field study to redelineate wetlands on about 138 acres on the site. Bill Resch, chairman of the Friends of the Big Walnut Watershed, said he has been told by USACE officials in the past week that they will return to the site and conduct another study prior to the April 25 meeting of Northland Community Council's development committee.

April 19, 200718 yr

From ThisWeek Northland, 4/19/07:

Casto plan might not get April NCC vote

Thursday, April 19, 2007

By RANDY NAVAROLI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

It's unlikely the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will have a new wetlands delineation study for a site near Albany Park completed in time for the next Northland Community Council development committee meeting April 25. Wetlands proponents and residents of the Albany Park Reserve subdivision have asked the USACE office in Huntington, W.Va., to conduct a new study to verify the location and boundaries of wetlands on almost 138 acres near the intersection of state Route 161 and Hamilton Road.

Casto Corp. wants to develop that site as well as another 300 acres in the area for commercial and residential uses. Casto and the wetlands advocates disagree on two delineation studies, one competed in 1998 and a second done in 2003, that arrived at different conclusions concerning the size of the wetlands on the site. The 1998 study, commissioned by M/I Homes, shows a 10.89-acre wetlands on a site to the west of Albany Park. The 2003 study done for Casto by Bill Acton, a wetlands scientist with CEC Consultants, concluded that the wetlands on the site cover only 3.4 acres.

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/?story=sites/thisweeknews/041907/Northland/News/041907-News-340766.html

April 20, 200718 yr

Rezoning sought for two sites on Sinclair Road

ThisWeek Northland, 4/19/07

Northland Community Council's development committee is slated to hear a rezoning request at its April 25 meeting that could allow an auto maintenance shop to open at 5960 Sinclair Road. If ultimately approved by Columbus City Council, the request to rezone the 0.41-acre site just south of Sinclair Road's intersection with state Route 161 would allow practically all commercial uses on the site, with the exception of fuel sales and car wash facilities.

The property, purchased in 1994 for $90,500 by Clyde E. Price, 5379 Sinclair Road, is currently zoned L-C-3, which allows commercial uses except those related to automobiles. The request asks to rezone the site as L-C-4, which would allow the auto shop on the site.

An existing building on the site, which was built in 1996 and once housed C. E. Price Door Co., would be renovated to accommodate the new facility, according to Shannon Pine, a planner in the Columbus Development Department. The department's zoning staff will review the request today (April 19).

May 11, 200718 yr

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM CITY, DEVELOPER

At last, there's a plan for Northland

Stores, office space, homes part of mix

Friday, May 11, 2007 3:35 AM

By Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Northland Mall has been gone for five years now, leaving the aging neighborhood without its commercial heart. Today, residents who have worried about Northland's future find out what comes next. Stonehenge Land Co., based in Gahanna, will redevelop the old mall site into stores, offices and some homes. By today, the company will have signed an agreement with the Columbus Urban Growth Corp. to redevelop close to 60 barren acres. Stonehenge plans to buy that land from Urban Growth, the city's nonprofit developer, which controls the site. City leaders have scheduled an announcement for 1:30 p.m. today at the mall site. They're calling the project Northland Village.

May 12, 200718 yr

Menards home improvement chain to anchor new Northland development

Friday, May 11, 2007 2:30 PM

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A year and a half after Home Depot backed away from plans to build a store at the former site of Northland Mall, another home-improvement chain is making plans to move there. Wisconsin-based Menards is to open its first Columbus location at Northland Village. The store is planned for the east end of the former Northland Mall site, officials announced today.

Northland Mall closed in 2002 and Columbus purchased the site for $7 million in 2003. The city and its nonprofit development arm, Columbus Urban Growth, have been working since then to find a developer to reuse the site, which was once the commercial heart of the Northland neighborhood.

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