Multifamily housing eyed along Hamilton

Sept. 15 public hearing slated on request to rezone 10 acres in north-central Gahanna

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

By TARA STUBBS-FIGURSKI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

Gahanna City Council will hold a public hearing Sept. 15 to consider rezoning 10 acres on Hamilton Road from single-family residential to limited-overlay multifamily residential.  The Gahanna planning commission July 23 unanimously approved Stonehenge Land Co.'s rezoning request.

 

The property, at 433, 451, 471, 499, 515, 525 and 531 Hamilton Road, is in north-central Gahanna.  The proposed site plan has two- and three-story structures.  The three-story buildings are perpendicular to Hamilton Road to reduce the visible impact to Hamilton, according to city planner Matt Huffman.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2008/08/27/0828rfhousing_ln.html

Residents' input wanted on Olde Gahanna vision

Wednesday,  September 3, 2008

By TARA STUBBS-FIGURSKI, ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

The city wants to know how residents feel about downtown, and city leaders are encouraging residents and businesses to participate in what is described as Olde Gahanna Downtown Vision Plan meetings on Sept. 9 and 10.  Participants will receive an update on the plan by planning consultant Bird Houk Collaborative and provide input.  The plan will include a detailed profile of the characteristics of the Olde Gahanna area, an analysis of specific development potential and a detailed physical inventory and architectural analysis. 

 

Andre Porter is a member of the Community Improvement Corporation and of the coalition driving the plan's creation.  "The purpose of the meeting, the entire process, is to develop a vision for the future of Olde Gahanna, a set of community goals and objectives that would articulate desire for future development in Olde Gahanna," he said.  The stakeholders include area residents, business leaders and city staff. Porter said the coalition has conducted an inventory of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2008/09/03/0904rfinput_ln.html

Airport-area growth strategy laid out as 'land-based plan'

Wednesday,  September 10, 2008

By TARA STUBBS-FIGURSKI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

Gahanna development officials made a presentation about the Port Columbus Area Growth Partnership Economic Development Strategy during Gahanna City Council's committee-of-the-whole meeting Monday night.  Gahanna, Columbus and Whitehall have crafted a joint economic-development strategy to coordinate land-use planning, infrastructure investment, service delivery, development incentives and marketing efforts for the Port Columbus area.

 

The area defined by the strategy has more than 6,000 acres, with 9.4 square miles in four jurisdictions. There are 23,500 jobs and a $625-million payroll.  Port Columbus alone has 5,828 jobs.  "This is a land-based plan with economic-development strategies attached to it," development director Sadicka White said.  Gahanna is less than two miles from Port Columbus, White said, and could benefit greatly from national and international traffic.

 

White said the airport, which has grown substantially over the past 10 years, could be a catalyst for development in Gahanna.  It could attract job growth in transportation and logistics, business service and information technology, manufacturing and arts, entertainment and tourism, she said.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2008/09/10/0911rfairport_ln.html

Residents share ideas for Olde Gahanna

Wednesday,  September 17, 2008

By TARA STUBBS-FIGURSKI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

About 80 Gahanna residents and business owners attended the Olde Gahanna community stakeholder meetings Sept. 9 and 10.  Planning consultant Bird Houk Collaborative and the city of Gahanna organized the meetings to gather residents' opinions and comments about downtown and to provide an update on a plan being created by Bird Houk.  "I think it was a great opportunity to get some feedback," said Jim Houk, president and CEO. 

 

Houk said he didn't think he heard a whole lot of new ideas at the meetings, but officials had an opportunity to build consensus on certain areas of the plan.  He said plan leaders were trying to gauge how strongly people feel about particular issues.  For example, residents expressed concerns about plans to keep Granville Street pedestrian-friendly instead of using it as a main artery to get from one side of Olde Gahanna to another.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2008/09/17/0918rfoldghn_ln.html

District closes on land for new learning center

Wednesday,  September 17, 2008

By TARA STUBBS-FIGURSKI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

Plans are proceeding for Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools' new High School Learning Center.  In August, the school board voted unanimously to purchase from Stonehenge Co. 6.8 acres at 83 N. Hamilton Road for $5.6-million.  On Sept. 15, the district closed on the property.

 

It also was announced at the board's Sept. 11 meeting that the board is accepting requests for proposals for construction on the site.  "It has been a lot of work to get us to this point," Superintendent Gregg Morris said.  He said 50,000 square feet would be used for education space, with the rest of the 6.8 acres available for retail and office space.  The mixed-use development and land lease are expected to provide tax revenue to help substantially offset the cost of the new school, Morris said.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2008/09/17/0918rfboe_ln.html

Public hearing held on Stonehenge housing proposal

Wednesday,  September 17, 2008

By TARA STUBBS-FIGURSKI

ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

Gahanna City Council held a public hearing Monday night to consider a request to rezone 10 acres on Hamilton Road.  The Gahanna planning commission July 23 unanimously approved Stonehenge Land Co.'s request to rezone property at 433, 451, 471, 499, 515, 525 and 531 Hamilton Road from single-family residential to limited-overlay multifamily residential.

 

Development director Sadicka White said the site in north-central Gahanna is surrounded by single-family residential. White said the rezoning conforms with the Heartland Plan bound by Hamilton Road, U.S. Route 62, Johnstown Road and Creekside.  The Heartland Plan states that unless parcels of land could be aggregated, rezoning approval is unlikely, she said.  More than one parcel is recommended, and at least six parcels would be preferable.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2008/09/17/0918rfhearing_ln.html

Creekside's first shops now shut

Monday,  December 22, 2008 2:58 AM

By Tara Stubbs-Figurski

THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

 

Unfortunate fluke or disturbing pattern? The people behind downtown Gahanna's Creekside project probably are starting to wonder.  Two months ago, Seekers Coffee House, the first business to set up shop in the mixed-use development, became the first to shut down.  Now, the Shoppes of Portobello Row, the second business to open at Creekside, has become the second to close.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/12/22/Creekside.ART_ART_12-22-08_C7_Q3C9T8B.html?sid=101

I can't speak for the latter, but the coffeeshop was horribly set up. It felt like you were in a Kittles furniture store, not a coffeeshop. The main little area where you ordered coffee felt like a cafeteria, albeit a squeaky clean one.

Gahanna council slashes Creekside garage parking rates

Wednesday,  March 11, 2009

By GAYLON VICKERS, ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

Parking in the Creekside garage is now less expensive.  Gahanna City Council on Monday cut the prices for parking after reviewing the first year of its operations.  In Creekside's inaugural year, the garage brought in nearly $200,000 in revenue.  The cost of operating the garage was about $20,000 more than that, according to Dottie Franey, deputy director of service.

 

Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2009/03/11/0312rfcreekside_ln.html?sid=104

County to chip in to transform former landfill into Gahanna park

Friday, November 20, 2009

By Barbara Carmen and Elizabeth Gibson

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Gahanna's "second jewel in the crown" -- an abandoned landfill that will be reborn this spring as a park, golf course and office campus -- will pick up the last dollars it needs Tuesday.  Franklin County commissioners are set to chip in $2.6 million for bonds that will be sold by the state to cap the landfill, shape the golf course and plumb the site to capture lucrative methane gas.

 

The project, in the southeastern part of Gahanna directly across the Outerbelt from Port Columbus, has been dubbed the "Central Park of Gahanna."  It will cost about $14 million, with funding from a dozen sources.  Cleaning up the 88-acre landfill also is adding value to 110 vacant acres that surround it, a major benefit in a city where most of the available land has been developed, said Sadicka White, director of planning and development for the city of Gahanna.

 

Full story at http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/20/copy/Gahanna_Cental_Park.ART_ART_11-20-09_B3_37FO4D3.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

Commissioners approve financing for Gahanna park

Tuesday,  November 24, 2009 7:24 PM

By Barbara Carmen

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Franklin County commissioners unanimously approved today a $2.6 million loan, to be repaid over 30 years, to develop the Central Park of Gahanna atop the old Bedford landfill.  The project, on nearby 200 acres across the Outerbelt from Port Columbus, will cost about $14 million with funding from a dozen sources.  A nine-hole golf course is expected to open there next spring.  An office park could follow. 

 

Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/24/Commissioners-approve-money-for-Gahanna-park.html?sid=101

Flexibility key to new Gahanna school buildings

Friday,  November 27, 2009

By Elizabeth Gibson, The Columbus Dispatch

 

Ground was broken last week on a high-school annex that administrators say will fit the needs of a 21st-century education.  The $18 million to $20 million complex mixes stores, offices and classrooms and is designed to foster a more-flexible learning experience for juniors and seniors.  Administrators said they want to give students the chance to pursue career and college interests to keep them engaged as they approach graduation.

 

Clark Hall is one of three buildings planned to replace the vacant Kroger at Granville Street and Hamilton Road, across the street from Lincoln High School.  Shops will occupy the first floor -- students are lobbying for a Starbucks or Chipotle -- with classrooms, conference rooms and lounge areas on the two upper levels.  Clark Hall, scheduled to open for the 2011-12 school year, would hold up to 400 students.

 

Rendering from the project architect - Bird Houk

 

Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/27/NEW_SCHOOL.ART_ART_11-27-09_B1_L5FQIQ1.html

CREEKSIDE

Council weighs partial-occupancy permits

Wednesday,  February 24, 2010 - 2:06 PM

By Lori Wince, ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

Gahanna City Council's development and parks committee decided Monday that there might not be a problem issuing partial-occupancy permits for portions of Creekside.  Chief building official Kenneth Fultz told the committee that a contractor is waiting on final payment for work done there, pending issuance of a final occupancy permit.  But Fultz said final occupancy permits are usually issued in multi-tenant buildings after all issues are resolved and spaces are built in line with the city building code.

 

Sadicka White, Gahanna development director, said Fultz could wait to issue a final occupancy permit until all residential and commercial spaces in the Creekside development are completed.  But, she said, the city has issued partial occupancy permits in the past as multitenant buildings are developed.  Fultz said he would be comfortable releasing a partial occupancy permit for the space, requesting that unresolved issues in that part of the development be resolved within 30 days.

 

Creekside is a three-building, mixed-use development in the older portion of Gahanna on Mill Street, along Big Walnut Creek.  The project includes commercial facilities, residential condominiums and an underground parking garage.  The project includes nearly 200,000 square feet of space, which is being developed by the Stongehenge Company.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2010/02/24/0225rfcreekside-update_ln.html?sid=104

Gahanna students to create Creekside murals

Wednesday,  February 24, 2010 - 2:03 PM

By Lori Wince, ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

The plain concrete under the bridge at U.S. Route 62 and Mill Street in Gahanna will be turned into a wall of art in May.  Ten art teachers in nine different schools are working with students on this project, according to Sharon Iseringhausen, Lincoln Elementary School's art teacher.  Iseringhausen said each panel already has been designed.  On Feb. 11, she showed the Gahanna-Jefferson school board the designs that already have been chosen.

 

The idea was Iseringhausen's.  An avid cyclist, Iseringhausen said she was bicycling along a trail in Ohio when she saw banners decorated with student artwork in a downtown area.  She said she thought it was a great idea and asked city officials if the schools could partner with them on a similar project.  Murals at Creekside were suggested, and Iseringhausen applied for a grant through the Gahanna-Jefferson Education Foundation.

 

The foundation approved $1,500 for the project.  Iseringhausen said she is trying to finalize more funding to complete it.  Rough estimates show it could take $5,000.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2010/02/24/0225rfcreeksidee-murals_ln.html?sid=104

Development director: Park adds value to adjacent land

Wednesday,  March 3, 2010 - 2:35 PM

By LORI WINCE, ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

Gahanna City Council on March 1 approved parks director Tony Collins' request to appropriate the necessary funds to seal the deal on Central Park of Gahanna.

 

The 24-acre Central Park of Gahanna is a project that was designed to preserve important green space while increasing the value of neighboring developable land.  The acreage -- previously a longtime Bedford 1 landfill site -- is being purchased with a $1.117-million grant through the Clean Ohio Conservation fund.

 

Collins said the city funded the land purchase.  Closing costs were funded by VRG, the company currently holding the land.  The city must apply for reimbursement through the state for that part of the grant: $1,028,500 for the land purchase and $56,140 for closing costs.  The rest of the grant -- $32,360 -- is expected to pay for construction of a nature trail through the site.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2010/03/03/0304rfgreen-space_ln.html?sid=104

City to seek $2.3M JRS grant for land purchase

Tech Center Drive site could be home to 150,000-square-foot research, laboratory facilities

Wednesday,  March 17, 2010 - 1:19 PM

By LORI WINCE, ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

Gahanna officials hope to receive a $2.3-million state grant to purchase land off Tech Center Drive and create a developable piece of property that could house a 150,000-square-foot technical center and research laboratory building.  Anthony Jones, the city's deputy development director, said the grant application is due by April 1 so the department requires Gahanna City Council's approval to apply for funding.

 

The application will be made to the Ohio Department of Development for a Job Ready Sites (JRS) grant.  The JRS program was started to help cities around the state develop potential sites that could be marketed through local and regional entities.  Jones said Gahanna applied for a JRS grant once before and was ranked 16th out of the 59 applications submitted.  Only 12 projects received funding.

 

He said the city is changing its application this time, requesting a total of $2,264,977.  That would allow the city to purchase a total of 9.174 acres, at an estimated cost of $1,575,670.  The land includes 5.816 acres at the end of Tech Center Drive.  The other 3.358 acres would be used to extend Science Boulevard 1,000 feet east to meet the edge of the city's fleet-maintenance facility, off Tech Center Drive.  After Science Boulevard is extended, the city's existing fueling facility beside the fleet-maintenance building could be moved between the fleet-maintenance building and land the city purchased last year for a new service garage.

 

Full article: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2010/03/17/0318rfcity-land_ln.html?sid=104

Creekside span to reflect student artists' views of city

Nearly every Gahanna school is working on murals that will grace the bridge at Creekside Park

BY PAMELA WILLIS, COLUMBUS LOCAL NEWS

Published: Monday, April 12, 2010 - 4:42 PM EDT

 

Colorful scenes of children playing hopscotch or walking among familiar city landmarks soon will unfold in a large mural along the bridge at Creekside Park, created by students from nine Gahanna schools.  Lincoln Elementary School art teacher Sharon Iseringhausen said students are busy painting large panels of parachute cloth at all the elementary schools, as well as Middle School West and Gahanna Lincoln High School.

 

"Almost all the schools have started painting on the parachute cloth and we would like to have all the panels adhered to the walls by the end of the school year," she said.  Iseringhausen said there are two 76-foot walls underneath Creekside Bridge, one on each side of the creek.

 

"The mural will occupy each of those walls," she said.  "We cut the parachute cloth into 14 different panels, each 6 feet by 8 feet wide.  Once the cloth was primed, it feels like canvas.  After they are painted, we'll put adhesive on the wall and on the back of the canvas and put the panels on the walls.  Once the adhesive is dry, we'll seal the panels on the walls with a waterproof sealer."  The student-created murals will become permanent art at Creekside Park, Iseringhausen said.

 

Full article: http://www.columbuslocalnews.com/articles/2010/04/13/gahanna_news/news/ghmural%204-_20100412_0433pm_4.txt

By request, council delays vote on senior housing plan

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 - 5:55 PM

By Lori Wince, ThisWeek Staff Writer

 

Gahanna City Council isn't quite ready to act on a zoning change for the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation to build senior housing in the city.  Council on June 7 voted to postpone a second reading of a zoning change for the foundation.  Members seemed split on the issue during a late May committee meeting, when several council members questioned rezoning a commercial-office property for housing, which would not generate any income-tax revenue.

 

Representatives of the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation would like to develop 42 senior apartments on 2.368 acres at 4251 E. Johnstown Road.  The property at the corner of Johnstown Road and Silver Lane currently is zoned for a community commercial use, and the foundation is requesting that the city change the zoning to limited AR for multifamily residential housing.

 

Full article: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/gahanna/stories/2010/06/02/By-request-council-delays-vote-on-senior-housing-plan.html?sid=104

<b>Owner of Gahanna Coworking Space Wants to Foster Local Success</b>

Community Support — By Melanie McIntyre on October 6, 2010

 

<img src="http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sandbox-gahanna-1.jpg">

 

Small business owners and entrepreneurs uninterested in hunkering down in a home office or coffee shop have an alternative in Sandbox Gahanna.

 

Located at 155 Mill St., the facility offers WiFi, copying/printing/scanning/fax capabilities, a  conference area, a kitchenette, a lounge area, and complimentary water and coffee.

 

“We had this empty space and wanted to do something that benefited the community,” says Chris Lottridge, owner of Sandbox Gahanna, which opened in June of last year.

 

READ MORE: http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/owner-gahanna-coworking-space-foster-local-success/

<b>Though Bustling with Activity, Gahanna Still Looking to Attract Businesses</b>

Regional Spotlight — By Melanie McIntyre on October 15, 2010

 

<img src="http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Gahanna-1.jpg">

 

Gahanna’s current tagline “5 minutes to the Airport. 10 minutes to Downtown Columbus.” surely  highlights two advantages it has over several other Central Ohio locales.

 

However, two extensive redevelopment projects that officials have advanced there in recent years, not to mention the incentives in place to encourage business attraction and retention, give, perhaps, an equally compelling argument for considering the “complete community” east of the Capital City.

 

READ MORE: http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/bustling-activity-gahanna-attract-businesses/

<b>C-Suites Offers Professional Office Space in Gahanna</b>

Entrepreneurial Support — By Melanie McIntyre on October 28, 2010

 

<img src="http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/CSuites-Boardroom.jpg">

 

Local small business owners and entrepreneurs in search of a more professional work environment have flocked to C-Suites Executive Office Space in Gahanna.

 

Located at 1000 Creekside Plaza, C-Suites offers tenants a private dedicated telephone number with unlimited local and long-distance calling, wireless high-speed Internet, conference rooms and collaborative space, state-of-the-art visual presentation equipment, a café-style lounge with kitchen facilities, a copier and a postage machine, and an underground parking garage.

 

READ MORE: http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/c-suites-offers-professional-office-space-gahanna/

Well, this is rather disappointing news regarding Gahanna's Creekside development.  It looks like the project developer is getting a foreclosure notice from the bank.  From the published reports, it sounds like the existing tenants and the development itself will be unaffected by this foreclosure process.  But it's still a discouraging turn, so to speak. 

 

Below is a link to an article from the Columbus Dispatch that gives the basic overview.

 

Gahanna's Creekside development faces foreclosure - Huntington sues Gahanna developer, citing loan defaults

Columbus Business First also has a Gahanna Creekside foreclosure report.  They go into some more detail than the Dispatch report, including getting an interview with Mo Dioun, CEO of Stonehenge Company, the parent company of Gahanna-Creekside Investments LLC, who is the developer of record.  

 

Creekside in Gahanna headed for receivership as Huntington calls in loans

By Dan Eaton, Business First

Friday, February 25, 2011, 4:52pm EST

 

The Creekside development in Gahanna is likely to get a new owner, the after-effects of Huntington National Bank calling in $29.1 million of unpaid loans from Gahanna-Creekside Investments LLC, an affiliate of developer Stonehenge Co.  The bank, in a Feb. 18 foreclosure lawsuit filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, asked that Mark Froehlich, director of asset recovery services at NAI Ohio Equities LLC, be appointed receiver on the development.

 

Huntington approved three loans for the project totaling $30.9 million and Gahanna-Creekside defaulted last May 1, according to the court filing, which valued the property at $24.7 million.  Dioun said he has been in talks over the loans for months with Huntington executives and the decision to appoint a receiver was an amicable one among him, bankers and officials for the city of Gahanna, which helped fund the $55 million project with tax-increment financing.

 

“The cause of all this is the economy,” said Stonehenge CEO Mo Dioun. “Most of the big banks want out of these type of projects.”  The receiver will seek to restructure the development’s finances and help manage and market the property.  Dioun said that likely will result in a sale either of the entire project or of partial control. “We’d still like to retain a hand in it,” he said. “We still think this has been a phenomenal project. It’s had its own degrees of success and its own degrees of setbacks.”

 

The mixed-use development, envisioned as a town square for the northeast suburb, opened with 140,000 square feet of high-end housing, 50,000 square feet for offices and 50,000 square feet for retailing, but has never reached full occupancy.  Dioun said the combined retail and office occupancy is 70 percent, and 20 of Creekside’s 71 condos have been sold.  Retailers and restaurants there include the Wine Guy Wine Shop Wine Bar and Bistro and Mezzo Italian Kitchen & Wine.  Office tenants include Bird Houk Collaborative, Principal Title Agency and the 14,000-square-foot C-Suites Executive Office Space incubator, which includes 44 offices, shared conference rooms and other amenities for small companies.

 

Dioun said the Huntington action has no affect on other Stonehenge projects, including BriHi Square, which is a similar development in Dublin, and Northland Village at the former Northland Mall site in Columbus.

 

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2011/02/25/creekside-in-gahanna-headed-for.html

One more report about the Gahanna Creekside foreclosure.  It certainly appears that bad timing is at least the leading factor in this foreclosure.  The project was conceived, funded and opened just prior to the 2008 financial crisis.  However, one of Creekside's retail tenants also thinks high rent might also be a factor.  Or possibly he just wants his rent lowered.  Or both.

 

Creekside tenant says rent too high for low-traffic locale facing foreclosure

Business First - by Dan Eaton

Friday, February 25, 2011, 4:53pm EST

 

At least one tenant of Creekside in Gahanna thinks the troubled development has a future, but hopes it comes at a lower price.  As Columbus Business First reported Friday, the mixed-use development is headed for receivership.

 

Creekside developer Mo Dioun said it will be business as usual for tenants as the sale of the $55 million development and planning for its future commences.  But Craig Decker, owner of the anchor tenant Wine Guy Wine Shop Wine Bar and Bistro, thinks some things need to change.  For one, his lease.

 

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2011/02/creekside-tenant-says-rent-too-high.html

This is a typical problem with a lot of "new" retail development outside the Outerbelt, and sometimes inside it as well. Ridiculous rents for little foot traffic are especially epidemic in the Gahanna and New Albany areas. For one, property tax assessments are quite high, and the actual tax rates themselves are also elevated. While the area where Creekside is located is walkable, the surrounding areas are car dependent which means people speed past the development without knowing it exists. Looks like they also did what I call the "condo overreach" for lack of a better term. What it means is that they went with condos instead of apartments and can't sell them due to price, tight credit or that people are willing to rent but not buy there. Of course, in the outer 'burbs, neighbors get bent out of shape when they find out that apartments are being built and will fight the construction of them. What do those people want? $2000/month apartments that are full of well-off individuals living and spending money in your neighborhood or a foreclosed, 25% occupied building that might wind up like The Continent?

Depot to be part of new golf concept in Gahanna

 

7:02 AM, Mar. 27, 2011

Written by Russ Goulet

For The Marion Star

 

PROSPECT - Train stations can be the site of lots of movement from the hustle and bustle of busy passengers to the passing of the trains.  Usually it is not the train station that is doing the moving.

 

Prospect's Hocking Valley Train Station is an exception.  The depot has moved not once, but twice in its history.

 

The depot has been dismantled from its location at 300 N. East Street in Prospect and has been transported to Gahanna and will be rebuilt and utilized as a clubhouse at a new golf course being developed there.

 

Read more at: http://www.marionstar.com/article/20110327/NEWS01/103270316/Depot-part-new-golf-concept-Gahanna?odyssey=tab

Gahanna's Creekside for sale after default on $30 million debt

Thursday, June 9, 2011

By Collin Binkley, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

For sale: A waterfront development in the heart of Gahanna, complete with office and retail space set alongside upscale condos.  That's the pitch being made by the receiver of the Creekside development, the public-private project that's for sale after Huntington Bank filed a lawsuit in February accusing the developer of defaulting on more than $30million in loans.

 

The development opened in 2008 and never met expectations, in large part because it ran head-on into the economic downturn, said Gahanna City Attorney Tom Weber.  Despite its troubled past and current struggles, more than a dozen companies are eager for the opportunity to take over, said Mike Simpson, a vice president of NAI Ohio Equities and a marketer working with receiver Mark Froehlich.

 

Only 11 of the 69 condominiums are occupied, and most are unfinished.  Simpson said many prospective buyers want to finish those spaces and sell them as luxury condos.  The buyer also would get the site's two other buildings, which house office space - now 93 percent full - and retail spaces, of which just 43 percent is occupied.  Those spaces add up to about 100,000 square feet.

 

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/06/09/want-to-buy-a-waterfront-development.html

Depot to be part of new golf concept in Gahanna

 

7:02 AM, Mar. 27, 2011

Written by Russ Goulet

For The Marion Star

 

PROSPECT - Train stations can be the site of lots of movement from the hustle and bustle of busy passengers to the passing of the trains.  Usually it is not the train station that is doing the moving.

 

Prospect's Hocking Valley Train Station is an exception.  The depot has moved not once, but twice in its history.

 

The depot has been dismantled from its location at 300 N. East Street in Prospect and has been transported to Gahanna and will be rebuilt and utilized as a clubhouse at a new golf course being developed there.

 

Read more at: http://www.marionstar.com/article/20110327/NEWS01/103270316/Depot-part-new-golf-concept-Gahanna?odyssey=tab

The Prospect train station that was moved to Gahanna is ready to be reopened as a clubhouse and restaurant at a new golf course developed on a former landfill.  Business First ran an article about that golf course and office redevelopment project and had a photo of the renovated train depot.

 

And here's the article that photo was from...

 

Golf Village at Central Park drives out of rough

Business First - by Jeff Bell

Friday, July 15, 2011, 6:00am EDT

 

July 21 can’t arrive fast enough for Barry Fromm.  On that day, Fromm and his Value Recovery Group Inc., which manages distressed assets for public and private organizations, will celebrate the debut of Golf Village at Central Park, a cornerstone of the Central Park of Gahanna project aimed at transforming the former Bedford landfill and neighboring properties into an office park, recreation site and nature preserve.

 

Working with Gahanna and Franklin County officials since 2005, Value Recovery Group has managed the $15 million project and its complex mix of government and private-sector dollars.  The project has been a tough one, Fromm acknowledged, given the environmental challenges of cleaning a landfill, improving streets to the property and trying to launch an office park during a recession.

 

The 73-acre Golf Village will employ 10 to 20 workers, Fromm said, but most of the employment growth will come from the up to 1 million square feet of offices included in the Central Park master plan.  The office sites – none of which have been sold – are off Tech Center Drive, Science Boulevard and Claycraft Road and flank much of the golf complex.  Efforts to market the office sites will be stepped up now that street improvements, including an extension of Tech Center Drive, are nearing completion and Golf Village is ready to open, said Value Recovery Group Senior Vice President Ralph Griffith.

 

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2011/07/15/gahannas-golf-village-drives-out-of.html

Development update from The Dispatch:

 

Gahanna's Creekside

 

Sunday, July 24, 2011  03:14 AM

By Marla Matzer Rose

 

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

No decisions have been made on a couple of high-profile projects.

 

A new owner for Gahanna's Creekside development should emerge in the next few months, as that property makes its way through the process of foreclosure and sale. Huntington Bank moved to foreclose on the property in February, citing the default on more than $30million worth of loans on the property by Stonehenge Co. and its affiliate, Gahanna-Creekside Investments.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/07/24/parks-success-inspires-neighbor.html?sid=101

Flexibility key to new Gahanna school buildings

Friday,  November 27, 2009

By Elizabeth Gibson, The Columbus Dispatch

 

Ground was broken last week on a high-school annex that administrators say will fit the needs of a 21st-century education.  The $18 million to $20 million complex mixes stores, offices and classrooms and is designed to foster a more-flexible learning experience for juniors and seniors.  Administrators said they want to give students the chance to pursue career and college interests to keep them engaged as they approach graduation.

 

Clark Hall is one of three buildings planned to replace the vacant Kroger at Granville Street and Hamilton Road, across the street from Lincoln High School.  Shops will occupy the first floor -- students are lobbying for a Starbucks or Chipotle -- with classrooms, conference rooms and lounge areas on the two upper levels.  Clark Hall, scheduled to open for the 2011-12 school year, would hold up to 400 students.

 

Rendering from the project architect - Bird Houk

 

Full story at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/27/NEW_SCHOOL.ART_ART_11-27-09_B1_L5FQIQ1.html

Clark Hall, a new school built on the site of a former Kroger store at Granville Street and Hamilton Road in Gahanna, is now open.  Article below from Columbus Local News, with exterior and interior photos of the building:

 

COLUMBUS LOCAL NEWS:  Gahanna's new take on high school spurs excitement - Clark Hall designed for '21st-century learning'

I'm really liking the Clark Hall development that the Gahanna Public Schools is doing at Hamilton & Granville. 

 

First, they purchased an older vacant Kroger store at the intersection.  Then, they build a three-story mixed-use educational building (Clark Hall) that serves as an extension of their nearby high school and also houses a branch of the Eastland Fairfield Career & Technical School, as well as an off-campus branch of Columbus State Community College.  And the three-story building is built close to the intersection with parking behind the building.

 

Now, Gahanna Public Schools is finishing development on property next to Clark Hall with two retail/restaurant buildings - also built close to the street with parking in the back.  Nice looking mixed-use development of the site.  But even more importantly, the retail development will provide a revenue stream for the school system.  Good for Gahanna and their schools.

 

(Two articles on the new retail/restaurant development next to Clark Hall in the following post.)

From Columbus Local News - Gahanna edition

 

Board OKs retail-restaurant buildings on Clark Hall property

By PAMELA WILLIS, COLUMBUS LOCAL NEWS

Published: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - 2:50 PM EDT

 

Gahanna-Jefferson Board of Education members approved a ground lease to allow the building of two large retail and restaurant buildings adjacent to the school district's new Clark Hall.  The corner at Hamilton Road and Granville Street may be transformed into elegant brick restaurant entrances with patios and a mix of retail stores, as early as October 2012.

 

The board met on Thursday, Sept. 8 at Gahanna City Hall.  Treasurer Julio Valladares said school board members approved a ground lease for Wagenbrenner Development to build two buildings facing North Hamilton Road, adjacent to the district's newest school building, Clark Hall, at 380 W. Granville

 

Valladares said groundbreaking on the buildings could take place as early as February 2012, with a grand opening expected in October 2012.

 

MORE: http://www.columbuslocalnews.com/articles/2011/09/20/gahanna_news/schools/ghboardlea_20110913_0214pm_4.txt

 

 

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From ABC 6 News:

 

Developer Chosen for Clark Hall Space in Gahanna

 

The Gahanna-Jefferson Board of Education recently approved a resolution for a ground lease to Wagenbrenner Development, Inc., for design and construction of approximately 24,000 sq. ft. of new commercial space at Hamilton Road and Granville Street.  The ground lease will provide Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools (GJPS) with an annual revenue stream of $132,000.

 

GJPS acquired the land in the fall of 2009 for the construction of Clark Hall, a state-of-the-art learning facility that not only serves as an extension of the nearby high school, but is also home to branch of the Eastland Fairfield Career & Technical School, as well as an off-campus center of Columbus State Community College.

 

Titled the Commons at Clark Hall, Wagenbrenner is investing approximately $5.9 million to create two, one-story retail buildings on the remaining undeveloped land adjacent to Clark Hall.

 

MORE: http://www.abc6onyourside.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wsyx_vid_13490.shtml

Another article about the Clark Hall development that Gahanna Public Schools is doing at Hamilton & Granville.  From Business First:  Gahanna high school draws Wagenbrenner retail project

 

 

And a project update from the Columbus Dispatch.  The Gahanna Planning Commission approved the retail development this week:  Gahanna schools OK retail complex

City's wish list for '12: More jobs

An income tax increase isn't likely this year, officials say

By PAMELA WILLIS, COLUMBUS LOCAL NEWS

Published: Friday, December 30, 2011 - 4:54 PM EST

 

Gahanna Mayor Becky Stinchcomb said 2011 was a trail-blazing year in terms of job creation and new road and trail connections, paving the way for 2012, which could bring a new owner for Creekside and partnerships with surrounding cities -- but a tax increase isn't likely, she says.

 

She said one of the highlights of 2011 was the opening of the Tech Center bridge and connector, which reduced traffic congestion at a busy intersection and opened up development opportunities at Central Park of Gahanna, the city's "last, large undeveloped acreage for new businesses."

 

She said the Chase Bank expansion into Gahanna not only created more than 1,500 jobs, but saw new employees contribute to an uptick in business at area restaurants, gas stations and other service providers.

 

MORE: http://www.columbuslocalnews.com/articles/2012/01/06/gahanna_news/news/ghyip%201-4_20111230_1139am_6.txt

It looks like downtown Gahanna's Creekside development may have a new owner soon.  The Columbus Dispatch and Columbus Business First have reports on this.  (This Business First article is not subscription only; so you can view the entire article.)

 

BUSINESS FIRST: Creekside buyer emerges in $10.5M deal

 

DISPATCH: Creekside might be sold - Buyer offers $10.5 million for Gahanna development that has been in receivership

 

Creekside developer objecting to $10.5M sale price

 

 

Creekside in Gahanna has another hurdle to clear before the troubled development finds a new owner.

 

Gahanna-Creekside Investments LLC, an affiliate of developer Stonehenge Co.    Stonehenge Co. Latest from The Business Journals Creekside buyer emerges in .5M dealGrove City gives Pizzuti exclusive on downtown propertiesPizzuti may take run at Grove City sites, including lumberyard Follow this company , is objecting to the proposed $10.5 million sale of the privately owned portions of the $60 million town center, which was developed in partnership with the suburban city.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/03/09/creekside-builder-objecting-to-105m.html

Gahanna’s Creekside Plaza sold to developer

By Steve Wartenberg, The Columbus Dispatch

Friday, June 22, 2012 - 5:21 AM

 

The reset button has been pushed, and the Creekside Plaza development in the center of Gahanna officially has a new owner — and a fresh set of expectations.

 

The three-building property was purchased yesterday by Strathmore Development Co. for $10.5 million after several months of proceedings.  The property includes upscale condominiums, as well as retail and office space and a parking garage.

 

Creekside cost about $60 million to build, opened in early 2008 and has been in receivership since early 2011.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/06/22/gahannas-creekside-plaza-sold-to-developer.html

 

More about the retail development going up next to the recently built three-story Gahanna Lincoln High School annex (aka Clark Hall) from Business First:

 

Gahanna retail strip filling up as vision center signs lease

Business First by Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter

Date: Friday, October 5, 2012, 6:00am EDT

 

A shopping center next to the Clark Hall annex at Gahanna Lincoln High School is nearly filled, the 23,600-square-foot project attracting its fifth tenant.  Optometrist Craig Miller of Gahanna Vision Center has signed a lease in the center with plans to occupy 3,640 square feet in March. ... The retail center will include Rusty Bucket, Panera Bread and Chipotle restaurants as well as an AT&T Wireless store.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/10/05/gahanna-retail-strip-filling-up-as.html

Gahanna commission OKs Strathmore plan for high-density apartments on Creekside car-wash site

By MARLA K. KUHLMAN, ThisWeek Community News

Sunday February 23, 2014 1:55 PM

 

A high-density apartment building has been approved by the Gahanna Planning Commission following city staff members' nudge to follow the Olde Gahanna vision plan that was adopted in 2009.  The commission on Feb. 12 approved a final development plan for Creekside District Apartments, 152 Mill Street, by Strathmore Development and applicant Gary Sebach of OHM Advisors. 

 

A few variances and a flood-plain-use application also were approved.  A related certificate of appropriateness for site plan and building design were postponed to Feb. 26. ... Strathmore plans to build a four-story, 29-unit apartment building with parking underneath on 0.52 acre at Mill and North streets.  A car wash currently is at the site.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/gahanna/news/2014/02/18/high-density-mill-street-apartments-approved.html

Commons at Clark Hall developers back with Shops at Rocky Fork in Gahanna

By Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter

Columbus Business First - March 18, 2014, 2:55pm EDT

 

The development joint venture between Wagenbrenner Development Inc. and Courtfield Properties LLC has a second project nearing construction along the South Hamilton Road corridor in Gahanna.

 

The Ranger Development Group partnership this month secured the rezoning of 10 homes and two vacant residential lots along the corridor to a mixed-use zoning allowing for 26,800 square feet of retail within the planned Shops of Rocky Fork.  That space is set to get divided among three buildings between Rocky Fork Drive South and Rocky Fork Drive North across from the Hunters Ridge Shopping Center.

 

The developers a few years ago built the Commons at Clark Hall near Gahanna’s Lincoln High School at Havens Corners Road about a half mile to the north of the Rocky Fork project.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/03/commons-at-clark-hall-developers-back-with-shops.html

Creekside’s owner sues lender over reserve funds

By Steve Wartenberg, The Columbus Dispatch

Saturday, October 18, 2014 - 5:46 AM

 

Gahanna’s Creekside Plaza is nearly full, with shops and residences occupied; that’s much different from a few years ago, when it struggled and was sold.  Behind the scenes, though, bubbles a legal battle involving its new owner and its lender.

 

The owner of Creekside Plaza has filed a lawsuit against the holders of its $25 million loan, claiming that the lender has failed to provide it more than $500,000 owed from the loan’s reserve account. “We’ve met all the requirements, and all I want is for them to do what they’re supposed to do under the terms of the loan,” said Scott Chappelle, president of Michigan-based Strathmore Development Co., the parent company of Creekside Equity Partners.  The lender, U.S. Bank, has turned the loan over to a special servicer, LNR Partners, which handles loans that are in default.  LNR officials declined to comment.

 

These legal challenges come as the long-struggling development in the heart of the city seems to have finally turned the corner. ... The $60 million project opened in 2008 and went into receivership in early 2011.  Creekside Equity bought Creekside in 2012 for $10.5 million.  The mixed-use development includes 95 upscale condominiums and apartments, plus retail and office space and a parking garage.  Eleven condominiums have been sold; the 84 other units have been rented.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2014/10/18/creeksides-owner-sues-lender-over-reserve-funds.html

 

80,000-square-foot office and warehouse building begins construction in Gahanna's Eastgate Business Center:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/10/gahanna-s-eastgate-spec-project-breaks-ground.html

Two-story, 94,000-square-foot building with 154 units: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/gahanna/news/2014/10/14/154-units-commission-approves-new-senior-living-facility.html

ThisWeekNews looks back at 2014 and ahead to 2015 in Gahanna:

 

2014: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/gahanna/news/2014/12/16/2014-a-year-in-review-mayor-says-this-is-final-term-hamilton-redevelopment-begins.html

 

2015: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/gahanna/news/2014/12/29/stinchcomb-sees-2015-as-year-of-transition.html

Meanwhile, the nicely done Creekside mixed-use development in downtown Gahanna continues to have "financial-ish" issues:

 

Creekside facing foreclosure as lender dispute derails progress

By Dan Eaton, Staff reporter - Columbus Business First

Jan 20, 2015, 11:48am EST

 

Creekside could be heading for the second foreclosure in its nearly eight-year life, but the dispute isn't as straightforward as not paying the bills.

 

U.S. Bank and special servicer LNR Partners LLC, based in Miami Beach, Florida, began foreclosure proceedings Dec. 15 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court against Creekside Equity Partners LLC, the Michigan-based Strathmore Development Co. unit that bought the Gahanna mixed-use development in 2012.

 

Both sides already have been fighting in federal court.  Creekside Equity Partners filed suit against U.S. Bank and LNR Partners in U.S. District Court in Columbus in September, claiming breach of contract because LNR would not release money that had been set aside in escrow.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/01/20/creekside-facing-foreclosure-as-lender-dispute.html

$14M construction project underway

By MARLA K. KUHLMAN, THIS WEEK COMMUNITY NEWS

Wednesday, July 1, 2015 - 7:39 PM

 

Fifteen months of construction recently began for $14 million in additions and renovations to Columbus Academy, 4300 Cherry Bottom Road.

 

Head of School Melissa Soderberg said the construction would add considerable open space, light and state-of-the-art facilities for the fine and performing arts, grades 5-8, college counseling, world languages and dining.  About 35,000 square feet of new instructional and multipurpose spaces are planned along with an additional 55,000 square feet to be reconfigured and renovated.

 

The renovations are the manifestation of modern school design that creates reflective common space and views to the outside landscape by permeating more cozy, sheltered classrooms, Soderberg said.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/gahanna/news/2015/06/30/columbus-academy-14m-construction-project-underway.html

 

More restaurants on the way at new Shops at Rocky Fork

By Dan Eaton, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First

Sept. 8, 2015, 4:25pm EDT

 

The Shops at Rocky Fork has not had its fill of restaurants.  The first tenants at the almost $8.3 million, 27,000-square-foot Gahanna development began opening this summer.  It is more than 70 percent occupied, or about 19,000 square feet, with restaurants, retailers and service providers, with a few more eateries are on the way.

( . . . )

Gallas Zadeh Development co-developed the three-building project at Hamilton Road and Interstate 270 with Wagenbrenner Development.  This is the second project in Gahanna the two development companies have teamed up on in recent years.  Gallas Zadeh Development and Wagenbrenner also built the Commons at Clark Hall, a $5.9 million, 23,600-square-foot center just up the street.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/09/08/more-restaurants-on-the-way-at-newshops-at-rocky.html

Group to study city's growth strategy

BY MARLA K. KUHLMAN, THIS WEEK COMMUNITY NEWS

Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - 9:02 PM

 

A city-led group called the Economic Development Community Engagement Committee is in the process of reviewing the city's economic-development strategy document.

 

MORE:  http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/gahanna/news/2015/12/01/group-to-study-citys-growth-strategy.html

 

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City of Gahanna website:  http://www.gahannaohiousa.com/economic-development-strategy/

Council eyes another land buy for park

BY MARLA K. KUHLMAN, THIS WEEK COMMUNITY NEWS

Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - 9:23 PM

 

Some Gahanna City Council members want more time to consider legislation to purchase six acres at 75 West Johnstown Road at a cost of $425,000.  The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Tri-Community Post 4719 owns the property.  The proposed purchase contract would be contingent upon a leaseback agreement for the use of selected areas of the property for continuing operations of the VFW post within its current facilities at $1 per year, with the option to renew the lease for an additional 99 years.

 

Gahanna parks director Troy Euton said VFW leaders approached the city several years ago with a desire to sell their property to ensure their financial sustainability into the future.  He said the city had an immediate interest, given Gahanna's longstanding history of acquiring properties in the riparian corridor of the Big Walnut Creek as a conservation priority.

 

Euton said further investigations into future park developments south of the parcel yielded additional utility that this acquisition provided.  "Specifically, this property assembled nicely to tie the Creekside Park area to the proposed Veterans Park (southwest flood plain), the Gahanna Swimming Pool and St. Matthew's Fields,' Euton added.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/gahanna/news/2015/12/01/council-eyes-another-land-buy-for-park.html