November 24, 201212 yr I can't believe how bad this project looks. This is very disappointing and our city government should be ashamed of themselves for approving this design.
November 24, 201212 yr I can't believe how bad this project looks. This is very disappointing and our city government should be ashamed of themselves for approving this design. It's actually somewhat of an upgrade from the 2nd set of renderings, believe it or not.
November 26, 201212 yr I can't believe how bad this project looks. This is very disappointing and our city government should be ashamed of themselves for approving this design. It's actually somewhat of an upgrade from the 2nd set of renderings, believe it or not. Agree. But still nowhere near good enough for that prominent location.
December 29, 201212 yr The Columbus Commons Apartments (aka Highpoint on Columbus Commons) has its own website now: http://www.highpointcolumbus.com/ Project renderings and construction photos are here.
December 29, 201212 yr The Dispatch had a recent photo of the Columbus Commons Apartments (aka Highpoint) under construction in last Sunday's local construction outlook for 2013: Local construction companies expect smaller projects in 2013 Columbus Underground also had some Columbus Commons Apartments construction photos in their December Construction Roundup.
February 18, 201312 yr Two recent Columbus Commons Apartments (aka Highpoint) construction photos taken from High Street. High Street view taken in late-January by Columbus Underground: High Street view taken in mid-February by MyUrbanhood:
July 23, 201311 yr Catching up on news and construction photos of the Columbus Commons Apartments (aka Highpoint on Columbus Commons) lost during the server crash: Reservations Being Accepted for Columbus Commons Apartments By: Brent Warren, Columbus Underground Published on April 2, 2013 - 11:50 am Carter USA, the Atlanta developer behind the Highpoint on Columbus Commons, is now accepting reservations for apartments in the five-story project currently being constructed on South High Street downtown. Laura Swadel, vice president of investment at Carter, said they are very pleased with the level of interest they’ve received in the apartments, especially considering that they only recently put floor plans and pricing on the project website. “The interest has been incredible…we are working through setting up appointments with potential prospects that have reached out on a first-come, first-serve basis.” The project will feature 68 studio apartments, 162 one-bedroom units and 71 two-bedroom apartments and townhomes spread across two buildings. Monthly rents range from $850 for a 500 square-foot studio to $2,765 for a 2,200 square-foot townhome. Apartments are available with a variety of amenities, and renters can choose from 26 different floor plans. Swadel says that they hope to have units ready for move-in by this fall. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/reservations-being-accepted-for-columbus-commons-apartments-bw1
July 23, 201311 yr Late April view from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2013-part-1 View of the North and South Buildings from the Rich Street Parking Garage looking northwest Late April view from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2013-part-1 View of ground floor commercial space interior facing High Street Late May view from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-may-2013-part-1 View from High Street looking southeast - North Building in foreground Late May view from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-may-2013-part-1 View from High Street looking northeast - South Building in foreground Late June view from http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/columbus-commons-apartments/page/21 View from High Street looking southeast - North Building in foreground Late June view from http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/columbus-commons-apartments/page/22 View of the North and South Buildings and the park from the Rich Street Parking Garage looking north
July 23, 201311 yr In July, the brick facing started to be installed on the exterior: From https://www.facebook.com/HighpointOnColumbusCommons/photos_stream Brick going up on the North Building - view during a Picnic with the Pops event at the Commons park From http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/columbus-commons-apartments/page/22 View of the North Building during another event at the Columbus Commons park From https://twitter.com/myurbanhood Panoramic view of the North and South Buildings from the Columbus Commons park
September 21, 201311 yr The Dispatch posted a Youtube video showing the 302-unit Highpoint apartment development at Columbus Commons. The video also points out two future RiverSouth apartment/mixed-use buildings that will be built on two corners opposite the Highpoint project:
September 28, 201311 yr Columbus Underground had an interview with Carter President R. Scott Taylor, Jr., one of the developers of the 302-unit Highpoint Apartments at Columbus Commons. They talked about the pace of the project, who has been pre-leasing the units and what types of businesses they are looking to attract in their street-level retail space. There's also a bunch of new project photos at the CU link below: Columbus Underground: Highpoint Apartments Expect First Residents in October
October 3, 201311 yr More construction updates for the 302-unit Highpoint Apartments at Columbus Commons: View from the High Street side. Brick is up on the north building in the background, not yet installed on the south building in the foreground. From late September 2013 - http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-september-2013-part-1 View from the park side. From late September 2013 - http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-september-2013-part-1 More photos at http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-september-2013-part-1
January 23, 201411 yr More construction updates for the 302-unit Highpoint Apartments at Columbus Commons: View from the corner of Rich & High. From late November 2013 - http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-november-2013-part-2 View from the park side. From late November 2013 - http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-november-2013-part-2
January 23, 201411 yr Late December 2013 construction photo from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-december-2013
February 4, 201411 yr Late January 2014 photo of the Highpoint at Columbus Commons buildings still under construction from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-january-2014 High Street view: Wish the High Street side was as interesting as the parkside of the buildings. But I do like that stone ornamentation above and around the pass-thru tunnel in the south building shown below. The ground floor retail looks pretty barren, but hopefully it'll look better once the signage and awnings are installed. Additional late January photos of the Highpoint at Columbus Commons buildings at http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-january-2014
February 4, 201411 yr Below is a link to a recent update on the Highpoint at Columbus Commons project from Business First. A little over 70 apartment units have been completed as of last week and 30 of those units have been leased. http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/01/highpoint-at-columbus-commons-update.html One intriguing item from this update: Up to now, the residential portion of the Highpoint project has been described as having 302 units. However, in this update - the north building is said to have 98 units and the south building is said to have 203 units. Which totals 301 units. Either two previous units got combined or a unit got lost during the construction process!
May 17, 201411 yr I've been meaning to post some photos of the Highpoint at Columbus Commons (aka Columbus Commons Apartments) now that the two buildings are seemingly 100% finished on the exterior. But I just kept putting it off. However, some comments yesterday in the RiverSouth thread have prompted me to put it off no longer. First, the comments from the RiverSouth thread - then the photos: Great shots! It will really transform this part of downtown once the two LC buildings and 250 high get vertical. Still though, HighPoint stands out to me as such an architectural turd. We definitely need the units and residents, but having that bad design and poor construction quality in a so prominent a spot is disappointing. I don't mind the design of Highpoint, but I do wish there was some variation with the roofline. It is so long it needs something to break it up. Highpoint is a piece of junk. Monotonous design and cheap appearance. Our only hope now is for the first floor retail to add some texture.
May 17, 201411 yr Now, for the photos. Here are the two main sides of Highpoint from recent Columbus Underground construction photo updates: HIGH STREET SIDE - View from corner of Rich & High looking northward from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-february-2014-part-1 PARK SIDE - View looking northward from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2014-part-1 And some commentary, from me: Highpoint seems like a project where the big moves have been done well, but the details are lacking. The big moves certainly add to the downtown core: 7-stories, no setback from High Street, ground-floor retail along High Street, 301-units of residential above with all parking contained in an existing underground garage. But as the comments in the RiverSouth thread and over at the HighPoint thread at CU show, the project gets undermined at the architectural level. I now see why some of our Cincinnati friends warned us about Carter. The High Street side is way too monotonous in massing and way too dull architecturally. The Park side fares much better in terms of massing, but still suffers the same architectural blandness. And now that the exterior is presumably complete, the Park side suffers from one more poor architectural decision - exterior downspouts! This is the first downtown project of this size I've ever seen to use exterior downspouts. And because the downspouts are painted white - like the rest of trim - they stick out like a sore thumb. One suggestion made in the CU thread was to change the trim color from white to black. I'd go along with that. Especially as it concerns the metal railings on some of the windows. Black wrought iron is a very traditional material - whereas the same material painted white looks cheap and out-of-place in the downtown setting.
May 17, 201411 yr One more comment about a way to help the Highpoint out. I think ink was on to something when he said "Our only hope now is for the first floor retail to add some texture." In March, there was a signage application for BiBiBop, a local restaurant chain that offers quick Asian meals fixed Chipotle-style. More about it at http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/03/14/bibibop-eyes-space-in-downtown-s-highpoint-complex.html. Below are two renderings showing their signage proposal along High Street and a very nice outdoor patio proposal that would fill in the space between Highpoint and the Fifth Third Building to the north. Unfortunately, it appears that BiBiBop withdrew their application to the Downtown Commission before it could be approved and has yet to return. So I don't know its current status. But the application does show the ability of ground floor retail signage and activity to enliven the barren architecture on the High Street side of Highpoint.
May 17, 201411 yr I was also looking at that empty retail space at the corner thinking whatever place went there could make the building more interesting. Also between Highpoint and the neighboring projects this section of High Street is changing quickly.
May 18, 201411 yr It's pretty sad when apartment buildings in the Short North can lease all retail space out even before opening and High Point has not signed one lease yet for retail.
May 18, 201411 yr One is in infancy, the other is established. I would compare it to Gay Street before Short North.
May 19, 201411 yr I think the retail will be easier to lease when all the other nearby apartments are completed. Suddenly there will be a lot more residents in the area.
July 20, 201410 yr Yeah, it's a tricky marketplace, as there's still a mass of new residents waiting in the wings once the three other corners of High & Rich are filled in and occupied. Once that happens I think we'll see retail leasing filling up faster. Meanwhile, you don't have the bodies in the area to attract the established regional retailers that can afford the higher rents for a brand new space. Local and independent businesses are going to continue to opt for the cheaper non-optimal space nearby where we've seen De Novo, Cup O Joe, Chintz Room, Fin, Manifesto, The Peanut Shoppe and others popping into.
October 31, 201410 yr A retail announcement (of sorts) about the HighPoint buildings in today's Dispatch. Here is the exact quote from http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2014/10/31/sites-near-commons-get-retail-tenants.html "Highpoint on Columbus Commons has signed up its first three tenants: a fast casual restaurant; a new cold-press juice company that does not yet have a name; and a mobile-phone store. They are expected to open in the spring."
November 17, 201410 yr Juice bar could be first retail tenant at Highpoint on Columbus Commons The owners of the Highpoint on Columbus Commons apartment complex south of Capitol Square could have a juice bar concept on the hook as a street-level tenant. Owners Carter & Associates of Atlanta and Columbus-based Robert Weiler Co. will bring a Pure Pressed juice concept before the city's Downtown Commission tomorrow morning. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/11/17/juice-bar-could-be-first-retail-tenant-at.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 19, 201410 yr http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/11/18/exterior-design-approved-for-purepressed-juicery.html
April 6, 201510 yr It's been said before in this thread (and in the Two25 spin-off thread) that the quickest remedy to the disappointing HighPoint aesthetics is to fill up the ground floor retail. Well, it's now one down and . . . alot to go: http://www.columbusunderground.com/first-look-purepressed-juicery-opens-downtown
July 18, 20159 yr The leasing of ground floor retail tenants in the Highpoint is taking for-ev-er! But it looks like tenant #2 might be coming - and it looks like a good one: de-NOVO Planning Relocation to Highpoint on Columbus Commons By Walker Evans, Columbus Underground July 17, 2015 12:22 pm According to a teaser posted on Facebook yesterday, de-NOVO Bistro & Bar may soon be getting a new home. Currently located at 201 South High Street, the restaurant may soon be moving across the street to a first-floor retail space inside Highpoint at Columbus Commons. Details are sparse at the moment, but the floorplan posted on Facebook reveals a layout at the corner of High Street and the pedestrian entrance to the Commons at Town Street. The restaurant looks to seat approximately 180 indoors and another 52 on an outdoor patio facing the park. de-NOVO is owned by FAB Dining Group, a collection of local restaurants helmed by Yavonne Sarber, which includes Manifesto and Oliver’s. ... Sarber added that the old de-NOVO spot will not sit empty for long, as she’s already working on a new casual diner-style concept there. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/de-novo-planning-relocation-to-highpoint-on-columbus-commons
January 20, 20169 yr Finally some more action on the retail spaces in Highpoint! Condado (popular Short North taco restaurant/bar) will be taking over the space at the far north of the complex for their second location (briefly proposed as a Bibibop way back when). They are also looking to expand in Clintonville and out of town to Cincinnati. Proposed storefront elevation and patio plan at the link below, Taco joint opening 2nd eatery downtown, Clintonville likely up next http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/01/19/taco-joint-opening-2nd-eatery-downtown.html I think this will be pretty successful and help to drive a lot more traffic into the area outside of the workday 9-5. Hopefully it also spurs some interest in filling in the neighboring vacant storefronts (5/3 building, Lazarus building, Schottenstein properties across High, 250 High, etc) sooner rather than later.
June 10, 20169 yr Condado didn't make their planned "Cinco de Mayo" opening date, but they did open today. CU has nice photo-tour of the place: http://www.columbusunderground.com/condado-tacos-columbus-commons Looks good and features a pretty nice outdoor patio that overlooks High Street and part of the Columbus Commons park space. Hopefully, this leads to many more of the Highpoint's retail spaces getting leased. Because, as we've discussed previously, the Highpoint buildings really need the awnings, signage and retail activity on its ground floor to distract from the rest of its frontage along High Street. BTW, Condado hours are anticipating some late-night activity with 11am to Midnight on Sunday through Thursday and 11am until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights.
July 11, 20168 yr deNOVO Bistro Relocating Near Columbus Commons, Manifesto Closes After sitting next to a construction site for over two years, and with two more years of construction lying ahead, deNOVO Bistro owner Yavonne Sarber decided it was time to move her business elsewhere. The move couldn’t be a better fit for the business, Sarber said. On top of escaping the seemingly endless construction, her relocation to 150 South High puts deNOVO “on the park” right up against the Columbus Commons Stage. More below: http://www.columbusunderground.com/denovo-bistro-relocating-near-columbus-commons-manifesto-closes "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 12, 20168 yr ^ Moved the above deNOVO relocation news from the Restaurant thread to here because it was previously mentioned here and its part of the retail tenanting of the Highpoint's ground floor. I'm surprised it took deNOVO a year to make this move across the street into the Highpoint. As was mentioned in the CU article, the current deNOVO spot is right next door to the LC construction site - which can't be good for business (see this photo from the RiverSouth thread for how bad it is). There wasn't any photos of deNOVO's Highpoint space in the CU article, but it sounds like it goes the length of the building. With a High Street entrance that contains a bar/lounge area that overlooks High Street to a rear dining room and patio space that overlooks the park.
September 3, 20168 yr Photos of the new deNovo restaurant in the ground floor of the Highpoint from Business First: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/02/denovo-moves-across-high-street-for-columbus.html The relocated deNovo restaurant is at the southern end of the northern Highpoint building and is located next to the Columbus Commons entrance across from Town Street. The photo above shows a close-up of the restaurant's sidewalk dining area along High Street: The restaurant runs the length of the building and overlooks the Columbus Commons park and bandshell:
September 14, 20168 yr Some photos of Condado at Columbus Commons from CU's review of the restaurant: http://www.columbusunderground.com/review-condado-columbus-commons-ma1
November 29, 20168 yr Highpoint on Columbus Commons fully leased with new tenant signings, including a brewpub New retailers and restaurants have signed on to take storefronts along the Columbus Commons downtown park, bringing a prominent mixed-use complex to full occupancy by next spring. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/11/29/highpoint-on-columbus-commons-fully-leased-with.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 29, 20168 yr So the full run-down of tenants at Highpoint will be: Condado Tacos Swan Cleaners De Novo Bistro Blasted Barley Beer Co Pure Pressed Juicery / Hai Poke (pop-up) Posh Nails Pinot's Palette Winans Chocolates and Coffees
October 22, 20195 yr Dollar General coming to the Commons The city recently issued a building permit for a dollar store on the first floor of a Downtown luxury apartment complex More here: https://www.columbusalive.com/news/20191022/dollar-general-coming-to-commons
October 23, 20195 yr Wasn't there a Dollar General across the street until about 5 years ago? Maybe 10?
October 23, 20195 yr This has got to be a joke, right? A f*cking Dollar General? This is High Street downtown booming not West Jeff or Obetz. This is a joke, right? Edited October 23, 20195 yr by Toddguy
October 23, 20195 yr Areas that are under-retailed often see dollar stores move in. Downtown is no different at this point.
October 23, 20195 yr This will almost assuredly be a DGX i.e. basically like the Short North UDF. They're in places like Midtown Nashville, Cleveland's Playhouse Square, and Northern Liberties Philadelphia.
October 23, 20195 yr Let's not pretend that a DGX is anything special. Its absolutely a dollar general with about $500 extra dollars in decor from Hobby Lobby, fruit cups, and a coffee machine. It's not like comparing a standard UDF to the new Short North UDF where there is a clear difference in design and layout and overall aesthetic. I'm not inherently opposed as it actually gives downtown, particularly river south, residents general store items but it says something to see it on a signature development. It seems like something that would go perfect into retail embedded in front or rich street retail (if there was sufficient retail available *side eye*) like perhaps the in the Mattan and not on prime real estate but if you can't fill it, then you can't be too picky. I think it will be fine but still a bit funny and representative of the boondoggle HighPoint was overall. I still would have hoped to see a downtown Chicago style Walgreens before a DGX but that also partly because of brand associstion. Ultimately if it serves the same function and offers the same products that downtown shoppers need, then it is a win even if the brand is a bit offputting for that specific location... in prime real estate.... on the park.... lol Heres a look at what the concept is in Nashville: Edited October 23, 20195 yr by DTCL11
October 23, 20195 yr 8 hours ago, GCrites80s said: Areas that are under-retailed often see dollar stores move in. Downtown is no different at this point. Just not on High Street in a (supposedly)luxury building. I HATE Dollar General! I just can't believe they can't get something better there.
October 23, 20195 yr 5 hours ago, aderwent said: This will almost assuredly be a DGX i.e. basically like the Short North UDF. They're in places like Midtown Nashville, Cleveland's Playhouse Square, and Northern Liberties Philadelphia. Yes. It will be a DGX. The article was updated because the real estate company reached out to comment. They must have immediately been concerned about the negative perception in that article and needed to drive the narrative a little differently. Based on the comment, it seems like they're just making sure to hide that dirty word, "dollar." Here's some from the update: Alex Marsh, vice president of real estate firm the Robert Weiler Company, called to clarify that while Dollar General is the parent company of the store that will occupy the first-floor retail space at Highpoint on Columbus Commons, the store itself will be branded under Dollar General’s DGX concept, which has been introduced in Nashville, Cleveland and elsewhere. ″[Dollar General] approached us. ... At first we were a little hesitant, but then we visited the Nashville store and saw how nice it was, and we made sure the word “Dollar” wasn’t used on the signage because we didn’t want it to appear to be a dollar store,” Marsh said. “It’ll all be under the DGX branding.”
October 23, 20195 yr The DGX is a test to make sure people in the vicinity aren't too cracked-out on Amazon. If people don't support it, the old parts of town are going to be stuck with only stores full of Tiki heads for a lot longer.
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