Not a bad idea. But it might happen on its own. Skyscrapers are really expensive, and we as a nation have kinda gotten away from the notion that every city needs a ton of skyscrapers to "keep up". Instead, it's more of an amenities derby today. Hell, Columbus as fewer skyscrapers than it did ten years ago since they tore down those Grant nursing school dorms.

 

Ya, it may be a bad example, but Christchurch, New Zealand which recently has suffered from some bad earthquakes has had to tear down about 75% of its skyline.  Of course because of the fear of more earthquakes, no new skyscrapers are planned. Check out SSC, view New Zealand and check out the Christchurch demolitions thread.  The city now looks like downtown Detroit. Instead, they are going for low and mid rise density.  Skyscrapers, as nice as they are to look at (in certain cases), do not make a city.

Not a bad idea. But it might happen on its own. Skyscrapers are really expensive, and we as a nation have kinda gotten away from the notion that every city needs a ton of skyscrapers to "keep up". Instead, it's more of an amenities derby today. Hell, Columbus as fewer skyscrapers than it did ten years ago since they tore down those Grant nursing school dorms.

 

Ya, it may be a bad example, but Christchurch, New Zealand which recently has suffered from some bad earthquakes has had to tear down about 75% of its skyline.  Of course because of the fear of more earthquakes, no new skyscrapers are planned. Check out SSC, view New Zealand and check out the Christchurch demolitions thread.  The city now looks like downtown Detroit. Instead, they are going for low and mid rise density.  Skyscrapers, as nice as they are to look at (in certain cases), do not make a city.

 

Mexico City rarely built anything over 7 stories after the 1985 quake.  Only within the last decade have larger highrises gone up. 

 

I agree that height doesn't make a city, but I would still love to see more highrises in Downtown Columbus.  I think mid-rises are great and they can easier be used as infill, but I'd also like to see the large gaps in the skyline be closed up.

dt's should be full of buildings, not parking lots or even large parks

 

Seriously? Downtowns shouldn't have large parks?

 

I guess Paris, New York, London, Frankfurt, and Madrid have it all wrong.

dt's should be full of buildings, not parking lots or even large parks

 

Seriously? Downtowns shouldn't have large parks?

 

I guess Paris, New York, London, Frankfurt, and Madrid have it all wrong.

 

Yeah, I agree on the no surface lots part, but parks have been shown to have been big property boosters and to attract new residents and development, exactly what CC is doing for downtown Columbus. 

Those cities are essentially full (though Frankfurt was the least impressive 'city' in Germany). There aren't a lot of parks in Mid-town Manhattan and I don't count as purposeful urban parks those which base their existence on the existence of the monarchy or former monastery (currently or in the historic past).

Those cities are essentially full (though Frankfurt was the least impressive 'city' in Germany). There aren't a lot of parks in Mid-town Manhattan and I don't count as purposeful urban parks those which base their existence on the existence of the monarchy or former monastery (currently or in the historic past).

 

So you're going to discount all of those cities' urban parks because they don't fit your criteria of what qualifies as "purposeful"?

 

Your opinion doesn't change the fact that those cities have those parks, people love them, and they add a lot to the urban landscape.

I don't have kids, but if I did I bet I'd really dig having more parks around.

To me, Columbus is presently a pretty "green" looking city.  Between more buildings and more greenspace, I think downtown desperately needs more of the former. That being said, I think the Commons is turning out a lot better than I expected. The fill-in along High should be amazing.

 

While not really an "urban" park really, I would absolutely go nuts for something like Fred Beekman Park up in CLE.

 

That place is such a great resource. Pretty close to downtown. For those not familiar:

 

 

 

 

 

^ Yep, the Columbus area is ridiculously green because it rains a ton, the ground is flat, much of the soil is highly organic and a large portion of our land is poorly drained. We're only a couple steps away from a swamp.

^^ That sounds alot like Berliner Park, which is only just 2 miles south of downtown.

 

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1366&bih=685&wrapid=tljp1330632352825016&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=berliner+park&fb=1&gl=us&hq=berliner+park&hnear=0x8838908dee89131f:0x5a2f92f630ae7bd,Lincoln+Village,+OH&cid=0,0,10607738718029293954&ei=_ddPT9L1DMbs0gGEl_3wDQ&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_BI

 

I wasn't an initial supporter of the Columbus Commons Park.  But I've come to believe that it does serve a purpose for downtown.  The Topiary Park and the Statehouse lawn are both fine greenspaces.  However, they don't allow for the type of recreational activites or large gatherings that Columbus Commons does.  The Topiary Park is because of design.  And the Statehouse lawn is because of policy. 

 

In the mid-2000's, the Downtown SID and Residents Association started a downtown kickball league and played on the statehouse lawn.  It went fine until the lawn was renovated.  Then the committee that oversees the lawn wouldn't allow the kickball league to return the next summer.  The kickball league now uses Columbus Commons.  This and other larger activities (like the CSO's Picnic With The Pops) seem to work much better here then the other downtown greenspaces.

 

Eventually, the High Street portion will be developed.  But even after that happens, it seems that Columbus Commons can function like a downtown version of Goodale Park or Schiller Park.

Columbus has quite a few parks close to or in Downtown.  CC, Scioto Mile, Franklin, Berliner, Goodale, Topiary, Scioto-Audubon, Schiller, etc.  Greenspace is within walking distance for most people in the area. 

As an outsider, my view has been that there has been a decision--conscious or not, I don't know--focusing on developing the Arena District and Short North in the past 20 years of development in C-bus, with less emphasis on downtown.  I worked for a summer in downtown Columbus in 2005, and having worked in downtown Cincy the summer before, I was really struck by the differences.  When we had happy hours or get togethers they were always in the Arena District or Short North and not downtown.  DT seemed very focused as a 9-5 workplace with other places filling in gaps of nightlife, etc.  (Not saying it's good or bad or comparing it qualitatively--it was just very different.) 

 

I think the park looks like a very nice use for City Center and that it can be very beneficial going forward. 

^The Arena District is considered part of downtown.  But I see your point.  The Arena District and the Short North are on the edges and not in the core of downtown.

 

Actually, there have been many large projects in the downtown core over the past decade - Broad & High, the Lazarus Building, the River South developments, Neighborhood Launch (Gay Street Condos), Franklin County Courthouse and of course Columbus Commons.  However, downtown Columbus is defined as "everything inside the innerbelt freeway".  Which makes our downtown seem artificially large as compared to say Cincinnati or Cleveland.  Add to that the demolitions of previous generations and it can seem like the downtown core is receiving less emphasis.  But I would say it is simply the nature of urban development projects.

 

One of biggest impediments to large scale urban redevelopment is land acquisition - both access and cost.  Nationwide had the resources to acquire the Arena District land - with some city assistance to acquire the large Ohio Pen site.  Capitol South and the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC) also had the resources to acquire the Lazarus Building and the two parking lots and a parking garage also owned by Macy's when they closed Lazarus in 2004.  Edwards Development had the resources to acquire the parking lots along Gay and Long Streets where they are building the Neighborhood Launch housing development.  (Capitol South and the CDDC also helped to mitigate the loss of the parking lots with construction of new parking garage integrated into the Neighborhood Launch development.)  But Edwards also had something else that was necessary to acquire those parking lots - a willing seller.

 

As positive as all the above developments have been, they all had something necessary for land acquisition - willing sellers.  And not every prime development spot has willing sellers.  And no city can go around purchasing all the prime development spots.  It's not politically and fiscally feasible.  A city must pick and choose when to assist, such as the above examples.  Which is basically my way of saying that the city hasn't forgotten about downtown.

With Downtown being so large and so many buildings razed from the '50s to the early '80s, there was a lot of work to do.

With Downtown being so large and so many buildings razed from the '50s to the early '80s, there was a lot of work to do.

 

And there still is a ton of work to do, though if you looked at photos from 2000 and compared them to today in many parts of the area, the differences would be significant. 

I snapped this one Friday as I was walking by... getting closer to the fabric addition

 

Are they planning to paint that wall?

They already have; it looked like crap before.

More photos of the Pavilion's construction at the Columbus Commons facebook page.  The roof structure for the pavilion canopy is now being installed.

 

 

 

 

More construction photos at Columbus Bicentennial Pavilion Construction

 

They already have; it looked like crap before.

 

At least it's fresh paint. But what a missed opportunity to add some color/visual interest to a drab wall (no offense, I love Columbus but it needs some color IMO).

 

Other than that, this seems like a nice project.

^ Indeed, Columbus does need some color. There's not as much appreciation for whimsy in Columbus as there is in Cincy, I've noticed.

 

edit: Except in Powell -- that place looks like something out of Willy Wonka. But Powell is way up there out of the way. And I bet few people who live in Powell are actually from around here. They must come from towns that are whimsical to the max.

^The Arena District is considered part of downtown.  But I see your point.  The Arena District and the Short North are on the edges and not in the core of downtown.

 

Actually, there have been many large projects in the downtown core over the past decade - Broad & High, the Lazarus Building, the River South developments, Neighborhood Launch (Gay Street Condos), Franklin County Courthouse and of course Columbus Commons.  However, downtown Columbus is defined as "everything inside the innerbelt freeway".  Which makes our downtown seem artificially large as compared to say Cincinnati or Cleveland.  Add to that the demolitions of previous generations and it can seem like the downtown core is receiving less emphasis.  But I would say it is simply the nature of urban development projects.

 

 

Yeah, that explains a lot.  When I was there I didn't really think of DT as encompassing all that.  So I guess it's really just a question of what part of downtown is the focus. 

The core of Downtown is the city's "Central Business District". Every large city has one, and it's largely a 9-to-5 M-F work zone.

 

Downtown was formerly a very mixed-use kind of place, as were most cities. Office towers and parking lots/garages were a dominant addition and housing and retail were downplayed for several decades.

 

Downtown Columbus really bottomed out in population between 1990 and 2000, and retail bottomed out during a similar timeframe, ended with the closure of City Center Mall.

 

Since 2002, there's been an upswing with several thousand new residential units added, and a smattering of retail (mostly restaurants and bars) re-emerging.

 

There's still a very long way to go, but the dent made in the last 5 years was quite noticeable. I have a feeling there will be another small surge in the next 18-24 months with the completion of new apartments at The Atlas Building, Leveque Tower, Neighborhood Launch and Discovery District Commons, added close to another 1000 new residents into Downtown with some additional retail units in between, including the new Hills Market Grocery Store at Gay & Grant.

 

So, onward and upward.

 

And in the meantime, it's not hard to walk, bike or bus to the Short North or Arena District when you want to go out for a drink or dinner. ;)

Another formerly suburban event will relocating downtown.  Pelotonia, the bicycle ride that raises millions for cancer research, will be relocating to Columbus Commons in August. 

 

From the Dispatch article, Pelotonia will start at Downtown park:

Riders in the August event will hit the road from Columbus Commons, the new Downtown park on the site of the former City Center mall, Pelotonia spokeswoman Jessica Kinman said.  An opening-night celebration on Aug. 10 will welcome riders, their friends and families, volunteers and others, she said.  The ride will start from Columbus Commons the next morning.

 

Pelotonia, in its fourth year, expects more than 5,000 participants for the ride and as many as 12,000 for the Friday night kickoff.  The party will include dinner and live entertainment.  It had been hosted on the campus of Chemical Abstracts Service near Ohio State University since the ride began in 2009.

 

Another formerly suburban event will relocating downtown.  Pelotonia, the bicycle ride that raises millions for cancer research, will be relocating to Columbus Commons in August. 

 

From the Dispatch article, Pelotonia will start at Downtown park:

Riders in the August event will hit the road from Columbus Commons, the new Downtown park on the site of the former City Center mall, Pelotonia spokeswoman Jessica Kinman said.  An opening-night celebration on Aug. 10 will welcome riders, their friends and families, volunteers and others, she said.  The ride will start from Columbus Commons the next morning.

 

Pelotonia, in its fourth year, expects more than 5,000 participants for the ride and as many as 12,000 for the Friday night kickoff.  The party will include dinner and live entertainment.  It had been hosted on the campus of Chemical Abstracts Service near Ohio State University since the ride began in 2009.

 

One has to wonder that if all these events are moving Downtown, that companies may start considering the urban core rather than the suburbs as well.  I don't know if it will be a large scale rethinking, but I can't imagine that this trend won't get companies to at least give Downtown a second look.  Nationwide's already doing it.

Looks good!

 

Columbus Commons getting $50M residential project

 

 

An Atlanta developer has signed on for a $50 million project to build apartments and retail space along the High Street side of the Columbus Commons park downtown.

 

The developer, Carter, is expected to break ground in late August on a project that will include 300 apartments over 23,000 square feet of retail space in three six-story buildings between State and Rich streets, Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. CEO Guy Worley said.

 

 

Carter is paying $2 million for the site, Worley said.

 

Capitol South oversaw the development of the Columbus Commons park, opened in May 2011, after the City Center mall was demolished. The mixed-use development that Carter will build is phase two of that project, Worley said, and the organization hopes to eventually attract a large employer to a one-acre site at the corner of Rich and Third streets as well.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2012/04/04/columbus-commons-getting-50m-retail.html

Let the comparisons to the original rendering begin!

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2011/04/22/effort-warming-to-circle-columbus.html

 

More great news, Columbus is on a roll!!

Let the comparisons to the original rendering begin!

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2011/04/22/effort-warming-to-circle-columbus.html

 

More great news, Columbus is on a roll!!

 

New renderings look pretty drab, but architectural design has yet to be seen or approved by the Downtown Commission. Here's hoping they push for a little more character...

^At least it is starting out looking better than the Banks, another Carter product.

^At least it is starting out looking better than the Banks, another Carter product.

 

I thought the name sounded familiar.  Kind of scares me.

Let the comparisons to the original rendering begin!

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2011/04/22/effort-warming-to-circle-columbus.html

 

More great news, Columbus is on a roll!!

Isn't it a little strange that those earlier conceputal renderings from surfohio's post look more like final project renderings than the renderings of the final project released earlier this month?  The one thing these renderings of the final project have in their favor is that this project will actually be built.  Otherwise they suffer in comparison.  But, as was pointed out previously, the project still needs to go through the design review process of the Downtown Commission.  So there's opportunity for improvement.

 

But I won't critize the drab renderings too much.  I've seem a bunch of Arena District projects with drab renderings that turned out really great when actually built.  And this is an urban project that gets all the basics right.  Mixed-uses with ground-floor retail and upper-story apartments.  Building to the street edge.  Pedestrian connections with High Street and connections to the park.  And the biggest surprise is that this building project is happening much earlier than was originally expected.  Only one year after the opening of Columbus Commons Park and only two years after the demolition of City Center Mall.  Kind of kills the notion that public improvements never lead to private development doesn't it?

 

Below are two site plans of the $50 million apartment building project.  The first one is from the Columbus Commons Master Plan which highlights the building sites being used along High Street for the two apartment buildings.  The second one is from the project developer and shows the ground floor plans superimposed on the Columbus Commons site as well as the upper floor plans of both buildings.  The southern-most building is divided on the ground floor by a walkway leading from High Street to the park.  However, the upper five stories of that building share a continous floor plan.

 

 

Below is a link to Walker Evans interview with Scott Taylor, President of Carter, the developer of the Columbus Commons Apartments project that was announced earlier this month.  The interview isn't exactly breaking news today, but it hadn't been posted here.  And Walker's interview are always interesting:

 

More Details Revealed on Columbus Commons Apartments

By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on April 5, 2012 - 7:00 am

 

The announcement of the Columbus Commons Apartments made big news yesterday, and we learned that this new 300-unit six-story residential development will be opening in Downtown Columbus in 2014.  Today we had a chance to talk with Scott Taylor, President of Carter, the Atlanta-based development firm that is bringing this project to life.  Scott provides us with more detail on how much these apartment units will cost, how they want to try to attract an urban grocery store retailer to the project, and what drew them to the Columbus market in the first place.

 

FULL INTERVIEW: http://www.columbusunderground.com/more-details-revealed-on-columbus-commons-apartments

More about the Columbus Commons Bicentennial Pavilion.  The pavilion is finished and ready for its first scheduled event - the finish of the Capital City Half Marathon on May 5.  There was also an announcement of an all-free grand-opening weekend for the Bicentennial Pavilion that will run from May 24 to May 27.  A listing of events for this grand-opening weekend is in this Dispatch article about the new pavilion: Pavilion to be focal point of Downtown park

 

The schedule for this summer's Columbus Symphony's Picnic with the Pops at Columbus Commons was also released.  The June and July dates with the guest artists are listed in this Dispatch article: Picnic With the Pops - New venue, new season offer variety of musical temptations

 

 

Also, a slideshow from the Dispatch of the Columbus Commons Bicentennial Pavilion under construction and various events held at Columbus Commons over the past year: Columbus Commons Slideshow

 

The Columbus Commons Bicentennial Pavilion had its grand opening last weekend.  Events ran from May 24 to May 27 and were bookended by a Thursday free concert from Michael McDonald to a Sunday free musical 'Back To The Garden' performed by Shadowbox.  Below is a photo slideshow link from Business First:

 

Business First Slideshow: Columbus Commons kicks off with concert at new pavilion

 

The first photo is from the Michael McDonald concert on Thursday.  The second photo is from Sunday's 'Back To The Garden' musical posted by Columbus Underground:

 

 

 

Good work, Cols.

Columbus Commons apartment project lands local backers

 

 

A $50 million apartment development proposed along Columbus Commons downtown has secured financial backing from a pair of high-profile Central Ohio real estate developers.

 

Bob Weiler and Don Kelley have signed on as majority equity partners in the 302-apartment project targeted for the west edge of the park, while Columbus-based Huntington National Bank has tentatively committed to a $35 million loan.

 

Full article below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/07/20/investors-place-bets-on-columbus.html

According to last Sunday's Dispatch article 'Coming next year: Retail, housing at Commons', construction of the two Columbus Commons Apartment Buildings will begin next month and be completed by the end of 2013.

 

Oops, looks like they didn't disable the Print Screen key behind the paywall.

I really hope this go-round of the Dispatch's pay-to-play access will run its course soon, very frustrating. I think the last time it lasted 6 months or so...

I'm with ya.

Clear your cookies then don't accept any cookies from the Dispatch and vuala, you can read the articles for free again.

Appreciate the discussion about the new Columbus Dispatch paywall policy - but it really is off-topic for a project construction thread.

 

I just posted an article about the Dispatch's new paywall over in the Columbus: Local Media News & Discussion thread in the City Discussion section.  Please continue any paywall discussion there.  Thanks.

The first season of the Columbus Symphony's Picnic With the Pops at its new downtown location has finished.  The popular outdoor concert series always drew well at its previous suburban location on the Chemical Abstracts Service lawn.  And many of those patrons expressed concern over moving to the Columbus Commons lawn.  So how did the new location work out?

 

According to Picnic With the Pops officials in this Dispatch article, this season's attendance was up 20% and revenue was up 28% from last year.  For the record, the best draw was Idina Menzel (Tony award winner from Wicked and guest star on Glee) and the lowest was "The Music of Led Zeppelin".

 

Below are some photos of the Picnic With the Pops from the Columbus Commons facebook page.  I believe the bottom two photos are from the Idina Menzel concert (which certainly does look well attended). 

 

 

 

 

The final photo shows some of the lawns next to High Street where construction will begin shortly for the two six-story Columbus Commons Apartment buildings (to the right in that photo).  Now that the Picnic With the Pops season is over, construction crews are prepping those areas for foundation work.  The property owner (Capitol South) and the developer (Carter) have said that they plan to have most of the exterior construction on those buildings finished by the time next season's Picnic With the Pops begins in June 2013.

The Columbus Metropolitan Club recently hosted a nearly hour long forum about Columbus Commons.  Previously, those behind the demolition of the City Center Mall and its replacement with the Columbus Commons park spoke at the CMC when the park opened last year.  Now, two six-story apartment buildings with ground-floor retail will begin construction along the High Street side of park.  The people behind this new phase of the Columbus Commons redevelopment project returned to the CMC to update the community.

 

Guy Worly, CEO of Columbus Downtown Development Corporation and Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation; Scott Taylor, president of Carter, the developer that announced plans to build apartments and retail space at Columbus Commons; and Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of Capital Crossroads and Discovery District Special Improvement Districts spoke before the Columbus Metropolitan Club on July 11.

 

Article from today's Dispatch about site work beginning on the two building, 302-unit, mixed-use development at Columbus Commons - which now has an official name - HighPoint at Columbus Commons.  Plus an interesting connection to Carter's Banks project in downtown Cincinnati and how its success helped influence the mixed-use (residential/retail) design of this project:

 

Columbus Commons’ next phase under way

Residential-retail buildings to rise in Downtown park

By Steve Wartenberg, The Columbus Dispatch

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 - 7:18 AM

 

Site work has begun on the $50 million residential and retail project in Columbus Commons, with construction expected to start soon.  The project along the western edge of the park also has been given a name: HighPoint at Columbus Commons.  HighPoint will be completed by the end of 2013, according to Conor McNally, chief development officer of Carter, the Atlanta-based developer leading the project.

 

The development includes two six-story buildings, 302 apartments and about 23,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floors, with plans for at least two restaurants. (. . .) “The goal was to create a mixed-use park,” said Guy Worley, chief executive of Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp., which operates Columbus Commons. “The second phase is the residential over retail along High Street, and we’re very excited about it.”  The developers closed on the $2 million purchase of the 2-acre site in Columbus Commons from Capital South last week.

(. . .)

When the idea for a residential-over-retail project on Columbus Commons was first floated, local real estate investor Robert Weiler and his investment partner Kelley weren’t interested. “We felt there was a strong demand for apartments but questioned if there was enough demand for retail,” he said.  However, the success of the Banks in Cincinnati changed his mind.  This multiphased, multiuse Carter project ultimately could include up to 1 million square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet of retail space and 1.8 million square feet of residential space. “After the success of Phase 1 of the Banks, we felt very comfortable getting involved (with the Columbus Commons project),” Weiler said.  Their investment was a key to the project, McNally said.

 

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/09/05/columbus-commons-next-phase-under-way.html

Just confirming that construction for the Columbus Commons Apartments is now underway.

 

Photos of the current work on the site, which is mostly dirt moving, have been posted at the Columbus Underground thread: Columbus Commons Apartments

More photos of the beginning of the Columbus Commons Apartments construction from Columbus Underground's Construction Roundup: September 2012 Part 1:

 

Overhead view from an adjacent parking garage:

More photos of the Columbus Commons Apartments construction are at the MyUrbanhood twitter feed and from Columbus Underground's Columbus Commons Apartments thread:

 

 

View from the Rich Street Parking Garage looking north. High Street at the left.

 

 

View from the Rich Street Parking Garage looking northwest across the Commons

Couple more photos of the Columbus Commons Apartments construction (officially known as the Highpoint on Columbus Commons) from Columbus Underground's Construction Roundup: Nov 2012 - Part 1.  Both photos are from Rich Street looking north.  The first from ground level.  The second from atop the Rich Street Parking Garage.

 

 

Altanta developer Carter released additional renderings of the Highpoint on Columbus Commons (aka Columbus Commons apartments) at their website: http://www.carterusa.com/projects/columbus-commons

 

A total of four new renderings are at the above link.  Below is a view from High Street looking south.  The other renderings are views of the two buildings from the Columbus Commons park.

 

 

Carter's Highpoint project has been praised for its urban design (six-stories; mixed-use with apartments on upper stories and ground floor retail; tying into existing underground parking space) but has been questioned for its bland exterior architectural design.  These new renderings might address the bland design of the previous renderings.  But likely will bring new questions about the new detail added to the exterior.  Those bay windows really seem out of place on an urban scaled project like this.

Altanta developer Carter released additional renderings of the Highpoint on Columbus Commons (aka Columbus Commons apartments) at their website: http://www.carterusa.com/projects/columbus-commons

 

A total of four new renderings are at the above link.  Below is a view from High Street looking south.  The other renderings are views of the two buildings from the Columbus Commons park.

 

 

Carter's Highpoint project has been praised for its urban design (six-stories; mixed-use with apartments on upper stories and ground floor retail; tying into existing underground parking space) but has been questioned for its bland exterior architectural design.  These new renderings might address the bland design of the previous renderings.  But likely will bring new questions about the new detail added to the exterior.  Those bay windows really seem out of place on an urban scaled project like this.

 

It's still very very bland, especially the park-side rendering.  It's only marginally better than the older renderings.  Beyond the new residential units and ground-floor retail, I'm pretty disappointed by this project overall.  There was so much more potential for this site, and given the tax breaks and other city help, they could've (and should've been obligated) to do so much more.

 

Compared to what may go in across the street, CC Apartments look like Soviet-era public housing.