July 20, 200717 yr Ostensibly this will take pressure off the surface lots and encourage more actual development.
July 20, 200717 yr already discussed in this thread http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=12202.0
July 20, 200717 yr Business First of Columbus - July 23, 2007 Parking plan put into gear City will build 2 ramps, more on horizon Business First of Columbus - July 20, 2007 by Brian R. Ball, Business First Downtown Columbus businesses and landlords have long complained about a scarcity of public parking garages for their workers and customers. Those cries have spurred City Hall to use its financial muscle and some creativity in an attempt to resolve the problem in a few key areas of downtown. Mayor Michael B. Coleman on July 20 was to unveil a $25 million pilot project for two parking garages that could lead to as many as four more parking decks to make Columbus more competitive as an office and retail market. Plans for parking garages follow a four-month study of the deficiency. Full story at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/07/23/story1.html
July 20, 200717 yr (Quote)[b]"That's the Midwest car culture," said Guy V. Worley, CEO of Capitol South Community Redevelopment Corp., which co-funded the parking study. "That said, we need an adequate supply of parking downtown." [/b] Now that is the most absurd statement. There is no "car culture". It is a manufactured dependence in a highways-only environment. Of course most people drive their cars to and from work in Columbus. What other decent option do they have? A so-so transit system (COTA). No light rail or intercity passenger rail. A streetcar plan that got off to a fast start and then disappeared. No question that downtown needs more vertical parking space, but Mr. Worley and the CSCRC need to be pushing for more transportation options than just more concrete and ramps.
July 20, 200717 yr A "so-so transit system (cota)" --- I take issue with that statement :drunk: It's not so-so; It's the worst damn transit system of the top 30 cities in America. If you work on Sunday night you can't even get home on the bus... It's pathetic. :-D
July 23, 200717 yr Don't point too many fingers at COTA. The bus system used to be decent but since the levy before this current one did not pass COTA has been in dire straits. Even now with the new levy passed it is becoming increasingly difficult to improve bus service as quick as promised. The drivers union currently is bogging down the progress of COTA. COTA has to serve certain areas and were forced to combined routes to keep service, so sayeth the feds. On a lighter note COTA does have 40 new buses rolling in every year, anyone want to drive them for the union determined starting wage of 11/hr.
July 26, 200717 yr Medical park marks new start for Lucent site BY CARRIE GHOSE | BUSINESS FIRST OF COLUMBUS July 20, 2007 Development of the 250-acre former Lucent Technologies property on Columbus' far east side moves forward next month with the opening of Mount Carmel Medical Park. A few physicians have already moved into the first of a planned four-building cluster of medical offices, including a three-doctor family practice with a temporary paper sign taped to its glass door. Dubbed Medilucent in a nod to the site's former occupant, the first building is a $9.2 million joint venture between Mount Carmel Health System and the physician tenants. Lease payments are expected to repay construction bonds, and property taxes captured in a 30-year tax increment financing district will pay for $6.9 million in water, sewer and other improvements to the 43-acre medical park. Plans call for four 75,000-square-foot buildings, each to hold about 220 employees. They would ring a small waterfall and pond facing Taylor Station Road. There is land for two more buildings and a parking garage that could be built over the next 25 years.
July 29, 200717 yr Some updated photos of the restoration, including the addition to the original depot.
July 29, 200717 yr sans Tom Hanks... Okay, I've had a shade over 7 months to decipher this comment: I give up.
July 29, 200717 yr They don't make railroad stations the way they used to, and the old Toledo & Ohio Sation which looked like a cross between a Chinese pagoda and a Moroccan bathhouse, pretty well proves the point. The station was built in 1896, when, presumably, they should have know more restraint. (Yesterday's Columbus A Pictoral History of Ohio's Capital by George E Condon] No matter what Mr Condon thinks, this is one of my very favorite Columbus buildings. It is whimsical, irreverent and totally eye-catching. What could be better on the stretch of Broad Street best remembered as a street of broken dreams?
July 30, 200717 yr ...The station was built in 1896, when, presumably, they should have know more restraint. (Yesterday's Columbus A Pictoral Hisory of Oho's Capital by George E Condon] Tell it to the marines, Senior Stuffypants. This building is the whip.
July 30, 200717 yr ColDayMan.....Tom Hanks was in the PolarExpress..... not the Orient Express. Same thing. Amtrak, TGV, same thing. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 30, 200717 yr Opinion Can downtown become area's next hot market? Business First of Columbus - July 27, 2007 by Business First Ohio Stadium is just a few minutes' drive from downtown Columbus, but the two places are miles apart in the minds of many Central Ohioans. On autumn Saturdays, more than 100,000 fill the stadium where the resident college football team can do little wrong in the eyes of the attending faithful. Downtown should be so fortunate. In the opinion of too many area business executives, Columbus' central business district is a place that doesn't move them. In a recent survey conducted by Business First, executives gave downtown nothing more than average grades as a location to live, do business and play. It seems that when it comes to downtown, the hub of Central Ohio - like those football Buckeyes a few blocks up High Street - can evoke spirited opinion. Why are we surprised? Most of the 1.7 million people living in the region were born in Ohio, so it makes sense there's a native allegiance to the state university's sports teams. It might also explain the perceptions of downtown given the state's rural influences and Columbus' suburban mindset. Whatever the thoughts about downtown, this much is clear - given the responses to the Business Watch survey by city and suburban residents alike, the heart of the region needs some care. More at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/07/30/editorial1.html
July 30, 200717 yr BAH! BANNED! Oh wait, I can't ban you. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 31, 200717 yr It was supposed to not make sense, as TGV and Amtrak are on different levels entirely. Much like my error with Polar and Orient Express. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 31, 200717 yr No thanks to you. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 2, 200717 yr Nice start..now PLEASE do something with the rest of the Scioto Peninsula and those awful surface lots paved and unpaved. I wish they could build a parking garage attached to Cosi and turn the area between Cosi and the tracks into somekind of park..what a site for summer festivals etc. with the skyling wrapping around to the east. I would love to see lots of trees and and greenery there. -it is almost the perfect setting for a central city park!
August 2, 200717 yr GCrites80s..... yes, it will primarily be the union hall for the firefighters, but I'm told the project also calls for rental office space and the main meeting hall will be for rent as well. You can check out the project at the website in the first post. Toddguy.... great idea to replace all that hot asphalt with a cool park.
August 2, 200717 yr Columbus Foundation to renovate, expand offices August 2, 2007 | BUSINESS FIRST OF COLUMBUS COLUMBUS - The Columbus Foundation is moving ahead on a $7.8 million plan to renovate its historic Broad Street home and build new office and meeting facilities nearby. The foundation, which moved into the former governor's mansion in 1988, plans to complete renovations on the building by November, and expects construction of an adjacent office building and a meeting center to be completed by June 2008. The two new buildings will be constructed behind the former governor's mansion, and the project, including new landscaping along Broad Street, will also make use of other nearby parcels owned by the foundation, which has more than $1 billion in assets under management. The project is being funded by private contributions from foundation supporters and through internal financing, the foundation said.
August 7, 200717 yr Well this is my first post to this website so we'll see how beat up I get over it. I'm glad I came across this site though, what a great resource for information sharing about our state. Anyhow, on to my first post (basically ripped from my blog - sorry)... From my vantage point on the 40th floor of the Rhodes Tower I spotted this building taking an interesting shape over the past month. Finally last Sunday Sophie and I took a field trip to the Art Museum and on the way we stopped off to have a look at this building up close. The developer is Blue Heron Land Development Company and they are responsible for this building at 199 South Fifth Street. Without completing any research (which I should do) I would guess that this was a parking structure with offices built in originally, possibly a small motor lodge of some sort. The attempt is to utilize the carcass of the building and put modernist touches onto it so that the end result is something fresh and new looking. Here are the pictures, I’ll pick up with my commentary after the jump. I don’t want to be dismissive, I really think the new design has some charms to it. My gut feeling though is that this would find a better comfort level in the “contemporary” category. Being a bit of a modernist snob I draw a distinction between what is modern and what is contemporary; but, being that I am not classically trained in architecture my opinions are only my own and my definitions are not necessarily on target. So, I’ll try and explain myself. I see modernism as a frame of mind as well as a historic period in art and architecture. I think that at any time in history once a style is established it can continue to be utilized throughout time in new builds, restorations and renovations. The idea of contemporary though brings to my mind the Walmart of creativity. Where an architect has the ability to truly design something that works in the context of the style they are emulating some architects instead just grab notions of a style and plug them into whatever project they are working on. When you are doing less design work and more plug-n-play development you enter into what I believe to be the world of “contemporary”. In my mind contemporary is a way to describe buildings which utilize as many components of whatever is popular without actually getting into the messy business of design. I don’t want to bash this building too much because I want to like it, and, perhaps when it is completed I will like it. Right now though my gut says that a developer opened up a copy of Wallpaper magazine or something similar and said “hey, use more corrugated metal with flying rooflines meant to look sorta Frank Lloyd Wright’ish.” What do you think? Andrew http://elephantsonbicycles.teenymouse.com
August 7, 200717 yr I actually like the building, for some strange reason. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 9, 200717 yr Developers see wealth of opportunity in downtown's tight spaces BY CINDY BENT | COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIRST August 3, 2007 PHOTO: Architect Jonathan Barnes stands on the balcony of the infill building he designed at 225 N. Fourth St. Janet Adams | Business First DOWNTOWN - Where some see parking lots and small, useless buildings, developers like Don DeVere see opportunity. DeVere and others are taking advantage of the downtown Columbus residential real estate market's resurgence to fill in gaps - sometimes very narrow ones - with renovations and new builds... Cindy Bent Findlay is a freelance writer in Columbus.
August 20, 200717 yr News from SWACO The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio Contact: John Remy Director of Communications 614-801-6410 (o) 614-203-5966 © SWACO & Shelly Create/Save Jobs Up to 350 jobs will be added or maintained in Franklin County due to a public/private partnership development agreement announced by the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) and the Shelly Company of Thornville, Ohio. The agreement clears the way for construction of a new manufacturing plant by Rastra Inc. and a major capital investment and expansion by Kurtz Brothers on the site. Both companies plan green projects that will bring benefits to the Central Ohio economy as well as residents. The “green” industrial park known as The Columbus Transformation Center is located to the east of the site of the former Columbus Waste To Energy Facility (W.T.E.F.). The agreement will also expand mining opportunities for Shelly which operates a limestone mine on property adjacent to the SWACO site. (Near Haul & Frank Roads and behind SWACO’s Jackson Pike Transfer Station. SWACO Executive Director Mike Long says the agreement requires Shelly to fill 10 acres of unusable land for development. The deal also will have Shelly pay SWACO mineral rites for rock mined from the property. Those payments—estimated at about $1.5 million—will be used to further retire the City of Columbus’ debt on the W.T.E.F (SWACO leases the site from Columbus). Long adds that the site preparation work by Shelly has a value of about $4 million. Shelly Company president, John Powers, says the agreement protects the jobs of 300 employees, expands the company’s investment in the mining operation, and fits with Shelly’s mission of promoting environmental stewardship through recycling and reuse. Long continues, “Our economy is strengthened on several fronts. We are putting unused land back to work for the taxpayers of Central Ohio while at the same time bringing new green jobs to the City. Both Rastra and Kurtz Brothers plan to break ground this autumn for their new facilities. Rasta will manufacture polystyrene-concrete building materials which could divert up to 87,000 cubic yards of polystyrene (Styrofoam) from SWACO’s Franklin County Landfill annually. The cost of space in the landfill for that volume of trash amounts to $695,000. Diverting the polystyrene saves precious landfill space for items that cannot be recycled or reused. Rastra hopes to create 45 to 50 new jobs over a three year period. Kurtz Brothers plans to construct an aerobic digester on the property. That operation will take organic wastes (such as yard waste) and turn it into energy and other useful products. The project is expected to create five to seven new jobs. “This is a prime example of our philosophy of the 3-E’s,” says Long. “We can better our Environment, stimulate Economic development, and create Energy. The three come together to enhance the quality of living for Central Ohio.” “The Shelly Company has provided the lynch pin that allows The Transformation Center to become a model of private investment and public benefit through recycling,” Long added. In all, about 40-acres are involved in the deal including an additional seven acres made available by Shelly Company to the Kurtz Brothers operation. SWACO is the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio. We believe today’s throwaways are the foundation for tomorrow. In doing so, we act as a catalyst to bring “Smart Solutions for reducing waste to Central Ohio. SWACO also provides consumers recycling opportunities around Franklin County (Ohio) through more than 60 recycling drop off-locations, at major sporting and entertainment venues, in Columbus Public Schools, Port Columbus International Airport and other locations. We also operate the Franklin County Landfill, three transfer stations, and other programs. More on SWACO at www.swaco.org Shelly is Ohio’s larges producers of asphalt and an industry leader in recycling. The Company’s use of recycled oil and recycled asphalt saves enough annually to create 276 miles of an additional new one-lane highway without added cost to the customer or taxpayer. This savings achieved through recycling means Shelly can—for the same price—annually produce enough additional asphalt to pave one lane of roadway from Cincinnati to Cleveland with a couple of roadside rest-stops thrown in. John Remy Director of Communications SWACO The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio 614-801-6410 (office) 614-203-5966 (cell) 614-871-5103 (fax) 6220 Young Rd. Grove City, Oh 43123 www.swaco.org
August 25, 200717 yr Plans unveiled for deaf, blind school campus Thursday, August 23, 2007 JENNIFER NESBITT, ThisWeek Staff Writer The Ohio School Facilities Commission presented three potential plans for new buildings for the Ohio School for the Deaf and the Ohio State School for the Blind during an open house last week. Each plan sprawled across the two schools' neighboring campuses, with the separate areas connected by a bridge through the Bill Moose Ravine. One plan featured separate academic and residential facilities with a shared recreation building on the northwest side of the campus, where the State School for the Blind currently is located. On the southeast side, where Ohio School for the Deaf is currently located, the plan shows baseball diamonds, a football field, a soccer field and the existing gym. A second plan involved the reverse of the first, with the academic and residential facilities on the southeast side of the campus and the recreation fields and gym on the northwest side. The third plan kept the school buildings separated, with new buildings for each school on their respective sites. Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?sec=clintonville&story=sites/thisweeknews/082307/Clintonville/News/082307-News-405547.html&tab=tab1
August 27, 200717 yr Landfill pitched as fuel source Battelle unit thinks trash could power jets Monday, August 27, 2007 3:23 AM By Barbara Carmen THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH To those who oversee the Franklin County landfill, the latest proposal sounded like a flight of fancy: Turn garbage into jet fuel. But a Battelle engineer said the components of the technology already work. All scientists need is a big-enough test site -- say 10 acres at the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio's landfill -- and a supply of trash. They then will stitch together cutting-edge technology to make diesel and jet fuel. If they get a $30 million federal government grant. Full article at http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/08/27/FLYINONTRASH.ART_ART_08-27-07_A1_UV7NN14.html?sid=101
August 30, 200717 yr Green construction forum scheduled for mid-September With the increase in green counstruction in columbus, especially in government directed projects: The New Franklin Country Courthouse, the Lazarus building renovation, and the new Columbus Clippers Baseball stadium are all fully Green buildings. The Columbus Green Building Forum will host its annual trade show and conference on environmental design and construction from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Columbus Atheneum, 34 N. Fourth Street. The Green Building Expo 2007 will include discussions on policy development and building strategies. Up to 45 vendors will market energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products and services for contractors. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is scheduled to give the keynote address on the Utah capital's pro-environment construction and development policies. For more information, visit the web site www.cgbf.org. More at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/
September 3, 200717 yr Found a couple of renderings on the project architect's website - Moody Nolan Architects.
September 3, 200717 yr Wonderful! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 4, 200717 yr OHIO LOFTS on main and 3 rd st. are done with construction and is now a completed project
September 4, 200717 yr Brewmaster's Cap City Savvy site has a good update on this project at www.capcitysavvy.com/2007/8/23/construction-update-ohio-lofts/
September 5, 200717 yr County's solid-waste director retires -- again Wednesday, September 5, 2007 3:25 AM By Barbara Carmen THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Michael Long will leave office Friday to pursue ways to turn trash into treasure with high-tech companies. Michael D. Long sat with his attorney yesterday in Long's office at the agency that gets rid of central Ohio's garbage. Long's door was shut. On Friday, 18 years as the pioneering director of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio will come to an end. But Long and board members said he chose to retire and they're parting on good terms. Assistant Executive Director Ronald J. Mills will serve as interim head of SWACO as board members launch what is expected to be a national search. More: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/09/05/SOLONG.ART_ART_09-05-07_B4_017QFLL.html
September 5, 200717 yr Above is the finished Ohio Loft project. I found some old photos of 139-143 E. Main Street on my hard drive. Enjoy...
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