A slightly inaccurate headline but an interesting article from the Dispatch that looks the evolving nature of development in Columbus.  By requiring annexation in exchange for connecting to the city's water and sewer system, Columbus was able to bring greenfield development sites into the City of Columbus instead of allowing them to go surrounding suburbs.  I included a 1834-2007 annexation graph that came from a 2009 article to show the city's annexation history.

 

Also included is a chart from the below article that shows annexation and new construction permits issued from 2007 to 2011.  The amount of annexation has gone way down.  Yet the number of new construction building permits has increased every year.  What the data and the article show is that infill development and brownfield sites are making up a greater and greater percentage of construction activity within the Columbus city limits.

 

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Developers in Columbus focus on apartments near Downtown

By Doug Caruso, The Columbus Dispatch

Monday, February 20, 2012 - 5:34 AM

 

Rising numbers of new-building permits and zoning applications in Columbus bode well for two things: the local economy and controversy.  Development has been rebounding since the end of the recession, officials, developers and neighborhood leaders agree, although it hasn’t come close to the boom times of the 1990s and early 2000s.

 

In 2001, for example, Columbus annexed 1,230 acres, nearly 2 square miles.  Annexations reached a low of 19.4 acres in 2009 and in 2011 edged up to 146 acres, including 108 acres for the Hollywood Casino on the West Side.  “They were taking in, back in the heyday, plots of a couple hundred lots at a time,” said Chris Presutti, the city’s chief zoning official, “and they were building the houses before they were even sold.”

 

Today, he said, most development is infill development — meaning it typically occurs inside the city, not at the edges, and in smaller batches to fill in empty spaces.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/20/developers-in-columbus-focus-on-apartments-near-downtown.html

 

Kind of a follow-up to the development/annexation article posted earlier.  A Dispatch Bicentennial Mileposts article about the first time Columbus annexed property that was not in Franklin County is linked below.  The article touches on the City's "water and sewer" annexation policy - started by Mayor M.E. Sensenbrenner in 1954 - and continued until 2003, when Mayor Michael B. Coleman shifted to a “pay as you grow” annexation policy.

 

Dispatch: Columbus Mileposts | May 29, 1974: Columbus gets too big for its county

National Church Residences to expand Commons at Livingston

Business First by Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter

Date: Friday, June 8, 2012, 6:00am EDT

 

Nonprofit housing developer National Church Residences plans to double its housing for military veterans at 3341 Livingston Avenue in Columbus.  Construction of the $6.4 million, 50-unit addition at the Commons at Livingston is set to begin in September and be completed in mid-2013.

 

The Upper Arlington-based developer opened the 50-apartment complex for disabled and homeless veterans in 2011.  Columbus City Council on June 4 approved $400,000 in capital bond funding for the expansion through the city’s five-year, $6 million Rebuilding Lives Fund program.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/06/08/national-church-residences-to-expand.html

Benchmark Apartments Scheduled to Open This Fall

By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on June 15, 2012 - 8:00 am

 

The Benchmark Apartments were announced back in November and are already fully underway.  This new three-story 108-unit development will begin to open this October with a final completion scheduled for early 2013.

 

Positioned at the intersection of Henderson and Kenny roads, Benchmark will offer 9 one-bedroom units, 90 two-bedroom units, and 9 three-bedroom units.  The smallest units start in the $800′s for 625 square feet, with the largest units topping out at 950 square feet at $1495 per month.  Community amenities will include a wi-fi lounge, fitness studio, grilling patio, green space, a dog park and a saltwater pool.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/benchmark-apartments-scheduled-to-open-this-fall

 

A poster at Columbus Underground received information from the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District in downtown about some streetscape enhancements coming to the Capitol Square this year. 

 

Below is information on the project from the Capital Crossroads SID at http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Downtown-Retail-Update--April-2012.html?soid=1108931018458&aid=lGgfe08iMbE and a rendering of the streetscape enhancements from http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/streetscape-enhancements-coming-to-capital-square

 

Capitol Square Improvements

A partnership between the City of Columbus and Capital Crossroads SID received final approval from the Downtown Commission and Columbus Art Commission to install planters and sign fixtures around Capitol Square.  The project is scheduled to be completed by end of 2012.

 

The Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District email report referenced above also contained two progress reports for construction projects within the downtown.  Below are pdf links to those two progress reports.

 

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Downtown Housing Report, 1st Quarter 2012 (PDF)

Highlights: Estimated population just shy of 6,300 in core of downtown, announcement of Columbus Commons apartments and Long Street apartments (part of Neighborhood Launch).

 

The Downtown Housing Report lists only residential projects that are located downtown.  Since it is downtown only, no Short North, Brewery District, German Village, Olde Towne East or Franklinton projects are included in this listing.  However, there is a neat listing of downtown housing projects completed since 2002.

 

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Downtown Investment Report, 1st Quarter 2012 (PDF)

Highlights: Scioto River dam removal and park restoration, Bicentennial Pavilion at Columbus Commons completed.

 

The Downtown Investment Report is broken down into two listings.  The first lists "Projects Under Construction" and includes non-residential projects only.  The second lists "Projects Proposed" and includes both residential and non-residential projects.  Slightly odd, but good info nevertheless.

The City of Columbus announced plans last Friday to rework its southern downtown firehouse (Fire Station 2) which is currently located in a 50-year-old building at 150 E. Fulton Street.  According to a recent article from the Dispatch (linked below) those plans call for the following:

 

• Constructing a new fire station located on Greenlawn Avenue - one mile south of the existing Fire Station 2 at Fulton Street.

 

• Moving the existing Fire Station 2 unit to the new Greenlawn station.

 

• Demolishing the existing Fire Station 2 at Fulton Street and constructing a new fire station at the same location.

 

• Operating Fire Station 2 units from both the Greenlawn station and the new Fulton Street station locations after completion.

 

Dispatch: Downtown firehouse to get new digs - Busy outpost to eventually have two sites

 

The above two buildings at 620 E. Broad Street and 630 E. Broad Street received an Historic Preservation Tax Credit Award from the state.  The two buildings are located on the north side of Broad Street and are immediately west of I-71.  Just barely within the downtown district and across I-71 from the Olde Towne East neighborhood.  Below is the press release from the Ohio Department of Development:

 

From the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Awards press release:

 

620-30 East Broad (Columbus, Franklin County)

· Total Project Cost: $2,203,539

· Total Tax Credit: $313,145

· Address: 620-30 East Broad Street, 43215

Originally constructed as private mansions, 620-30 East Broad was converted to office space in the 1920's to house the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation which later spawned Nationwide Insurance.  Now largely vacant, the buildings will be rehabilitated to address deferred maintenance needs and install necessary upgrades to support new commercial office tenants.  The project is expected to create 25 permanent jobs.

Removal of Fifth Avenue Dam Scheduled This Fall

By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on June 26, 2012 - 1:50 pm

 

After a decade of discussion, the removal of the Fifth Avenue lowhead dam will finally be moving forward.  The Ohio EPA and OSU have both signed off on allowing the Columbus Department of Public Utilities to remove the dam and restore the flow of this portion of the Olentangy River.  Yesterday evening (June 25), Columbus City Council passed legislation that will set the stage for the removal of the dam sometime this fall.

(. . .)

The project is expected to cost approximately $6.9 million, which includes the redesign of the shoreline and the landscaping of native plants along the river.  The river will eventually connect Downtown where the Main Street Dam is also being planned for removal, creating an interconnected navigable waterway.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/removal-of-fifth-avenue-dam-scheduled-this-fall

 

SOUTH-WESTERN CITY SCHOOLS

Phase 1 buildings go to bid in spring

By Mark Dubovec, ThisWeek Community News

Tuesday, July 3, 2012 - 11:42 AM

 

South-Western City Schools are on schedule to break ground sometime in the spring on phase 1 of its Ohio School Facilities Commission Project.

 

On Monday, June 25, the Board of Education heard a presentation from Mike Dingeldein of SHP Leading Design, the project's architect, updating board members on the process. "We've made some enormous progress so far this spring," Dingeldein said. "Our projects are slated and sized. ... We know almost every place we're going to build with the exception of a new site for North Franklin Elementary."

 

The $250 million project involves the replacement of 13 elementary school buildings; the replacement of Franklin Heights High School; combining Finland and East Franklin Elementary Schools into one building; and minor renovations and technology upgrades to Buckeye Woods and Darby Woods elementary schools.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/grovecity/news/2012/07/02/250-million-program-phase-1-buildings-go-to-bid-in-spring.html

The Dispatch had a recent article about the residential rental market in Columbus and Central Ohio.  A combination of intense demand and an undersupply of rentals (especially in some of Columbus' urban neighborhoods) is leading to a flurry of new apartment construction projects and apartment conversion projects in existing buildings. 

 

Below is the link to the full Dispatch article.  Below that are a few excerpts from people in the rental market talking about just how intense the demand for apartments is right now:

 

Dispatch: Rush to rent, and build apartments

 

About 4.5 percent of central Ohio apartments are vacant, and the rate is much lower in some areas, said Rob Vogt, a partner in the Columbus real-estate research firm Vogt Santer Insights. “I don’t think I’ve seen this good of rental conditions in at least 20 years,” Vogt said.

 

The national vacancy rate is 4.9 percent, the lowest in a decade, according to the national real-estate research firm Reis Inc.  In Columbus’ popular urban neighborhoods, vacancies are rare, leaving renters to hunt-and-peck through web ads, apartment-management companies and street signs in the hopes of finding an available unit.

 

Yianni Vitellas put an advertisement on Craigslist a few weeks ago for a vacant apartment in a building he owns in Victorian Village.  About five hours after he posted the ad, he had 80 responses.  By the time he responded to the queries the next day, the number had grown to 150.  “I had so many, I thought it might be a scam,” said Vitellas, who scheduled a group open house to handle the huge interest, as many other landlords are doing.  "My mom was outside the building 20 minutes before it started and said there were about 30 people waiting to get in.  There is definitely a huge pent-up demand.”

 

Jim Kirkpatrick, the owner of Midtown Realty Co., thinks this may be the tightest market he has seen in his 30 years of managing real estate in the Short North.

The article also contained a map listing apartment projects under construction and planned for construction in Columbus and Central Ohio.  Below is the direct link to that map.  Unfortunately, I found the text on their largest size on-line map to be barely legible.  So I tracked down a paper copy of the map and scanned it below.  The scanned copy is much more readable - although the green dots showing the locations of the "under construction" projects was printed out blurry in the paper.  Can't do anything to clear that up.  Those green dots are more readable on the linked map below.  So between the two maps you can figure out what's what:

 

MAP: APARTMENT PROJECTS

 

They are trying to push through a 500+ unit apartment complex between Polaris and County Line (along the new road Westerville is about to build). I have a hard time seeing Westerville letting this happen.

Especially considering how quickly many apartment complexes tend to melt down outside the Outerbelt.

I'm feeling like there were several projects missed on that map.  For example, with the Neighborhood Launch project, the 260 units are only for 2 buildings.  There will be at least two more buildings after that, so you can probably add at least 100+ more.  Also, where are the 288 units for the Jeffrey site coming from?  I didn't know any formal plans for the site had been announced.  The last I hear, the site layout was still in planning.

Hmm...so they were able to get grants, but none of that money will be going directly to the building improvements in the business district that doesn't start until a few blocks in. And here's looking in the opposite direction of the gateway. These neighborhoods finally get money, but no one knows how to properly spend it to make it better. At least the city now has a "Streetcar District". The only thing missing...

 

Seeking sculpture proposals for Streetcar District Gateway – Open to all Central Ohio Artists

 

The Neighborhood Design Center (NDC), Livingston Avenue Area Commission (LAVA-C), and The Streetcar District neighborhoods invite all Central Ohio artists to submit proposals for the Livingston Avenue Bicentennial Gateway.

 

http://www.neighborhooddesign.org/uploads/1/0/8/2/10823603/4200272_orig.jpg[/img]

 

This permanent free-standing sculpture will serve as a gateway into The Streetcar District. The gateway intends to celebrate the neighborhood history and the people who live there.

 

The gateway feature is to be located on the East side of the Norfolk Southern Railroad Viaduct at Livingston Avenue and Nelson Road. The NDC has been working with LAVA-C and The Streetcar District neighborhoods over the past two and half years to make infrastructure improvements in the area as well as incorporate branding elements into the streetscape. This sculpture will serve as a catalyst for future improvements along the Avenue.

 

    The NDC in collaboration with LAVA-C and the neighborhoods received a Chase 200Columbus Neighborhood Grant through the Greater Columbus Arts Council and a Joseph A. Jeffrey Grant through the Columbus Foundation to make this project possible. Support has been provided by Norfolk Southern as well.

 

Proposals are due August 3rd, 2012 and the selected artist will be notified August 10th. The design process and fabrication is planned to take place over the fall and winter with projected installation in March of 2013.

 

Download the RFP and more information below.

Questions: Contact Katie O'Lone by email at [email protected] or by phone 614.221.5001.

 

http://www.neighborhooddesign.org/rfp.html

I'm feeling like there were several projects missed on that map.  For example, with the Neighborhood Launch project, the 260 units are only for 2 buildings.  There will be at least two more buildings after that, so you can probably add at least 100+ more.  Also, where are the 288 units for the Jeffrey site coming from?  I didn't know any formal plans for the site had been announced.  The last I hear, the site layout was still in planning.

 

You're right about all of that.  But like you have said about population figures from different sources - "No one source is 100% correct".

I missed this article when it was published earlier this year - so I'm playing catch up.  Business First had a lengthy article in January about a number of businesses moving into the area around the corner of Summit Street and Hudson Street in the South of Hudson (SoHud) neighborhood.  Short North real estate developer Kevin Lykens has attracted Rumba Cafe, Capital City Scooters, Spindle Studios, ReTagIt thrift store and Wild Goose Creative to buildings he owns near Summit and Hudson.  Lykens later moved his accounting business into the upper floor of one of those buildings.

 

The article then shifted to the newest property owner in the area.  A mother and son team brought a vacant building at the southwest corner of Summit and Hudson, renovated the inside and opened a food catering business called ‘Apps Food 4 Friends’.  While the mother and son team took care of the interior, a coalition of existing business owners led by Wild Goose Creative worked with Tim Lai and Eliza Ho, a husband-wife architect practice in the neighborhood, to design a mural to cover up the graffiti covered side of the building facing Hudson Street.

 

Below is the link to the Business First article about Summit and Hudson.  Also below is a link to a scanned copy of the article at the Facebook page of Tim Lai Architect:

 

Business First: A derelict North Columbus corner is on a path toward revitalization

 

Scanned Business First article at Tim Lai Architect facebook page

 

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Below are some photos of the Summit and Hudson area showing the buildings facing Summit Street on the southeast corner and the buildings facing Summit Street on the southwest corner:

 

 

 

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Below are some images of the side wall facing Hudson Street that received a mural to cover up the graffiti on the building.  The first image is a below photo of the graffiti covered wall.  The middle image is a rendering of the mural proposal.  The final image is a photo of the wall after the mural was painted from Tim Lai Architect's facebook page:

 

 

 

The same group that did the Summit & Hudson mural (shown above) did another beautification mural in the area.  The new mural location is three blocks north of the previous mural location.  This one is in Glen Echo Park.  The park is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.  As part of the Centennial celebration, a kickstarter funded mural project was chosen to clean up a graffiti covered underpass within the park.

 

Here is a promotional poster of the Ohio Birds Mural proposed for the Indianola Avenue Underpass at Glen Echo Park from the project's Kickstarter page along with a view of what the underpass looked like before they started the project:

 

 

Below is a rendering of the Glen Echo Park Birds Mural:

 

 

Below is a photo of volunteers priming the area for the mural:

 

 

Below are the two sides of the finished mural project:

 

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New mural, old park: Party celebrates both

By Kevin Parks, ThisWeek Community News

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 - 1:38 PM

 

Activities for children, adults and a tree are on the agenda Saturday, July 14, as part of a celebration marking the 100th birthday of Glen Echo Park.  Some birds - or at least oversize paintings of them - also will work their way into the mix.  The party with the purpose of noting the centennial of the 4.2-acre park at 510 Cliffside Drive is being put on by the Lower Olentangy Urban Arboretum, Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, Friends of the Ravines and ALTernative, the latter a nonprofit organization responsible for a bird mural in a nearby underpass that will be unveiled during the gathering.

 

Columbus artist Clint Davidson last week put the finishing touches on his mural, which is intended to dissuade taggers from spraying graffiti on a surface that's seen more than its fair share. ... The mural, featuring paintings of species native to the ravines in the area, was funded in part by a grant from the Chase 200Columbus Neighborhood Grant Program, with supplemental funding obtained through a campaign on the online arts-project promotions website kickstarter.com.

 

The project was the brainchild of architect Tim Lai and his wife, Eliza Ho, the principals in an architectural firm that started ALTernative to help further neighborhood arts efforts such as the SoHud Mural project at the intersection of East Hudson and Summit streets.

 

READ MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/clintonville/news/2012/07/10/new-mural-old-park-party-celebrates-both.html

ECOT (Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow) announced they have purchased the 145,000 square foot Southland Mall and its 27 acre parcel at 3660 S. High Street in Columbus from Bob Evans Farms.  Bob Evans Farms currently has their headquarters in the renovated mall.  ECOT is also located in the mall and has been leasing space there since 2000 from Bob Evans.

 

Bob Evans is building a new headquarters building in New Albany and put the Southland Mall property up for sale.  According to the below linked press release from ECOT, Bob Evans will remain a tenant in the mall until their move to New Albany is complete in 2014.  The school also plans to invest in improvements to the exterior of the building and parking lot after Bob Evans vacates the building.

 

Press Release: ECOT (Ohio Online School) purchases Southland Mall in Columbus

 

ECOT (Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow) Website

It looks like the Statehouse grounds will be going "back to the future".  The State of Ohio has approved a plan by the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board to install new 42 inch high fencing around the edge of the Statehouse grounds in downtown Columbus.  Below is a Columbus Dispatch article about this and a photo showing a sample of the new fence:

 

Dispatch: Officials opt for old-style fence around Statehouse

 

 

The new 42 inch high fence will match one in place at the Statehouse grounds from 1873 to 1964.  That fencing was removed during construction of the Statehouse underground parking garage.  Portions of that fence were moved to the Ohio School for the Deaf (which is now the Topiary Park) on East Town Street in downtown Columbus.  According to the article, there will be no fencing at the Veterans Plaza on the east side and access will be maintained to the plaza on the west side, which is the site of numerous public events.  Also, according to the article, the fence installation should be completed by the end of this year.

 

The new 42 inch high fence will be mounted atop the stone retaining wall that surrounds most of Capitol Square.  Below is a historic photo circa the early 1900's that shows the original 1873-1964 fence near the entrance to the west plaza along High Street.  The new fencing will have a similar appearance.

 

^That should look nice and be more functional for events, although it will take away a common place for bus riders to wait.

News from Columbus Underground about additional one-way to two-way street conversions in downtown Columbus:

 

Front Street and Marconi Boulevard to go Two-Way in 2013

 

The conversion of Downtown streets from one-way to two-way continues with news that the treatment will come to portions of Marconi Boulevard and Front Street in 2013.  A portion of Front Street south of Broad Street was converted in 2009, with Civic Center Drive (what Marconi turns into south of Broad) following suit with the completion of The Scioto Mile.

 

“The two-way conversion of Front and Marconi north of Broad Street is one of the things we’re working on right now,” said Randy Bowman, Division of Mobility Options Administrator at the Columbus Department of Public Service.  “We would like to get it accomplished next year.”

 

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/front-street-and-marconi-boulevard-to-go-two-way-in-2013

More news from Columbus Underground about additional changes to a street in downtown Columbus.  This one involves adding parking meters to the downtown portion of High Street.

 

Parking Meters Coming Soon to High Street through Downtown

 

Look north and you’ll see parking meters. Look south and you’ll see parking meters.  But on the central Downtown stretch of High Street, there’s not a parking meter to be found.  That will soon change as the Department of Public Service plans to begin the installation of approximately 130 new parking meters on High Street before the end of the year.

 

The idea dates back to the 2010 Downtown Strategic Plan, which called for a new vision of High Street with enhanced public transit systems, transit stations and on-street parking to service new retail businesses.  The funding to study these improvements to High Street (and other Downtown streets) was approved back in April of this year.

 

“The goal is to introduce on-street parking to serve existing and future businesses along High Street,” said Randy Bowman, Division of Mobility Options Administrator at the Columbus Department of Public Service.  “The city desires more retail along High Street to serve the growing residential population plus the Downtown workforce.”

 

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/parking-meters-coming-soon-to-high-street-through-downtown

From Columbus Underground (link below):

 

Columbus Landmarks Announces Finalists for 2012 Urban Design Award

 

East High School

1500 E. Broad Street

Designers: Moody∙Nolan Inc. and Schooley Caldwell Associates

Owner: Columbus City Schools

 

 

Huntington Park

330 Huntington Park Lane

Designers: 360 Architecture and MKSK Studios

Owner: Franklin County Commissioners/Franklin County Stadium Inc.

 

 

The Scioto Mile

233 Civic Center Drive

Designers: MSI, 360 Architecture, Schooley Caldwell Associates, HKI

Owner: City of Columbus

Developer: Columbus Downtown Development Corporation

 

 

Scioto River Bridges

Main Street Bridge Designer: DLZ Ohio

Rich Street Bridge Designers: Bridgescape LLC and Finley Engineering Group

Owners: ODOT and City of Columbus

 

 

Shadowbox Live! Theatre

503 South Front Street

Designer: Lion Real Estate Services/Urban Design and Shadowbox Live! Theatre

Developer: William Schottenstein

Owner: 503 South Front Street Limited Partnership

 

The winner of the award will be announced at the Annual Design & Preservation Awards Reception & Program on Thursday, September 27 at the Lincoln Theatre.  For more information visit www.columbuslandmarks.org.

Mildly interesting report from last week's Business First about a former Borders bookstore in northwest Columbus being redeveloped as a retail center.  But what really caught my eye was the two businesses that will anchor the new retail center - and the name of one.  Please see the excerpt below...

 

Former Borders getting new life as gym-anchored shopping center

Business First by Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter

Date: Friday, September 28, 2012, 6:00am EDT

 

The former Borders bookstore at Henderson and Kenny roads in Columbus is targeted to be partially razed and redeveloped into a retail plaza.

(. . .)

The property has attracted two end-cap tenants.  The Title Boxing Club fitness center chain will fill about 7,000 square feet at the western end, and Average Joe’s Pub and Grill will lease space at the eastern end.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/09/28/former-borders-getting-new-life-as.html

 

Title Boxing Club and Average Joe's Pub and Grill. 

I've heard of "Average Joe's" before - but it was fitness related, not restaurant related. :wink:

There's another Average Joe's up there in the N. Hamilton/Old 161 vinyl zone in one of those 7-year-old, perennially half-empty strip plazas.

Removal of Fifth Avenue Dam Scheduled This Fall

By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on June 26, 2012 - 1:50 pm

 

After a decade of discussion, the removal of the Fifth Avenue lowhead dam will finally be moving forward.  The Ohio EPA and OSU have both signed off on allowing the Columbus Department of Public Utilities to remove the dam and restore the flow of this portion of the Olentangy River.  Yesterday evening (June 25), Columbus City Council passed legislation that will set the stage for the removal of the dam sometime this fall.

(. . .)

The project is expected to cost approximately $6.9 million, which includes the redesign of the shoreline and the landscaping of native plants along the river.  The river will eventually connect Downtown where the Main Street Dam is also being planned for removal, creating an interconnected navigable waterway.

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/removal-of-fifth-avenue-dam-scheduled-this-fall

An update to this announcement from earlier this year:

 

WOSU: As 5th Avenue Dam Comes Down, Part Of The Olentangy Is Restored

 

This project will remove a lowhead dam built in the Olentangy River in 1935.  The dam removal will narrow the river's width and help restore natural river function from the Fifth Avenue location upstream to the Lane Avenue Bridge.  Removal of the dam began in late August 2012.  Reconstruction of river features will follow in the Fall.  Planting of the riverbanks will begin in Spring 2013.

 

This is a City-led project.  But because much of affected river frontage abuts Ohio State University property, OSU has been very involved with this project's development and implementation.  Much more information about the dam removal and the follow-up river restoration from the City of Columbus and Ohio State University links below:

• COC Department of Public Utilites: 5th Ave Dam Project

• OSU Facilities Operations and Development Construction Notice: River transformation set to begin

Thought I'd share some photos of the 5th Avenue dam removal project that have been archived at the Dispatch.  The first shows the initial chipping away of the dam from the bike trail that parallels the Olentangy River.

 

 

 

The second shows some of the dam removal progress from downstream looking south.  Fifth Avenue Bridge is in the background.

 

 

The last photo was in today's paper - it shows the lowered water level of the Olentangy River looking north toward the Woody Hayes Drive Bridge and the Lane Avenue Bridge next to the OSU campus.

It's kind of surprising just how little crap they found once the water level dropped.  I was thinking maybe the bones of some Michigan fans.

Given the shallowness of the river, even before the dam demolition, any attempts to hide something it in might have turned out like this scene from Woody Allen's 1973 movie "Sleeper":

 

Sleeper part 6

Columbus Underground had a recent article about the Smith Brothers Hardware Building, the highly visible six-story fortress looking building on the northern edge of downtown Columbus.  Columbus Underground talked with a manager at Capitol Equities, the local company that renovated the building in the late 90's, about how the massive building was saved from demolition and how the building continues to evolve with new tenants.

 

CU: Historic Smith Bros’ Hardware Building Continues Ongoing Rebirth

 

 

Report on a proposal from the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District and the City of Columbus to upgrade two alleys in the center of downtown Columbus.  Under this proposal, Pearl Alley between Gay and Broad Streets plus Lynn Alley between High and Third Streets would receive an upgrade.  More project information and multiple renderings at the Columbus Underground link below:

 

Columbus Underground: Pearl Alley Facelift Proposed for 2013

 

This is the current location of the twice-a-week Pearl Alley Market from May to October.  This proposal would support and enhance that seasonal retail market plus the other existing retail locations fronting these two alleys.

The beautiful 1934 Federal Courthouse on Marconi Boulevard in downtown Columbus is undergoing an energy retrofit and maintenance restoration.  Below is some historical info on the courthouse from the GSA, along with a photo of the building along Marconi and a photo of the work being done from Columbus Underground's Construction Roundup - October 2012:

 

GSA: Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse, Columbus, OH

 

 

Capitol Square Streetscape Improvements Planned for Spring 2013

By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on November 14, 2012 - 6:00 am

 

This winter, the sidewalks surrounding Capitol Square will undergo a transformation as new planters and signage pops up along the streets that surround the Ohio Statehouse.  The project is one of several new Downtown initiatives being launched by the team at the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District.

 

“We’ve heard comments from Downtown property owners that they really wanted some landscaping on Capitol Square,” said Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of Capital Crossroads.  ”A lot of people realize that it’s a really important space, but there’s been no attempt to do anything on the sidewalks opposite of the Statehouse that ties the square together.”

 

The poles anchored in the sidewalks that hold street signage will all be replaced by black posts with an emblematic design adorning the top.  Approximately 70 planters planters of various heights will also be installed on the square in the same black color and design.  The area targeted in this effort includes portions of High Street, Broad Street, State Street and Third Street.

 

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/capitol-square-streetscape-improvements-planned-for-spring-2013#comments

 

In 2010, a new plan for Downtown development was put together by the City of Columbus and its downtown development agency, the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation.  There was a separate thread about the 2010 Plan here at Urban Ohio.  To execute some of these initiatives, a working document known as the “Downtown Action Plan” has been assembled to guide public infrastructure projects that fall under the helm of the Columbus Department of Public Service. 

 

Columbus Underground recently had an in-depth, three-part interview with the City Administrator tasked to implement these projects through the Downtown Action Plan.  Below are links to the three parts of this interview at Columbus Underground:

 

How the Downtown Action Plan will Change Columbus: Part 1

 

How the Downtown Action Plan will Change Columbus: Part 2

 

How the Downtown Action Plan will Change Columbus: Part 3

One of projects in the Downtown Action Plan was to install new parking meters and to return on-street parking along High Street in the downtown.  Decades ago on-street parking on High Street in downtown was removed to accommodate COTA buses.  Now a total of 120 parking meters will be installed on High Street between Goodale Street and Mound Street by the summer of 2013.

 

Today, the first set of 30 new Downtown parking meters has been installed and has become operational.  These new High Street spaces will not allow parking during weekday rush hours of 7am to 9am and 4pm to 6pm.  These parking restrictions are designed to allow buses to more easily commute along the High Street corridor during these peak hours.  More about this from Columbus Underground and Columbus Dispatch:

 

Columbus Underground: Downtown High Street Parking Meters Installed

 

Columbus Dispatch: High Street parking meters going live today

Business First ran a feature on the Benchmark Apartments that are opening at the corner of Kenny & Henderson Roads in northwest Columbus.  Benchmark is a nine-building 108-unit apartment complex on 4 acres at this corner site.  This site was previously a retail shopping center known as the Benchmark Center.  Below is a link to the Business First (unfortunatly subscription only for the full article):

 

Building goodwill via infill – Benchmark apartments designed with environment in mind

 

Below are some photos from the Benchmark Apartments website, Benchmark facebook page and a MetroRentals leasing page of the project.  The first photo showing a distant panorama of all the nine buildings at Kenny & Henderson is a summer construction photo from an earlier update.  The rest of the close-up photos are more recent:

 

 

 

I wonder if anybody is going to move in here specifically to be able to walk to Kahoot's.

I wonder if anybody is going to move in here specifically to be able to walk to Kahoot's.

Haha! Anytime I hear kahoots I think of a guy I used to work with, who was a surfer dude type character. Every friday before we'd leave he'd corner me and say" Hey brah, wanna go to kahooots?" I never did. Lots of family emergencies. :)

^That sounds like the Kahoot's demographic all right!  Not so much the Benchmark demographic though.

 

The above two buildings at 620 E. Broad Street and 630 E. Broad Street received an Historic Preservation Tax Credit Award from the state.  The two buildings are located on the north side of Broad Street and are immediately west of I-71.  Just barely within the downtown district and across I-71 from the Olde Towne East neighborhood.  Below is the press release from the Ohio Department of Development:

 

From the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Awards press release:

 

620-30 East Broad (Columbus, Franklin County)

· Total Project Cost: $2,203,539

· Total Tax Credit: $313,145

· Address: 620-30 East Broad Street, 43215

Originally constructed as private mansions, 620-30 East Broad was converted to office space in the 1920's to house the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation which later spawned Nationwide Insurance.  Now largely vacant, the buildings will be rehabilitated to address deferred maintenance needs and install necessary upgrades to support new commercial office tenants.  The project is expected to create 25 permanent jobs.

One of the two mansions at 620 & 630 E. Broad Street that received state historic tax credits is being occupied.  Below is an article from Business First about the 630 E. Broad Street gaining an office tenant.  According to the article, the renovations to the 620 E. Broad Street property will continue into 2013.

 

Business First: Vending company takes up residence in historic Rodgers mansion on East Broad

Another big box renovation might be coming to the Morse Road corridor.  The former Kohl's store at 1700 Morse Road might become the new headquarters for the Franklin County Board of Elections.  According to the ThisWeekNews article linked below, County officials would like to consolidate their operations at the Morse Road location.  Office space would be moved from a downtown location shared with other county departments - and stored voting machines would be moved from rented warehouse space.

 

This location is east of the international grocery going into a renovated Toys R Us store and directly across the street from Northland Village, the redeveloped former Northland Mall site.  The location also has a history with County Broad of Elections.  The former Kohl's store at 1700 Morse Road served as the county's 2012 early voting center in the weeks leading up to Nov. 6.

 

ThisWeekNews: Move to Morse Road depends on commissioners

An excellent look back from Columbus Underground at urban development projects and construction in Columbus and central Ohio that took place in 2012.  The projects were broken down into four categories: Development Projects Completed in 2012, Development Under Construction in 2012, Development Projects Announced in 2012 and Urban Planning for 2015 and Beyond.  The full list with addition project information at the CU link below:

 

CU: 2012 Year in Review: Urban Development

 

Development Projects Completed in 2012:  Lots of big projects wrapped up construction in 2012 - like the $800 million expansion of the Nationwide Children's Hospital, the $400 million Columbus Hollywood Casino and the $140 million Downtown Hilton Hotel.  Noteable smaller projects were the recently finished Nationwide Office Building, FBI Building and McConnell Parking Garage in the Arena District, The Charles mixed-use building on East Long Street in the King-Lincoln District and the Rich Street Bridge in the downtown Scioto Mile.

 

Development Under Construction in 2012:  Tons of apartment projects broke ground in 2012 - like a new phase of the Neighborhood Launch development and 600 Goodale downtown, the Flats II in the Arena District, the HighPoint at Columbus Commons, a second phase of Liberty Place and the 570 Lofts in the Brewery District, a second phase of Lennox Flats, a new four-story apartment building in Harrison West, and three new apartment buildings in Grandview Yard.  As well as projects in the red-hot neighborhoods next to the Short North - like the Hubbard, Wonderbread Lofts, Wood Companies building, Yankee Trader building, Astor Place and Leafydale.

 

Projects breaking ground on the non-residential side were the new Columbia Gas Headquarters in the Arena District, the massive Joseph hotel/office/parking garage development in the Short North, the even more massive OSU Medical Center Tower, a mixed-use redevelopment of the LeVeque Tower, a new Giant Eagle at Grandview Yard and a new mixed-use development on Lane Avenue in Upper Arlington.  Major public works projects include the continuing I-71/I-670 reconstruction and the removal of the Fifth Avenue Dam that will reshape the Olentangy River.

 

Development Projects Announced in 2012:  Some projects announced but not yet begun in 2012 were the massive Jeffrey Park residential project in Italian Village, redevelopment of the Fireproof Building in the Short North, new Art Lofts and headquarters for Orange Barrel Media in Franklinton, and a new seven-story mixed-use building next to Columbus Commons downtown. 

 

Urban Planning for 2015 and Beyond:  Columbus undertook several master planning efforts like the East Franklinton Plan, the Scioto Peninsula Plan and the PACT Plan for the Near East Side.  Dublin finished its radical revisioning of itself called the Bridge Street Corridor.  Ohio State University announced its North Campus Residential Plan that would rework the dorms for over 3,000 existing students and create new space for an additional 3,000 students.  Columbus College of Art and Design announced a master plan to add new dormitories and classroom buildings to their Downtown campus.

 

The State of Ohio's Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program announced their latest round tax credit awards earlier this month.  The city of Columbus came out pretty well, getting four projects awarded.  The smallest of the four projects awarded was the renovation a Second Empire mansion at 380 E. Town Street into three apartment units.  Below is the text of the announcement from the Ohio Development Services Agency press release and a 2010 photo of the building from the Franklin County Auditor's GIS website:

 

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Lazarus House Apartments (Columbus, Franklin County)

 

Total Project Cost: $265,860

Total Tax Credit: $46,195

Address: 380 East Town Street, 43215

 

A Second Empire mansion dating to the 1880’s, the Lazarus House Apartments was once the home of Fred Lazarus, one of the partners in the F&R Lazarus Company, which operated the famous Lazarus Department Store.  Now severely deteriorated, the property will be renovated into three market-rate apartment units.

 

 

The above two buildings at 620 E. Broad Street and 630 E. Broad Street received an Historic Preservation Tax Credit Award from the state.  The two buildings are located on the north side of Broad Street and are immediately west of I-71.  Just barely within the downtown district and across I-71 from the Olde Towne East neighborhood.  Below is the press release from the Ohio Department of Development:

 

From the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Awards press release:

 

620-30 East Broad (Columbus, Franklin County)

· Total Project Cost: $2,203,539

· Total Tax Credit: $313,145

· Address: 620-30 East Broad Street, 43215

Originally constructed as private mansions, 620-30 East Broad was converted to office space in the 1920's to house the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation which later spawned Nationwide Insurance.  Now largely vacant, the buildings will be rehabilitated to address deferred maintenance needs and install necessary upgrades to support new commercial office tenants.  The project is expected to create 25 permanent jobs.

One of the two mansions at 620 & 630 E. Broad Street that received state historic tax credits is being occupied.  Below is an article from Business First about the 630 E. Broad Street gaining an office tenant.  According to the article, the renovations to the 620 E. Broad Street property will continue into 2013.

 

Business First: Vending company takes up residence in historic Rodgers mansion on East Broad

More about the vending machine company that bought and restored the two historic mansions at 620 & 630 E. Broad Street at the eastern edge of downtown next to I-71 in last Sunday's Dispatch:

 

Columbus Dispatch: 19th century mansion restored for company’s local offices

SWACO signs Florida recycler to develop 340-acre industrial park

Business First by Carrie Ghose, Staff reporter

Date: Tuesday, January 8, 2013, 1:47pm EST

 

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio is to vote Tuesday on land leases that would bring a $300 million investment and 300 jobs from a Florida company that intends to build a trash-to-cash industrial park across from the Franklin County landfill.

 

Team Gemini LLC, a developer based in Orlando, announced it will build a receiving center at a new landfill entry off London Groveport Road to sort reusable and recyclable material from incoming loads of garbage and become the anchor tenant in a 340-acre industrial park across the road, to be named Gemini Synergy Center.

 

Team Gemini plans to become the anchor tenant in the industrial park and has assembled a consortium of companies that will locate there to make recycled products and benefit from energy created from the waste stream.  The four years’ worth of construction are expected to require 500 workers.

 

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/01/08/swaco-signs-florida-recycler-to.html

 

More about this development from Columbus Underground:

 

SWACO Announces Renewable Energy Industrial Park

By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on January 8, 2013 - 9:50 pm

 

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) Board of Trustees voted today to approve a transformational new initiative that would shift the duties of the organization away from landfill management operations toward recycling efforts and the creation of renewable energy.  SWACO entered into agreements today with Team Gemini, an Orlando-based sustainable project design firm, to develop a new receiving facility, recycling center and industrial park on 365 acres of land adjacent to the Franklin County Landfill south of Grove City.

 

Gemini will be required to build and operate a new Material Recovery Facility that will recycle a minimum of 1,000 tons of waste per day that would otherwise be headed to the landfill.  SWACO will be paid $4.81/ton for the material in addition to existing tipping fees paid by material haulers at the gate.  The new recycling facility is expected to be operational sometime in 2014.

 

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/swaco-announces-renewable-energy-industrial-park

 

Two recent articles about plans to modify two expensive sewer tunnels mandated by the EPA to fix combined sewer overflow problems in the city.  The city is looking at propsals to lessen rainwater drainage into these combined sewers as an alternative to the sewer tunnels.  Below is an excerpt from a Dispatch article and a link to a ThisWeekNews article about this.  The Dispatch article also has a map of where the two proposed tunnels would go and where an tunnel is currently being constructed underneath the downtown area.

 

Sewer-tunnels plan might get streamlined

New techniques to handle heavy rain could change plans for two

By Jeb Phillips, The Columbus Dispatch

Friday, January 18, 2013 - 5:02 AM

 

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is allowing Columbus to delay construction of the second of three huge tunnels while the city looks for ways to make a mandated, 40-year plan to stop sewage overflows a little greener.  A total of 18 engineering proposals for pilot projects in Clintonville and the South Side were submitted to the city by last week’s deadline.  If those and other projects go well, Columbus could reduce the scale of the two tunnels or eliminate them altogether.

 

The city announced plans in 2005 to fix sewer overflows after two settlements with the state.  Water from heavy rainstorms seeps into old sanitary sewer lines, overwhelming them and forcing sewage into the Scioto River and other waterways.  Together with sewage-plant upgrades and other work, the tunnels make up the largest public-works project in the city’s history. 

 

The city’s $2.5 billion proposal included building three deep tunnels.  One, from the Jackson Pike wastewater-treatment plant to near the Arena District, already is under construction to carry rainwater and sewage.  The two other tunnels designed to carry sewage only — a 14-mile-long one along Alum Creek and an 11-mile-long one along the Olentangy River — could be changed.  Construction on the Alum Creek tunnel was set to begin in 2014.  The Olentangy tunnel project would follow.  The Ohio EPA is giving the city until 2015 to present a plan for improvements.

 

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/01/18/sewer-tunnels-plan-might-get-streamlined.html

 

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ThisWeekNews:  Costly tunnel for sewage? Alternative sought here -- Clintonville's old system fills river during heavy rains; EPA looking for creative, less-expensive solutions

Driftwood finishes Sheraton renovations, readies DoubleTree improvements

By Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter

Business First - Jan 18, 2013, 2:58pm EST

 

Driftwood Hospitality Management LLC has completed renovations at its Sheraton Columbus at Capitol Square as it plans for $6.5 million in upgrades to the DoubleTree Suites it bought in November.

 

Florida-based Driftwood purchased the former Hyatt on Capitol Square in September 2011 and rebranded it a Sheraton, pumping $9.5 million of improvements into the hotel.

 

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2013/01/driftwood-finishes-sheraton.html

Two reports about the City's Development Director being appointed by Mayor Coleman to serve as the Executive Director of the Columbus Next Generation Development Corporation.  This would be a private, non-profit redevelopment agency charged with promoting housing, economic and commercial development projects within the city:

 

Columbus Underground: Boyce Safford to Lead New Urban Development Effort

 

Business First: Safford to head city’s Next Generation urban development agency

Northwest Career Center bought in redevelopment bid

By Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter

Business First - Feb 1, 2013, 6:00am EST

 

Former Klingbeil Capital Management executive Jim Schrim plans to redevelop the shuttered Northwest Career Center off Sawmill Road in Columbus.  Schrim’s Wills Creek Capital Management LLC put the 93,000-square-foot, 16-acre vocational school property into contract late last year with Columbus City Schools for $3.03 million.  The classroom space, he said, already has drawn interest from private schools and churches, and the former construction and automotive repair vocational training space could be redeveloped as commercial space.

(. . .)

Schrim worked for 10 years at various Klingbeil divisions before launching Wills Creek in October.  Perhaps his highest-profile project in Columbus was the environmental remediation of the former Walker National Inc. magnet plant on Kinnear Road.  Klingbeil has since built apartments on the site, which is near Lennox Town Center.  “I’m very focused working on infill projects that have an environmental, conservation, remediation or education component in the redevelopment effort,” Schrim said.

 

He hopes to ask in early February for a rezoning of the 5.8 acres closest to Sawmill Road to commercial planned development.  The entire school site is zoned apartment residential allowing up to 12 apartments per acre, or more than 180 combined. “I don’t think (multifamily residential) is the highest and best use,” Schrim said, “and there are so many apartments under construction.”  Apartment construction, he said, could become a “backup plan.”

 

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2013/02/01/schrim-to-redevelop-career-center.html?page=all