HI All - I normally only post in the NE ohio/Cleveland forum - but I'm interested if anyone on here can share info on the improvements the City of Columbus made on South High Street to the streetscape, in the vicinity of the new Marriott.  I drove through there recently and it looks fantastic.

 

I'm most interested in the following

 

 - how was the streetscape improvements phased?  I know it's been a work in progress for years

 - how was it funded?  Just general City street budget or through a special improvement district or a TIF?

- any idea on total project cost?

 

Thanks - Feel free to PM me the info

54 minutes ago, gottaplan said:

HI All - I normally only post in the NE ohio/Cleveland forum - but I'm interested if anyone on here can share info on the improvements the City of Columbus made on South High Street to the streetscape, in the vicinity of the new Marriott.  I drove through there recently and it looks fantastic.

 

I'm most interested in the following

 

 - how was the streetscape improvements phased?  I know it's been a work in progress for years

 - how was it funded?  Just general City street budget or through a special improvement district or a TIF?

- any idea on total project cost?

 

Thanks - Feel free to PM me the info

 

Do you possibly mean North High Street through the Short North near The Joseph (Le Meridien/Marriott)? 

2 hours ago, gottaplan said:

HI All - I normally only post in the NE ohio/Cleveland forum - but I'm interested if anyone on here can share info on the improvements the City of Columbus made on South High Street to the streetscape, in the vicinity of the new Marriott.  I drove through there recently and it looks fantastic.

 

I'm most interested in the following

 

 - how was the streetscape improvements phased?  I know it's been a work in progress for years

 - how was it funded?  Just general City street budget or through a special improvement district or a TIF?

- any idea on total project cost?

 

Thanks - Feel free to PM me the info

 

If you meant North High St., there's a lot if info here: https://www.columbus.gov/highstreet/

The City paid for the project. I recall City Council voting for the funding. 

2 hours ago, gottaplan said:

HI All - I normally only post in the NE ohio/Cleveland forum - but I'm interested if anyone on here can share info on the improvements the City of Columbus made on South High Street to the streetscape, in the vicinity of the new Marriott.  I drove through there recently and it looks fantastic.

 

I'm most interested in the following

 

 - how was the streetscape improvements phased?  I know it's been a work in progress for years

 - how was it funded?  Just general City street budget or through a special improvement district or a TIF?

- any idea on total project cost?

 

Thanks - Feel free to PM me the info

 

Hello, and thank you taking an interest in and enjoying the High Street Streetscape Improvement. As mentioned, I believe you're referring to the section of North High Street in the Short North stretching from the South around the Convention Center/Hilton all the way North to E. 7th Ave:

 

 

Much of the information requested can be found here:

 

https://www.columbus.gov/Templates/Detail.aspx?id=2147501680

 

...and in this thread locally:

 

 

Hopefully this information is useful to you.

On ‎7‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 10:56 PM, ColDayMan said:

Developer proposes 41-acre mixed-use project near John Glenn Columbus International Airport

 

 

A developer wants to build a mixed-use development on 41 acres near John Glenn Columbus International Airport.

 

Metro Development LLC, an affiliate of Westerville-based Donald R. Kenney & Company Realty, wants to build apartments, an ambulatory care facility, hotel and commercial space along Cassady Avenue at the intersection with Ackley Place. The development would replace a few single-family homes and agricultural land on the site, just north of the I-670 interchange and the airport runways.

 

The property currently is owned by half a dozen small companies and individuals with addresses in Columbus and Pataskala.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/07/23/developer-proposes-41-acre-mixed-use-project-near.html

 

I really think developers are now overusing the "mixed-use" term.  It was originally meant to be used to different uses within the same building, then it expanded to included urban-style, dense, larger scale developments that had multiple uses, now it's just being used for any development that may have residences and a fast food outlet.  While the proposal has more uses than a McDonalds and some apartments, as shown above, it is entirely suburban and has very little to do with the original or even later urban definitions of "mixed-use", IMO.  Developers have really watered down urban concepts of late, like when they were trying to call Hamilton Quarter "walkable" a few years back. 

The increased density is an improvement, but that's a low bar.  Everything else about this looks terrible.

Edited July 26, 20195 yr by jonoh81

I wonder if that is in an effort to try and manipulate lenders. They won't lend for a strip mall, but will lend for apartments, medical and office. But you make them take a strip mall with it if you call it mixed use in this manner.

Edited July 26, 20195 yr by GCrites80s

2 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

I wonder if that is in an effort to try and manipulate lenders.

 

Perhaps.  One thing I've heard over the years about Columbus development is just how difficult it is to get financing for anything.  This seems to be a contributor to a lot of the local development issues outside of zoning or developers, themselves. 

On 7/26/2019 at 12:06 PM, jonoh81 said:

 

I really think developers are now overusing the "mixed-use" term.  It was originally meant to be used to different uses within the same building, then it expanded to included urban-style, dense, larger scale developments that had multiple uses, now it's just being used for any development that may have residences and a fast food outlet.  While the proposal has more uses than a McDonalds and some apartments, as shown above, it is entirely suburban and has very little to do with the original or even later urban definitions of "mixed-use", IMO.  Developers have really watered down urban concepts of late, like when they were trying to call Hamilton Quarter "walkable" a few years back. 

The increased density is an improvement, but that's a low bar.  Everything else about this looks terrible.

There are some really rough, sketchy areas around the airport. I'm not sure I would want to have anything to do with living in that area.

And they're semi-rural! That part of town just... I don't know. Investment is going to come slowly. It has terrible urbanism. You almost don't want to call it a part of "town". It's more like scrub brush.

This is an older story from late January 2019, but it hadn't been posted here.  It's not the biggest potential project in downtown, but its very interesting.  It is the Church of Scientology HQ building at 30 N. High Street in downtown.  It's located halfway between Capitol Square and the Gay Street corridor.  It's also located across Lynn Street(Alley) from the prominent Broad & High redevelopment project.  Here is a streetview image of 30 N. High Street from October 2018:

 

 

The downtown building at 30 N. High Street is fairly forgettable in its current condition.  Almost all the upper story windows in the four-story, 15,000 square foot have been blocked up.  But the bones of the building are good - its got upper story stone facing on the High Street and Lynn Alley sides, and brick on the Pearl Street side.  It's long and narrow - ideal for conversion into residential.  And this location is prime.

 

The reason this building was in the news was because that the Church of Scientology was renovating a 48,900-square-foot building at 1266 Dublin Road, built in 1991 and previously served as headquarters for Time Warner Cable.  The Church of Scientology bought it for $2.85 million in 2008.  Now that this renovation is nearing completion, the church put their 30 N. High Street building on the market.  Below is the 1-29-2019 Columbus Business First article about this (its paywalled, but my recap gives the gist of the article):

 

Church of Scientology markets downtown property as it rehabs site near Grandview -- https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/01/29/church-of-scientology-markets-downtown-property-as.html

On 8/2/2017 at 9:48 PM, Columbo said:

 

Old Andersons store in northwest Columbus to become Preferred Living apartments

 

Plans have been drawn up to turn the old Andersons store site in northwest Columbus into a high-end apartment complex with 600-plus units.  Columbus City Council rezoning documents for the site at 7000 Bent Tree Boulevard show a shift from commercial to apartment use at the 16.75-acre site.

 

The Preferred Living project is called Dresden Village.  A maximum of 614 apartments could be built on the property.  The site plan shows seven 3-story apartment buildings and two 4-story apartment buildings on the property, with one of the 4-story buildings atop a parking deck.

 

MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/02/exclusive-old-andersons-store-in-northwest.html

 

UPDATE:  Above is the site plan for the Preferred Living residential apartment redevelopment of the former Andersons store site in northwest Columbus.  Below is a recent article from the Dispatch about the completed project - now called The Highlands - which contains three different apartment types within this project site:

 

Apartments at former Andersons site near Sawmill offer three concepts, price levels

 

The largest central Ohio apartment complex to open in more than a decade is actually three complexes in one.  Containing 599 apartments, the Highlands occupies the 16-acre site near Dublin-Granville and Sawmill roads on the Northwest Side that once held the Andersons store.  Its size sets the Highlands apart, but so does its design.  Like a village with three neighborhoods, the Highlands includes three distinct complexes: Graham Park (216 apartments); Harper House (217 apartments); and Luxe (166 apartments).

 

Even though they share the site, each has its own clubhouse, pool, leasing office and fitness center.  The three offer similar apartments with different features, like a car with different trim lines.  The biggest difference between the three lies outside the apartments in the buildings’ amenities, which rise with the price:

• Graham Park, the least expensive of the trio, offers one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging from $1,059 to $1,534 a month.  With its traditional three-story walk-up design, arcade room, and extensive patio and pool area, Graham Park is aimed at younger tenants.  Extensive programming including wine and food tastings, tailgate parties and “dive-in” movies add to the appeal.

• The four-story Harper House offers the widest choice of apartments — eight layouts ranging from a 595-square-foot one-bedroom for $1,069 a month to a 1,194-square-foot two-bedroom for $1,749.  Harper House also raises the bar on amenities, with theater, billiards and massage rooms, pet spa and garages (at an extra cost).  But the biggest perk might be outside: a 110-foot-long pool surrounded by a patio that includes several rentable cabanas outfitted with plush furniture, bars and televisions.

• The five-story Luxe offers the priciest apartments, ranging from $1,399 for an 813-square-foot one-bedroom to $1,899 for an 1,122-square-foot two-bedroom.  With hotel-like finishes, a long line of concierge services and restricted access, Luxe is targeted at more affluent and older residents.  Features include a movie room, cabanas, covered and secured parking, a hot tub, a large living room and bar in the common area, and a yoga studio.  From its circular entrance and reception desks to its private terrace, Luxe is designed to suggest an exclusive resort.  An effort capped by a lengthy list of services such as dry cleaning delivered to the apartment, dog walkers and groomers, car washing, personal training, cleaning services and even personal chefs.

The Highlands offers a novel approach to capturing different segments of the booming Columbus apartment market, along with a departure for its developer, Preferred Living, which is best known for building traditional three-story walk-ups throughout central Ohio.

 

MORE:  https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190818/apartments-at-former-andersons-site-near-sawmill-offer-three-concepts-price-levels

I came across an interesting comment in the comments section of a CU article: 

 

Quote

There are a few skyline altering projects in the works right now from my understandings, maybe even a title stealing one.

 

Boom times may be arriving.

 

When asked, the user said that this is different than any of the known projects, such as North Market, Hilton, and Millenial.  When pressed a bit further, all he responded with was this:

Quote

Just keep those eyes looking up some 700+ feet.

 

The only reason I find this comment interesting is that I've heard similar cryptic messages of "big things happening" from about 3 or 4 different people now without much further information.  What are your guys' thoughts on this?  Do you think there is any merit to comments like this?  Think we're finally going to be seeing some major skyline alteration to the extent of some of the other boom towns?

 

Here's the article the comment was on: https://www.columbusunderground.com/commission-approves-hilton-hotel-expansion-bw1#disqus_thread

2 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

I came across an interesting comment in the comments section of a CU article: 

 

 

When asked, the user said that this is different than any of the known projects, such as North Market, Hilton, and Millenial.  When pressed a bit further, all he responded with was this:

 

The only reason I find this comment interesting is that I've heard similar cryptic messages of "big things happening" from about 3 or 4 different people now without much further information.  What are your guys' thoughts on this?  Do you think there is any merit to comments like this?  Think we're finally going to be seeing some major skyline alteration to the extent of some of the other boom towns?

 

Here's the article the comment was on: https://www.columbusunderground.com/commission-approves-hilton-hotel-expansion-bw1#disqus_thread

 

It wouldn't surprise me at all given the rate at which we are growing, but I think to go 700+ feet we would need a large company moving their HQ here. I don't see the typical mixed-use type developments going up over 700 feet without a large tenant. 

 

 

Most (hell, all) of Austin's new taller towers are residential.  Perhaps that is what is meant? 

 

Or it could just be smoke.

1 minute ago, ColDayMan said:

Most (hell, all) of Austin's new taller towers are residential.  Perhaps that is what is meant? 

 

Or it could just be smoke.

 

I have a hard time believe we would get a 700 foot residential tower, but then again miracles can happen. We saved the Crew after all!

6 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

would need a large company moving their HQ here.

My interpretation is that this is what these kinds of comments are suggesting.  I've spoken to somebody that says the city and OSU are in major talks with many large companies trying to draw them here.  OSU wants some large companies nearby to send students to.  They also were looking for somebody to anchor their innovation district and got really close with Apple that went to Austin.

Edited September 24, 20195 yr by TH3BUDDHA

On 9/8/2019 at 2:18 PM, Columbo said:

News from Columbus Business First about property at the northeast corner of Dublin Road and W. 5th Avenue in Marble Cliff being purchased by AEP.  It appears that AEP - which owns an electric substation on part of the property - will be expanding there in the future.  This is a few miles northwest of downtown along a portion of Route 33 that is Dublin Road and just before it turns into Riverside Drive.  Its a pleasant urbanish/suburban drive along the Scioto River from the City of Grandview Heights to the Village of Marble Cliff - where this property is located - and just before you would enter the City of Upper Arlington.

 

As you can see from the aerial photo below, this corner of Dublin & W. 5th is relatively isolated because of the railroad tracks that arc across the backside of the property.  The local Spectrum offices are across 5th Avenue from this newly purchased AEP property.  More about this in the article excerpt below the aerial:

 

 

AEP buys prominent Marble Cliff office buildings near Upper Arlington

 

Several businesses in Marble Cliff may be headed to new homes as Columbus-based energy giant American Electric Power Company Inc. considers expanding a nearby substation.  AEP bought the pair of office buildings at 2200 and 2300 W. 5th Ave. in a sale that closed Aug. 31, according to the Franklin County Auditor.  The power company paid $5.15 million for the 5-acre property, according to property records.  Columbus-based Capitol Equities had owned the properties since 2003.

 

The buildings are immediately south of an AEP substation, and could be demolished for more power infrastructure.  Such an investment would require approval by the Ohio Power Siting Board, which reviews major energy facilities. ... Such a move would be a departure from a land use plan the village put forth in 2016. ... Termed the "Grandview Tech Center," the buildings sit on the prominent northeast corner of the 5th Avenue intersection with Dublin Road and are home to several notable businesses, including fast-growing Zipline Logistics.  The third-party logistics company, which just appeared on the 2019 Inc. 5000, moved its headquarters to the distinctive 17,800-square-foot, two-story W. 2300 5th Ave. building on the corner in 2014.

 

To the east, the three-story 29,500-square-foot office building at 2200 W. 5th Ave. was built in 1970 and houses several smaller businesses, including Coastal Ridge Real Estate, PDS Planning Inc., TeamDynamix and others.  This property, which was last updated in 2007, was formerly part of the Highlights for Children campus and housed its Zaner-Bloser division until that group relocated to Highlight's Watermark Drive campus and it was converted to a multi-tenant office space.  AEP said it has informed these employers of the purchase and potential for redevelopment.

 

MORE:  https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/09/04/aep-buys-prominent-marble-cliff-office-buildings.html

 

 

Who remembers when The Timbertoes and Goofus & Gallant lived at this site?

1 minute ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

My interpretation is that this is what these kinds of comments are suggesting.  I've spoken to somebody that says the city and OSU are in major talks with many large companies trying to draw them here.  OSU wants some large companies nearby to send students to.  They also were looking for somebody to anchor their innovation district and got really close with the Apple that went to Austin.

 

Yea, in my mind this is what it would take, and I certainly think it could happen given the massive size of OSU and the momentum we currently have downtown. I won't get my hopes up though. However, I do think it's a safe bet to expect quite a few more 20+ story towers popping up over the next few years.

4 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

Most (hell, all) of Austin's new taller towers are residential.  Perhaps that is what is meant? 

 

Or it could just be smoke.

Interesting, I didn't realize it was all residential.

4 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Yea, in my mind this is what it would take, and I certainly think it could happen given the massive size of OSU and the momentum we currently have downtown. I won't get my hopes up though. However, I do think it's a safe bet to expect quite a few more 20+ story towers popping up over the next few years.

Yea, I definitely agree that we will be seeing more 20+ story ones popping up.

Edited September 24, 20195 yr by TH3BUDDHA

9 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

I have a hard time believe we would get a 700 foot residential tower, but then again miracles can happen. We saved the Crew after all!

The real reason Millenial Tower has been delayed so long?  Increased to 700 feet? ?

I literally can't imagine a 700 foot building coming up. The tallest building now is sub-700 feet, right? Based on a quick Google search, that would be a first for Columbus to have one over 700 feet.

Meanwhile, in Austin...

 

15 minutes ago, Zyrokai said:

I literally can't imagine a 700 foot building coming up. The tallest building now is sub-700 feet, right? Based on a quick Google search, that would be a first for Columbus to have one over 700 feet.

Yes, a 700 foot building would be the new tallest building in Columbus.  There is a very high chance that the user on CU was just blowing smoke.  I read that comment a while back and thought it was bs.  However, I only became interested when I heard more similar comments recently from other people.  Not necessarily about a 700 foot tower.  Just that there are rumblings of "big things happening" for the CBD.

3 hours ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

I came across an interesting comment in the comments section of a CU article: 

 

 

When asked, the user said that this is different than any of the known projects, such as North Market, Hilton, and Millenial.  When pressed a bit further, all he responded with was this:

 

The only reason I find this comment interesting is that I've heard similar cryptic messages of "big things happening" from about 3 or 4 different people now without much further information.  What are your guys' thoughts on this?  Do you think there is any merit to comments like this?  Think we're finally going to be seeing some major skyline alteration to the extent of some of the other boom towns?

 

Here's the article the comment was on: https://www.columbusunderground.com/commission-approves-hilton-hotel-expansion-bw1#disqus_thread

 

No.  There have been a dozen or more proposals in the last decade of buildings in the 400-500 ft range.  Millennial Tower is perpetually stalled.  The North Market Tower started at 400+ and is now slated for 333 ft.  The city has had one building built taller than 300 ft (Miranova at 314 ft) since the turn of the century.  Anything in the 400+ range gets downsized or killed outright.

34 minutes ago, Zyrokai said:

I literally can't imagine a 700 foot building coming up. The tallest building now is sub-700 feet, right? Based on a quick Google search, that would be a first for Columbus to have one over 700 feet.

The only proposal I can think of that was over 700 feet was for the Capitol Plaza building that was proposed next to the old Dispatch building in the late 80's which i believe was 711 feet or so. Contrary to what many think, the tallest in Cbus(ugly Rhodes Tower)was never supposed to be significantly taller than it is now. I looked it up and there was no reference to it ever being taller(some say it was supposed to be up to 750 feet). 

 

And I highly doubt this 700 foot plus current rumor will pan out.

14 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said:

 

No.  There have been a dozen or more proposals in the last decade of buildings in the 400-500 ft range.  Millennial Tower is perpetually stalled.  The North Market Tower started at 400+ and is now slated for 333 ft.  The city has had one building built taller than 300 ft (Miranova at 314 ft) since the turn of the century.  Anything in the 400+ range gets downsized or killed outright.

Really? A dozen or MORE proposals for buildings in Cbus in the last decade(since 2009) in the 400-500 foot range? I would certainly like to be informed about these as I have never heard about them. Can you back this up?

Edited September 24, 20195 yr by Toddguy

1 hour ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

Yes, a 700 foot building would be the new tallest building in Columbus.  There is a very high chance that the user on CU was just blowing smoke.  I read that comment a while back and thought it was bs.  However, I only became interested when I heard more similar comments recently from other people.  Not necessarily about a 700 foot tower.  Just that there are rumblings of "big things happening" for the CBD.

 

I have to say, I am curious about this one myself. I have heard similar notions over that last few months about "big things happening" and I have heard mention about a new tower, however I never read much into it. It just seems we can barely break the 20 story mark lets alone something that would have to be 50+, but I'm most curious that you are hearing similar things as this adds a bit more depth to the rumors. I may have to do some digging and brain picking with some people on this one.

 

Either way, I will maintain a healthy level of skepticism being that it would be a huge project and something like 1/100 of these things ever happen anyway, no matter the city... but I am not ready to completely write this one off yet either. Hmmm, I still have struggled to point to someone needing to pull that much space together aside from maybe Nationwide, I guess it could be an HQ move that the city has been angling. 

Edited September 24, 20195 yr by DevolsDance

What fast food HQ is left to bring to town?

1 minute ago, GCrites80s said:

What fast food HQ is left to bring to town?

Subway? HQs have been leaving Connecticut's high taxes lately. While they're at it they can let us take some insurance companies off their hands ?

33 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

 

I have to say, I am curious about this one myself. I have heard similar notions over that last few months about "big things happening" and I have heard mention about a new tower, however I never read much into it. It just seems we can barely break the 20 story mark lets alone something that would have to be 50+, but I'm most curious that you are hearing similar things as this adds a bit more depth to the rumors. I may have to do some digging and brain picking with some people on this one.

 

Either way, I will maintain a healthy level of skepticism being that it would be a huge project and something like 1/100 of these things ever happen anyway, no matter the city... but I am not ready to completely write this one off yet either. Hmmm, I still have struggled to point to someone needing to pull that much space together aside from maybe Nationwide, I guess it could be an HQ move that the city has been angling. 

I almost wonder if these people who hear things only know enough to get in trouble as it's said. Perhaps they knew enough about Apple to know it'd be a big project, but had no idea it was being pitched as an Ohio State development i.e. not a downtown tower.

 

I'm sure many comments are made in this realm that are overheard by people not in the know who take them as more than they are, or draw conclusions not based on all the pertinent facts.

 

But I'm an eternal optimist, and what I feel in my gut is that things are happening, so who knows about these rumors? I like to dream there's some truth there. We've been so close to landing some big hits recently. I just feel like eventually we're going to connect on one.

 

I have zero insider knowledge outside of these forums. No friends or colleagues in development circles. And leaks in Columbus seem to be non-existent. It really is quite incredible how tight lipped that community is here. Impressive, really, considering all that's gone, and is going on.

Edited September 24, 20195 yr by aderwent

Super skeptical about any 700 ft towers. 

 

Even if we land a new HQ I'd imagine it would be more of a campus or a group of mid-size buildings. 

 

 

57 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

Hmmm, I still have struggled to point to someone needing to pull that much space together aside from maybe Nationwide

 

27 minutes ago, aderwent said:

I almost wonder if these people who hear things only know enough to get in trouble as it's said. Perhaps they knew enough about Apple to know it'd be a big project, but had no idea it was being pitched as an Ohio State development i.e. not a downtown tower.

 

I'm sure many comments are made in this realm that are overheard by people not in the know who take them as more than they are, or draw conclusions not based on all the pertinent facts.

Hmm interesting.  I know of one project that will be needing a lot of space soon.  The new OSU medical tower.  At 840 beds, it will be massive.  Maybe there were some rumors swirling around about that and some different bids from architects?  And just to clarify, the only thing I've heard of a "700 foot tower" was that comment on CU.  A person that I talked to that said big things are happening had heard nothing about it.

Edited September 24, 20195 yr by TH3BUDDHA

5 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

 

Hmm interesting.  I know of one project that will be needing a lot of space soon.  The new OSU medical tower.  At 840 beds, it will be massive.  Maybe there were some rumors swirling around about that and some different bids from architects?  And just to clarify, the only thing I've heard of a "700 foot tower" was that comment on CU.  A person that I talked to that said big things are happening had heard nothing about it.

 

Even more interesting , I have actually heard about this tower from a few sources now, including this thread, but until this thread I never gave it much thought. It's one thing to hear some friends discussing things but it's another to see it pop up in random comments or threads. I will poke around in a few circles and see if it rings a bell to anyone, but I have to admit that this has me much more curious than before.

 

Other than that, yeah, I've been told some big exciting things are in happing behind closed doors, but I really have no idea what that could mean. 

 

48 minutes ago, aderwent said:

...And leaks in Columbus seem to be non-existent. It really is quite incredible how tight lipped that community is here. Impressive, really, considering all that's gone, and is going on.

 

It still shocks me to this day how good this city is at secrets, everywhere else I've lived it seemed developments alway got leaked and forced an announcement but here it's just not the case. Perks/downfalls of a knit business community I guess. 

10 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

It still shocks me to this day how good this city is at secrets, everywhere else I've lived it seemed developments alway got leaked and forced an announcement but here it's just not the case. Perks/downfalls of a knit business community I guess. 

Yea, just look at the Cleveland Sherwin Williams HQ and their recent public announcement.

On 9/19/2019 at 3:40 PM, Columbo said:

CU reported about a 269-unit apartment development called Gateway Lofts at https://www.columbusunderground.com/development-roundup-local-award-winners-new-apartments-and-more-bw1:

 

This was the first I had heard of this project as I don't recall anyone posting about it here previously.  So here's a quick google search rundown of this 269-unit Gateway Lofts project.  The project does have a website - https://www.gatewayloftscolumbus.com/gateway-lofts-columbus-oh/ - but, like many apartment websites, it is fairly unhelpful if you're looking for exterior images.  This was the best available image - and it only shows an interior courtyard containing the pool:

 

The only exterior views I found were aerial views of it under construction.  Here's the best available aerial view of the 269-unit project.  The curved road in the below image is Dublin Road:

 

It's a fairly standard four-story apartment development.  But it is interesting for the unusual parcel shape and the overall building shape needed to fit that parcel.  Below is a google aerial of the 2211 Dublin Road location prior to the Gateway Lofts construction.  The Gateway Lofts site is the wedge-shaped dirt parcel just right of the red location marker:

 

Gateway Lofts is also interesting for its location near the future Quarry Trails Metro Park and Quarry Trails mixed-use development - shown north of the 2211 Dublin Road site.  It is also not far from some other housing developments built in and around decommissioned quarries that are adjacent to the Scioto River.  I believe all of these housing developments are located within the City of Columbus.  But they are also nearly adjacent to the City of Upper Arlington (that's UA built around the Scioto Country Club golf course to the right in the aerial).  So it's all prime locations for new housing adjacent to a land-locked and fully-developed Upper Arlington.

 

Finally, we have an exterior shot of this 269-unit Gateway Lofts project.

 

It was part of CU's Fall Urban Living Tour - so thanks to them for the below exterior photo at https://www.columbusunderground.com/photos-fall-urban-living-tour-we1

 

I wish I could read this article, but it's behind a paywall. Anyone care to help me out somehow? I really would like to read this....

 

Also not sure if this is the right thread for it but it's an article about why Columbus isn't building high rises.

 

Edit: I was able to load the article in full! Anyway....worth a read! Basically: land is cheap here.

 

 

Edited October 3, 20195 yr by Zyrokai

Quote

Despite a number of recently announced projects, the city's lineup of high-rise buildings remains far below its peers. But industry watchers say it's a matter of money more than pushback from residents as the region sees more density in its neighborhoods.

"There are economic reasons people chose the things we're seeing so much," said Sam Rosenthal, executive vice president of Schooley Caldwell. "There are things in the code that let you maximize the profits of developing a building to a certain height."

American building codes define "high-rise" buildings as those with habitable floors over 75 feet, generally about seven stories or more.

 

Quote

Central Ohio's development boom has been driven by so-called "podium construction" – wood-framed buildings on top of a concrete deck. Usually they've got ground-floor retail or office space with three to five floors of apartments above.

Such buildings tend to offer attractive returns on investment, leading to their proliferation in urban areas. They're cheaper to build as rectangles instead of squares, hence the common look across projects, Rosenthal said.

 

Yeah, basically land is cheap in Columbus. I would also add it's cheaper along the edges of the metro and it's relatively easy to get around town.

Edited October 3, 20195 yr by Pablo

I think another factor, in addition to the cheap land, is the large lot sizes. Look at some of the projects such as Highpointe, The Nicholas, The Xander, Normandy 1 and 2, the building across from the Normandy buildings, etc. All of these developments have oddly large lot sizes. You could line up four skyscrapers next to each other in footprint of Highpointe. You could fit two or three inside the footprint of The Nicholas. Two could easily fit inside The Xander. The Normandy buildings could fit two or three, and the building across the street could probably fit two. 

 

Because these developments have gone on these large lots, it hasn't made sense for the developers to go up very high. Why should they when they can still fit upwards of 230 apartment units into a 6 story, mostly wood frame building? So even though a building like Highpointe is only 6 stories tall, it's functionally equal to a 20-30 story building with a normal sized urban footprint. 

 

Once these larger surface lots get filled up and developers are forced to turn the "normal" sized lots, I think we will naturally start to the buildings grow taller. We've already seen this with Market Tower and Hilton 2.0 as they are both on very small pieces of land. We've seen other 15-20 story ideas tossed around on different lots downtown that are more "normal sized". 

^^^I hope this is the case for the few smaller-ish lots along High Street downtown. It still boggles my mind that anything along High is a parking lot.

15 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

I think another factor, in addition to the cheap land, is the large lot sizes. Look at some of the projects such as Highpointe, The Nicholas, The Xander, Normandy 1 and 2, the building across from the Normandy buildings, etc. All of these developments have oddly large lot sizes. You could line up four skyscrapers next to each other in footprint of Highpointe. You could fit two or three inside the footprint of The Nicholas. Two could easily fit inside The Xander. The Normandy buildings could fit two or three, and the building across the street could probably fit two. 

 

Because these developments have gone on these large lots, it hasn't made sense for the developers to go up very high. Why should they when they can still fit upwards of 230 apartment units into a 6 story, mostly wood frame building? So even though a building like Highpointe is only 6 stories tall, it's functionally equal to a 20-30 story building with a normal sized urban footprint. 

 

Once these larger surface lots get filled up and developers are forced to turn the "normal" sized lots, I think we will naturally start to the buildings grow taller. We've already seen this with Market Tower and Hilton 2.0 as they are both on very small pieces of land. We've seen other 15-20 story ideas tossed around on different lots downtown that are more "normal sized". 

The city owned the Highpoint property. I think they were so giddy that someone wanted to develop around the brand new Commons that they just took the first bidder. They should have broken that down into three or more parcels to be developed separately. Oh well, at least they're not making the same mistake over on the Scioto Peninsula.

9 minutes ago, aderwent said:

The city owned the Highpoint property. I think they were so giddy that someone wanted to develop around the brand new Commons that they just took the first bidder. They should have broken that down into three or more parcels to be developed separately. Oh well, at least they're not making the same mistake over on the Scioto Peninsula.

 

Agreed. If there were two or three different developers splitting up those parcels, we definitely would have seen a few 15+ story buildings there. But when one developer has that much land, it just doesn't make sense to undergo the cost of going much higher than 6 or 7 stories. 

 

Highpointe has a little over 300 units I believe. How many floors would those 300 units require in a normal sized tower footprint? Probably at least 30, maybe more, once you factor in ground floor retail, work out facility, leasing office, utilities, etc. 

2 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

Highpointe has a little over 300 units I believe. How many floors would those 300 units require in a normal sized tower footprint? Probably at least 30, maybe more, once you factor in ground floor retail, work out facility, leasing office, utilities, etc. 

 

Correct, the Lumen in Cleveland, currently under construction is 318 units with parking and will be 34 floors. Highpoint was kind of "build it and they will come" project. The city was willing to do anything to get a building there, downtown residential was tepid but heating up, and the city just just wanted to get residential going at any cost. I guess in 2011 it was a massive deal to score that but now 8 years later it is possibly the second biggest "missed opportunity" in my eyes. 

 

Maybe someday the land will be valuable enough to warrant re-developing them? One can dream. 

7 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

 

Correct, the Lumen in Cleveland, currently under construction is 318 units with parking and will be 34 floors. Highpoint was kind of "build it and they will come" project. The city was willing to do anything to get a building there, downtown residential was tepid but heating up, and the city just just wanted to get residential going at any cost. I guess in 2011 it was a massive deal to score that but now 8 years later it is possibly the second biggest "missed opportunity" in my eyes. 

 

Maybe someday the land will be valuable enough to warrant re-developing them? One can dream. 

 

It's disappointing that Highpoint ended up the way it did. You are correct though, when it was built just 8 years ago it was a pretty big deal. People knew, even back then, that it was a bit underwhelming, but it was still a big deal.

 

We have come so far in just 8 years that now we have something like The Xander being built, with 220 units and 15,000 square feet of commercial space (compared to 300 units and 23,000 square feet of commercial space at Highpoint), and it's no big deal to anyone here. 

 

Downtown YMCA to shutter, more modern facilities planned

 

After nearly 100 years in operation, the YMCA of Central Ohio's downtown Columbus branch at 40 W. Long St. will be decommissioned as the organization prepares to open more modern facilities.  

 

In the short-term, the YMCA says it plans to lease and build out a nearby “state-of-the-art” health and wellness space at a soon-to-be-announced location, which could open by mid-2020. 

 

But in the next five to 10 years, YMCA leaders hope to build an entirely new full-service downtown facility, hopefully by working with local partners, for the more than 3,200 members that consider the downtown YMCA their home branch. 

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/10/08/downtown-ymca-to-shutter-more-modern-facility.html

9 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Downtown YMCA to shutter, more modern facilities planned

 

After nearly 100 years in operation, the YMCA of Central Ohio's downtown Columbus branch at 40 W. Long St. will be decommissioned as the organization prepares to open more modern facilities.  

 

In the short-term, the YMCA says it plans to lease and build out a nearby “state-of-the-art” health and wellness space at a soon-to-be-announced location, which could open by mid-2020. 

 

But in the next five to 10 years, YMCA leaders hope to build an entirely new full-service downtown facility, hopefully by working with local partners, for the more than 3,200 members that consider the downtown YMCA their home branch. 

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/10/08/downtown-ymca-to-shutter-more-modern-facility.html

 

I've never been inside the downtown YMCA, but I wonder what it could be re-purposed into. The first thing that comes to mind is a hotel. The outside of the building is really cool and unique, so hopefully it gets used to its fullest potential and doesn't just sit there vacant.

^There are a lot of affordable apartments in the Y - perhaps the whole building could convert to affordable housing.

57 minutes ago, Pablo said:

^There are a lot of affordable apartments in the Y - perhaps the whole building could convert to affordable housing.

 

While the Y does not have $50 million to renovate but this may be the best opportunity for a private/public partnership to upgrade and keep the housing. Franklin Station cost a little over $10 million for 100 units. I imagine a comparable project to build 400 new build units as the YMCA has would exceed the $50 million YMCA projects for reno.  Further, it would keep with the historical use of the building. And if I remember correctly, the complex under construction across the street is supposed to be workforce housing as well? 

 

A hotel sounds wonderful but I'd rather see some of our tax dollars go to maintaining this resource downtown in a new format the Y does not appear to be able to maintain. 

 

What I fear is that the Y will potentially do what other ymcas have done across the country is leave the historic buildings and build suburban model 2 story facilities within downtown. Although Akron's Y attached theirs to the hospital which allowed for cross use as rehab facilities, parking, and the inclusion of pools. 

Edited October 9, 20195 yr by DTCL11

YMCA Plans to ‘Phase Out’ Operations at Downtown Building

 

The YMCA of Central Ohio is planning for a future that does not include a presence at 40 W. Long St., the historic Downtown building that has served as a center of operations for the organization for nearly 100 years.

 

“We are in the process of phasing out of the current building, which will take several years,” said spokesperson Tina Badurina.

 

The first step in that process is finding a home for what the organization calls its membership services – health and wellness offerings like spinning and yoga classes, and access to a wide range of fitness equipment.

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/ymca-plans-to-phase-out-operations-at-downtown-building-bw1