October 29, 201311 yr Press Release from the Columbus Public Health website about groundbreaking for the John R. Maloney Family Health & Wellness Center at the northwest corner of Barthman Avenue and Parsons Avenue. This is on the site of the former Schottenstein's store in the 1900 block of Parsons Avenue. The previous Maloney Health Center on Parsons Avenue was demolished in 2006 due to structural problems caused by faulty foundation construction. Those operations were temporarily moved to South High Street. The new Maloney Health Center will be a LEED certified, single-story, 21,500 square-foot building designed by DesignGroup and constructed by the Daimler Group. The total project is expected to cost almost $8.6 million is expected to open in September 2013. Public Health Press Room: Mayor Coleman, Community Partners Break Ground on John R. Maloney Family Health & Wellness Center Late February 2013 photo of John R. Maloney Family Health & Wellness Center under construction at the northwest corner of Parsons Avenue and Barthman Avenue from Columbus Underground: The John R. Maloney Family Health & Wellness Center was dedicated yesterday at 1905 Parsons Avenue. Below is a photo of the center plus a link to a video report from ABC6 News: ABC 6: Improved Health Center Opens in S. Columbus
October 30, 201311 yr More about the opening of the John R. Maloney Family Health & Wellness Center at 1905 Parsons Avenue from Columbus Underground. Better version of the above photo at CU too: http://www.columbusunderground.com/maloney-health-center-opens-on-south-side
October 30, 201311 yr More Parsons Avenue development news from Columbus Underground. This one is about a mile north of the Maloney Health Center and just south of the Parsons & Livingston intersection: Three-Story Village Pointe Project Under Construction on Parsons Avenue By: Brent Warren, Columbus Underground Published on October 29, 2013 - 8:00 am A three-story commercial building is currently under construction on Parsons Avenue just south of the Livingston Avenue CVS. Plans for the 36,000 square foot building include a fitness center on the second and third floors and several retail and restaurant storefronts on the first. Local developer Jeff May, who partnered with Skilken to develop the CVS and also owns the Scrambler Marie’s next door on Livingston, has a long history on the corner. He worked his way up from salesman to owner of Bobb Chevrolet, which moved to a suburban location on West Broad Street in 2008. (. . .) May said that he has had conversations with a number of potential tenants for the first floor space, including a deli, a sit-down restaurant, and a salon. He hopes the mix will appeal to both the 9,000-plus employees of Children's Hospital, and to residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. Both groups also offer a potential market for the fitness center, which will have its entrance in the first floor lobby of the building and offer cardio machines, weights, and even dance floors over its 24,000 square feet. (. . .) May hopes to wrap up construction by next summer on the building. As for the land that sits behind the new building, which is now being used as parking for the hospital, he said that he is interested in developing it, but was not able to share details on that project yet. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/three-story-village-pointe-project-under-construction-on-parsons-avenue-bw1
October 30, 201311 yr Given the announcement of the three-story Village Pointe building near Parsons & Livingston, this seems like an appropriate time to update a previous Parsons Avenue development rundown in this thread. That previous compliation from 2011 can be found by clicking here. This update will focus on the Parsons Avenue and Livingston Avenue intersection. First, here is a recent aerial photo of the intersection. At the upper right in the northeast corner is Nationwide Children's Hospital. Children's finished a 12-story addition to the hospital last year which included an underground parking garage topped by park space at this corner. At the upper left in the northwest corner is a new 6-story research building for Children's Hospital finished in 2012. This is part of the hospital's West Campus that replaced a suburban-style Kroger store and Wendy's restaurant previously at this corner. At the lower right in the southeast corner is a Children's Hospital Parking Garage completed around 2006. A suburban-style KFC was previously at this corner that the garage needed to build around. The hospital was able to purchase the KFC in 2012 and demolish it. At the lower left in the southwest corner is the redevelopment of a former Bobb Chevrolet dealership. CVS Pharmacy was built at the Parsons & Livingston corner in 2010. Followed by a Scrambler Marie’s restaurant next door on Livingston. This week's announced three-story Village Pointe building location is shown outlined in red. Northeast Corner - view of the 12-story Nationwide Children's Hospital addition finished in 2012. Northwest Corner - view of the 6-story research building for Children's Hospital & partial view of the CVS Pharmacy building at the southwest corner. Southeast and Southwest Corners - view of the Children's hospital parking garage and the CVS Building looking south down Parsons Avenue from the Livingston intersection. View further south on Parsons Avenue from the previous image. The three-story Village Pointe building will be located just beyond the brick CVS building to the right and across Parsons from the parking garage. Rendering of the Village Pointe building from a similar vantage point as the previous view looking south. Rendering of the Village Pointe building looking north. The hospital parking garage is on the right. Which takes us back to street map of the area covered by the Parsons & Livingston aerial photo shown earlier. The three-story Village Pointe building location is shown outlined in red. And finally, Columbus Underground has a photo of the three-story Village Pointe building under construction taken last weekend as part of their October construction roundup at http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-october-2013. This was taken from behind the Village Pointe site looking eastward toward Children's Hospital and the parking garage across Parsons Avenue.
November 12, 201311 yr It looks like the Parsons Avenue library branch will be getting replaced. According to the below excerpted Business First article, a contract to design a larger library branch has been issued to Moody Nolan. The existing location at 845 Parsons Avenue will not be reused for the new library - although a new location has not yet been selected. The existing library location at the southwest corner of Parsons Ave. & Columbus St. was shown previously here in this thread. It is located immediately north of a new Family Dollar store built in 2010 and shown here in this thread. Moody Nolan awarded Parsons Avenue library project By Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter Business First - Oct 28, 2013, 11:32am EDT The Columbus Metropolitan Library board has hired Columbus-based Moody Nolan Inc. as the architect to design a new Parsons Avenue branch, but it has yet to pinpoint a site. The existing branch at 845 Parsons Avenue dates back to 1956 and has just shy of 7,600 square feet. It is served by 20 parking slots. Library spokesman Ben Zenitsky told me site selection remains active for the planned $8.9 million replacement, which will have 20,000 square feet and 70 parking slots ... construction is not slated to begin until late 2014. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/10/28/moody-nolan-awarded-parsons-avenue.html
November 16, 201311 yr More about the new Parsons Avenue library branch from today's Dispatch. The previous post reported that Moody Nolan was selected by the CML board to design a new larger library for this area, but the new library location had not yet been chosen. Now it has. Land lined up for new Parsons branch library By Dean Narciso and Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 5:26 AM Columbus Metropolitan Library has purchased land along Parsons Avenue to relocate and triple the size of its branch there, welcome news for neighborhoods long known for their struggles. The new site is about a third of a mile south of the current branch at 845 Parsons, which, at 7,599 square-feet, is one of the 21-branch system’s smallest. Customers often have to wait for computers, and even furniture on which to read or study. On Thursday, the library completed the purchases of 1085, 1105, 1111 and 1131 Parsons Avenue and 461 Stewart Avenue, said Ben Zenitsky, library spokesman. The library is expected to close on the purchase of 1125 Parsons on Monday, said Marc Borst, the longtime owner of the former auto-body shop at that location. ... The new library will be on about 1.5 acres between Stewart and Deshler Avenues. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/11/16/land-lined-up-for-new-parsons-branch.html
November 18, 201311 yr A very interesting redevelopment project is beginning to take shape at the historic Barrett School located at 345 E. Deshler Avenue, one block west of Parsons Avenue. The four-story, 73,401 sq. ft. school building was opened in 1900 as the first South High School for Columbus. It became Barrett Middle School in 1924 when a new South High School was opened about four blocks east on the east side of Parsons Avenue. Barrett Middle School closed in 2006. It reopened from 2007-2009 to temporarily become South High School again while the 1924 South High School was completely renovated. After that renovation was finished in 2009, Barrett Middle School closed again. In 2013, Columbus City Schools sold the Barrett School property to the non-profit housing developer Homeport. Homeport, previously known as the Columbus Housing Partnership, has been doing both affodable and market-rate housing developments for the past 25 years. Some of their projects include the NoBo infill development in King-Lincoln, the Rich Street Walk in downtown and infill development in the American Addition. Now, Homeport is looking to renovate and redevelop the Barrett School property. Below is a map of the property and photo of the historic Barrett School. The property is six-acres in size and includes the four-story Barrett School built in 1900, a single-story addition built in the 1950's. The rest of the 6 acres is unbuilt open space. Outstanding update about the Barrett School property previously posted in this thread. The first Draft Conceptual Renderings have been released by Homeport, the non-profit housing developer who purchased this property. The full draft renderings are available at http://barrettredevelopment.com/news-info/. Below is a site plan overview showing their concept for redeveloping this 6-acre property. Three-story apartments are proposed behind (directly south of) the Barrett School. The historic three-story Barrett School building would be renovated and the newer, non-historic one-story additions to the school would be removed. The remainder of site would be developed with a range of two-story residential buildings on a new street/alley grid that includes a pocket park. Draft renderings of the 3-story apartment buildings and the 2-story residential buildings are also available at http://barrettredevelopment.com/news-info/. For comparison with the existing conditions, see the GIS property map reposted above. Note: in this repost, I added the new Parsons Avenue Library location at Parsons Avenue between Stewart & Deshler. This new library will be only one block from the Barrett School redevelopment site.
November 21, 201311 yr More about the Barrett School site redevelopment project from Columbus Underground. Previous update posted here in this thread: Concept Calls for 150 Residential Units at Barrett Site in Merion Village By: Brent Warren, Columbus Underground Published on November 21, 2013 - 8:00 am According to a “first draft” concept presented by Homeport to the neighborhood last month, the old Barrett Middle School in Merion Village could be converted into a 50-unit apartment building, with another 100 new units built on the grounds of the former school. After first unveiling the project at a neighborhood meeting in July, the community development organization came back with a plan that re-establishes the street grid and adds a mix of apartment buildings and two-story condo buildings. Ethan Nielson of Homeport said that the plan for the site at this point is still very preliminary. They decided to share the initial renderings both at the meeting and on the project website in order to solicit reactions from the neighborhood. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/conceptual-plan-calls-for-150-residential-units-at-barrett-site-in-merion-village-bw1
December 3, 201311 yr More about the new Parsons Avenue library branch from Columbus Underground. Updates about this in-the-works new library were posted here and here on the previous page in this thread: Columbus Underground: Neighborhood, Library Have High Hopes for New Parsons Branch
January 17, 201411 yr Columbus Dispatch: South Side neighborhood a focus of home fix-ups The above link is an update from the Columbus Dispatch about South Side Renaissance, a collaborative effort to revitalize 50 blocks along Parsons Avenue. South Side Renaissance was formed by four businessmen with ties to the South Side who contributed a total of $1 million to kick off the effort in 2012. Since then the City of Columbus, Nationwide Children's Hospital, United Way of Central Ohio and the nonprofit group Community Development for All People has joined that effort. Below are some of the initiatives of that effort: - According to the above linked article, to date $873,650 has been spent for exterior repairs to 58 homes in the South Side Renaissance area, which is about $15,000 per home. 17 more homes are to be repaired this year through the Renaissance program. Additionally, 40 rent-to-own houses have been built by the in Renaissance area by Community Development for All People. - The United Way has committed to rehabilitate four vacant houses in the Renaissance neighborhood this year and to restore or build nine houses in the area south of Children’s Hospital called the Healthy Homes area. - The City completed the $8.6 million John R. Maloney South Side Health Center at 1905 Parsons Avenue last year and has paved streets and built new sidewalks and curbs within the Renaissance neighborhood bounded by Morrill Avenue, Parsons Avenue, Hosack Street and High Street. - Columbus Metropolitian Libraries has committed to build a new $8.9 million library in the 1100 block of Parsons Avenue. State funding is being saught to pair with previously committed city funds and private funding to restore the Reeb Elementary School to house the South Side Learning and Development Center.
January 17, 201411 yr More about the Barrett School site redevelopment project from Columbus Dispatch - previously updated here in this thread. Some Merion Village residents want only single-family houses to be built on the site instead of the 2 to 4-unit apartment buildings that have been proposed: Developers, Merion Village residents differ on plan to convert school to housing By Jim Weiker, The Columbus Dispatch Sunday, January 12, 2014 - 10:13 AM In theory, almost everyone supports redeveloping Barrett Middle School, the historic four-story building that has sat like a forlorn hulk in Merion Village since closing in 2009. In reality, though, neighbors and developers are struggling to find common ground in the plan to convert the building and its 6-acre site into housing. The ambitious project, which once might have been hailed as a welcome bit of development in a stagnant area, has run head-on into residents’ fears that the project could damage the neighborhood’s upward momentum. ... Homeport, the nonprofit housing agency formerly called Columbus Housing Partnership, has an option from the Columbus schools to buy Barrett and its land for $2.6 million. The organization has proposed converting the original part of the school, a four-story Italianate building that opened in 1900, into 50 apartments and demolishing the 1960s-era addition. An additional 100 apartments would be built in new duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes on the site, with an eye toward converting the units into condominiums when that market rebounds, said George Tabit, Homeport’s vice president for real-estate development. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/home_and_garden/2014/01/12/caughtmiddle.html
March 4, 201411 yr The news that the former Reeb Elementary School at 280 Reeb Avenue in the Reeb-Hosack/Steelton Village neighborhood would be renovated as a south side neighborhood community center was originally posted here in this thread in 2012. Now that renovation is getting closer to starting. According to a recent article in the Dispatch, groundbreaking for the renovations is scheduled for June 2014, with the goal of opening the building by June 2015. Also according to the recent Dispatch article: "Plans call for spending $12.1 million to convert the 1904 building into the Reeb Community Center, a social-services hub that will house a Boys and Girls Club, the South Side Learning and Development Center, job training, hot lunches and other programs. ... So far, $10.4 million in public and private money has been raised. The City of Columbus is providing $6.7 million, Donatos and the Grote family $1.5 million, the Crane Group and Crane family $1 million and Don & Nancy Keely $500,000." Below is a link to the Dispatch article and photo of the former Reeb Elementary School: Columbus Dispatch: Former South Side school to be reborn as social-services center
April 9, 201411 yr More construction photos of the three-story Village Pointe project just south of the Parsons & Livingston intersection. Previous updates on the Village Pointe development posted here and here in this thread. Below are smaller-sized versions of the location map and two project renderings from those threads: Below are three late February construction photos from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-february-2014-part-1. The first view shows the back of the three-story building under-construction. The last two views show the front of the building facing Parsons Avenue:
May 29, 201411 yr Another construction photo of the three-story Village Pointe project just south of the Parsons & Livingston intersection. This one is from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-may-2014-pt-2:
July 20, 201410 yr New photo taken yesterday… this building has gone up quick! ;) FROM HERE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-july-2014 <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/construction-roundup-july-04.jpg">
July 23, 201410 yr Here's a view of the Parsons Avenue side of the building from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-june-part-1
July 30, 201410 yr Crest Gastropub owners putting restaurant and juice bar on Parsons A&R Development Group is hard at work on its next ventures – a pair of projects along Parsons Avenue. The owner of Clintonville’s Crest Gastropub and several other restaurants and bars, including the Market Italian Village opening Thursday, has two businesses planned at Village Pointe, a 37,000-square-foot building near the corner of Parsons and Livingston avenues. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/07/crest-gastropub-owners-putting-restaurant-and.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 1, 201410 yr More recent construction photo of the three-story Village Pointe building just south of the Parsons & Livingston intersection in this Business First article reporting on the announced tenants for the building: Village Pointe to include 25,000-square-foot gym, Strut the Salon By Dan Eaton, Staff reporter Columbus Business First - July 31, 2014, 3:47pm EDT The 37,000-square-foot project at Parsons and Livingston avenues is set to open this fall. Two of the building’s tenants are a new restaurant and a juice bar called Alchemy from A&R Development Group, owner-operators of the Crest Gastropub in Clintonville among other restaurants. I wrote about those businesses Wednesday, but the project has more confirmed tenants with space for other additions. (. . .) The largest tenant will be the Fitness Loft, a new fitness center. It will encompass 25,000-square feet on the top two floors of the building. ... Also part of the project is Strut the Salon. Fitness Loft, Strut and Alchemy are expected to open in October. A membership pre-sale for the gym will start in September. The full restaurant is slated for early 2015. The building also will have the South Columbus Visitor Center, a community outreach space that will be run by the Parsons Avenue Merchants Association. There is another 4,000 square feet on the south end of the building that is open for lease to either one or multiple tenants. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/07/31/village-pointe-to-include-25-000-square-foot-gym.html
August 7, 201410 yr Article about a planned renovation of a vacant two-story building at 697-701 Parsons Avenue. It is directly across the street from the IGA store. It is also located halfway between the new three-story Village Pointe building to the north and the old Plank’s on Parsons to the south. Restaurant to follow on Nationwide Children’s lead in South Side redevelopment By Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - 7:26 AM Jimmy Dragich’s dream is to open a small restaurant. Now, with a zoning approval, he finally can begin the work of converting a rundown, boarded-up brick building along Parsons Avenue into a dining destination. He said the building, which he bought for $20,000 in 2010, was a wise investment. The building is less than a half-mile from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where about 7,500 employees are potential restaurant customers. Last week, the city’s Board of Zoning Adjustment approved changing the building at 697-701 Parsons Avenue from a two-story multifamily residential property to a first-floor bar and restaurant with multifamily residential on top. Dragich said he wants to convert the top floor of the 94-year-old building into two apartments. The goal is to open by the end of the year. Dragich and Bob Leighty, executive director of the Parsons Avenue Merchants Association, likened the concept to Club 185, a German Village restaurant/bar with exposed brick walls and a neighborhood feel. Dragich’s architect, Amy Lauerhass, said the existing characteristics of the 3,120-square-foot building will be maintained, with hardwood floors and decorative fireplaces. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/07/29/Restaurant-to-open-on-Parsons.html
August 7, 201410 yr Other Parsons Avenue developments mentioned in the previous article - http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/07/29/Restaurant-to-open-on-Parsons.html: • Village Pointe, a three-story, 37,000-square-foot building south of the Parsons & Livingston intersection. The three-story structure will house a health club, a restaurant, a hair salon, a healthful-food cafe and an 1,100-square-foot rooftop garden. (see the previous six posts on this page for more about Village Pointe) • New Columbus library branch. (previously mentioned HERE and HERE on the previous page in this thread on November 2013) • Street resurfacing and upgrades between Livingston Avenue and Hosack Street in 2016. The project, still being designed, could include reconfigured traffic lanes, parking and new traffic signals.
August 8, 201410 yr First rendering of the new Parsons Avenue library branch. That and more from CU below. Library Releases Design for Parsons Avenue Branch By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground August 7, 2014 - 7:30 am The Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) has released the latest design for their Parsons Avenue Branch. ... Construction of the new branch is scheduled to start in 2015, with the goal of completing the building some time in 2016. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/library-releases-design-for-parsons-avenue-branch-bw1
August 8, 201410 yr Business First had a rendering of the new Parsons Avenue library branch in today's print publication. I haven't found an on-line posting of this rendering at their site yet. So here's a quick scan of it posted below. This rendering shows the full length of the library along Parsons Avenue (the CU copy cut part of it off). Business First also had the following information with the new rendering: "The Columbus Metropolitan Library system has unveiled the conceptual design of a planned $9.6 million library at 845 Parsons Avenue on the city's south side. The 20,000 square foot library will be nearly three times the size of the existing branch that first opened in 1956 and was renovated in 1991. Columbus architect Moody Nolan Inc. designed the newest building, part of the system's $120 million improvement program. It is expected to open in 2016." *** EDIT: Business First got the location of the new Parsons Avenue library branch wrong in the above report. 845 Parsons Avenue is the location of the existing library. The new library will be located in the 1100 block of Parsons Avenue - (see this earlier report with map of the two different locations)
August 9, 201410 yr Three more restaurant/bar news items for the area: (1) From - http://www.columbusunderground.com/whitts-end-saloon-opens-on-parsons-avenue New ownership for the old Avenue Bar on the ground floor of 970 Parsons Avenue. The new owners renamed it the Whitt’s End Saloon. No word if any exterior changes to the building are forthcoming (photo below): (2) From - http://www.columbusunderground.com/tatoheads-public-house-now-open-on-parsons-avenue-aw1 "It came as a bit of a shock when Jay Cheplowitz, owner of south side vegan hot spot Hal & Al’s, announced in early July that he had sold the popular watering hole to Daniel McCarthy, owner of the Tatoheads food truck. Hal & Al’s had been open for five years and has long hosted the Food Truck & Cart Hop on the last Sunday of every month." "Daniel McCarthy founded the Tatoheads food truck in 2011, which has become one of the most popular in the city. He bought the spot at 1297 Parsons Avenue, and has redubbed it Tatoheads Public House." ... "The change in ownership was seamless, which means that the restaurant never actually closed. Instead, McCarthy offered the Hal & Al’s menu for two weeks, and then began the transition to the Tatoheads food truck menu." More at http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/08/tatoheads-food-truck-operator-takes-hal-al-s-space.html Also from - http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2014/08/08/south-side-grows-dining-chops.html "Daniel McCarthy opened Tatoheads Public House at 1297 Parsons Ave., a storefront that once housed Hal & Al’s. He’s renovating the building but wanted to open quickly after the closing of Hal & Al’s, a popular spot in the neighborhood. McCarthy hopes to add a patio and chef’s garden." No exterior renovations yet - but the Hal & Al's signage has been removed on the weirdly loveable blue box at 1297 Parsons Avenue: (3) From - http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2014/08/08/south-side-grows-dining-chops.html At 292 E. Gates St., the Red Brick Tap & Grill, which was remodeled by owner George Stefanidis, the proprietor of Easy Street Cafe, and reopened late last year. Located at the corner of Bruck and Gates streets, Red Brick has more of a Merion Village vibe than Parsons Avenue corridor vibe. But it's located only two blocks west of the former Hal & Al’s (now Tatoheads Public House) on Parsons. And it’s a good-looking location with a bunch of excellent post-remodeling photos at their facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/redbricktapandgrill. Aerial view of the Red Brick front & side at Bruck & Gates Aerial view of the back & side along Bruck showing the back patio and rooftop garden. Closer view of the back patio and rooftop garden View of the Gates Avenue storefront for the Red Brick Tap & Grill Red Brick facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/redbricktapandgrill Red Brick website - http://theredbricktapandgrill.com/
August 15, 201410 yr Just getting around to posting news of a speculative, but interesting, development project for the Southern Gateway portion of the Parsons Avenue Corridor (south of Frebis Avenue) from CU: Group Looking at Possibility of South Market, Greenhouse on Parsons By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground June 18, 2014 - 4:15 pm The Parsons Avenue Merchants Association (PAMA) has received money from City Council to evaluate the feasibility of some big ideas for the South Side — a commercial greenhouse, a grocery store, a research kitchen and even a food and farmer’s market modeled on the North Market. Bob Leighty, PAMA’s Executive Director, said that the $17,000 grant will be used to assess the market and talk with neighborhood stakeholders and food-industry experts about the concepts, which could either be built as separate projects or combined in one large building. The study will look at an area originally defined by the Southern Gateway planning initiative, which includes the neighborhoods on either side of Parsons, south of Frebis Avenue. (. . .) Although similar in some respects to the planned Food District in Weinland Park, where a production co-packing kitchen is planned, Leighty stressed that this project would feature different — but hopefully complementary — elements. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/group-looking-at-possibility-of-south-market-greenhouse-on-parsons-bw1
September 3, 201410 yr More about the opening of the John R. Maloney Family Health & Wellness Center at 1905 Parsons Avenue from Columbus Underground. http://www.columbusunderground.com/maloney-health-center-opens-on-south-side The City of Columbus' Maloney Health Center opened up last year on Parsons Avenue. The project architect posted some large high quality photos of the building at http://designgroup.us.com/work/civic/john-r-maloney-family-health-and-wellness-center. Below are some smaller versions of those photos:
September 6, 201410 yr The City had a formal groundbreaking ceremony this week at the former Reeb Avenue Elementary School. The groundbreaking signals the start of the renovation of this historic building into a new community center for the South Side. More about this posted HERE earlier in this thread. CU has more about this in the below article that also includes a report about the nearby Columbus Castings steel foundry announcing an expansion of their workforce by 550 employees. Columbus Castings also announced they will train new workers from the neighborhood through a state jobs training program that will be housed at the Reeb Community Center. http://www.columbusunderground.com/south-side-gaining-550-new-jobs-new-community-center
September 6, 201410 yr Homeport presented a revised plan for the Barrett Middle School site. Their previous plan was posted HERE earlier in this thread. The historic school building would still be renovated into apartments with 3-story apartment buildings planned for the area immediately surrounding the school. But the open area east of the school site has been changed significantly. Instead of that area being reserved for multi-family housing, it would be reserved for single-family houses. http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-plan-for-barrett-site-in-merion-village-adds-single-family-houses-bw1
October 6, 201410 yr Village Pointe to include 25,000-square-foot gym, Strut the Salon By Dan Eaton, Staff reporter Columbus Business First - July 31, 2014, 3:47pm EDT The 37,000-square-foot project at Parsons and Livingston avenues is set to open this fall. Two of the building’s tenants are a new restaurant and a juice bar called Alchemy from A&R Development Group, owner-operators of the Crest Gastropub in Clintonville among other restaurants. I wrote about those businesses Wednesday, but the project has more confirmed tenants with space for other additions. (. . .) The largest tenant will be the Fitness Loft, a new fitness center. It will encompass 25,000-square feet on the top two floors of the building. ... Also part of the project is Strut the Salon. Fitness Loft, Strut and Alchemy are expected to open in October. A membership pre-sale for the gym will start in September. The full restaurant is slated for early 2015. The building also will have the South Columbus Visitor Center, a community outreach space that will be run by the Parsons Avenue Merchants Association. There is another 4,000 square feet on the south end of the building that is open for lease to either one or multiple tenants. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/07/31/village-pointe-to-include-25-000-square-foot-gym.html View of the interior of the three-story Village Pointe building south of Parsons and Livingston from CU. More interior views at http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-fitness-loft-opens-on-parsons-avenue
October 6, 201410 yr CU is also reporting that the Alchemy Juice Bar & Cafe has also opened in the ground floor of the Village Pointe building at http://www.columbusunderground.com/alchemy-juice-bar-and-cafe-opens-on-parsons-avenue The operator of Alchemy is A&R Creative Group - the group behind Crest Gastropub, Ethyl & Tank and The Market Italian Village. According to that CU article, A&R Creative Group also to open a full-service restaurant at Village Pointe in 2015.
December 18, 201410 yr The State awarded historic tax credits for Homeport's proposed renovation of the Barrett School. The project also calls for building apartment buildings and single-family homes on the Barrett School grounds: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/12/barrett-school-housing-plan-mercantile-building.html Barrett School Address: 345 E. Deshler Ave., Columbus Project cost: $27.3 million Tax credit: $3.3 million Description: Rehabilitation of the school building into 53 apartments and addition of eight apartment buildings and 22 single-family homes.
December 19, 201410 yr Wonderful! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 21, 201510 yr ^^ An update on the Barrett School redevelopment project. Here is the site plan for the Barrett School redevelopment previously posted HERE in this thread on September 6, 2014: Now, here is the update posted by Josh Miller at http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/redevelopment-of-barrett-school-building-in-merion-village/page/2/#post-1064187: The last approval hurdles have been cleared, looking good! From http://barrettredevelopment.com/: “As a follow-up to The City of Columbus Zoning Committee that occurred on February 2nd, 2015, City Council has approved the site rezoning and variances for the project! All public meetings have officially come to a close and we greatly appreciate all of your comments, feedback, suggestions, and support that have helped shape the project into what it is today. Although we have completed the public meeting approval process, we’ll still be conducting progress meetings with stakeholders as the project progresses.” "In addition, we have also posted the latest renderings from the recent changes that have occurred. We are anxious for construction to start this spring and excited to begin witnessing the positive transition that will take place over the next several months." Larger versions of these renderings available at http://barrettredevelopment.com/
February 21, 201510 yr Wow. Very nice. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 23, 201510 yr Second Crest Gastropub Opening Soon on Parsons Avenue Columbus-based company A&R Creative Group will open its second Crest Gastropub location inside the Village Pointe building on Parsons Avenue in late spring. More below: http://www.columbusunderground.com/second-crest-gastropub-opening-soon-on-parsons-avenue-rw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 13, 20159 yr Construction fences are up around Barrett School and baseball field backstops are down.
August 10, 20159 yr More construction photos of the Barrett School at http://www.columbusunderground.com/project-update-barrett-middle-school-site-bw1 According to the CU article linked above: "nearly all of the interior walls would also be retained, so that apartment floorpans will line up closely with how the original classrooms were laid out."
August 11, 20159 yr New Reeb Avenue Center will include cafe, market By Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - 7:54 PM The former Reeb Elementary School is undergoing a $12.4 million transformation and will house more than a dozen tenants, including St. Stephen’s Community House and job training agencies such as the Godman Guild Association and addiction recovery services such as Amethyst for women and House of Hope for men. Public money and private donations paid for the renovations, including $6.5 million from the city of Columbus, $2 million from the state of Ohio and contributions from businesspeople with South Side roots, including $1.5 million from the Grote family (Donatos Pizza) and $1 million from the Crane Group and Crane family. ( . . . ) The Reeb Avenue Center, scheduled to open next month, will not only house social service agencies but also a cafe and market that will serve the community. The Mid-Ohio Food Bank will operate the South Side Roots Cafe & Market, which officials describe as a “mixed-income and shopping experience” with affordable and fresh food. Customers can buy groceries and produce at affordable prices, and the café will operate on a “ pay-what-you-can” model with fresh lunches on weekdays and brunch on Saturday. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/08/05/Reeb-Center-will-include-cafe-and-market.html
August 11, 20159 yr More about the Reeb Avenue Center and the neighborhood programs going into the center from Business First: - Mid-Ohio Foodbank opening south-side market and cafe: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/08/04/mid-ohio-foodbank-opening-southside-market-and.html - Backers want Reeb Avenue Center ‘Hub of Hope’ to become national model: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/08/05/backers-want-reeb-avenue-center-hub-of-hope-to.html
August 11, 20159 yr Some exterior photos of the former Reeb Avenue School being renovated into the Reeb Avenue Center. Interior photos of the renovation are at http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/08/05/Reeb-Center-will-include-cafe-and-market.html
August 11, 20159 yr I'm so glad they reused this beautiful, historic building for the project instead of demolishing it and putting up some cheap, new POS. Such a great anchor for the continuing revitalization of the surrounding area.
August 26, 20159 yr Yeah, so, just getting around to posting this update about the new Parsons Avenue Library: Construction of new Parsons library to begin BY GARY SEMAN JR., THIS WEEK COMMUNITY NEWS Tuesday, June 9, 2015 - 1:44 PM The Columbus Metropolitan Library held a ceremonial ground-breaking June 2 at the new branch, located at 1113 Parsons Ave., a few blocks south of the current facility. ... Patrick Losinski, CEO of the library system, cited community involvement, particularly the efforts of Bob Leighty, as a main driver behind construction of the new 19,000-square-foot library, just east of German Village. Losinski said Leighty, former president of the Merion Village Association and current executive director of the Parsons Avenue Merchants Association, was persistent in his desire to see an upgraded facility along the corridor. ... Jim Griffin, president of the South Side Area Commission, said libraries are more than a repository of books, they represents the community's social, entertainment and cultural sensibilities, as well as being an educational center. "The new Parsons Avenue Branch will be a major part of this South Columbus revitalization." In November 2013, library officials closed on the purchase of seven parcels totaling 1.5 acres along Parsons ... consisting of six commercial properties -- five of which were vacant -- and one vacant apartment building, between Deshler and Stewart avenues. Library officials say the new branch is needed because the current library, the smallest in the system at 7,600 square feet, has outgrown its capacity. MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/germanvillage/news/2015/06/08/construction-of-new-parsons-library-to-begin.html
August 26, 20159 yr More about the new Parsons Avenue Library at http://www.columbuslibrary.org/buildings/parsons Rendering of the new Columbus Metropolitan Library branch facility planned for 1113 Parsons Avenue, a few blocks south of the current Parsons Avenue branch library. (View from Parsons Avenue)
August 26, 20159 yr Couple of photos of the Parsons Avenue Library construction site from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-july-2015-part-1. Site is between Deshler Avenue and Stewart Avenue. These photos were taken from Stewart Avenue:
August 29, 20159 yr The Crest Gastropub has opened in the Village Pointe building at 625 Parsons Avenue - just south of Parsons & Livingston on the corner opposite of the Nationwide Children's Hospital campus. The Crest Gastropub on Parsons is in 4,400 sf on the ground floor of the three-story, 37,000-square-foot Village Pointe building. It has a community room for gatherings or private parties, two outdoor patio areas and a rooftop garden. This is the second Crest Gastropub opened by Columbus-based A&R Creative Group (the first was in Clintonville). It joins another A&R venture - Alchemy Juice Bar & Cafe - which opened in the Village Pointe building last year. More about this new restaurant on Parsons, the on-going revitalization of the area, and an interview with the restaurant family behind the existing Crest locations (plus another venture currently under construction in the Jeffrey Park development in Italian Village) from Business First at the links below: - Crest Gastropub's food and brews now available on the south side: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/08/11/crest-gastropubs-food-and-brews-now-available-on.html - Crest owners on new restaurant, city's south side and Hoof Hearted brewery project: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/08/12/crest-owners-on-new-restaurant-citys-south-side.html
August 29, 20159 yr Here's a look at the new Crest Gastropub in the Village Pointe building at 625 Parsons Avenue. More exterior views and interior photos are available at http://www.columbusunderground.com/first-look-the-crest-gastropub-on-parsons-rw1:
September 26, 20159 yr The Reeb Avenue Center - inside the restored Reeb Avenue School building - held its official grand opening yesterday. The Columbus Metropolitan Club had a forum about the Reeb Avenue Center in August. Below is a Youtube video of that 52 minute forum that featured Reeb Avenue Center board members Tanny Crane from the Crane Group, Jane Grote Abell from Donatos Pizza, along with Erika Clark Jones from the City of Columbus Health Department and Matt Habash, President & CEO of the Mid-Ohio Food Bank (and former City Council President). No visuals of the building in this video, but alot of discussion about the anti-poverty programs planned for the Reeb Avenue Center:
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