Posted March 30, 200520 yr A copy of Tuesday's Delaware Gazette mysteriously found its way into my mailbox today. I don't know if it was put in the wrong box or what. But that doesn't matter. What I found on the front page of this newspaper was an article about renovations and new business in several buildings in Delaware's downtown and an upcoming tour of these renovated buildings. I know most of you don't know or care much specifically about this town, but I thought it might be interesting in the context of the general state of downtowns in small-town Ohio. For those who may not have already seen them, if you want to see pictures of Delaware besides the one above, I have a picture thread (here), as does Summit Street (here). In the near future I intend to get some more detailed pictures of downtown buildings to go along with a little historical downtown tour published by the county historical society.
March 30, 200520 yr Hey! I care about Delaware! :wink2: (Not as much as Kilbourne, but more than Columbus) Actually you should try to find copies of the Gazette and/or Dispatch. The big controversy right now is Delaware County's effort to extend Sawmill Parkway from Home Rd north to US 42 (SW of Delaware).
March 30, 200520 yr Author Yeah, I know you care about Delaware. That's why I said most people. :-) I'll have to read up on the Sawmill Parkway thing. I knew there was an effort to extend it by seeing "Stop Sawmill Parkway" signs in front of people's houses. You may also be interested to know that this paper had an article about that Henry St. tunnel, saying the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board recommends the city not remove it (whatever that's worth).
March 31, 200520 yr Downtown Delaware surprised me when I went (and so did the historic residential areas). Nice! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 31, 200520 yr You may also be interested to know that this paper had an article about that Henry St. tunnel, saying the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board recommends the city not remove it (whatever that's worth). Great, a mini controversy. That bridge has been there for forever and a day. And after the Industrial park finally relenquished their demands for that rail spur (the line used to go west to Ostrander and Marysville, from there I don't know, but it was torn out in the early to mid 80s) several years back, Delaware wanted to remove the Henry St. bridge to ease "traffic congestion." With OWU wanting close off Wilmer St altogether (which the hardware store, across the street from OWU, doesn't want) then the need to dismantle that bridge is not as high. And here is the Henry St. bridge/tunnel that Pigboy and myself are discussing.
April 21, 200520 yr I'm delighted that you posted this information about our "Artful Spaces" open houses in downtown Delaware. The open houses drew more than 100 visitors and were considered a big success. Our renovation progress in Delaware has been quite significant. A milestone will come within a couple of months, when the former Cashman's Feed quonset hut will reopen as the newest Old Bag of Nails pub location. The annual Delaware Arts Festival is coming up on May 14 and 15, and that's a great time to visit. For more information contact Main Street Delaware at 740-362-6050 or [email protected]. -- Jesse the Delaware guy
April 21, 200520 yr Author Our renovation progress in Delaware has been quite significant. A milestone will come within a couple of months, when the former Cashman's Feed quonset hut will reopen as the newest Old Bag of Nails pub location. That's great! I'd been wondering what was going on there. The Arts Festival sounds interesting... I wish I could come, but I am graduating from OWU on the previous weekend and then promptly going to Arizona for a week!
April 22, 200520 yr I'm delighted that you posted this information about our "Artful Spaces" open houses in downtown Delaware. The open houses drew more than 100 visitors and were considered a big success. Our renovation progress in Delaware has been quite significant. A milestone will come within a couple of months, when the former Cashman's Feed quonset hut will reopen as the newest Old Bag of Nails pub location. The annual Delaware Arts Festival is coming up on May 14 and 15, and that's a great time to visit. For more information contact Main Street Delaware at 740-362-6050 or [email protected]. -- Jesse the Delaware guy If could wait a week later, I'd be up from Baton Rouge to scope the scene. As is, I'll have to ask my parents for a report.
October 25, 200519 yr From ThisWeek (Delaware) 10/16/05: Delaware to ask county to fund new courthouse If commissioners balk, city likely to expand justice center Sunday, October 16, 2005 By NATE ELLIS ThisWeek Staff Writer Delaware city officials last week said they'd be happy to move the city's municipal court into a new county courthouse, but only if the Delaware County commissioners agree to pick up the estimated $56-million tab for the facility's construction. Following more than two months of debate to determine if the city of Delaware should contribute roughly $11.2-million toward the construction of a new county courthouse, city council members last Monday unanimously rejected the plan. Agreeing the proposed city share is too high, council members said they would support moving the Delaware Municipal Court to the new courthouse if the county funds 100 percent of the facility's construction. But should county commissioners balk, the city will spend about $1.2-million to expand the Delaware Justice Center at 70 N. Union St., which currently houses the municipal court, its prosecutor's office and the Delaware Police Department. Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/thisweek.php?edition=Sunbury&story=thisweeknews/101605/Sunbury/News/101605-News-30371.html
October 26, 200519 yr Author I wonder where they would build it. They'd better not ruin my Delaware! :whip: The courthouse is not spectacular, but I'd hate for Summit Street to have to take a picture of some boring modern building for his official collection (as with Lebanon).
October 26, 200519 yr they sure didnt consult me over any design. if it is as bad as the warren county center, then i will officially declare delaware county as part of franklin county :-P
October 27, 200519 yr I wonder where they would build it. They'd better not ruin my Delaware! :whip: The courthouse is not spectacular, but I'd hate for Summit Street to have to take a picture of some boring modern building for his official collection (as with Lebanon). SW corner of William and Sandusky.
October 27, 200519 yr Author ^ To go off on a tangent... do you know what was originally at that corner and what happened to it? That empty lot always bothered me.
October 28, 200519 yr ^ To go off on a tangent... do you know what was originally at that corner and what happened to it? That empty lot always bothered me. I want to say a restaurant (and several shops) were there before. The reason it exist there is that a kitchen caught fire and burned the building down. This was in 1998(It occured before the Buns Restaurant fire and the DT fire occured during the week of the Delaware County Fair). Other than the landlord, immediately after the fire, saying he was going to rebuild there. No plans have been brought up for that lot, other than the "park" that exists there currently.
October 28, 200519 yr Author Wow, I didn't realize it's been empty for such a short time! 1998 was a few years before my time in Delaware, of course. Thanks for the info.
December 20, 200519 yr Why? Because we have catch-all threads for all of the super-"growth" counties like Warren, Butler, Fairfield, Licking...there have to be a couple more I'm not thinking of. Anyway, I thought I'd go ahead and kick this one off with an article regarding Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart eyes new location The retailer is in talks with the developer of land at Cheshire Road and U.S. Route 23 By KELLEY YOUMAN Delaware City Council Monday night approved a preliminary subdivision plat, moving the Shoppes at Delaware one step closer to construction. The plan divides 42.8 acres at the southeast corner of Cheshire Road and U.S. Route 23 into four separate lots, the largest being a 22-acre parcel for a "big-box" retailer. The plan was approved unanimously with Vice Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle abstaining, because her employer Lawyers Title is involved in the closing. Although construction is still a long way off, at least one national chain has approached the city about being the Shoppes' anchor store. Read more at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS12-14/12-14_decouncilshoppes.htm
December 20, 200519 yr Author I'm a bit surprised that the city of Delaware extends that far south. I knew they have annexed a lot of land, but I didn't realize some of it was that far away. This has me thinking. Perkins Observatory is doomed. Dark skies there will some day soon be but a memory.
December 20, 200519 yr Even without a new WalMart (Like we really need another one), the ambient light and heat at night from existing development has created a problem for the Perkins Observatory. I was there for a tour one day about five years ago and the director of the Observatory allowed me to look through the telescope at the Moon. Mars and Saturn. It was an incredible view, but he apologized in advance for the heat shimmer and lack of a true dark sky due to the development in and around Columbus and Delaware County.... and that was in the winter of 2000! Moving the observatory would be a gargantuan task, notr to mention expensive.
December 20, 200519 yr Author Yeah, I guess the sky is already not that dark. Of course, Ohio was never a good place for astronomical observation in the first place, which is why the original big telescope was moved to Arizona. I don't think the observatory serves much of a practical purpose these days, especially now that OSU has nothing to do with it. Looking through the telescope is interesting (I looked once at a nebulous somethingorother when there for an OWU astronomy class), but the place seems to have become more about the building and the displays. I suppose they could put the telescope somewhere else if they wanted, but I'm sure there's no way OWU could afford to do anything crazy like moving the whole building. So, I think Perkins will just have to suffer the light pollution. BTW, Tom Burns, the director of the observatory is a great storyteller. He's actually an English professor with an astronomy hobby. Did you hear a good story when you went on the tour, noozer? Back to that article again, do we know why Wal-Mart wants to move? Are they talking supercenter?
December 20, 200519 yr You're absolutely right about Tom Burns as a storyteller. He loves to tell kids about a ghost that supposedly haunts the observatory and that on some nights you can see light moving inside when it's closed and empty. Don't know if it's true, but it sure made my kids shiver when they went on a tour when they were in elementary school. Tom also writes a great column on astronomy for the Columbus Dispatch. In fact today's issue carries one of his columns. Here's another story for the train buffs out there. The observatory dome moves on a specially designed railroad rail and is very delicately balanced. As for WalMart.... what I don't understand is that they already have a store near Powell Road and US 23 and a second just as you enter Delaware on US 23. In the name of Macy's, why do we need another deep-discounting, suck-the-local-downtown-dry, send-more-jobs-to-China WalMart? Worse, as bad as traffic is getting on US 23 between Columbus and Delaware.... why do we need another traffic generator along that stretch of highway? Yes, the land is there to develop, but what law of nature says it must be developed, much less developed for another WalMart?
December 20, 200519 yr Author I'm assuming they'd be moving from the existing Delaware Wal-Mart. I can't imagine they'd actually have two within two miles of one another. That seems crazy even for Wal-Mart!
December 23, 200519 yr I'm assuming they'd be moving from the existing Delaware Wal-Mart. I can't imagine they'd actually have two within two miles of one another. That seems crazy even for Wal-Mart! I talked about this with my mom last night. If Wal-Mart does open a bigger shop at 23 & Cheshire, they'll leave the current one, just south of 42
December 29, 200519 yr From the 12/18/05 ThisWeek Delaware: City moving forward with disputed annexation Bennington: new measures taken to address past issue that led to lawsuit Sunday, December 18, 2005 By NATE ELLIS, ThisWeek Staff Writer Delaware city officials are moving forward with a pair of requests to annex more than 350 acres in Berlin Township, following previous legal wrangling over the projects. Delaware City Council last Monday unanimously endorsed a resolution stating the city's intentions to extend water, sanitary sewer, refuse, fire and police services to 161.2 acres of Berlin Township land owned by Dominion Homes. The move is the latest in Dominion's ongoing efforts to annex about 368 acres on both sides of Cheshire Road, west of Gregory Road and nearby railroad tracks. But after tweaking the plan, city officials now believe it is on its way to becoming a reality. According to city attorney Dan Bennington, the primary change involves the city's decision to remove a commitment to maintain Cheshire Road throughout the area being considered for annexation. Previously, the city had said it would shoulder responsibility for upkeep of that section of the roadway. Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/thisweek.php?edition=Delaware&story=thisweeknews/121805/Delaware/News/121805-News-67639.html
December 29, 200519 yr From ThisWeek Big Walnut, 12/18/05: Wal-Mart wants new Delaware store Superstore sought at Shoppes at Delaware would replace existing site on U.S. 23 Sunday, December 18, 2005 By NATE ELLIS, ThisWeek Staff Writer Less than three months after reports surfaced about a looming Wal-Mart Superstore on the city's southeast side, the company has confirmed its interest in becoming the largest tenant of an impending shopping center. Wal-Mart Corp. officials on Wednesday said the company wants to construct a 200,000-square-foot store within the future Shoppes at Delaware. The news comes as city officials continue to work with Sturges Development and Cheshire Developers LLC toward the development of the Shoppes on the south side of Cheshire Road, just east of U.S. Route 23. "We're certainly interested in the site," said Ron Mosby, Wal-Mart's Ohio public affairs manager. "We've enjoyed very good business in the Delaware area. We would like to be able to expand our products." Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/thisweek.php?edition=Sunbury&story=thisweeknews/121805/Sunbury/News/121805-News-67650.html
January 3, 200619 yr From ThisWeek Delaware, 12/25/05: City seeks annexation deal with Berlin $20-million 'remedy' still among sticking points to be resolved Sunday, December 25, 2005 By NATE ELLIS ThisWeek Staff Writer Stalled talks to strike an annexation agreement between Delaware and Berlin Township are expected to resume shortly after the new year, according to the city's mayor. Nearly four months after Delaware officials broke off negotiations with Berlin Township trustees to create a policy for annexing a portion of township land into the city, the sides soon could return to the bargaining table. Delaware Mayor Windell Wheeler said last Tuesday the city is intent on finalizing the agreement. As currently proposed, it would define annexation standards for an area of Berlin Township bounded by Peachblow Road to the south, the Conrail tracks to the east, U.S. Route 36 and state Route 37 to the north, and the township line to the west. Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/thisweek.php?edition=Delaware&story=thisweeknews/122505/Delaware/News/122505-News-70931.html
January 12, 200619 yr From ThisWeek Delaware, 1/1/06: Council eyes higher impact fees Increased revenue would help build, expand city facilities Saturday, January 1, 2005 By NATE ELLIS ThisWeek Staff Writer On Jan. 9, Delaware City Council plans to hold a second reading of several measures that would increase a one-time fee developers pay upon obtaining local building permits. Additionally, council will consider creating a new impact fee designed to help fund new municipal facility construction, building expansions and equipment purchases. Pending the proposed emergency passage of four separate ordinances, residential developers would be required to pay a $1,426 fee for each single-family home built in the city. The money, which would represent a $358 per-unit increase from fees imposed on those developers since 2001, would be allocated for the construction of new parks and recreation department facilities, or expansion of current facilities. Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/thisweek.php?edition=Delaware&story=thisweeknews/010106/Delaware/News/010106-News-73716.html
January 13, 200619 yr From the 1/11/06 Delaware News: Home buyers, developers may face increased costs By KELLEY YOUMAN Developers will likely pay more to build in the city of Delaware as City Council tries to strike a balance between raising impact fees and providing affordable housing. At its meeting Monday, council had a second reading and public hearing on a proposal to raise current fees by more than 30 percent and create a new fee. Delaware enacted impact fees in 2001 for parks and recreation, police and fire, and builders typically pay the fee when a building permit is issued. Those three funds total $1,477 in fees per single family home. A study completed last year by TischlerBise Consultants suggested the city raise those fees and add a new municipal buildings and equipment fee, for a total increase of $826 per single family home. For a single family home, the study recommends a $358 increase in the parks and recreation fee, a $12 increase for police and $90 increase for fire, in addition to a charge of $366 for the proposed municipal facilities fee. Read more at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS1-11/1-11_deimpactfees.htm
February 14, 200619 yr From Delaware News, 2/8/06: Shoppes site to be likely place for new Wal-Mart store By KELLEY YOUMAN The city of Delaware's planning staff met with Wal-Mart officials late last month, but both sides said it's still early in the process and they're looking to nearby residents to help guide possible development. Although the retailer has not submitted a formal application, its representatives have expressed interest in building a super-center at the southeast corner of Cheshire Road and U.S. Route 23 as part of the planned Shoppes at Delaware. Dave Efland, city planning director, said the 42.8-acre site is zoned commercial and does allow a 'big-box' retailer. No matter who moves in, planning the site will undoubtedly involve community input, he said. "My message is the same...we need to do public involvement and Wal-Mart obviously knows that," Efland said. "The key point to get out there is that the property is zoned to allow big-box retail, no matter what the name over the door is." Read more at http://www.snponline.com/NEWS2-8/2-8_dewalmartcity.htm
February 14, 200619 yr From Delaware News, 2/8/06: Wheels starting to turn for improvement efforts Work to fix tie-ups at intersections and to seal roads will be in Delaware's future. By KELLEY YOUMAN The more things change the more they stay the same. ODOT realigned Oh 315 and added the double traffic lights there in 1980 (Source: Delaware Gazette) I don't know why Stratford Rd needs to be realigned. It doesn't have the traffic problems, it's US 23 & Oh 315 (coming and going to Columbus) that have the problems. I also see City Council working here. They've been angling for another bypass for US 23 & US 36 for over a decade now. While rejecting this small project isn't quite "cutting off ones nose to spite their face." It is a gamble to try hardball to get what they want from ODOT. Currently Route 23 sees an average 30,000 cars per day, but over the next 10 to 15 years, that number is expected to jump to around 50,000 per day, Ferrigno said. Downtown dilemma It was never designed to be 'easy on, easy off' and residents say that is the problem with the U.S. Route 23 and Pennsylvania interchange. Legend has it that in the 1950s and years prior, city officials wanted motorists to have to go through downtown when exiting Route 23, City Manager Tom Homan said. At that time the downtown was the city's livelihood. Let me nip this revisionist history in the bud. US 23 was still following Sandusky St. in the 1950s and even the early 60s The Bypass wasn't open till 1966 (this is from Stanford Rd/Oh 315 to Pennsylvania Ave) and there was only "pie in the sky" talk about rerouting traffic from Sandusky St prior to 1950. In fact, according to the Delaware Gazette, "City officials were concerned about traffic through the heart of the city endangering motorists and pedestrians and hampering business activity So either the writer or Tom Homan (the former certainly wasn't in Delaware back in the post war era) got some bad information. While the downtown is still a vital business corridor, merchants and residents need better, more direct access to other parts of the city, Ferrigno said. It no longer benefits Delaware to force all that traffic into the city, he said. Identified several years ago as an area needing improvements, the first step has finally been taken, Ferrigno said. The preliminary study of the intersection, including alternatives and traffic modeling, will be funded by ODOT and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, at an estimated cost of almost $295,000. BTW, Delaware has also been angling for an full interchange for Pennsylvania Ave (on the northside of town) since 1985, at least. Paving the way The first 6,000 feet of Glenn Road will be coming to the southeast side this year, Ferrigno said. Final engineering is being completed and crews are taking soil samples and testing water tables. That last phase is expected to take about another month. Ideally, Ferrigno said he'd like to see the project started by June, which would have the first 6,000 feet -- from Grady Memorial Hospital site up to the Glenross subdivision and Tanglewood Golf Course -- finished by the end of 2006. If construction gets a later start, that first section would likely be finished sometime early next year, Ferrigno said. More lousy writing. Glenn Rd already exists from US 36 to Curve Rd on the far eastern fringes of Delaware (used to be surrounded by farmland till Krogers built a distribution facility out there 4 years ago). What is being discussed is an extension. evidently from US 23 (New Grady Hospital) to Cheshire Rd (Golf Course). I guess Glenn Rd has already been extended south from Curve Rd to Cheshire (I don't recall see anything that way when I was in Delaware over Christmas) http://www.snponline.com/NEWS2-8/2-8_deroadprojects.htm If it wasn't for the fact it costs .36 per issue ($114 a year) to see the Delaware Gazette online (http://www.delgazette.com/), I would recommend using them instead of the Dispatch weekly paper.
February 26, 200619 yr I really hope the county's roadways are upgraded soon to accomodate all of this new construction along Route 23. It already next to impossible to make a turn off of 23 without getting run over.
March 1, 200619 yr Delaware residents attack Wal-Mart plan ThisWeek Olentangy, 2/23/06 The world's largest retailer might be able to boast having "always low prices," but as proven in the city of Delaware last week, it can't always guarantee a warm reception. More than 130 people turned out at the Delaware Area Career Center's south campus Feb. 16 to hear Wal-Mart Corp's latest plans for a new "superstore" on the south side of Cheshire Road.
March 18, 200619 yr 80 condos planned on Cheshire Rd. ThisWeek Delaware, 2/19/06 Construction of an "empty-nester" condominium complex set amid a private golf course is slated to begin this spring after project developers last week secured approval of a final development plan. Columbus-based Mid-Ohio Development Corp. is moving forward with plans to build 80 condos on the south side of Cheshire Road, directly across from Tara Glen Drive.
March 19, 200619 yr Delaware council OKs reduced impact fees ThisWeek Delaware, 3/5/06 Amid concerns that proposed fee increases for new residential and commercial developments might disproportionately harm local home buyers, Delaware City Council last week approved reduced adjustments. Delaware council members and city administrators on Monday maintained their belief that new development within the city should pay for itself. But in authorizing increases to fees assessed when new residential or commercial units are built, council decided to take a less aggressive approach to the practice than city administrators originally recommended.
March 20, 200619 yr Residents air more Wal-Mart protests ThisWeek Delaware, 3/5/06 The results of Wal-Mart Corp.'s second attempt to discuss plans for a new "supercenter" on the city's southern edge last week went much like the first, with residents telling company officials to get packing. While slightly fewer turned out Feb. 28 for a second meeting with Wal-Mart officials, the crowd at the Delaware Area Career Center's south campus still exceeded 100 people. Many of the attendees' comments paralleled those related at the first meeting, as well. Those living near the proposed site of the 200,000-square-foot store, just east of U.S. Route 23 near the Cheshire Crossing subdivision, don't want the world's largest retailer to be their neighbor.
May 22, 200619 yr From ThisWeek Big Walnut, 5/21/06: County to seek courthouse design Sunday, May 21, 2006 By NATE ELLIS ThisWeek Staff Writer Hoping to resolve a myriad of questions regarding costs and a possible construction schedule, Delaware County officials are seeking an architect to design a new county courthouse. After deeming the 141-year-old, 21,792-square-foot Delaware County Courthouse at 91 N. Sandusky St. inadequate to house court-related operations, county officials for the past two years have been eyeing the construction of a new judicial center. Last Monday, Delaware County commissioners Jim Ward and Glenn Evans put that project's ball in motion by authorizing the county to solicit an architect to design the proposed facility. By hiring an architect, those officials hope to gain insight into what exactly must be constructed to meet the needs of entities such as the county's common pleas, probate and juvenile courts, as well as respective clerical and support staffs. They also seek to determine the price tag for such a project. Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?edition=Sunbury&story=thisweeknews/052106/Sunbury/News/052106-News-157170.html
May 24, 200619 yr I was just through Delaware for the first time last week en route to Alum Creek, definetly beats Oxford as far as down/uptown and residential from what I've seen. Great pics!
May 24, 200619 yr If you had stopped in the sewing shop (The Stitch Stops Here) next to Buns Restaurant, you would of met my mom. :-o Actually, we did stop in there! Well, to continue the current board theme of "not posting identities with photos because we now fear inkaelin stalking everyone." Thanks for not photographing my mom. :-)
May 24, 200619 yr Oy... "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 28, 200619 yr How do you guys feel about vinyl on historic gems like this? VINYL IS EVIL!!! The bane of preservationists everywhere, along with its evil cousin, fypon.
May 28, 200619 yr ^ What is Fypon? :? Fypon is a form of polyurethane foam that is transformed into shapes that replicate wood and plaster molding for interior and exterior uses. Now, mind you, I am not opposed to using any modern materials in restoration or rehabilitation projects -- the problem is that it encourages the removal, and not the repairing, of original building elements. The result is often "fake history" -- sort of a Disneyland version of the way things were. In some ways it is more insidious that vinyl -- at least with siding projects, the original clapboard is usually left underneath. It is subject to increased opportunity for moisture retention and rot, but at least its there in case there's a future homeowner that wants to release it from its vinyl prison.
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