February 4, 201312 yr Something about that picture makes me want to begin every sentence with "Nyah" and end it with "see?".
February 6, 201312 yr Glad you enjoy the photo. My family used to own the building back then, sold it to Nationwide and then moved to area south of Greenlawn Ave on Stimmel. You can still see the sign from 71 south, which is still used as a branch office/warehouse for new owners. When the company was sold 4-5 years ago they were going through some old files and I was given this photo that was to be thrown out. It was used as promotional material at that time for Rose Chemical (now Rose Hillyard Products). I wish I had more exterior photos ... Side note, each room had at a fireplace. It was a leftover from when it served as a hotel for the the Union Train Station.
February 16, 201312 yr A couple of overhead panoramic views of the five-story, 120-unit Flats II Apartment Building currently under construction west of Nationwide Arena from the MyUrbanhood twitter feed: View from January 2013 looking west toward Neil Avenue. The Huntington Ballpark and LC Pavilion concert facility are across the street from the Flats II construction site. Part of the 226-unit Flats on Vine apartments are visible across the elevated railroad track. View from February 2013 looking more northwest toward the elevated railroad track.
August 17, 201311 yr More construction photos of the five-story, 120-unit Flats II Apartment Building currently under construction west of Nationwide Arena Late April aerial view looking northwest from the roof of the neighboring parking garage from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2013-part-2 Late May ground view looking southwest at the interior courtyard from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-may-2013-part-2 Late June view from Neil Avenue looking east from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-june-2013 Early August view looking northwest from the roof of the neighboring parking garage from https://twitter.com/myurbanhood
August 17, 201311 yr Catching up on some Spring and Summer news in the Arena District Expansion of quick service eateries in the area with a new Jimmy John's locating in a storefront near the movie theatre off Nationwide Blvd. and a breakfast menu added to the existing Steak Escape at 401 N. Front Street. More from Columbus Business First about both below: Steak Escape selling breakfast in Arena District Jimmy John’s coming to the Arena District - More about the Jimmy John's location: Google Map Streetview of its location at http://goo.gl/maps/1nfCW and photo of the completed storefront with a nice new projecting neon sign from the MyUrbanhood twitter feed at http://t.co/7nmbMjtE47 The Arena District's movie theater is changing owners and closing this summer for renovations. The new owners are a Dallas-based theater chain that offer a greatly expanded dine-in movie experience. More from Columbus Underground and Columbus Business First below: Studio Movie Grill to Replace Arena Grand Theatre Studio Movie Grill founder promising first-class experience at Arena Grand after $3.6M renovation And some miscellaneous office news for the Arena District. More from Columbus Business First at the below links: Fisher & Phillips law firm moves into Arena District, plans growth - An Atlanta-based law firm new to Columbus is moving into the 250 West Street office building after initially leasing space in Easton. Columbia Gas commits to more space in Arena District - Columbia Gas announced it was upping its leasing committment in its under-construction office building at Neil & Nationwide. Its initial committment was for 208,000 square feet of the overall 288,000 square feet in the building. Now they are expanding to 279,000 square feet. Which leaves the almost 9,000 square feet of street-level retail space as the only uncommitted space in the building.
August 17, 201311 yr Here's more about the Columbia Gas HQ Building which is under-construction at Neil & Nationwide. The new six-story, 288,000 square foot building is being built on the former surface parking lot immediately west of Nationwide Arena. The Columbia Gas Building will line Nationwide Boulevard in front of the recently completed 1,500-space parking garage on the site. It will also line Nationwide Boulevard to the Neil Avenue corner in front of the 120-unit Flats II apartment building on the site. As was mentioned earlier, Columbia Gas will be using 279,000 square feet of office space in the building - leaving about 9,000 square feet of ground floor retail the only space available. This is a photo of the Nationwide Boulevard side of the site before vertical construction started from https://twitter.com/myurbanhood. The 1,500-space parking garage built next to Nationwide Arena is visible in the middle. The Flats II apartments construction is visible to the left of the garage on the site. This is an overhead view of the site from https://twitter.com/myurbanhood. This view is from the parking garage looking back toward Nationwide Boulevard - where the previous photo was taken. Two previously built office buildings are across Nationwide Boulevard from the future site of the Columbia Gas HQ Building.
August 17, 201311 yr Here are the construction photos of the six-story, 288,000 square foot Columbia Gas HQ Building currently being built west of Nationwide Arena: Late March view of the steel framing going up from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-march-2013 Late April view looking south toward the rest of the Arena District from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2013-part-2. McFerson Commons park is in the background. Late April view looking south twoard the rest of the Arena District from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2013-part-2. Nationwide Boulevard and previous built office buildings are in the background. Late April view next to the parking garage looking east toward Nationwide Arena from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-april-2013-part-2 Late June view of the east section of the building from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-june-2013 Late June view of the west section of the building from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-june-2013 Late June view of the bridge that will connect the east and west sections of the building http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-june-2013. Flats II construction is in the background. Late July view of the east section of the building from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-july-2013 Late July view of the west section of the building from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-july-2013
August 19, 201311 yr Reposting an article about a city-owned historic building in the far west portion of the Arena District that was wiped out during the Great UO Server Crash of 2013. The City's old municipal light plant was built in the 1880's and is located in the future development area of the Arena District (alternatively called Arena District West). The april article from the Dispatch reports on a report from a city funded consultant that calls on the city of preserve the 1880's brick building as part of any future development in the area. Below is a link to the article and a photo of the former Municipal Light Plant: Dispatch: Call to spare Columbus’ historic municipal light plant - City officials to decide fate of 1880s structure, 3 other buildings There is also an excellent photo-tour of the vacant Municipal Light Plant at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbh3743/sets/72157623976106968/with/4746622540/. The photo-tour has some views of the building's exterior. But most of the views are inside the building. Many fascinating photos of decaying machinery, like the one below:
August 19, 201311 yr Here's a little bit of context for the Old Municipal Light Plant location. Below is a location map showing it's promixity to the rest of the Arena District. The original portion of the Arena District was located east of Neil Avenue surrounding (not surprising) Nationwide Arena, which was finished in 2000. Since the mid-2000's, development started to cross west of Neil Avenue - LC Pavilion, Buggyworks Building renovation, North Bank Tower and the Columbus Clippers ballpark - Huntington Park - which opened in 2009 and is noted on the map below. So far, these developments have not crossed west of the elevated railroad tracks that cross Nationwide Boulevard. The below map shows the land ownership around the Old Municipal Light Plant. The city-owned Plant is shown in RED. Other city-owned property is shown in GREEN. The buildings on this city-owned land are non-historic storage and maintenance structures. Nationwide Realty Investors (NRI), the developers of the Arena District, own the land shown in BLUE. The rest of the land west of the elevated tracks consist of two privately-owned office buildings that front onto Spring-Long Street and one wedged shaped surface parking lot next to the tracks. The NRI property was purchased from Penn National, the casino developer that attempted to local their Columbus Casino here before relocating to the city's west side. Previous master plans for the area and NRI have called for a future residential development on this property. NRI will likely either partner with the city or purchase the city-owned property that fronts on the Olentangy River as part of any future development.
August 19, 201311 yr Sounds like a good plan! With a little planning, this could be a good way to tie Arena District/AD West/Grandview Yards (I forget what it's called) development together.
October 10, 201311 yr More construction photos of the five-story, 120-unit Flats II Apartment Building currently under construction west of Nationwide Arena. Previously update in this thread from August 2013 is here: Late September 2013 view from the neighboring parking garage looking northwest from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-september-2013-part-2 Late September 2013 view from Neil Avenue & Brodbelt Street looking northeast from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-september-2013-part-2
October 10, 201311 yr The Flats II are probably the most utilitarian-looking residential buildings being built anywhere in the city right now. Incredibly boring design that makes even HighPoint at Columbus Commons look fantastic. The good news is that these should rent out very quickly anyway and still add a few hundred new residents.
October 10, 201311 yr More construction photos of the six-story, 288,000 square foot Columbia Gas HQ Building currently being built west of Nationwide Arena. Previous update in this thread from August 2013 is here: Late Septermber 2013 view from Nationwide Boulevard at the arch across the street looking northwest from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-september-2013-part-2 Late Septermber 2013 view from Nationwide Boulevard across the street looking northeast from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-september-2013-part-2. Nationwide Arena is visible in the background. Late Septermber 2013 view from the neighboring parking garage from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-september-2013-part-2. Previously built ofice/retail buildings in the Arena District are visible in the background.
October 10, 201311 yr The Flats II are probably the most utilitarian-looking residential buildings being built anywhere in the city right now. Incredibly boring design that makes even HighPoint at Columbus Commons look fantastic. The good news is that these should rent out very quickly anyway and still add a few hundred new residents. Can't argue with you on the Flats II design. Although the scale is good and it will likely look better once all the landscaping is in. And you're right, it will rent out very quickly and add more residents to the Arena District. (By the way, congrats on your 11:11:11 posting time!)
October 10, 201311 yr The Flats II are probably the most utilitarian-looking residential buildings being built anywhere in the city right now. Incredibly boring design that makes even HighPoint at Columbus Commons look fantastic. The good news is that these should rent out very quickly anyway and still add a few hundred new residents. Can't argue with you on the Flats II design. Although the scale is good and it will likely look better once all the landscaping is in. And you're right, it will rent out very quickly and add more residents to the Arena District. (By the way, congrats on your 11:11:11 posting time!) Thanks, what do I win?
October 10, 201311 yr The honor of doing something I've never seen done in my six years at UrbanOhio! That and five bucks gets you coffee at Starbucks. :wink:
November 4, 201311 yr An excellent (and lengthy) article about the history of the Arena District from the October 2013 issue of Columbus CEO magazine. At the end of the article is a very detailed timeline for the Arena District - beginning in 1834 with the opening of the Ohio Penitentiary that sat on 22 acres of the current larger mixed-use downtown district. http://www.columbusceo.com/content/stories/2013/10/01/power-play.html
January 16, 201411 yr Arena Grand finally reopening By Dan Eaton, Staff reporter Business First - Jan. 13, 2014, 9:19am EST The curtain is coming up on Studio Movie Grill Arena Grand. The months-in-the-making makeover of the old Arena Grand multiplex into an in-theater dining operation is finally complete and set to open its doors to the public Jan. 14, the Dallas-based company announced. All seats in the 11-screen theater are reserved. It also features a lounge, two-story bar and full-service dining in the lobby. Brian Schultz, founder of the chain, previously told Columbus Business First that the $3.6 million conversion involved removing 800 of the 2,000 seats to make room for tables and more spacious seating. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/01/10/arena-grand-finally-reopening-next.html
January 16, 201411 yr A couple of Arena Grand reopening articles from Columbus Underground: http://www.columbusunderground.com/studio-movie-grill-brings-cinema-back-to-the-arena-district-hm1 http://www.columbusunderground.com/studio-movie-grill-opens-in-arena-district-aw1
January 16, 201411 yr It appears the www.columbusunderground.com domain no longer works. Have they forgot to pay their "internet bills"?
January 16, 201411 yr It works for me. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 16, 201411 yr Apparently they've been having some server problems. I couldn't access it yesterday morning, but it's been okay since then for me. Posted yesterday at http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/dns-server-issues: "Having some DNS server issues this morning. Site access is not working for some people."
January 23, 201411 yr Late December 2013 construction photo of the six-story, 288,000 square foot Columbia Gas HQ Building currently being built west of Nationwide Arena from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-december-2013
January 23, 201411 yr View of the Columbia Gas HQ Building from the corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Neil Avenue. Photo from http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/01/what-office-projects-are-under.html
February 22, 201411 yr Couple of recent articles from Business First about two companies moving and expanding within the 325 McConnell Boulevard office building that is across the street from Nationwide Arena: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/02/06/cassidy-turley-brokerage-adds-office.html http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/02/13/diamond-hill-investment-group.html
February 22, 201411 yr The Dispatch had a recent article about the growth of residential options in the Arena District since the opening of Nationwide Arena almost 15 years ago. According to the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, the Arena District's original 75-acre development area is home to more than 500 residents (out of an estimated 6,600 downtown residents). The number increases to 980 - if development west of Neil Avenue is included into the total number of residents attributed to the Arena District. Full article at http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/02/17/vibrant-residence.html
April 11, 201411 yr More construction photos of the Columbia Gas HQ Building from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-february-2014-part-2. Views of the back of the building, Neil Avenue side and back of the building, and part of the Nationwide Boulevard front of the building located next to Nationwide Arena. No view from the corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Neil Avenue this time unfortunately:
April 11, 201411 yr Columbus Gas HQ Building - closer view of the part of the Nationwide Boulevard front of the building located next to Nationwide Arena from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-march-2014-part-2
April 18, 201411 yr Much more about this power plant property was posted HERE and HERE previously in this thread. City seeking redevelopment ideas for former power plants west of Arena District By Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter Columbus Business First - April 17, 2014, 2:54pm EDT Columbus has put a portion of an electrical generation complex on the Olentangy riverfront off West Nationwide Boulevard out to bid for redevelopment as construction of housing approaches the site. The city’s Real Estate Management Office is seeking developers’ proposals for 1.2 acres of the complex that includes two shuttered power plants. One of the aged facilities, the former Columbus Municipal Light Plant at 555 W. Nationwide Blvd., opened in 1904. The city will take bids through May 8. (. . .) A sale would not include an electrical substation on the 4.1-acre city site or land that fronts the river. The substation and related facilities are undergoing a $5.2 million upgrade to improve the reliability of electric service downtown. Arena District developer Nationwide Realty Investors controls an office property along nearby West Spring Street, and has plans to eventually redevelop the former Jaeger Machine Co. and Union Fork and Hoe Co. sites at 500-560 W. Nationwide Blvd. The development arm of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. intends to put up apartments and condominiums there. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/04/city-seeking-redevelopment-ideas-for-former-power.html
April 22, 201411 yr More about the historic 1904 power plant building being offered as an RFP by the City from CU at http://www.columbusunderground.com/historic-downtown-power-plant-building-may-be-redeveloped In the CU report, Columbus Development Director Steven Schoney says "the RFP calls for the historic structure to be restored and reused, rather than demolished for a new build" and that "the city has no specific preference on whether the redevelopment is commercial, residential or retail".
April 24, 201411 yr CU is reporting that Cincinnati-based Nada Restaurant will be locating in the ground floor of the new Columbia Gas HQ Building currently under construction at the northeast corner of Nationwide & Neil in the Arena District. The official address is 240 W. Nationwide Boulevard and the expected opening date is late 2014. Full report about it at http://www.columbusunderground.com/cincinnati-based-nada-restaurant-opening-in-arena-district Construction photos of the Columbia Gas HQ Building are on previous pages in this thread. The original post about this project with location information and project renderings are located HERE. Below is a rendering of the Columbia Gas HQ Building as seen from the corner of Nationwide & Neil. Nationwide Arena is visible in the background. Not visible in the rendering, but located across Neil Avenue from the building, is the Columbus Clippers AAA ballpark, Huntington Park.
April 24, 201411 yr Two other bits of information on Nada restaurant and the Columbia Gas HQ Building from Business First at http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/04/nada-was-no-brainer-for-arena-district-developer.html "The 6,229-square-foot space is on the southeast end of the building. Its patio will wrap around that corner of the building. “It’ll be right in the shadow of the (Union Station) arch,” Ellis said. “It will look right down McFerson Commons. We think it’ll be a tremendous, high-energy location.”" "Nada will be the only other tenant in the Columbia Gas building."
June 30, 201410 yr I'm not sure what its use was but there was a red-brick building by the old municipal power plant when I took this picture last year. When I was walking to the UO meetup on Saturday I saw it was gone.
August 14, 201410 yr ^ Apparently it was a newer general storage building next to the older power plant complex.
August 14, 201410 yr Two pics of the Columbia Gas HQ Building that is nearing completion in the former parking lot next to Nationwide Arena. Taken during a busy Sunday in late July by http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-july-2014 From the corner of Neil Avenue and Nationwide Boulevard: Further east from the previous corner from Nationwide Boulevard:
August 24, 201410 yr The Columbia Gas HQ Building must be getting close to opening. Photo of signage installed facing Neil Avenue from http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/columbia-gas-of-ohio-plans-new-home-in-arena-district/page/14
August 28, 201410 yr More information on the restaurant going into the ground floor of the Columbia Gas Building: http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-details-emerge-on-nada-columbus-restaurant
September 30, 201410 yr City Council approved a contract for a Franklinton development that would relocate city service departments out of the Arena District. These departments would be moving from city-owned land north of Nationwide Boulevard next to the river - shown on a map in this posting from last year - which would then make them available for private development. Contract OK’d for Franklinton facility to move service agencies out of Arena District By Lucas Sullivan, The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - 8:05 AM Columbus will spend $11 million to renovate a Franklinton industrial park in order to relocate some of its vital service departments that are taking up prime real estate on the outskirts of the Arena District. Members of the Columbus City Council unanimously approved $10.6 million last night to build a facility next to the Central Ohio Transit Authority site at 1355 McKinley Ave. Snowplows, code-enforcement, construction-management and a few other service departments that work near Downtown will be relocated there by late 2015. The city also plans to partner with COTA to build a compressed natural-gas filling station there that both can use. ... City Finance Director Paul Rakosky said that the McKinley Avenue site would be used for city operations currently housed at 640 and 650 W. Nationwide Blvd. in the Arena District. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/09/30/contract-okd-for-franklinton-facility.html
October 8, 201410 yr Columbia Gas employees begin move to Arena District By Tom Knox, Reporter Columbus Business First - Oct 7, 2014, 2:15pm EDT The first Columbia Gas of Ohio employees have moved into the company’s new headquarters in the Arena District. Communications staff and some of the human resources department had their first workdays in the new offices Monday. Every employee should be moved in by the end of November, spokesman Steve Jablonski told me. Just 86 of the company’s 1,000 Columbus employees are in the still-unfinished, six-story complex. Columbia Gas originally planned to move 650 employees when it made the move announcement in 2011, but has since added jobs, Jablonski said. Plus, some workers from other Columbus-area locations and the parent company in Indiana will move to the new spot. The two-building, 290,000-square-foot complex has the capacity for about 1,300 workers. MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/10/columbia-gas-employees-begin-move-to-arena.html
December 3, 201410 yr Photo tour inside the new Columbia Gas HQ Building in the Arena District: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/11/photo-tour-inside-columbia-gas-new-arena-district.html
December 5, 201410 yr City unveils big redevelopment plans west of Arena District Columbus officials liked the ideas they got for transforming the old city power plant west of the Arena District so much that they're green-lighting two of them. The city has chosen the local development team of Connect Realty and Schiff Capital Group to redevelop the plant at 555 W. Nationwide Blvd. It's also arranged for Dublin-based developer Borror Properties and joint-venture partner Ruscilli Construction Co. to develop another city-owned property at 640 W. Nationwide Blvd. on the Olentangy River into a new headquarters for both of them. Each project is expected to bring about 150 jobs downtown. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/12/05/city-unveils-big-redevelopment-plans-west-of-arena.html?page=all "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 5, 201410 yr Three projects planned for west side of Arena District Three development projects are planned on the western edge of the Arena District. The projects will be presented on Monday to members of Columbus City Council, which will consider incentives. “What this does is extend the great energy that Nationwide Realty Investors had in building the Arena District and extends it all the way down to the river,” said Steven Schoeny, the city’s development director. More below: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2014/12/05/arena-district-projects-head-to-council.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 8, 201510 yr It seems there are always photos of projects under construction but not many when the project is done. I know there are some here of the Columbia Gas building basically completed, but none include the new restaurant. So here are a few exterior shots.
February 8, 201510 yr ^ Thank you so much for these photos of the completed Columbia Gas HQ Building at Neil & Nationwide. I really like that building. Great addition to the Arena District. Great project to finish off the former parking lot next to Nationwide Arena. But, I'm not sure I like what nada did to their part of the building.
February 8, 201510 yr Great pictures Eridony! Generally, I like the building itself and the buildout done by Nada (except maybe those doors...). My only real criticism is that more ground floor retail wasn't included. That space at the corner of Neil and Nationwide is just crying out for a great bar or restaurant.
February 8, 201510 yr ^ Thank you so much for these photos of the completed Columbia Gas HQ Building at Neil & Nationwide. I really like that building. Great addition to the Arena District. Great project to finish off the former parking lot next to Nationwide Arena. But, I'm not sure I like what nada did to their part of the building. Great pictures Eridony! Generally, I like the building itself and the buildout done by Nada (except maybe those doors...). My only real criticism is that more ground floor retail wasn't included. That space at the corner of Neil and Nationwide is just crying out for a great bar or restaurant. Thanks guys! I like what Nada did mostly because it sticks out from the rest of the building, you really notice it. I totally agree about that corner, casey. Nada is right across the street from Nationwide Arena. There should be another space like that right across from Huntington Park.
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