That should really help give some more presence to that part of the Arena District.  Is that the Grandview Yard development in the background? How far away is that? Would be cool to see a streetcar connecting the two districts.

 

Yes, that is Grandview Yard in the background (another NRI development btw).  It's a little under one mile away (the telephoto lens effect probably makes it seem closer).  And it would be cool to see a streetcar connecting the Arena District and Grandview Yard.  But didn't you see the news in the Columbus: Smart Cities Grant thread? - http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30733.msg810695.html#msg810695

 

Yeah, I saw that. Given that both developments are being developed by NRI, I feel like there could potentially be a path towards a streetcar between the two with some sizable private funding from Nationwide.  I took the Smart Cities grant news to mean more of a blow to efforts for regional light rail.

Would that be easy or is there some unforseen roadblock to rail (railblock?) between the two? It LOOKS easy.

Would that be easy or is there some unforseen roadblock to rail (railblock?) between the two? It LOOKS easy.

 

It does look deceptively easy in that photo.  But there's two freeways (315 & 670), a freight rail line and the Olentangy River between the two.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Arena+District,+Columbus,+OH/@39.9703736,-83.0308163,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x88388f2467d91b67:0x3d091c0b63848aa9!8m2!3d39.9689594!4d-83.0052508?hl=en

That should really help give some more presence to that part of the Arena District.  Is that the Grandview Yard development in the background? How far away is that? Would be cool to see a streetcar connecting the two districts.

 

Yes, that is Grandview Yard in the background (another NRI development btw).  It's a little under one mile away (the telephoto lens effect probably makes it seem closer).  And it would be cool to see a streetcar connecting the Arena District and Grandview Yard.  But didn't you see the news in the Columbus: Smart Cities Grant thread? - http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,30733.msg810695.html#msg810695

 

Yeah, I saw that. Given that both developments are being developed by NRI, I feel like there could potentially be a path towards a streetcar between the two with some sizable private funding from Nationwide.  I took the Smart Cities grant news to mean more of a blow to efforts for regional light rail.

 

I could see a dedicated bus shuttle between Grandview Yard and the Arena District.  Something similar to COTA's CBUS circulator that runs between the Short North and the Brewery District/German Village through downtown.

Would that be easy or is there some unforseen roadblock to rail (railblock?) between the two? It LOOKS easy.

 

It does look deceptively easy in that photo.  But there's two freeways (315 & 670), a freight rail line and the Olentangy River between the two.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Arena+District,+Columbus,+OH/@39.9703736,-83.0308163,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x88388f2467d91b67:0x3d091c0b63848aa9!8m2!3d39.9689594!4d-83.0052508?hl=en

 

If only we could utilize previously existing freight lines... (then again, the need for a passenger train to go ~1 mile is probably minimal).  You would think Nationwide/NRI would push for connecting their corporate headquarters and its soon-to-be only "suburb" office location in Columbus.

Or just build an Indianapolis People Mover! :D

 

Nationwide Realty looking at new Arena District sites as Parks Edge nears completion

 

 

Construction crews recently finished the top floor of the 12-story Parks Edge condominium tower along Spring Street, but the milestone moment passed without a topping-out ceremony that traditionally features placement of an evergreen tree for good luck.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/11/01/nationwide-realty-looking-at-new-arena-district.html

Especially good to read these quotes,

 

"The project has been really well-received. We’re well over 50 percent sold and ahead of schedule."

 

"There’s a fair chance we could get started sometime next year with the next phase."

 

"The bulk of the closings will start in the spring (of 2017) and continue through the summer. The best target for the first residents moving in is next May."

Well that didn't take long,... Although seems like they could have saved some time by doing a 24-story tower instead  :wink:

 

Second 12-Story Parks Edge Condo Building Announced in Arena District

 

Representatives from Nationwide Realty Investors (NRI) today unveiled the next phase of their Parks Edge condo development, a second 12-story tower that will be located directly to the east of the initial building that is currently under construction.

 

Phase one of Parks Edge is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2017. Pending approval by the Downtown Commission, phase two will begin construction in Early 2017 with an expected completion sometime in 2018.

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/second-12-story-parks-edge-condo-building-announced-in-arena-district

 

 

^I've noticed preliminary site work for the second building for a couple of weeks now.

 

I am extremely excited to read this, and honestly I didn't think parks edge would have much of an impact on the skyline around downtown but I was wrong. The building just looks so good and adds visual density to that side of the river. It also is a unique style for the midwest, very PNW in design. Yes NRI could've built a 20+ tower but this adds more I think right now. I am holding out for that 3rd spot to push a bit higher being the angle its at facing downtown.

 

Overall... quite pleased about this.

Yeah, the visual wall is key to improving the idea of "height" working for residential downtown.

More on that...

 

Nationwide Realty moving ahead with another 12-story condo tower in the Arena District

 

 

More upscale condos are coming to the Arena District.

 

Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. expects to break ground next month on a 12-story condominium high-rise, a sister building to the developer’s high-rise nearly completed at the corner of Spring Street and Neil Avenue.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/12/12/nationwide-realty-moving-ahead-with-another-12.html

I drove by yesterday and it looks like they are already putting up the crane for the new building.

State grant funds awarded for a 276-foot-long bridge across the Olentangy River to connect the Olentangy Trail with Nationwide Boulevard and the Arena District.  The state awarded $485,000 for this project.  The total project cost is $1.9 million.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/20/1-state-grant-to-help-connect-trails-build-park-in-columbus.html

 

This project was announced earlier this year.  Below is one of the renderings from that announcement, which was previously posted in July 2016 in this Arena District development thread:  http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,3335.msg809910.html#msg809910

 

Curtain falls on Arena District theater

 

The Arena Grand has gone dark again.

 

Dallas-based Studio Movie Grill closed the Arena District movie theater. It opened three years ago this month.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/01/04/curtain-falls-on-arena-district-theater.html

What the Arena District's 1903 Municipal Light Plant will look like as creative space

 

 

The transformation of a former coal-fired power plant into creative office space is making progress in the Arena District.

 

Some of the heavy lifting – removing hundreds of tons of steel and debris from the vacant building– has been completed by project lead Connect Realty.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/10/slideshow-what-the-arena-districts-1903municipal.html

This will spruce up Toontown (that's what I call Nationwide Blvd. west of the railroad tracks).

^^ Great to get that update on the renovation of the former Municipal Light Plant.  I expected good things from the original 1903 building.  But I was surprised to see that the interior of the 1950 addition has so much potential.  Below is a rendering included with the update that shows what both parts will look like after renovation work is completed:

 

------  To the left is the 1950 addition  ------  to the right is the original 1903 building

Here are some current interior photos (plus a few renderings of the planned finished product) from http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/10/slideshow-what-the-arena-districts-1903municipal.html:

 

First, a couple of interior views of the original 1903 building:

 

For context, the rendering showing the two parts of the former Municipal Light Plant complex again:

------  1950 addition to the left  -----  to the right is the original 1903 building

 

Photo showing the gap between the 1950 and 1903 sections created after initial prep work:

 

Some renderings of how that gap space might turn out:

 

View in the 1950 addition with rendering displayed in it:

 

Views of the 1950 addition that show the existing 50 foot atrium space in it:

There was another update about this former Municipal Light Plant renovation project from Friday's Business First.  This one is probably not readable without a subscription.  But it gave some important info about the 1950 addition (apparently a letter of intent was signed to lease this space, but the planned tenant backed out), so here's an excerpt:

 

Tenant search underway for Municipal Light Plant project in Arena District

By Evan Weese, Staff reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: March 10, 2017, 8:27am EST

 

A large portion of office space being constructed in the former Columbus municipal power plant is back on the market.  An undisclosed company has reversed course after signing a letter of intent last year to take 53,000 square feet in the building on the western edge of the Arena District.  Connect Realty, leading the $20 million project, is giving hard-hat tours to tenant prospects, with time to find a replacement before the makeover of 555 W. Nationwide Blvd. is completed late next year.

 

Garth’s Auctioneers & Appraisers still plans to occupy about 24,000 square feet in the original 1903 portion of the complex; the Delaware auction house is targeting an early-2018 move-in.

 

Up for grabs is the 1950 addition, being transformed into five floors of glass-walled offices overlooking a 50-foot-high atrium.  The exact amount of space is yet to be determined, as Connect works through each floor for a better understanding of the potential layout, said Todd Minard, a development associate with the Columbus company.  It’s expected to be in the neighborhood of 45,000 square feet – enough for hundreds of workers based on an industry rule of thumb of about 150 to 200 square feet per worker.

 

“We’re marketing that all as one,” Minard said. “We’re finding that there’s some people interested in talking about the entire (1950 addition).”

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/10/tenant-search-underway-for-municipal-light-plant.html

Couple more views of the 12-story Parks Edge condo building under construction at Spring & Neil.  Not the most recent views (these were taken in late Fall) but these far-away and close-up views are quite interesting.

 

Far-away view looking northwest with the North Bank Condo Tower shown next to the under construction Parks Edge building from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-photos-downtown-columbus

 

Close-up view taken from the neighboring North Bank Condo Tower looking east.  This was taken by a realtor for the Parks Edge building at http://barbarajwaters.com/parksedge/.  It contains the notation that "construction is swiftly moving along with occupancy in April 2017".  I don't know if occupancy for this first phase of Parks Edge is still next month - but construction is mostly complete on the exterior as of March 2017:

Found a couple of renderings for the second phase of Parks Edge at the project's website:  http://parksedgecondos.com/

 

As was reported earlier at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,3335.msg831037.html#msg831037 - a second 12-story condo building is being built next to the nearly completed 12-story condo building being built at Spring & Neil:

 

- Daytime rendering looking northeast:

 

- Night-time rendering looking northwest:

City wants to enhance downtown riverfront experience with canoes, kayaks and paddle boards

 

The Recreation and Parks Department, which doesn’t operate anything like it right now, wants to offer non-motorized rentals to visitors to the downtown riverfront through fall 2018.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/05/18/city-wants-to-enhance-downtown-riverfront.html

Hard Hat Tour: Municipal Light Plant

 

Work continues on the renovation of three unique and historic buildings at the western end of Nationwide Boulevard. Brad Dehays of Connect Realty, the developer behind the project, recently gave Columbus Underground a hart hat tour of the buildings.

 

See photos in the link below:

http://www.columbusunderground.com/hard-hat-tour-municipal-light-plant-bw1

 

Parks Edge I and II from Broad Street:

 

 

Also peeking out all the way from Rich Street:

 

Sunday's Dispatch had a feature story about two of the new high-rise condos that recently opened downtown: The LeVeque Tower and the Parks Edge Condos in the Arena District.

 

The LeVeque Tower has its own thread at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,26850.msg867474.html#msg867474 which shows the new condos within that beautifully renovated 1927 skyscraper.  So I'll highlight the new Parks Edge Condos from this Dispatch article here in this Arena District thread:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20170806/new-downtown-condos-offer-luxury-price-tag-to-match

 

According to the article (linked above) 54 of the 61 units in the first tower at Parks Edge have been sold.  The second tower, which will include 82 units and is expected to be ready for occupancy in June 2018.

 

There were originally more units planned for the completed 61-unit west building.  But six units were combined into a custom penthouse condo that occupies the entire top floor.  That top floor penthouse condo is nearly 14,000 square feet and sold for $4.4 million!  Here is the price and size range for the rest of the completed west building:

 

Parks Edge price range: $449,000-$4.4 million (range includes a custom combined top-floor unit; standard units top out at $1.077 million.)

 

Parks Edge size range: 1,505-13,812 square feet (range includes the custom top-floor unit; standard units top out at 3,275 square feet.)

Here are some visuals of the completed 12-story west building of the Parks Edge Condos from http://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20170806/new-downtown-condos-offer-luxury-price-tag-to-match and the Parks Edge facebook page:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 12-story east building of the Parks Edge Condos (which will be a mirror image of the completed west building) has begun its construction.  Here are a couple of late May photos showing the east building going up next the completed west building from the Parks Edge facebook page and from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-downtown-may-2017-we1

 

 

 

Those were the most recent close-up construction photos I could find.  But construction is proceeding rapidly.  One of aderwent's more recent distant photos from July 30 show that the floors of the east building are now nearly halfway to the top, as compared to the west building.  According to the Sunday Dispatch article - http://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20170806/new-downtown-condos-offer-luxury-price-tag-to-match - this building is expected to be ready for occupancy by June 2018.

The 12-story east building of the Parks Edge Condos (which will be a mirror image of the completed west building) has begun its construction.  Here are a couple of late May photos showing the east building going up next the completed west building from the Parks Edge facebook page and from http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-roundup-downtown-may-2017-we1

 

 

 

Those were the most recent close-up construction photos I could find.  But construction is proceeding rapidly.  One of aderwent's more recent distant photos from July 30 show that the floors of the east building are now nearly halfway to the top, as compared to the west building.  According to the Sunday Dispatch article - http://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20170806/new-downtown-condos-offer-luxury-price-tag-to-match - this building is expected to be ready for occupancy by June 2018.

 

There are a couple pictures in this Peletonia Slideshow on Columbus Business First that show the second Park's Edge building's progress. It looks like they are about halfway done with the 7th floor now.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/05/photos-pelotonia-2017-kicks-off-from-the-arena.html#g68

There are a couple pictures in this Pelotonia Slideshow on Columbus Business First that show the second Park's Edge building's progress. It looks like they are about halfway done with the 7th floor now.

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/05/photos-pelotonia-2017-kicks-off-from-the-arena.html#g68

 

Thanks for that catch!  Those are a couple of good views of the construction progress:

 

 

Sept. 3, 2017 photo of the second 12-story Parks Edge condo building going up along Spring Street:  http://www.columbusunderground.com/construction-cranes-dot-the-skyline-in-downtown-columbus

 

Well that didn't take long,... Although seems like they could have saved some time by doing a 24-story tower instead  :wink:

 

Second 12-Story Parks Edge Condo Building Announced in Arena District

 

Representatives from Nationwide Realty Investors (NRI) today unveiled the next phase of their Parks Edge condo development, a second 12-story tower that will be located directly to the east of the initial building that is currently under construction.

 

Phase one of Parks Edge is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2017. Pending approval by the Downtown Commission, phase two will begin construction in Early 2017 with an expected completion sometime in 2018.

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/second-12-story-parks-edge-condo-building-announced-in-arena-district

 

 

 

Now that the second Park's Edge Tower is topped out (or close to it), I wonder if we will be getting an announcement about the "future phase" portion of the master plan. It would be nice if we could see something in the 20-story range, similar to the North Bank condos, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Has anyone heard any rumors?

Progress photo taken yesterday. I believe the top floor was recently poured.

 

Came across this great drone shot of the western half of the Arena District on the Facebook page for Parks Edge,

 

That's a great aerial.

WOW!  That looks great!

I think the glass east facade facing the park looks pretty good!

 

 

Now to add a proper pedestrian crossing from the McFerson Commons across Spring St...

The tower crane has been removed at the River's Edge project. Wonder when we'll hear about the 3rd tower? It will probably be built before the LC projects in River South are completed...

The tower crane has been removed at the River's Edge project. Wonder when we'll hear about the 3rd tower? It will probably be built before the LC projects in River South are completed...

 

Yep, I saw them taking it down on Saturday. I would imagine we would hear something soon as long as the two River's Edge buildings are leasing well. I'm hoping the next building will include some type of mixed-use space. I think a restaurant right there on the park could do very well.

 

Also, I'm hoping the next building pushes 15-20 stories, but I won't hold my breath. I'm guessing it will probably be around the 8-10 story range to stay consistent with the other buildings lining the park.

The tower crane has been removed at the River's Edge project. Wonder when we'll hear about the 3rd tower? It will probably be built before the LC projects in River South are completed...

 

Yep, I saw them taking it down on Saturday. I would imagine we would hear something soon as long as the two River's Edge buildings are leasing well. I'm hoping the next building will include some type of mixed-use space. I think a restaurant right there on the park could do very well.

 

Also, I'm hoping the next building pushes 15-20 stories, but I won't hold my breath. I'm guessing it will probably be around the 8-10 story range to stay consistent with the other buildings lining the park.

 

Parks Edge I is completely sold out. 69 units. Parks Edge II has 82 units. They'll sell well too, but I'd rather an apartment tower with ground floor retail (a grocery?!) be Parks Edge III.

^ I completely agree! I'm not so sure a grocery store will go in there just because I don't know how the market will handle one given that there is a convenience store right around the corner.

^ I completely agree! I'm not so sure a grocery store will go in there just because I don't know how the market will handle one given that there is a convenience store right around the corner.

I think a Trader Joe's would do so well anywhere downtown... I don't know how willing they are to go somewhere without a surface lot, but it could be the right size there (and enough of a niche grocery that it wouldn't step on anyone's toes)

I'd love to see it, but I'm not too optimistic NRI will include any retail in the final Park's Edge building. Really, the two best spots for that they already passed on, Spring at Neil and Spring at McConnell. Declining to include it on those prominent corners makes me nearly certain we won't see any on the less visible mid-block site for phase 3.

Given that the garage for this buildout has what? 325 or so spaces, and they already have over 150 units in these two buildings, I would not expect much for the third building. I would not be surprised if it was just a 6 story continuation of the building directly to the north of the last parcel and would match the rest of the buildings actually facing McPherson Commons. Maybe they will surprise me after all though. At least when Nationwide decides to build, they build and build fast.

Given that the garage for this buildout has what? 325 or so spaces, and they already have over 150 units in these two buildings, I would not expect much for the third building. I would not be surprised if it was just a 6 story continuation of the building directly to the north of the last parcel and would match the rest of the buildings actually facing McPherson Commons. Maybe they will surprise me after all though. At least when Nationwide decides to build, they build and build fast.

 

If the new garage has 325 spaces, and Park's Edge 1 and 2 have a combined 150 units, and you allocate 1.5 parking spots per unit, that means there are still 100 spaces available. With 100 spaces available, they could put around 60 units in the third building if you want to continue allocating 1.5 spaces per unit.

 

If the third building contains 60 units, that would put it close to the 69 units that Park's Edge 1 has. Park's Edge 1 is 12-stories tall, but it is a long building. The piece of land available for the third building is a smaller square when compared to the plot of land Park's Edge 1 was built on. As a result, I don't think it's out of the question to think a 15+ story building would be built there.

Given that the garage for this buildout has what? 325 or so spaces, and they already have over 150 units in these two buildings, I would not expect much for the third building. I would not be surprised if it was just a 6 story continuation of the building directly to the north of the last parcel and would match the rest of the buildings actually facing McPherson Commons. Maybe they will surprise me after all though. At least when Nationwide decides to build, they build and build fast.

 

If the new garage has 325 spaces, and Park's Edge 1 and 2 have a combined 150 units, and you allocate 1.5 parking spots per unit, that means there are still 100 spaces available. With 100 spaces available, they could put around 60 units in the third building if you want to continue allocating 1.5 spaces per unit.

 

If the third building contains 60 units, that would put it close to the 69 units that Park's Edge 1 has. Park's Edge 1 is 12-stories tall, but it is a long building. The piece of land available for the third building is a smaller square when compared to the plot of land Park's Edge 1 was built on. As a result, I don't think it's out of the question to think a 15+ story building would be built there.

 

The garage is 327 spaces and is for the residents and visitors. I would think that with luxury units they might want more than 1.5 spaces as well. I really don't see them building anything over 12 floors max there, but I would like to be proven wrong of course.  :)

 

*also..there is this:

 

...CU: What are the factors that went into the decision on how high to build this project? Did you give any thought to mirroring North Bank across the street (which is a 20-story building)?

 

BE: We considered it, but really thought that this was the right approach to try and blend back into the Arena District scale. This building and the phase two building will be a similar scale – they will both face Spring, while the third building would face the park, and our current thinking is that it would take its cues from Burnham Square to the north.

http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-arena-district-condos-bw1

 

^ I was just stating that a 15-story building would be very doable there with existing parking if they felt like going that route. I agree with you though, I'm thinking the third building will probably be somewhere in the 8-10 story range. Burnham Square is 7-8 stories, 8-10 would be a good transition. I will be very interested to see how they design the façade though. Is it going to be all glass like the three buildings on Spring, or will it be brick like the rest of the Arena District.

 

Also, I'm wondering if anything will end up going on the surface lots  or the vacant grass lot that are between Nationwide Blvd and Spring, west of Neil.  Those lots would be a great place for some 20+ story buildings like the North Bank Condo building. The views of downtown would be great there.

^^ I wish they would do a taller building but I am thinking 7-8 floors and probably brick to match Burnham Square and the rest facing McPherson Commons. They have so many options after that-the land they have in East Franklinton, The area to the west where the Casino was originally going to go, and those scattered parcels west of Neil. I would hope they would put up at least one other highrise (15 floors or more) somewhere in there. That big grass lot is begging for development and would have great views I agree-they could even get creative and have something with a sweeping curved facade facing downtown rather than the regular square or rectangular boxes they tend to do. I can see that whole stretch of Spring between McPherson Commons and the railroad tracks lined with high rise residential-would look great.