'Lifestyle' approach planned for Westland

By Brian R. Ball, Business First

Date: Monday, May 9, 2005, 12:00am EDT

 

Columbus developer Plaza Properties plans to redevelop the Westland Mall after purchasing a half-interest in the 36-year-old retail center in Columbus.  Stephen Campbell, Plaza Properties' chief financial officer, told Business First that tentative plans call for tearing off the roof of the mall and putting two streets through the existing collection of shops and three anchor retail buildings, returning the property back to its late 1960s look.

 

"We want to take it back to its original concept, opening it up again," Campbell said.  The "lifestyle center" concept was made popular by the developers of Easton Town Center in Columbus, and the open-air shopping approach has appeared in new or planned retail centers in Cincinnati and Dayton.  Partnerships affiliated with California investors Sammy Kahan and Jackie Kashani sold a half interest in the 860,000-square-foot mall to Plaza Properties' Weston Town Centre LLC in late April for $5.5 million - the same amount the investors paid for the entire property in November 2002.

 

More at http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2005/05/09/story7.html

 

From ThisWeek West Side, 3/25/07:

 

 

Commercial, residential, rec space planned for former farm

Sunday, March 25, 2007

By CARLA SMITH ThisWeek Contributor

 

Commercial, residential, and space for recreation are the components that will define a new 203-acre development to be built between Alton and Galloway roads south of West Broad Street.  Westland Area Commission had an opportunity to look at a proposed rezoning of the land and its future uses at its monthly meeting March 21. The process of rezoning several portions of the rural tract of land known as the Blauser Farm is now under way and will formally be presented to the commission at a future meeting.

 

Components of the development include a commercial zone planned to the north of the property, with single-family housing to the south and multi-family to the east, Brown said. About 77 acres of the site will be purchased by the city of Columbus for the purpose of building a recreation center.

 

Read more at http://www.thisweeknews.com/?story=sites/thisweeknews/032507/West/News/032507-News-325245.html

 

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/06/18/daily21.html?surround=lfn

 

Giant Eagle opening in west Columbus

 

Pittsburgh Business Times -

2:26 PM EDT Wednesday, June 20, 2007

 

Giant Eagle Inc. is opening its 19th Central Ohio supermarket.

 

The store, at 4780 W. Broad St. in west Columbus, is scheduled to open Thursday, the Pittsburgh-based grocery store operator said.

 

The store will have an onsite GetGo gas station, the company's 15th in Columbus.

 

The 53,000-square-foot supermarket will employ about 150.

 

Giant Eagle said it had about $6.2 billion in sales last year. The company owns 157 supermarkets and franchises 69 in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. It has 120 GetGo gas stations.

 

 

Ooo...GET GO!!!

Something's wrong when Long-John Silvers/A&W is the architectual highlight of West Broad Street.

Nothing ever happend with Westland mall :(

West Side revival plotted

Local governments uniting to reverse regional decline

Monday, November 12, 2007 - 3:40 AM

By Mark Ferenchik, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

A plan to revive the faltering Westland Mall and soon-to-close Delphi Corp. plant could ultimately include a tax- sharing agreement between Franklin County, Columbus and Franklin Township.  It's a plan of regional importance to try to reverse the long slide of a once-thriving area now plagued by blight, crime and vacant stores and apartments.

 

The city intends to annex the Cooper Stadium site in Franklin Township. In exchange, Columbus would not pursue annexing Delphi or Westland, both in the township. County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy said commissioners intend to approve the stadium annexation at their meeting Tuesday.  Township officials want to keep Delphi and Westland for redevelopment and to bolster their tax base.

 

Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2007/11/12/WESTSIDE.ART_ART_11-12-07_B01.html?sid=101

LINK: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/10/WESTLAND.ART_ART_05-10-08_A1_SNA5MVI.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

 

<b>Westland owners hope to make a mini-Easton</b>

Saturday,  May 10, 2008 3:27 AM

BY MARK FERENCHIK, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

<img src="http://ee.dispatch.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TCD/2008/05/10/1/Img/Pc0011800.jpg">

 

Owners of the largely vacant Westland Mall want to demolish it and replace it with an open-air shopping center of big-box stores, restaurants and smaller stores.  The mall turns 40 next year. It once was the primary shopping destination for residents of western Franklin County and beyond, but it was usurped by the nearby Mall at Tuttle Crossing and other malls.

 

Tearing down Westland and improving the property with such things as new lights and storm sewers would cost $3.3 million.  Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown and Greater Columbus Chamber President Ty Marsh have asked state legislators to include $500,000 in the two-year capital-construction package to help pay for the work.

 

Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/10/WESTLAND.ART_ART_05-10-08_A1_SNA5MVI.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

 

So basically, the original Northland plan.  Gotcha.

My map said there was a mall at Northland and all I saw was a pile of dirt.

I think Westland would make a good dead mall museum. They could have pictures and artifacts from dead malls all around the world... oh wait, the dead malls phenomenon is almost exclusive to the U.S.

Menards puts Westland store on hold

Economy-driven move also stalls larger plan for site

Thursday,  December 4, 2008 3:17 AM

By Mark Ferenchik, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Home-improvement chain Menards wants to build a store at Westland Mall but is delaying plans until next year, hoping that the economy will improve.  That, in turn, is postponing a long-awaited revival of the mall and its West Side neighborhood.  Officials from Menards and Plaza Properties, co-owner of the mostly vacant mall on W. Broad Street at I-270, have presented plans for a Menards, Sears and Staples anchoring a new shopping area.

 

Read more at 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/12/04/Westland.ART_ART_12-04-08_C12_S4C4GVG.html?sid=101

New Effort To Build Casino At Westland Mall Site Instead Of Arena District

By Patrick Preston, NBC4

Updated: December 24, 2009

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio — NBC 4 has learned an effort is underway to convince casino developer Penn National to shift its focus away from Columbus’ Arena District and onto the site occupied by the Westland Mall.  The new strategy comes seven weeks after voters approved Issue 3, paving the way for an Arena District casino.  Former Franklin County Commissioner Dewey Stokes is working to rally west side business leaders behind the effort, recognizing that the Arena District site is meeting resistance in the community and inside Columbus City Hall.

 

Full story and video at http://www2.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/local/article/New_Effort_to_Build_Casino_at_Westland_Mall_Site_Instead_of_Arena_District/28867/

From the April 29, 2010 Dispatch article:  Northland area thrilled to be getting home-improvement store.  Most of the article was reporting about Menards announcing they would be starting construction at the former Northland Mall site in mid-May.  However, there was some reporting in that article about Menards and Westland Mall (see below):

 

"Menards, the Wisconsin-based home-improvement chain, won't say what, if any, plan it still has for building at Westland Mall.  But some say the company might want to see whether it can ride a wave of West Side development that could follow Tuesday's primary election.  "A lot is based on what happens with the (casino) vote," said Chris Haydocy, president of the W. Broad Street auto dealership that bears his family's name.  A statewide vote Tuesday is to determine whether Penn National Gaming can build a casino at W. Broad and Georgesville Road rather than in the Arena District, where a state constitutional amendment allows it."

 

"As for Westland, Menards isn't talking.  Menards has discussed opening a store at Westland Mall and had signed a contract with mall owners.  But nothing has happened in the past two years.  Plaza Properties, a co-owner of the largely vacant Westland Mall, did not return calls."

 

Full article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/04/29/building-a-future.html?sid=101

Doctors Hospital transforms from drain to beacon

Business First of Columbus - by Carrie Ghose

Friday, May 14, 2010

 

The nation’s second-largest residency program for osteopathic physicians could vault to the top for more medical school graduates with the addition of an education center as part of an expansion at Doctors Hospital. 

 

The Heritage Center for Osteopathic Medical Education sits atop a doubled emergency department in a 60,000-square-foot, $27.5 million wing that opens in early June at the OhioHealth Corp. owned hospital on Columbus’ west side.  The 265-bed hospital, meanwhile, has accomplished a financial turnaround following a decade of losses by increasing volume and cutting costs amid persistent crowding at its old ER.

 

MORE: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/05/17/story2.html

Menards broke ground at the former Northland Mall site yesterday.  But it seems that good news for Northland is bad news for Westland Mall, according to this Dispatch article:

 

Menards is losing interest in Westland

Tuesday,  May 25, 2010

By Mark Ferenchik, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

A Menards official said yesterday that it is doubtful the Wisconsin-based home-improvement chain will build a store at Westland Mall.  "It's highly unlikely at this point," said Scott Collette, Menards' chief operating officer, after a groundbreaking ceremony for the chain's first Columbus store, at the site of the former Northland Mall.

 

Menards continues to look at West Side properties, Collette said.  "For us, it's just a matter of finding the best location with the best economics for us," he said.  What that means for redevelopment plans for the mostly vacant mall at I-270 and W. Broad Street near the West Side casino site is unclear.

 

Full article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/05/25/menards-is-losing-interest-in-westland.html?sid=101

Menard sniffing around Broad Street site where Wal-Mart bid failed

Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball

Friday, June 11, 2010

 

Home improvement retailer Menard Inc. has a second Franklin County store site under consideration, near Columbus’ border with Reynoldsburg on a tract Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pursued six years ago.

 

The Eau Claire, Wis.-based merchant hopes to build a 180,000-square-foot store on land the Casto development organization owns at 6698 E. Broad Street.  Menard has asked the city Development Commission to rezone a 20.8-acre property and an adjacent 9.8 acres also owned by Casto’s Columbus Corporate Center Inc. affiliate to a commercial planned district from limited manufacturing.

 

Full article: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/06/14/story2.html?b=1276488000^3490691

Doctors Hospital transforms from drain to beacon

Business First of Columbus - by Carrie Ghose

Friday, May 14, 2010

 

The nations second-largest residency program for osteopathic physicians could vault to the top for more medical school graduates with the addition of an education center as part of an expansion at Doctors Hospital.

 

The Heritage Center for Osteopathic Medical Education sits atop a doubled emergency department in a 60,000-square-foot, $27.5 million wing that opens in early June at the OhioHealth Corp. owned hospital on Columbus west side. The 265-bed hospital, meanwhile, has accomplished a financial turnaround following a decade of losses by increasing volume and cutting costs amid persistent crowding at its old ER.

 

MORE: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/05/17/story2.html

 

The old ER was terrible. I once waited 6 hours to be seen and there was no privacy; they only had a curtain separating the rooms where I was. The new ER is fantastic though, extremely modern. Best ER I've ever seen.

Unfortunately this is not redevelopment news for Westland Mall.  But the Dispatch did have an interesting look at Westland Mall's past in its latest Bicentennial history post (link below).  Apparently, today is the 43rd anniversary of Westland Mall's opening.

 

Although - as is pointed out in the article - the mall was not the first structure at the West Broad Street property.  In 1962 Lazarus built a free-standing store at this location.  The 1969 Westland Mall was an open-air mall added to the Lazarus store and also anchored by JCPenney and Sears.  Westland Mall was later fully enclosed in 1982.

 

Columbus Mileposts: Feb. 12, 1969 | Westland Mall’s debut draws crowd

In a recent article, it noted that Westland Mall was closed to pedestrian traffic as of November 2012. But the owner would announce a redelopment plan sometime in 2013. I did notice that Sears and Staples were still open though

I went to the Sears to get something close to a year ago and the mallway was blocked off, making it a third-class mall. Cold wafted its way into the Sears as I shopped.

Shermany and I walked though the mall earlier this year and it was still open. I do not remember what month, though.

This is technically not an official development proposal.  But with four different proposals for outlet shopping centers currently being floated in Central Ohio - that's right FOUR - the director of Economic Development and Planning for Franklin County is asking why Westland Mall shouldn't also be considered.  Or as he asks in the article, “Why doesn’t Westland remain viable for another retail use?”.

 

From a purely planning standpoint this idea makes alot of sense.  At 860,000 square feet, Westland Mall is larger than the 350,000 square feet needed in the other outlet center proposals.  But some selective demolition could whittle Westland down to an acceptable size.  Plus, the buildings and infrastructure are already in place. 

 

However, the biggest plus for locating an outlet shopping center at Westland is the newly constructed Hollywood Casino that is right across the street from it.  Locating a tourist magnet like an outlet mall next to the existing tourist magnet of a casino seems like a natural match.  Plus, Westland's location right next to I-270 allows for good access and visibility.  Below is the article (full access subscription restricted) from Columbus Business First:

 

Business First: Schimmer asks why not Westland for new outlet mall?

 

---

The other four outlet shopping center proposal are as follows: (with links to their UO posts)

• Delaware County I-71 & Rts. 36/37 Tanger Outlet Proposal

• Delaware County I-71 & Rts. 36/37 NorthGate Centre Proposal

• New Albany Proposal

• Madison County Proposal

My co-workers and I talked about this last week. Outlet mall and casino in one place; dead mall reborn.

See ya later, grandkids' college fund.

This is technically not an official development proposal.  But with four different proposals for outlet shopping centers currently being floated in Central Ohio - that's right FOUR - the director of Economic Development and Planning for Franklin County is asking why Westland Mall shouldn't also be considered.  Or as he asks in the article, “Why doesn’t Westland remain viable for another retail use?”.

 

From a purely planning standpoint this idea makes alot of sense.  At 860,000 square feet, Westland Mall is larger than the 350,000 square feet needed in the other outlet center proposals.  But some selective demolition could whittle Westland down to an acceptable size.  Plus, the buildings and infrastructure are already in place. 

 

However, the biggest plus for locating an outlet shopping center at Westland is the newly constructed Hollywood Casino that is right across the street from it.  Locating a tourist magnet like an outlet mall next to the existing tourist magnet of a casino seems like a natural match.  Plus, Westland's location right next to I-270 allows for good access and visibility.  Below is the article (full access subscription restricted) from Columbus Business First:

 

Business First: Schimmer asks why not Westland for new outlet mall?

 

---

The other four outlet shopping center proposal are as follows: (with links to their UO posts)

• Delaware County I-71 & Rts. 36/37 Tanger Outlet Proposal

• Delaware County I-71 & Rts. 36/37 NorthGate Centre Proposal

• New Albany Proposal

• Madison County Proposal

 

It would be like the huge outlet mall right next to the Morongo Casino just down the highway (well, 80 minutes) from me in Palm Springs. 

The infamously distressed apartment complex formerly known as Lincoln Park West and Shannon Way (now known as Metro West) on the City's West Side has been purchased by Mitt Romney?!?!?

 

According to Business First at http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/04/mitt-romney-affiliate-buys-most-of-metro-west.html, the Havenwood Townhomes division of the Romney Group has purchased the property.  Josh Romney, son of 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, founded the Romney Group in 2006 and serves as its president while Mitt Romney serves as its chairman.  This apartment complex gained notoriety in 2004 when 10 people died in a likely arson fire there - and since then for its high vacancy rate and crime.

 

The 1,700-unit apartment complex was also in the news back in February of this year.  The previous property owner tried to stop Franklin County and Praire Township (where the property is located) from enforcing an agreement they signed allowing the County to demolish around 400 vacant units of unsafe structures in the complex.  The Courts sided with the County and 313 of those units were demolished in March.  More about this demolition was posted here in the 'Columbus: Demolition Watch' thread in the Architecture, Environmental & Preservation section.

 

According to the Business First article, the Romney Group's renovation plans call for the renovation of 856 townhomes and 72 flats in the apartment complex and for the demolition of another 328 units (in addition to the previous 313 units already demo'd).

More about the Romney Group buying the 1,700-unit Metro West apartment complex from ThisWeekNews:

 

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/west/news/2014/05/02/metro-west-sold-new-owners-want-it-to-be-premier-community.html

From http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/07/02/rec-center-almost-set-for-grand-opening.html:

 

Prairie Township opened a $10 million, 40,000 sq. ft. community center this month at 5955 W. Broad Street.  The township senior center also moved to the new building.  Although the community center was funded by Prairie Township, the land is actually located within the City of Columbus.  A six-acre parcel became available after the developer of a surrounding residential development let its contract on the land expire.

 

 

More images of the new community center at http://prairietownship.org/131/Community-Center

From http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/07/02/rec-center-almost-set-for-grand-opening.html:

 

Prairie Township opened a $10 million, 40,000 sq. ft. community center this month at 5955 W. Broad Street.  The township senior center also moved to the new building.  Although the community center was funded by Prairie Township, the land is actually located within the City of Columbus.  A six-acre parcel became available after the developer of a surrounding residential development let its contract on the land expire.

 

 

That part seems strange to me.

^ Probably a little bit atypical.  But in some of the outer areas of Franklin County (especially west and south), city land and township land mix rather freely.  According to the township officials in the article, getting a large enough parcel that already had water and sewer connections was the key to choosing this location.

There are actually examples of this all around the state. Plenty of township halls historically ended up in the incorporated city/village surrounded by the township. More landlocked communities may also want to place non-taxable uses outside their boundaries, allowing taxable uses to take up their limited supply of land. Upper Arlington's salt barns are in the City of Columbus, for example, not that I know the intent of that decision.

I am really glad they put it there. I was afraid they were going to have another ugly fast food place or some other ugly use.

Lots of road work and streetscaping work is going on at West Broad Street in the City of Columbus and Prairie Township on the city's West Side/Westland area.  The construction project will rebuild and add streetscape amenities to a 2.5 mile stretch of West Broad Street.  It will include new water lines, new storm sewers, street resurfacing, bike lanes, landscaped medians, enhanced bus stops, sidewalks, streetlights, street furniture, street trees and mast-arm traffic signals.  Construction began in Spring 2015 and is scheduled to run until October 2016.

 

This work is based on a joint planning study done by the City of Columbus and Prairie Township and published in the 2007 West Broad Street Streetscape Improvement Plan:  https://columbus.gov/uploadedFiles/Columbus/Departments/Development/Planning_Division/Document_Library/Library_Documents/PDFs/WestBroadoverlay.pdf

 

Prairie Township's website has a West Broad Street construction page that is updated as construction moves through the 2.5 mile project area:  http://www.prairietownship.org/214/Broad-Street-Construction

Below are two renderings of the streetscape improvements planned for West Broad Street from http://www.prairietownship.org/214/Broad-Street-Construction:

 

 

And now some not-so-good news for the West Side:

 

-- Columbus Underground reported earlier that the West Side Target store was going to close in November:  http://www.columbusunderground.com/target-closing-west-side-location-in-november

 

-- Business First updated this earlier report today.  Target will still be closing, but not until January:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/11/04/target-closing-west-side-store-near-hollywood.html

Westland Mall declared a nuisance; officials discussing timetable for demolition

By Dan Eaton, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: December 9, 2015, 1:23pm EST

 

Westland Mall is coming down.  It’s just a matter of when.

 

The Franklin Township Building Department has declared the 860,000-square-foot dormant mall a nuisance, and a Wednesday afternoon meeting between township officials and Westland owners Plaza Properties Inc. will determine when it will be demolished.

 

“The goal is to tear it down," said Nick Vollman, Plaza Properties' director of commercial leasing.  Vollman told me the mall – vandalized over the summer – has no electricity, heating or cooling.  While that hasn't been an issue yet, officials are concerned that with temperatures dropping the fire-suppression system could freeze.  Sears Holdings Corp. still operates a store at Westland even though the rest of the mall has been vacant for years.

 

A Plaza Properties affiliate owns 63 acres of the 81-acre site, with Sears owning the remaining 18.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/12/09/westland-mall-declared-a-nuisance-officials.html

Deadline set for Westland Mall plan, with officials expecting resolution

By Dan Eaton, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: Dec. 15, 2015, 2:35pm EST

 

The owners of the decaying Westland Mall have less than 30 days to bring the mostly vacant shopping center up to municipal safety codes.  Franklin Township Fire Chief James Welch said the township's meeting last week with Plaza Properties Inc., the managing entity of the former mall property’s ownership group, did not result in a resolution and the owners were given a month to make necessary repairs to the structure.

 

Plaza Properties has not returned calls for comment but last week said it hopes to find a “Band-Aid” solution to stave off demolition of the 860,000-square-foot building until spring.  The Columbus company said demolition would cost an estimated at $1.5 million and it hopes to have a redevelopment plan in place by then that would fund the demolition.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/12/15/deadline-set-for-westland-mall-plan-with-officials.html

Demolition Likely for Westland Mall — But What Comes Next?

By Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

December 15, 2015 - 2:35 pm

 

The formerly iconic Westland Mall may soon be no more.  Officials from Franklin Township are currently discussing options with mall owners Plaza Properties, and all signs are pointing toward the eventual demolition of the building.

 

Local retail strategist Chris Boring, owner of Boulevard Strategies, says that while expensive, demolition is likely the best course of action.  He’s been called in to consult with multiple owners of the Westland Mall as the property has continued to change hands over the past twenty years.

 

“I’ve seen this happen over and over again throughout the whole state,” he explains. “A mall goes dead and until the existing building is demolished, new development proposals never go anywhere. It’s hard for people to visualize a new concept when there are existing buildings sitting empty. And no one ever wants to pay for the demolition, so it becomes a quote-unquote public-private partnership.”

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/westland-mall-demolition

It's been over a year since Franklin Township officials set the vacant Westland Mall on the road to demolition.  But going into 2017, it's still standing.  Or as the lead sentence in the below linked articles puts it: "When it comes to West Side redevelopment, the 93-acre Westland Mall is the elephant in the room -- large, gray and sitting there.":

 

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/west/news/2016/10/07/westland-mall-empty-site-hindering-area-rebirth.html

More about the status of the Westland Mall site from Columbus Underground:

 

 

Frustration Grows at Lack of Progress on Westland Mall Site

By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground

December 7, 2016 - 1:10 pm

 

Frustration is growing on the West Side as the another year passes with no movement on the Westland Mall site.  Although it looked like demolition of the mall was imminent last December — when Franklin Township officials cited the property’s owner for a series of code violations — those issues were resolved a short time later and the mall has continued to sit empty.

 

Plaza Properties, under the name Weston Town Centre LLC, controls about 60 acres of the 80-plus acre site.  Sears controls the remaining acreage and continues to operate its store on the site.

 

“At the county we believe that there’s definitely an opportunity to redevelop this site,” says Jim Schimmer, Franklin County Economic Development and Planning Director.  “It just has to be looked at in a holistic way, and we haven’t been able to get there with this particular owner.” ... “This is a key piece of property, but it’s controlled by the private sector,” he says, “and since the county is not in the position to purchase it and do something with it, it ends up to being the owner’s issue.  We have tried over the years to be helpful, by doing a market analysis and studying possibilities for reuse, but there’s never been a formalized plan (from Plaza Properties).”

 

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/frustration-grows-at-lack-of-progress-on-westland-mall-site-bw1

 

$14M project at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital finishes surgical upgrades, adds observation unit

By Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First

November 23, 2016, 1:36pm EST

 

OhioHealth Doctors Hospital is finishing a three-year surgery department upgrade and building an addition for a 12-bed observation unit and more convenient entrance for certain outpatient tests in a $14.2 million project that started this month.

 

The Columbus office of Messer Construction is renovating the fifth-floor inpatient rooms for patients recovering from surgery – converting them to private occupancy with larger bathrooms – and creating a first-floor surgery support unit that includes a physician locker room, according to a construction notice filed with the Franklin County Recorder.  The $9.4 million project brings the total three-year surgical modernization project by Messer to $27 million, OhioHealth said.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/11/23/14m-project-at-ohiohealth-doctors-hospital.html

Westland library in line for expansion

By ALAN FROMAN, ThisWeek Community News

Updated: December 13, 2016 - 4:51 PM

 

Now that the Southwest Public Libraries system has completed work on a new building in Grove City, officials are turning their attention to the Westland branch with an eye toward expansion in 2017.

 

The plan is for about 3,000 square feet to be added to the Westland building, 4047 W. Broad St., sometime in 2017, communications manager Mark Dubovec said.  The Westland Area Library currently has about 25,000 square feet of public service space, according to Westland branch assistant director Michele Lowe.

 

While plans have not been finalized, the expectation is that the additional space will be used to expand the youth services department and provide better public access to meeting space, she said.  The expansion area will be located near the youth services department and will be built on vacant space between the library building and the Lincoln Village Plaza Shopping Center.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/west/news/2016/12/09/westland-library-in-line-for-expansion.html

Stiles and Mix avenues: Senior housing planned for West Side

By ALAN FROMAN, THISWEEKNEWS.COM

Posted: February 10, 2017 at 6:05 PM

 

A senior housing project is in the works for Prairie Township.  Buckeye Community Hope Foundation (BCHF) has announced plans to develop and build Prairie Place, a 35-unit, three-story building, at the southwest corner of Stiles and Mix avenues.

 

The project would offer 18 one-bedroom and 17 two-bedroom apartments for residents age 55 and older, said Ian Maute, vice-president of development at BCHF.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20170210/stiles-and-mix-avenues-senior-housing-planned-for-west-side

West Broad Street corridor: Overlay would guide planning

By ALAN FROMAN, THISWEEKNEWS.COM

Posted: February 18, 2017 at 12:01 AM

 

A proposed overlay district for Prairie Township would set guidelines for future redevelopment of the West Broad Street corridor.  Prairie Township’s zoning commission is expected to initiate the process for adopting the guidelines in mid-summer; the new standards could be in place by the beginning of 2018.

( . . . )

Along with adopting the overlay district, the township also would look to amend the zoning map to add the area that was formerly the village of New Rome into Prairie Township’s general-business zoning district. ... The West Broad corridor extends from the I-270 exchange to Hilliard-Rome Road.

 

MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20170218/west-broad-street-corridor-overlay-would-guide-planning

^ More about this West Broad Street Corridor Zoning Overlay Plan from the Prairie Township website:

 

http://www.prairietownship.org/272/West-Broad-Street-Overlay

 

Above is an aerial photo of the second most important West Broad Street redevelopment site on the Far West Side - with the Westland Mall site being far and away the most important.  But this second most important site is located in the former Village of New Rome.  New Rome was disbanded by the State about a decade ago after solely operating as a well-known speed trap along Rt. 40 (aka W. Broad St).  After the village was disbanded, it was absorbed into the surrounding Prairie Township.

 

Now, as Prairie Township is moving ahead with a number of planning and development initiatives, an RFP is being sent to developers by the Prairie Township Community Improvement Corp. for a 1.46-acre property that fronts the 5300 block of W. Broad Street in the former village.  Below are some recent articles about this property:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/03/29/prairie-township-seeking-developer-for-vacant-west.html

 

http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20170330/ideas-wanted-for-vacant-west-broad-corridor-land

 

http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20170504/prairie-township-three-lots-crucial-to-revitalization-plans

Earlier today, I posted this news that Sears announced it was closing its stores at Eastland Mall and Westland Mall:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/06/07/sears-stores-at-eastland-and-westland-malls-are.html

 

Although this news is a blow to the future of Eastland Mall (which is being discussed in its own thread), the news for the Westland Mall site is not so negative.  In fact, this might be very good news for the future redevelopment of the Westland Mall site.

 

The Sears store which will be closing is the only retail business still operating at Westland Mall.  The rest of the mall shut down a few years ago and is completely vacant.  Although some nascent redevelopment efforts have begun for the Westland Mall site, community members have cited Sears' ongoing operations there as a hindrance to those efforts.  With the entire mall site vacant, those redevelopment efforts might gain some new energy.

Menards plans store on Hilliard-Rome Road, taking one of last empty spaces

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/07/19/menards-plans-store-on-hilliard-rome-road-taking.html

 

---

Menards announced plans to build a 251,925 square-foot store at 831 Hilliard-Rome Road.  This 36-acre spot of vacant land is located halfway between I-70 and West Broad Street.  Construction is scheduled to start in 2018.

 

This would be the fifth Menards store in Central Ohio.  Two of the four existing stores are in Columbus at Morse Road and East Broad Street, and the others are in Lewis Center and Lancaster.

Columbus' west side gets first city park in 15 years

 

Columbus officials opened the Wilson Road Park and the Camp Chase Trailhead on Thursday afternoon, making it the first park to open on the city's west side in 15 years.  The $782,000 project contributes to what is now 120 miles of trails in Columbus and 180 miles of regional trails in Central Ohio.

 

MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/07/20/columbus-west-side-gets-first-citypark-in-15-years.html