Posted July 13, 200519 yr From Columbus RetroMetro, 7/12/05: Kramer Paints Condo Project Gets Green Light News from the Italian Village Society meeting that was held tonight: The 40 plus unit condo project slated for development across the street from Jeffrey Place on the former Kramer Paints site on 4th Street just below East First Avenue has received conceptual approval from the Italian Village Commission. The project is now moving to apply for zoning variances and construction permits. The project had to go through a few revisions to deal with neighbors concerns regarding parking issues and traffic that would be created on the alley behind the project. The project is slated to be condos with some retail space on the first floor. http://columbusretrometro.typepad.com/columbus_retrometro/2005/07/kramer_paints_c.html
July 12, 200618 yr A rendering of Kramer Place on 4th across from Jeffrey Place from Columbus Retrometro http://columbusretrometro.typepad.com/
October 29, 200618 yr Blend of public, private housing a winning mix for development Saturday, October 28, 2006 Debbie Gebolys THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Trendy, brightly colored and well-tended, 37 buildings in Italian Village are designed to appeal to young professionals who are drawn to the Short North. The one-, two- and threebedroom town house apartments hold their own against the newest offerings in the Arena District and Brewery District. Since New Village Place opened two years ago, there have been almost no vacancies among the 100 units. [email protected] http://dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/10/28/20061028-C1-02.html
October 29, 200618 yr Guest is executive director of the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, whose experimental New Village combines market-rate town homes and public housing, without telling either group of renters about the other. I'll bet the non market-rate crowd is easy to spot. Hint: kids.
October 29, 200618 yr Nothing remarkable. It was just your basic 1960's-70's public housing high-rise. No loss to the neighborhood. There is a lot of really good looking in-fill housing happening around there now.
October 29, 200618 yr I figured this one would win. The impact it has on the city is bigger than the other contenders and is a local example of successful mixed-income housing that will hopefully be followed by other developers in poorer areas that have an influx of higher-income people.
October 30, 200618 yr What gets me is that they've figured out how to do a great mixed-income project in Italian Village, but less than a mile to the south in Downtown Columbus, virtually every new residential project is way beyond the means of all but the corporate execs and the otherwise well-heeled. :?
November 27, 200618 yr CONSTRUCTION ZONE $1 million fundraising effort begins to rebuild Italian Village Park Monday, November 27, 2006 Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A dilapidated park in the Short North could be turned into a showpiece if a nonprofit group’s fundraising effort is successful. The Italian Village Society is attempting to raise nearly $1 million to rebuild its Italian Village Park at High and Hubbard streets. The changes would include a central lawn and a better-defined entrance to the park from High Street. One part of the plan, designed by local architecture firm MSI, is to move a small playground from the corner of Kerr and Hubbard streets to the southwestern section of the park along High Street. It would allow for what Phillips calls an oval "great lawn" to be created in the middle of the park. The plan also includes removing broken concrete, regrading and resodding the lot, building flower beds and installing benches and other furniture. A pavilion is part of the design. Read more at http://www.columbusdispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/27/20061127-B6-01.html
March 8, 200817 yr Kramer Place Apartments Columbus RetroMetro Posted by Paul Bonneville on March 6, 2008 As with a number of condominium developments in the downtown area that have taken a rental approach, the former Kramer Place Condominiums are now being offered as apartments. One bedroom apartments start at $800 and two bedrooms start at $1250. Coming from someone who lives about 2 blocks away, I can say firsthand that this neighborhood is a PRIME location for living a lifestyle with the best that Columbus has to offer in the way of restaurants and entertainment...but then again, I'm biased. http://columbusretrometro.typepad.com/columbus_retrometro/2008/03/kramer-place-ap.html
May 7, 200817 yr Kingfish has been gushing over the new Italian Village Park non-stop. :wink: Here's what's done. And it will soon be a facing a parking garage.
March 10, 200916 yr Wonder Bread plant closing Business First of Columbus Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 4:32pm Fresh off its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the parent of Columbus’ Wonder Bread plant said the downtown-area facility will be one of two closing in May. Kansas City, Mo.-based Interstate Bakeries Corp. said Tuesday that production at the Columbus plant will end by May 9. Spokeswoman Maya Pogoda said 70 bakery workers and 17 drivers and other employees with jobs tied to the plant will be cut. News of the pending closure comes a month after Interstate cut 38 workers at the Columbus plant, which makes hot dog buns and rolls, as it rolled out a new all-natural bread brand that the facility couldn’t bake. Days before that announcement, Interstate emerged from more than four years of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/03/09/daily18.html
March 11, 200916 yr Wonder Bread bakery in Columbus to close in May About 70 workers will lose their jobs Tuesday, March 10, 2009 12:49 PM By Dan Gearino THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Interstate Bakeries Corp. plans to close its Columbus Wonder Bread plant, the company said today. The bakery, 697 N. 4th St., will shut down on May 9 after nearly a century at that location. All of the roughly 70 employees will lose their jobs. The Wonder Bread sign on top of the bakery is a notable feature of the Italian Village neighborhood, visible from I-670. According to county records, the plant was built in 1916. Full article at http://columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/03/10/abread.html?sid=101
March 11, 200916 yr And there goes that wonderful aroma of baking bread along with more jobs.... Wonder Bread bakery to close About 70 employees will lose their jobs; latest move follows round of cutbacks made last month Wednesday, March 11, 2009 3:09 AM By Dan Gearino THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH After nearly a century of operation, the Columbus Wonder Bread plant will close in early May, putting about 70 employees out of work. Last month, plant owner Interstate Bakeries Corp. cut 38 jobs in Columbus and moved the work to the Chicago area. The Wonder Bread sign on top of the bakery is a notable feature of the Italian Village neighborhood, visible from I-670. According to county records, the plant was built in 1916. The bakery, 697 N. 4th St., has gradually reduced its output to the point that it only makes buns for hamburgers and hot dogs. The company said the plant's last day of operation will be May 9. Read more at http://dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/03/11/wonder_bread_close.ART_ART_03-11-09_C8_QHD6BNI.html?sid=101
March 11, 200916 yr Sorry to hear the Wonder Bread bakery is closing. Loss of a landmark sign. Loss of a landmark smell. Fresh baked bread.
March 11, 200916 yr It's troubling to see this landmark facility close, but it's heartening to think the market is shrinking for gluey, hyper-processed, nutritionally void bread products.
March 11, 200916 yr The Wonder Bread plant is closing??? Noooo!!! No longer will that wonderful aroma waft throughout Italian Village :(
March 11, 200916 yr Boo!!! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 11, 200916 yr Just sad. Now where are those employees going to go and what are they going to do with that building?
March 11, 200916 yr There's a lively discussion here at Columbus Underground. The discussion partly devolved into Wonder Bread being attacked as a proxy for over-processed unhealthy foods.
March 11, 200916 yr Also there's a lively discussion here at Columbus Underground. There the discussion partly devolved into Wonder Bread being attacked as a proxy for over-processed unhealthy foods. Heaven forfend! Seriously, though, my feelings about the actual Wonderbread product aside, any loss of industrial jobs is bad, but I see this as a potential double loss for Italian Village; what are the chances this plant will be rehabbed into more upscale condos? Pretty darn good. I'm not anti-development, but anything that further contributes to IV's descent in to a boutique bedroom community is definitely a bad thing.
March 11, 200916 yr The Wonder Bread plant is closing??? Noooo!!! No longer will that wonderful aroma waft throughout Italian Village :( Ahh! The smell of fresh baked bread!
March 25, 200916 yr There was already a large scale development underway in IV when I moved away a couple years ago... I believe it was called Jefferson Commons. I thought that stalled and currently sits as a large amount of vacant land. If that's the case, I have a hard time picturing a developer thinking redeveloping the Wonder Bread factory into residential is a lucrative idea. If anything, it's just going to sit vacant for a very long time I'd imagine. I hope I'm wrong though....
March 25, 200916 yr For my part, if the plant can't be re-purposed for an another industrial function, I'd love to see it converted into an artists' colony. It would do wonders to staunch the outflow of the so-called creative class precipitated by the incredible uptick in neighborhood property values.
March 25, 200916 yr Also there's a lively discussion here at Columbus Underground. There the discussion partly devolved into Wonder Bread being attacked as a proxy for over-processed unhealthy foods. Heaven forfend! Seriously, though, my feelings about the actual Wonderbread product aside, any loss of industrial jobs is bad, but I see this as a potential double loss for Italian Village; what are the chances this plant will be rehabbed into more upscale condos? Pretty darn good. I'm not anti-development, but anything that further contributes to IV's descent in to a boutique bedroom community is definitely a bad thing. That seems an odd thing to hear you to say. Wouldn't you have to include your own presence in the neighborhood as a bad thing then? It's similar to hearing suburbanites complain that the "rural character" around their subdivision is being eroded when another subdivision gets developed nearby. I'm not saying your presence in the neighborhood is a bad thing. I'm sure you're a good neighbor.
March 25, 200916 yr I'm very much in the minority in today's Italian Village; I have two children with a stay at home mom. If not for the reasonable rent and support of our landlords we'd never be able to afford to live in the neighborhood--at $200,000 and up (and up) home ownership is an impossibility. The new developments are geared toward childless professionals and wealthy emptynesters, and based on pungent personal experience, I can say that the neighborhood associations are indifferent-to-hostile to the needs of families and small businesses. What I'm saying is we need a mix of people and functions in the neighborhood. The recipe in play right now precludes that.
March 25, 200916 yr I see your point, but I would bet their are ways of slicing and dicing neighborhood demographics to place you into the "intruder group". I see it as inherently unsavory ground to tread when we start that process.
March 25, 200916 yr Suffice it to say, with the current direction of Italian Village, people in my group are marginalized.
March 25, 200916 yr It's probably trite to say "I feel your pain" Kingfish, but...I do. The "G" word is a touchy subject in urban redevelopment. And by "G", I mean gentrification. There's strong feelings on all sides of the issue. And neighborhoods evolve and change all the time. One rule of thumb in Columbus has been: 1) The hip young couple without children lives in (German/Victorian/Italian) Village. 2) The hip young couple with children moves to Clintonville. But you are right about the desire for diversity, Kingfish. If it was easy to revitalize a neighborhood without some degree of gentrification, it would happen all the time.
March 25, 200916 yr As I've said before in another angry rant, the definition of diversity in Italian Village is a healthy mix of gays and lesbians. I'm kidding, of course. There's room for trust fund kids and hedge fund managers in there too.
March 25, 200916 yr With the way the stock market has been, the trust fund kids and hedge fund managers are priced out too!
June 1, 200916 yr Wonder Bread plant’s owner hoping buyer interest rises Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball Friday, May 29, 2009 With no more rolls coming out of the ovens at the Wonder Bread plant, the facility’s owner is looking for an investor to buy the 90-year-old landmark near downtown Columbus. But the lack of progress at another industrial redevelopment site across North Fourth Street and the poor economic climate could limit interest in the two-level, 64,400-square-foot building, real estate experts said. Kansas City, Mo.-based Interstate Bakeries Corp. closed the plant at 697 N. Fourth St. on May 6 as it shifted production to other Wonder Bread bakeries. That decision, which eliminated nearly 90 jobs and ended the smell of fresh-baked bread that once wafted from the plant, followed a four-year reorganization of the company in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Interstate put the property on the market for $1.7 million. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/06/01/story2.html
January 15, 201015 yr Hmmm. This sounds interesting. From Columbus Underground at http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/wonderland-columbus Wonderland Columbus? From their facebook page: "Housed in the former Wonder Bread factory, Wonderland will become a facility providing artists studios, shared coworking space, band rehearsal and recording space, and retail and more to the creative community of Columbus, OH." More at http://www.wonderlandcolumbus.com/
January 16, 201015 yr So this isn't going to be a theme park based around the Wonderland murders that Pickaway County's John Holmes narrowly escaped?
January 17, 201015 yr From http://www.columbusunderground.com/wonder-bread-factory-reborn-as-wonderland Press Release about the Wonder Bread bakery site redevelopment: Artists, Musicians and Small Businesses Team up to Take Over Former Wonder Bread Factory It’s been almost a year since Wonder Bread moved out of their Italian Village bakery on 4th Street near the Short North. Now, a group of innovative entrepreneurs are looking to turn the 65,000 square foot factory into a hub for the creative class in Columbus and beyond. The project is being called “Wonderland” and it will combine artist studios, shared office space, band rehearsal and recording facilities, venue and performance space, gallery space, and a mix of start-up and established retail all under one roof. The goal is to provide a resource for artists, musicians, and small businesses to achieve individual success, as well as to establish an icon in Columbus that highlights our outstanding local creative industries to the world. Getting things off the ground are Adam Brouillette (Couchfire Collective), Andrew Dodson (Central City Recording), David Hunegnaw (The Sandbox Columbus), Kevin Lykens (Lykens Companies) and Josh Quinn (Tigertree). The group is forming a non-profit organization to manage the property, to keep rent costs down and to provide a vehicle to seek donations and grants to encourage growth and job creation within the creative community. They will each focus on a specific area – arts, music, business, retail – and provide business counseling and information resources for tenants as well as day-to-day management of the property. There will be an informational meeting on January 29th at Junctionview Studios (889 Williams Ave, Grandview Heights) from 6:30pm-9pm for anyone who may be interested. More information can be found online at http://www.WonderlandColumbus.com
January 20, 201015 yr WONDER BREAD BUILDING Creative co-op makes bid for bakery Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 3:05 AM By Kevin Joy, The Columbus Dispatch A bakery in Italian Village that once produced fresh bread has become the intended kitchen for a radically different recipe: a cooperative venue for artists paired with offices, studios, recording facilities and performance spaces, plus room for grass-roots retailers. Dubbed "Wonderland," the project would be housed in the former Wonder Bread factory -- which the company closed in May. The concept is being spearheaded by artists and small-business owners -- including Adam Brouillette, president of the Couchfire Collective, a 10-member group that promotes the arts often through Junctionview Studios in Grandview Heights. A public meeting about the venture is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at Junctionview, 889 Williams Ave. -- which Couchfire members have used for exhibits and performances since 2006. At 64,000 square feet, the Wonder Bread building would ease an eventual transition for Junctionview occupants and events -- with plenty of room to grow. Junctionview, a 22,000-square-foot multiuse space rented by 60 artists and creative entrepreneurs (with a waiting list of 100-plus tenants), is likely to be bulldozed in 2014, when owner Nationwide Realty Investors plans to make way for the second phase of the Grandview Yard outdoor shopping complex. LOCATION MAP VIEW OF WONDER BREAD BUILDING FROM FOURTH STREET Full article at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/arts/stories/2010/01/20/1A_WONDERLAND.ART_ART_01-20-10_D1_70GBOU5.html?sid=101
January 31, 201015 yr Bakery now Wonderland for art, music Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 3:02 AM By Kevin Joy THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH It's on. And, yes, the red neon Wonder Bread sign will remain. The recently vacated Italian Village bakery at 697 N. 4th St. is in contract and up to code to become a multipurpose art, music and retail space dubbed "Wonderland." "We've secured the building," said Kevin Lykens, a Short North property developer who is privately financing the sale. Plans for renovating the 64,000-square-foot space are under way. The hope is to have some tenants move in by late summer, and for the building to be fully occupied by the end of the year. A five-member committee will determine who and what will inhabit the space. Those with a vision or a desire for Wonderland space are asked to contact the project managers via a form on www.wonderlandcolumbus.com so the group can determine what needs are most in demand. Full article at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/01/30/0_WONDERLAND.ART_ART_01-30-10_B5_B3GF1BJ.html?sid=101
February 10, 201015 yr Art amalgamated Wonderland will be a one-stop shop for Central Ohio artists By Garth Bishop, Columbus Local News Published: Monday, February 8, 2010 - 4:47 PM EST Artist space. Retail shops. Co-working offices. A recording studio. A performance venue. A business incubator. These are just a few of the ideas the visionaries behind Wonderland have for the forthcoming creative enclave in the former Wonder Bread factory near downtown Columbus -- and they're still looking for more. The project had been announced weeks before, but its leaders held a kickoff event, providing a great deal of additional details Jan. 29 at Junctionview Studios in Grandview Heights. Current plans call for: * Studio space, exhibition space and shared workshops for visual artists; * Rehearsal space, a recording studio and a performance venue for performing artists; * Office and co-working space for startup businesses and entrepreneurs; and * Shops, a business incubator, a convenience store, a coffee shop and bars for retail opportunities. For more information on the project, visit its Web site, www.wonderlandcolumbus.com. Full article plus photos and video at http://www.columbuslocalnews.com/articles/2010/02/09/tri-village_news/news/tvallwonde_20100208_0425pm_2.txt
February 10, 201015 yr All great ideas! This is EXACTLY what we need (and need more of) in Columbus. I really hope this goes forward as planned, and I will be pleasantly surprised if there is no push back from the IV Society/Commission.
February 15, 201015 yr Columbus Alive recently featured a rundown of the Wonderland redevelopment of the former Wonder Bread Building. Next stop, Wonderland: An exclusive sneak peek Wonderland plans: The bread-and-butter Wonderland Q&A Wonderland Photo Gallery
April 8, 201015 yr This is the first I'm reading about this. These all sound like nice ideas but lets be honest, it's hard to pull off one of these ideas (shared office space, artist space, business incubator, etc) let alone 4 or 5. It would be awesome if it works, but does any have any idea about who is behind the project, their track record etc. Also, though I've driven by the area before I'm not super familiar with it, is it a good place for something like this? There just seem to be a lot of questions.
April 9, 201015 yr I've been told that the folks behind the financing for this are the same players behind the Buggyworks development. The business model is basically gentrification in a bottle: bring in the artists, establish commerce, elevate perceptions/value, cash in, drive out the artists. It may well be the leading edge of the conquest of Milo Grogan and/or Weinland Park.
April 9, 201015 yr I agree with the idea behind a standard 5-step plan for gentrification, but in this case the area is already gentrified and much of N 4th here is made up of empty lots. By "leading edge" do you mean a frontier base from which gentrification is to spill over? I've got to do another more comprehensive Milo-Grogan thread, because as I mentioned before I recently saw the first rainbow flag I had ever seen there (though I don't regularly ride on many streets there) and you know what that means.
April 9, 201015 yr I agree with the idea behind a standard 5-step plan for gentrification, but in this case the area is already gentrified and much of N 4th here is made up of empty lots. By "leading edge" do you mean a frontier base from which gentrification is to spill over? I've got to do another more comprehensive Milo-Grogan thread, because as I mentioned before I recently saw the first rainbow flag I had ever seen there (though I don't regularly ride on many streets there) and you know what that means. If nothing else it's a slightly more organic attempt at what Jeffrey Place seems to be struggling with.
April 11, 201015 yr This is the first I'm reading about this. These all sound like nice ideas but lets be honest, it's hard to pull off one of these ideas (shared office space, artist space, business incubator, etc) let alone 4 or 5. It would be awesome if it works, but does any have any idea about who is behind the project, their track record etc. Also, though I've driven by the area before I'm not super familiar with it, is it a good place for something like this? There just seem to be a lot of questions. All good questions. I’ll try to address them with information condensed from this site and other relevant websites. (FYI: I am not involved with the Wonderland project. This is simply part of my life-long on-going personal interest in Central Ohio urban development projects. I have no inside knowledge of the project and all the following information is from publicly available information that is web-linked to the best of my ability.) So, with those caveats, here we go. People involved in Wonderland: (From post #27 in this thread) Press Release about the Wonder Bread bakery site redevelopment: From http://www.columbusunderground.com/wonder-bread-factory-reborn-as-wonderland Artists, Musicians and Small Businesses Team up to Take Over Former Wonder Bread Factory “Getting things off the ground are Adam Brouillette (Couchfire Collective), Andrew Dodson (Central City Recording), David Hunegnaw (The Sandbox Columbus), Kevin Lykens (Lykens Companies) and Josh Quinn (Tigertree). The group is forming a non-profit organization to manage the property, to keep rent costs down and to provide a vehicle to seek donations and grants to encourage growth and job creation within the creative community. They will each focus on a specific area – arts, music, business, retail – and provide business counseling and information resources for tenants as well as day-to-day management of the property.” Timeline from Junctionview to Wonderland: It seems that two events occurred that led to redevelopment proposal that would convert the Wonder Bread property into the Wonderland project. February 2008 - The existing Junctionview Studios location at 889 Williams Avenue in Grandview is purchased by Nationwide Realty Investors (NRI). The property is located within the Second Phase of the Grandview Yard redevelopment project. The Grandview Yard project thread is located here and news of Junctionview property purchase was reported here, as follows: “No mention of Junctionview Studios at all in this thread? Weird. Once of the city's premiere independent artist destinations is located in one of those buildings that NRI just closed on last week. Thankfully NRI is playing nice and renewing their lease for awhile before they start tearing this place apart, but everyone needs to haul ass over there to Junctionview before it's gone to enjoy some of the best that Columbus arts culture has to offer.” NRI is not forcing Junctionview out immediately because its Grandview Yard’s second phase won’t begin until around 2014. However, the clock is ticking on Junctionview to find a new suitable location. March 2009 - Wonder Bread announced they will shut down their bakery at 697 N. Fourth Street on May 9, 2009 after nearly a century at that location. The Wonder Bread property at 697 N. Fourth Street has a two-level, 64,400 sq. ft. bakery/warehouse building. The building consists of a functional concrete construction with brick exterior. The property occupies three quarters of a city block bordered by Fourth Street, Warren Street, Hamlet Street and Lincoln Street. The Wonder Bread property is approximately 1.75 acres and has a small surface parking lot. (Info from Franklin County Auditor’s site) The Junctionview property at 889 Williams Avenue has a one-level, 22,000 sq. ft. industrial warehouse building. The building consists of a functional concrete block construction with brick exterior. The property is approximately 1.29 acres and has a small surface parking lot. (Info from Franklin County Auditor’s site) January 2010 - Junctionview Studios plus others listed below announce the Wonderland redevelopment project for the Wonder Bread property at 697 N. Fourth Street. Track Record: Arts: Junctionview Studios - Events: http://www.junctionviewstudios.com/index.html - Info: http://www.junctionviewstudios.com/info.html Arts: Couchfire Collective - http://www.thecouchfire.org/ Music: Central City Recording - http://www.centralcityrecording.com/ Business: Sandbox Columbus - http://www.sandboxcolumbus.com/ - There was also more about this business and co-working in general in this Urban Ohio thread “Co-working locations in Columbus“. Retail: Tigertree - http://shoptigertree.blogspot.com/ and http://shoptigertree.com/ Property Management: Lykens Companies - http://www.lykenscompanies.com/ Summary: That’s most of the information on the Wonderland redevelopment I’ve been able to pull together and condense into this reply. There is more information available in a non-condensed form. Such as at Columbus Underground, which has a discussion thread on it here. All of the businesses and organizations involved have websites for more information. And then there’s the Wonderland website itself at http://www.wonderlandcolumbus.com/ which has videos of the information presentations on the project, photo tours of the building and general information on the project. Finally, the people behind Wonderland have posted their January redevelopment presentation on YouTube at columbusvideos divided into five parts. If going thru all the five parts is too much, there’s also a condensed version of the presentation that was posted on YouTube:
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