Columbus Development News

[Chadoh25]

Whittier peninsula

Cleanup for park gets EPA approval

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 02:54 AM
By Spencer Hunt

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

he Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has approved a third environmental cleanup on the Whittier Peninsula south of Downtown.

Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks cleaned up a 13-acre site where a Lazarus warehouse once stood and replaced it with a park that features a climbing wall, playground and sand volleyball court. The work involved removing 100 cubic yards of soil contaminated with lead.

Previous cleanups were of 18 acres adjacent to the former Lazarus warehouse, and a 26-acre parcel now occupied by the Audubon Center.

The approval means that the state considers the cleanup complete and won't sue the city or Metro Parks in the future over any pollution issues there.

shunt@dispatch.com

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live...litics&sid=101

[Chadoh25]

Pieces of Northland Village puzzle coming together

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 05:39 PM
By KEVIN PARKS

ThisWeek Staff Writer

As additional pieces continue to fall into place in the ongoing redevelopment of the former Northland Mall site, one community leader said last week that he feels the best is yet to come.

Dave Paul, president of the Northland Community Council, feels that the "most exciting part" of the project will be the mixed-use Commons in the center of Northland Village.

This will be in the area surrounded by such "anchors" as the Menards home-improvement store now being built where Sears used to be, the Ohio Department of Taxation building off Karl Road, the Franklin County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center on Tamarack Boulevard, the Northland Performing Arts Center being carved out of a portion of the old J.C. Penney and, as voted on last week by the county commissioners, the relocation of three county Job and Family Services operations to the rest of the former department store.

In a bit or irony, what was once a place where people went to spend money will now be devoted to those with little money to spend.

But they have some, pointed out David E. Migliore, director of Franklin County Job and Family Services. He and County Commissioner John O'Grady both said last week, in the wake of the signing of a 20-year lease for 144,000 square feet of interior office space, that the county is providing an economic boost to the Northland area.

"We're doing what we can for economic development in the Northland area," O'Grady said. "We didn't necessarily set out to be economic drivers in the Northland area, but it's working out that way."

"They do spend money," Migliore said of the clients who will be served at the new site once it houses both the North and Northeast Opportunity Centers.

"I think it's a very good development," Paul said. "It is something that has been informally discussed for some time."

Indeed, O'Grady said talk about moving some aspects of the county Job and Family Services operation to the Northland area date back to the days when he was County Clerk and had a satellite office on Morse Road. O'Grady recalled last week having discussions about Job and Family Services opening a government service center in the North End with Douglas E. Lumpkin, then head of the county operation who was named director of state Job and Family Services in December 2008.

"That's been a while ... but I had this conversation with Doug Lumpkin probably five years ago," the commissioner said.

Migliore was named to the county post in March 2009.

"We're hopeful that they can officially start on this project in August," Migliore said of the move to the remaining two thirds of the J.C. Penney building not being renovated as the performing arts facility. "We're looking at a move-in day at somewhere between July and October 2001."

Initially about 330 employees will be based at the new location, including not only the North and Northeast Opportunity Center employees but also the downtown administrative office jobs.

"It's going to be primarily a service center," Migliore said. "It just so happens my administrative offices will be there, as well."

The county will be paying $1,540,000 in base rent for the first five years of the lease, $2,032,704 for the remaining 15, according to the resolution approved unanimously by the board of commissioners.

"In addition to the base rent, we will pay our proportionate share of all operation costs plus a 2-percent management fee unless we elect to self-manage," the document added.

It is anticipated that the consolidation will save the county $2.9 million over a five-year period, O'Grady said.

That's a crucial reason for making the move, according to Migliore.

"There aren't many places that I can save money without reducing staff, and that's the last thing I want to do," he said.

The department has the highest case load ever, the director added, but 150 vacant positions he can't fill due to a $30-million budget cut in 2009 and possible additional reductions in funding for the coming fiscal year.

"Anytime you have the opportunity to save $2.9 million of the taxpayers' money over a five-year period, you're crazy not to give it very serious consideration," O'Grady said.

"From an efficiency standpoint, it's going to be better than anything we've had in a long time," Migliore said. "We're going to be on a bus line. We're going to be in a well-lighted area. We're going to be rearranging our waiting areas so we can move people much quicker, people don't get lost in the building.

"We're going to have a better process to handle our customers."

"And it provides easy access for transportation for customers and users of the JFS services," O'Grady said. "There are a lot of positives to this," O'Grady said. "It's a good project."

"If we had been presented with multiple options to which to lend our support, if the private sector had come along and proposed other uses, then certainly I think it would have been great to consider those," Paul said. "But that wasn't happening. None of those options had come to our attention.

"It does seem to me that this is potentially a very good use for the property. We think it's a win for the agency and for the customers ... and it will serve the site well in terms of bringing folks into the local area, patronizing local businesses."

Even if a private-sector project might have been preferable, in terms of generating tax revenue to the city and county, Paul said that government uses for the site can also serve the overall Northland community.

"I will say, for some time at least part of the vision for Northland Village for some of us, personally anyway, has been that it could serve as a sort of satellite for various kinds of government activities," he said. "Ultimately we would have liked to see a post office or a place to get a dog license, and maybe we will.

"Government services certainly could be an advantageous use of the site."

http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/con...4.html?sid=104

[Chadoh25]

Metro Parks takes over city trails Monday

Friday, July 9, 2010 04:32 PM
By Encarnacion Pyle

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

On Monday, Franklin County Metro Parks will take over maintenance of the entire 85 miles of trails that wend their way along city parks and county land.

The project includes portions that previously had been maintained by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. An economic advisory committee appointed by Mayor Michael B. Coleman has recommended the partnership as a cost-saving measure.

"We've already partnered on building some of the trails, so it made sense to take this relationship a step further and have one entity ensure that all of the trails are kept trimmed, cleaned of debris, and repaired whenever necessary," Alan D. McKnight, Columbus' Recreation and Parks director said in a written statement today.

The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department currently keeps up 47 miles of trails throughout the county. McKnight projects that the partnership will save the city about $150,000 a year.

Both departments will continue to build trails separately, as well as together. Recreation and Parks will still issue permits for special uses of the trails in city parks. And Metro Parks rangers will patrol the trails.

"This will help us establish uniform standards for the protection and maintenance of the trails, while also enhancing the quality ... for hundreds of thousands of trail users," said John O'Meara, Metro Parks' director.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...y.html?sid=101

[ScraperDude]

Originally Posted by Chadoh25

Short North Housing
Condo plan replaced as investors keep suing

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 02:50 AM
By Jim Weiker

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



The developer of the failed Ibiza housing project in the Short North says it has signed an agreement with a "large Columbus developer" to build apartments instead of condos on the site.

"The goal is the exact same building," said Scot Dewhirst, an attorney representing the developer, Apex Realty Enterprises. "I think it's still going to be an exciting project for the Short North."

While Apex tries to revive the project, lawsuits mount against the company from investors seeking to get their condo deposits back.

"I've lost faith in the developers," said Joanne Strasser, 31, who is suing for the return of $15,000 she deposited on a $275,000 condominium in 2008. "I think it's really unfortunate because I believe the project would have been a great one."

Strasser is among more than 60 buyers who deposited an estimated $1 million on condos in Ibiza, which was designed to be the neighborhood's largest condo project, featuring 135 homes in two 11-story towers.

Dewhirst said Apex has reached an agreement with an unnamed developer that would allow all the deposits to be returned with interest.

"Our goal is to resolve those disputes," said Dewhirst, a partner with the Columbus firm Artz, Dewhirst & Wheeler. "We want to pay that money back as soon as possible."

Dewhirst said Apex is also working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on the revised project. In a May 13 e-mail included in court filings, Apex partner Michael Council told investors: "We are also moving down the path with HUD to get the project financed as an apartment project."

Tom Leach, the director of HUD's Columbus field office, said Apex approached HUD about a year ago to discuss the project, but HUD has seen no plan since.

"There's no current proposal submitted, and the previous discussions were preliminary," Leach said. "There's no action pending by HUD."

Dewhirst said the Columbus developer will be identified as soon as due diligence is completed. He said he could not say when construction will begin or deposit money will be returned. Apex has told depositors that they can sign a note that would provide a judgment against Apex if the money is not returned by Dec. 6.

Strasser said she declined to sign the note because she thnks Apex already has violated its contract.

"I hope everybody gets their money back," said Strasser, who bought a home in Victorian Village after giving up on Ibiza. "I just don't feel comfortable putting my signature to another agreement with Apex."

At least five investors have filed suits accusing Apex of systematically misrepresenting the project and of failing to build the condos as agreed to in contracts.

In addition to Strasser, a suit was recently filed by Mark McGuire and Timothy O'Neill, who deposited $16,500 on a $325,000 unit.

The suits are similar to others filed this year: Michael Saucedo and Reena Buddhdev sued for the return of $11,500 they deposited on a $230,000 condo; the Simon Group sued for the return of $74,750 deposited on a $1.5 million condo; and Roy and Debra Walters sued for the return of $17,250 deposited on a $345,000 condo.

jweiker@dispatch.com

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...g.html?sid=101

Yea, now we're stuck with a dirt lot with weeds and a chain link fence the drunks on the weekednd trip on. Not to mention the terrible state of the sidewalk in front of the site.

I can only wonder how soon they will get the towers started or will it remain a gap in the Short North.

The last story I heard months back was this site was being held back from development because of soil issues.

[Chadoh25]

Room to spare
Ground was broken yesterday for the new Hilton Columbus Downtown, which already is bringing in more convention business. Officials say that justifies the public financial stake.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 02:52 AM
By Marla Matzer Rose

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



After a decade of discussion and several years of study and political wrangling, dirt was moved yesterday for a publicly financed, 532-room hotel across from the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

Representatives from Franklin County, the city of Columbus and the convention industry spoke at a rain-soaked ceremony on the surface parking lot that will be home to the $140million Hilton Columbus Downtown by fall 2012.

"This demonstrates the power of a public/private partnership," said John S. Christie, chairman of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority board. "Building this hotel means we'll have 900-plus more meetings and conventions that we can compete for, that we couldn't accommodate in the past."

Christie pointed out representatives in attendance from two of the convention center's biggest annual events, the OFA Short Course floriculture convention and the Arnold Sports Festival, which frequently have noted the need for more hotel rooms next to the convention center.

The Columbus-based OFA considered moving to Indianapolis before it re-upped in Columbus through 2016 this spring, based on the new hotel moving forward. The event, which wrapped up yesterday, attracts 9,000 attendees.

A major new group also will be coming to Columbus for the first time because of the new hotel: Three leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention announced they will hold their June 2015 gathering in Columbus. The event is expected to draw 16,000 attendees and generate $6.2 million in visitor spending.

"For five years, we've been looking at Columbus, but we weren't able to because of the lack of hotel rooms," said Don Magee, associate vice president of finance for the Baptist group. Experience Columbus CEO Paul Astleford jokingly gave Magee a giant pen to sign a ceremonial "contract" for the group's convention.

The hotel will be managed by Hilton, but it is being financed by bonds issued by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority. The bonds are backed by the county, with the city of Columbus also providing a backup guarantee on the debt service. Although public financing of convention hotels is common in cities, it is controversial with some who argue that public money should not go toward a private enterprise such as a hotel.

Franklin County Commissioner John O'Grady addressed these concerns by stressing the return on investment and the importance of the $7 billion-plus local tourism industry to the economy.

"This will stimulate additional private development," O'Grady said. "For every dollar we spend, we get $3.40 in return."

Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman touted the 550 permanent jobs the hotel is expected to bring, along with $1.5billion in new spending.

"This helps make Columbus a destination city," Coleman said. "It will be a catalyst for further things."

mrose@dispatch.com

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...e.html?sid=101

[Chadoh25]

Nationwide bringing 1,400 jobs to Columbus


A move by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. to bring 1,400 suburban office jobs to vacant space in its downtown headquarters has prompted the city of Columbus to become more agreeable to financing infrastructure projects just north of Grandview Heights.

Nationwide executives joined elected officials from Columbus and Grandview Heights at Nationwide Realty’s Grandview Yard mixed-use development to announce the move of the jobs and a tentative finance plan for improvements to West Third Avenue, a key access point to the project. Also announced was the widening of a CSX Transportation rail bridge to improve access to that commercial corridor which will help redevelopment in both cities.

“To have (the city of Columbus’) support and participation is extremely important,” said Patrik Bowman, Grandview’s director of administration and economic development.

The cities had failed in recent years to create a joint economic development plan that would have shared the cost of public improvements serving Grandview Yard, many of which must take place in Columbus, along with tax revenue generated by the 5,000 jobs developer Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. expects the 90-acre mixed-use project to generate.

Details of a tax-incremental financing (TIF) district have not been worked out, but Bowman estimated the widening of Third Avenue from the rail bridge west to Edgehill Road along with a new rail bridge would cost about $10 million.

The president and chief operating officer of Nationwide Realty, the real estate development arm of Nationwide Insurance, said those improvements will benefit redevelopment of the industrial properties north of Third Avenue as much if not more than the Grandview Heights development.

“This (infrastructure) project transcends the Grandview boundary, with the real opportunity to the north,” Ellis said in an interview after a press conference. “It’s a key piece of infrastructure.”

Nationwide Realty expects the Third Avenue edge of Grandview Yard to attract the bulk of the retail projects. The city of Columbus actually runs 140 feet into Grandview Yard along the Third Avenue side.

The developer has yet to sign a retail anchor on the north edge of the development, Ellis said, because retailers are reluctant to sign lease deals in a new project in the midst of a sluggish economy.

“We don’t have commitments, but we have significant interest,” Ellis said. “The users determine when the time is right.”

To get the city’s help with improved access to Grandview Yard, Nationwide has pledged to shift jobs from its Dublin and Grove City operations to its downtown headquarters.

Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman called the scenario a “win, win, win” for the region.

Columbus, in exchange, has committed to creating a tax increment financing district that will funnel proceeds from the additional payroll taxes to finance infrastructure improvements Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. is seeking for Grandview Yard.

Nationwide spokesman Eric Hardgrove told Columbus Business First Wednesday that details on the job relocations are still being finalized, but the bulk of the jobs likely will come from the Dublin operation. A small group of financial processing employees at a Grove City business park also will be part of the move. About 4,600 jobs will remain in Dublin even after the relocations, he said.

Nationwide employs more than 11,600 full- and part-time workers in Central Ohio, according to Business First research. That includes about 7,500 employees downtown, a space that has room to grow, Hardgrove said.

“We have space within our existing facilities and this will, quite frankly, allow us to take advantage of some of that space that’s available,” he said.

Coleman in a statement said the new Columbus jobs are “sorely needed by our residents as we continue to fight our way through this recession.”



Read more: Nationwide bringing 1,400 jobs to Columbus - Business First of Columbus

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/colu...2/daily19.html

[Chadoh25]

Third St. wish list carries a hefty price tag

By GARTH BISHOP
Published: Thursday, July 15, 2010 12:46 AM EDT

A study on the future of Third Street in German Village has shown residents want less visible utility wires, changes to curbs and paving and more pronounced gateways into the neighborhood.

Now comes the hard part: paying for it.

The committee studying the Third Street Master Plan met July 7 to learn about the options available to pay for the extensive changes for which the study calls.

The architectural firm Kinzelman Kline Gossman was hired by the city of Columbus to work out the plan for the street's future.


The firm's plan divides Third Street into three unofficial "districts" based on its current distribution of structures -- business and office to the north, residential to the south and a "village green" area in the middle near St. Mary's Catholic Church. It also identifies potential gateways at Livingston and Reinhard avenues.

Priorities identified include reducing the number of visible overhead utility wires; balancing brick and asphalt as paving materials for both streets and sidewalks; determining appropriate street tree and plant distributions; adding proper furnishings, streetlights and signs; and making changes to curbs and sidewalks for the sake of pedestrians.

"It's all about ... how do we do this (and) how do (we) phase it?" said project lead Sarah Richardson of Kinzelman Kline Gossman.

"Then, what does it cost and how do we get there?" she said.

Two of the most ambitious ideas are burying all the utility lines underground and putting in brick streets -- but those options will not come cheap, Richardson said.

"The brick streets and the (underground) utilities dramatically increase these costs," she said.

Without those two options, the cost will likely be $7.8 million-$10 million for everything else. Add in both, and it looks more like $24.6 million-$26.9 million, Richardson said.

That's $13.8 million-$15.8 million for underground utilities and $3.8 million-$4.2 million for brick streets.

Switching from the current wooden utility poles to taller metal poles that can hold more lines would be a cheaper option, costing from $1.8 million-$2.1 million, and roadway expenses would be $475,000-$650,000 without bricks.

Estimated costs include $800,000-$1 million for curb work, $3.5 million-$3.8 million for sidewalk work, $550,000-$650,000 for the Livingston Avenue gateway, $150,000-$250,000 for the Reinhard Avenue gateway, $275,000-$350,000 for plantings, $150,000-$200,000 for furnishings, $750,000-$850,000 for lighting and $80,000-$120,000 for signage.

The money to pay for these changes must come from a variety of sources, said Elizabeth Murphy of restoration architecture firm Chambers Murphy & Burge.

To do that, neighborhood representatives must take initiative and seek funding mechanisms.

"We need to seek out and identify the other sources of income," Murphy said.

Murphy advised meeting attendees to reach out to nonprofits and other organizations that have supported similar projects as well as local, state and federal sources.

Locally, a community development block grant and a tax increment financing district are options that do not involve city funding, Murphy said.

Murphy also suggested looking into the Cultural Facilities Commission's Capital Appropriations Bill, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Natureworks program, the Ohio Public Works Commission's Capital Improvements Program, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Livable Communities program, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Scenic Byways program and the PreserveAmerica program, among many others.

"Clearly, you're going to need a combination of things to make anything that (Richardson) has presented to you work," Murphy said.

She also told attendees they must be diligent in pursuing grants, pursue as many viable grants as they possibly can, be willing to make minor adjustments to their plans to fit certain grants' parameters, be ready to spent money to get grants that pay much more, and figure out who the project benefits and how they can become partners on it.

Funding endeavors must be matched with effort, energy, time and financial commitment, she said.

The society will need to make the plan part of its mission and acknowledge that the work cannot be completed entirely by volunteers, said former society board member Bill Curlis.

The next stage of the plan will be preliminary engineering, which will include a full-blown survey of the village.

Once that process results in an idea of what German Village can afford, the project can go into final engineering, Richardson said.

More information on the plan can be found on the German Village Society's website, germanvillage.com, by going to the "I Live Here" tab at the top of the page and following the "Get Involved!" arrow to "Streetscape."

http://www.columbuslocalnews.com/art...4_0310pm_5.txt

[Chadoh25]

Clintonville strip OK'd by historic register
North Broadway district features varied home styles

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 01:35 AM
By Alan Johnson

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A slice of American history as seen through the architecture of a 1-mile section of E. North Broadway in Clintonville has been approved for the National Register of Historic Places.

The East North Broadway Historic District, including dozens of stately homes built from 1920 to 1945, was added yesterday to the National Register by the National Park Service. The district is bounded on the west by Broadway Place and on the east by North Broadway Lane.

Carole Tomko, president of the North Broadway Street Association and owner of a 1929 home, said the historic designation is an honor for the city and recognition for property owners "for the time and attention they paid in caring for their homes."

The 166 buildings in the district include well-preserved examples of many architectural styles, including Queen Anne, Colonial revival, Georgian revival, English/Tudor and bungalow.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...r.html?sid=101

[TonyAnderson]

Lots of good news.

[Chadoh25]

Council OKs final plans for Yard's first phase

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 12:02 PM
By ALAN FROMAN

ThisWeek Staff Writer

Grandview Heights City Council July 6 approved legislation to accept the final plats for phase 1A and 1B of the Grandview Yard project.

The ordinance was amended to add a provision that a lease agreement will be negotiated with Nationwide Realty Investors, the project's developer, to allow for an approximately 375 square foot easement located on a section of the small passive park planned for the first phase.

The planning commission voted last December to recommend to council that it approve the final plats.

The easement, on which the developer will place a sign, was the only change after the commission's approval.

The sign will be an entrance sign for Grandview Yard, said Patrik Bowman, director of administration/economic development.

The amendment was added after council member P'Elizabeth Koelker expressed concern about a private sign being placed on the public park land, an action that could set a precedent.

It is important to make clear what is private and what is public in the development, she said.

If NRI purchased the area included in the easement, she would have no problem with the sign being placed, Koelker said.

"I agree with you in principal, but my concern is that principal racks up (thousands of dollars) in legal fees," council president Steve Reynolds said.

Council member Steve Gladman suggested a lease arrangement as an acceptable alternative.

The idea of a lease agreement will still have to be discussed with NRI's legal team, city attorney Joelle Khouzam said.

NRI is seeking an earlier than planned approval of the final plats because the Columbus Water Department has indicated it would prefer the plats be approved before it gives its final approval of water service for the site.

Council originally intended to wait to vote on the plats until the public improvements for phases 1a and 1b were completed.

The first phase of the Yard includes a mixed-use office/retail/restaurant building, a five-story Hyatt hotel and an Urban Active Fitness Center.

Public improvements include the widening of Goodale Boulevard, construction of Yard Street (the main street of the development) and Bobcat Avenue and associated utility work. Other improvements include the creation of the park and construction of a parking deck.

The construction of the three buildings, the parking deck and the public improvements are being done at the same time and are expected to be completed in September.

http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/con...e.html?sid=104












www.grandviewyard.com

[Chadoh25]

Fountain, carousel part of Columbus Commons plan

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 11:56 AM
Updated: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 07:25 PM
By Marla Matzer Rose

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A fountain and carousel will be part of the Columbus Commons park being built Downtown, on the site that formerly was home to Columbus City Center mall.

The two features had been on a wish list for the project and now are being added -- if the additions indeed come to pass.

Representatives of the Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. presented updated plans for the 6-acre park to the Downtown Commission this morning.

Mark Corna, president of the Corna-Kokosing construction firm, said the 24-foot-diameter carousel will be funded by cost savings on the project.

Early this evening, the Franklin County Commissioners issued a press release reacting to the additions, including the carousel, and saying "until the sponsors provide information about the new features, including the carousel, the grant payment for this project will not be processed."

But the county commissioners' role in the project includes funding for the park itself -- the landscaping, benches and so forth -- said Amy Taylor, chief operating officer of Capitol South. The money for the carousel, fountain and so on will come from private sources.

At the morning meeting, Kyle Katz, a member of the Downtown Commission, said "You don't want to give any of that back to the county?" Early this evening, he told The Dispatch that the comment was "ill-advised" and "didn't reflect reality." The new features "are not being paid out of county funds."

Franklin County is kicking in $3 million in tax money for the Columbus Commons park, and $2 million is being contributed by Franklin County Metro Parks to the $20 million project.

Korna said the carousel will be bought from Carousel Works in Mansfield, which carves the wooden carousel figures by hand. The cost will be $325,000.

Also new to the project will be a fountain at the entrance from High Street, framed by brick columns. The small fountain will replace a previously proposed planter urn in the same location.

Primary work on the park is expected to be completed in December, with final plantings and a grand opening planned for the spring.

mrose@dispatch.com

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...n.html?sid=101

[Chadoh25]

CHP Announces “NoBo on Long” Condo Development




This morning, Mayor Coleman, City Councilmember A. Troy Miller, and Amy Klaben, CEO of the Columbus Housing Partnership are unveiling “NoBo on Long”, a new affordable condominium development located on the Near East Side. This development consists of nine condo units spread across three buildings at the corner of 21st Street and Long Street in the King Lincoln District.

We recently spoke with Craig Murphy, Director at Homeport, a division of the Columbus Housing Partnership, to discuss this new development.
Walker Evans: So tell us a little about “NoBo on Long” and how this will compliment the existing NoBo development area.


Craig Murphy: Our interest is in bringing North of Broad to Long Street. We will renovate an existing structure, which is a duplex 1066 E. Long Street, and then we’ll build seven new units, two that will face Long Street and five that will face 21st Street. The existing building will consist of 2 identical units, each have 1,800 square feet of living space and 450 square feet of flex-space on the 3rd floor. Two 2-car garages will be located behind the unit. The two new buildings each have one parking space in a garage under each dwelling unit, accessed from a driveway via an alley on the north side of the site. Six of the seven new build units will be one bedroom units with 925 square feet of space, which includes 1.5 baths per unit. There will be one 1,400 square foot unit with two-bedrooms and 1.5 baths. The buildings will have adequate green space separating the buildings from the public walkway. We are also including a small enclosed patio space over the garage, accessed through the kitchen.


Our projected sales prices and square footage is as follows:

925 sqft
Unit #143 - $110,000
Unit #147 - $110,000
Unit #145 - $115,000
Unit #149 - $115,000
Unit #141 - $115,000
Unit #1072 - $115,000

1,400 sqft
Unit #137 - $135,000

1,800 sqft
Unit #1066 - $155,000
Unit #1070 - $160,000

WE: So it sounds like these units are going to be sold at the same affordable price structure as the rest of the NoBo development?


CM: Yeah, the upper income limit for the project is 120% of the Area Median Income, which is $57,720 for an individual and $65,880 for a household of two people. Our pricing coupled with the required income guidelines make this a great, affordable ownership opportunity for people seeking to live in the King Lincoln District. And we’re trying to create a housing option that is not a single-family home like the rest of NoBo, and with it a new pricepoint that is below the price point of our single family homes.

Also, we’re using Neighborhood Stabilization Funds in this project, so the upside to that is that these units will meet the Enterprise Green Communities Standards, which is one of the highest green standards in the building industry right now. So we’re using recycled materials, no off-gassing materials, high insulation standards, and so on. These are very tight structures that have air exchange units to pump in fresh air while keeping energy efficiency high. We also minimize our construction waste and recycle construction materials.

I should also add that Huntington National Bank has made a very large commitment to the community by making available two amazing loan products designed for our buyers. These two products are only being offered through us to our clients because we offer 8 hours of free homebuyer education and budget counciling, which is a requirements to get this type of mortgage.

One product they offer requires your credit score to be above 700, and if you qualify under the other underwriting guidelines, you can get a point off your interest rate, fixed for 30 years. So that means you could get a 4.5% interest rate, fixed for 30 years, with up to a 15-year tax abatement on this project. That’s a pretty phenominal deal. And if you don’t have a credit score of 700, they have another product that can go as low as 580. There’s no PMI on that one, and it only requires 3% down.

The reason Huntington offers these deals is because of our track record. People who buy our homes can afford our homes. We do all of the work on the front end to make sure people can buy and stay in our homes. In the past six years we’ve sold 82 homes and we’ve had zero foreclosures during that time. That’s the reason that Huntington can be pretty competitive with their mortgage products with us… because of this relationship and because of the work we do with our buyers.

WE: What sort of construction timeline do you have in place for this project?

CM: Our intent is to break ground in late August, Early September and expect to be done by late Spring, early Summer 2011. We’re really eager to get this going. We’ve put a lot of time into this in the past six months. We’ve sold 22 homes on 21st street in the past four or five years, and we’ve made a lot of progress, and this project will serve as a nice gateway into 21st Street and begin to take that development and impact onto Long Street.

WE: With the NoBo development selling so well, do you think the same type of demand will carry over to this next phase?


CM: I think so. I think it’s an affordable price and an amazing product for that price, and it’s a unique offering. You’re not going to find many 1-bedroom condos at this price point with this material, so it’s going to be a very competitive product. We’re building for the future in this neighborhood, so I think those who are buying today will have a long term benefit in owning. The quality of the buildings and design is long-term. These units offer a very modern living on the interior, but the exterior matches the same design concepts of the neighborhood. Because this is a mixed income neighborhood, it was really important for us to make it so that to the casual observer, you can’t tell the difference between the house that sells for $170k and the one next to it that sells for $140k. No one should be able to distinguish between the two from the exterior.

WE: When your talking to homebuyers about these developments, are there selling points that you talk about in regards to the neighborhood or proximity to Downtown? Are people gravitating toward this project because of amenities outside of their homes?


CM: I think so. I think people enjoy living in Downtown neighborhoods, but many of the Downtown neighborhoods are extremely expensive. So by creating these affordable alternatives, we’ve been able to really sell this neighborhood. We sell to single people, to couples, to families, to older people, and we’ve been very successful at that. There’s a demand, and this isn’t a niche demand. One of the nice things about this neighborhood is that there’s a rich history here and people want to value that history and honor it. I think overwhelming that the feeling from people who have bought here is that they’ve made a good decision, and that they enjoy the neighborhood.

WE: When looking around the city at other neighborhood stabilization projects it seems that NoBo is a much more condensed effort with the majority of development happening all on the same block. Do you think the success of this project over the past five years is attributed to that “neighborhood within a neighborhood” type of plan?


CM: Absolutely. Nobody wants to be the only person on their street. If you’re a part of something larger, it’s a lot easier to deal with some of the challenges that exist in Downtown neighborhoods. That’s exactly what this is. We spent years slowly and strategically buying property, and no one has been displaced in our acquisition efforts. We’ve acquired only vacant property. The majority of the properties we’ve purchased have been foreclosed or bank-owned properties where investors were flipping to one another until the last guy got caught holding the hot potato and it foreclosed. We’ve seen property go as high as $130k and then two years later go through foreclosure and we bought it for $30k. We were patient and we waited and bought at the right price. The City of Columbus has also purchased some property int his area to help support our future development plans, because we’re not done here at 21st Street. So that’s been a real benefit of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. It’s all about creating a mixed-income neighborhood and piecing together the physical development and the social infrastructure as well. We have to put equal energy into that. You can put buildings just about anywhere, but it’s the people and the connectivity between the people that creates neighborhoods, so I think that’s been our biggest success.

WE: You mentioned acquiring only vacant property. I know there was some controversy about the vacant building on the corner of Long & 21st that some neighbors wanted to see preserved. Can you share some information with us about that?


CM: Yeah, the City of Columbus purchased the property and immediately assessed the condition of the property to determine what risk and liability they had with it. That assessment determined that the building required emergency demolition, so that’s what followed. Our intent is to provide quality homes and housing opportunities and whether it’s a new building or renovated building, it’s indifferent to us because we’ve done both. Decisions have to be made, and they’re sometimes difficult decisions, and we understand the frustrating nature of that. So our intent is to do the best we can with whatever we are replacing and provide great quality and something that the neighborhood can be proud of. When we are addressing existing structures, we have to take a hard look at the economics and the history of a property. I think the City of Columbus was in a difficult position on this one, but they had to do what they had to do to keep the public safe, and they demolished the property. In all fairness, that property sat vacant for 15 years, and it was a very unstable property. I think it’s important to recognize where the city has made an effort to save buildings such as the Charles and the Edna that have historic significance in the community, and they’ve made investments to repair those structures or preserve those structures. So that always needs to be included in the conversation when looking at the context of the whole and not just this one isolated scenario.

WE: As you just mentioned, NoBo is a mix of renovations and new builds, which isn’t something you can easily do in an area like German Village or Victorian Village where there are tighter historic review procedures. Do you think that having some flexibility with development in this area lends itself to a more architecturally diverse neighborhood?

CM: Yeah, you obviously have flexibility when you’re not regulated. However, if we’re using any federal money on a property, it requires that we go through a historic review. And we’ve also done historic renovations on 21st street. We did the first green historic home in a partnership with the City of Columbus at 267 N. 21st Street where we experimented three or four years ago with green rehab. So yeah, we do have some more options and flexibility, but the market is really the driver here. A lot of the time, as a nonprofit, our job is to go in and create markets where markets don’t exist… but there already is an existing market here for rehabbed historic buildings. So in responding to that market, we have to make sure that we offer a variety of products and options.



WE: The intersection of 21st and Long Street is an interesting location. As you head east of 21st toward the OSU East Hospital, it’s more of a residential street, but headed west of 21st toward Downtown, it’s more of a commercial corridor. Have you thought about what it might look like to work on some mixed-use development on Long Street where we might find ground-floor retail with a few floors of residential units above?


CM: Absolutely. Our expertise is in residential development, but we are very open to the idea of mixed use development. If there’s an opportunity for us to develop closer into the King Lincoln District, we’d like to incorporate mixed use into that development. Again, it’s also a function of the market. We’ve tried to do mixed use in the past and we’ve actively found small businesses to lease commercial spaces. At the time it was a really difficult thing to do, and it’s still not an easy task today.

WE: I imagine that sort of development would get easier to sell commercially as you continue to build upon a critical mass of residential units in the neighborhood.


CM: Right. And we do already have a residential base in this community, so on some level there could be more retail opportunities for the existing residents of the neighborhood. It’s a very exciting time over here. For a long time we’ve had to sell the vision of the area to the homeowners, but now that we can actually say that there are two coffee shops and a dry cleaner and the Lincoln Theatre in the neighborhood, whereas five years ago we could only say “it’ll be here soon!”. It’s been great to see the evolution and the growth, and our goal is to help accelerate that. We’ve closed five homes already this year, and we have three more in contract that we’re building, and several more prospects that we’re working with. So the market’s responding. You do need to get to a critical mass, because you do have some people who will operate more on a vision and be willing to be pioneers, but there are others who will come when it’s been demonstrated, and I think that’s where we are now. You can see it, feel it, and walk through it, and that’s great for the area.

WE: To close out on a bit of an aspirational note… where do you see NoBo and the neighborhood headed over the next 10-15 years?

CM: Overwhelmingly, I’d love to see us work ourselves out of this neighborhood because our job is to create the market as a nonprofit and then move to the next area that needs assistance. Here in this neighborhood we want to create the housing opportunities and create the market and create a great place to live by connecting residents and connecting businesses and sort of linking that energy and momentum. There are other key developments we’d like to do here in the future, but we’d like to see the private market take over too. We have some other big projects that we’re working on, and we’ll begin construction in a neighborhood called American Addition this fall, which is a big project where we plan to be doing redevelopment work for the next 8 to 10 years. It’s been a tough story in American Addition. It’s very different than North of Broad, which is a very urban neighborhood. American Addition is more of a forgotten island that never had the appropriate infrastructure. You have 200 households out there and they didn’t have sewer lines installed until 1970. So we’re excited about working with the homeowners and residents in that neighborhood and also bringing new people there. We’ve done a lot to capture the stories. We’ve done an oral history documentary of the families there to capture what things used to be like, because over the next five to ten years we’d like to help imrpove that neighborhood. Just like with North of Broad, we’d like the existing homeowners to benefit from the development and new residents as well. Nothing is being done on the backs of anybody else. Everybody should benefit from these efforts.

WE: Great! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today, Craig.

CM: My pleasure.

http://www.columbusunderground.com/c...do-development

[Chadoh25]

Future "No Bo on Long" site. My hope is that this new development will encourage others on the street to upgrade and better maintain their properties.

[Chadoh25]

Main Street Bridge

Landmark opening

Saturday, July 31, 2010 02:52 AM
By Gina Potthoff

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Mayor Michael B. Coleman christened the new Main Street bridge yesterday morning by leading a group of bicyclists into Franklinton.

Coleman borrowed a bike and donned a helmet to ride across the Scioto River on the $60.1 million bridge that officially opened for traffic, although some pedestrians have used it for several days.

North Side cyclist Stacy Weisfeld rode just behind Coleman and said for once she wasn't worried about getting hit by a car while riding her bike on a bridge.

"This is exciting," she said.

One of two eastbound lanes opened to motor-vehicle traffic yesterday. Because of construction east of the bridge, drivers can't use the westbound lane or the second eastbound lane until fall 2011.

Construction on West Bank Park and the Rich Street bridge should be done by then, too.

"If anybody didn't know transportation was beautiful, look at that," said Director Jolene Molitoris of the Ohio Department of Transportation, gesturing toward the bridge's arch and wide walkways designed for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Coleman said the bridge is more than a span connecting Downtown to Franklinton, an area city officials say is in need of new business and residential development.

"It serves as a catalyst for economic development for both sides of the river," he said.

Residents, Franklinton development officials and construction workers gathered for the low-key opening of what Coleman calls the "Main Street magnet," a project that ran about $40.6million more than early estimates.

Columbus taxpayers will pay off as much as $15 million borrowed from the State Infrastructure Bank, as well as $8.3 million in city bonds for bridge design.

Jody Dzuranin, a cycling advocate from the North Side, said it isn't worth complaining about the cost.

"The money is spent. We might as well enjoy it," she said.

German Village resident Earnie Lutz brought Lila and Ella, his two rescued cocker spaniels.

"They want to be one of the first to cross the bridge," Lutz said.

The bridge is great for the city, Lutz said, but he's not so sure the city needs to build the neighboring Rich Street bridge in addition to ones on Main and Broad streets.

"First pedicabs across the bridge," boasted Jason Biundo, who pedaled his bicycle taxi across the bridge in Coleman's procession.

He said the more bridges there are in Columbus, the better it is for getting around.



gpotthoff@dispatch.com

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...g.html?sid=101

[Chadoh25]

Apple opening Polaris store


Columbus is getting its second bite at an Apple Inc. retail store this weekend.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant said Tuesday that a grand opening for its new Polaris Fashion Place location is set for Saturday at 10 a.m. A representative with Polaris owner Glimcher Realty Trust (NYSE:GRT) said Apple is moving into space on the mall’s lower level, opened up as retailer Gap Inc. reconfigured and downsized its presence there.

The new Polaris store joins a location at Easton Town Center in Columbus, along with three others in the state. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) runs more than 200 retail stores worldwide.

Read more: Apple opening Polaris store - Business First of Columbus


http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/...19/daily9.html

[TonyAnderson]

Originally Posted by Chadoh25

Future "No Bo on Long" site. My hope is that this new development will encourage others on the street to upgrade and better maintain their properties.

Definitely. That could be a great street of houses with some improvement.

[Chadoh25]

Originally Posted by TonyAnderson

Definitely. That could be a great street of houses with some improvement.

They're trying! Unfortunately, it seems things tend to move very slowly here in Columbus!

[Chadoh25]

Columbus commits to solar power at city fleet maintenance facility


Columbus City Council members are hoping their commitment to a solar energy project at one of the city’s vehicle maintenance garages turns out to be a bright idea.

The project, planned with Westerville-based SolarVision LLC, should help the city save money on electricity while demonstrating its support for green energy, said Councilman Andrew Ginther.

“The agreement underscores Columbus’ commitment to lower its carbon footprint and being a regional leader in green technologies,” he said in an e-mail to Columbus Business First.

Council recently passed legislation that calls for SolarVision to install and operate solar panels on the roof of the city’s fleet maintenance center off Groves Road. SolarVision will bear the $2.5 million cost of the project in return for the city’s commitment to buy the electricity generated by the solar panels for the next 10 years.

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/colu...02/story9.html

[Chadoh25]

Columbus Commons (Construction update)

Sorry for the quality, it was pretty grey this afternoon.

[Chadoh25]

Main Street Bridge