Columbus Development News

[Chadoh25]

Walking tour to identify potential upgrades

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 01:27 PM
By GARY SEMAN JR.

ThisWeek Staff Writer

A group of German Village residents will conduct a visual inventory of the neighborhood in an effort to bring additional aesthetic improvements to the area.

The walking tour, called "Taking it to the streets," begins at 6 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Meeting Haus, 588 S. Third St. The public is invited to attend, said Brian Santin, chairman of the German Village Society's streetscape committee, which is conducting the event.

Santin said the group will take a walking tour down South Third Street and the inner part of the village, identifying specific beautification measures and areas of concern.

It is a continuation of the committee's decision to create brochures addressing sidewalk improvements, tree replacement and wrought-iron fence maintenance. Santin said the brochures, which list service providers and appropriate city contacts, were a big success.

Some items under consideration are the addition of flower boxes and the German Village sign, which bears the neighborhood insignia, on area houses. Curb replacement has also been under discussion, as there is fairly significant deterioration of limestone and sandstone curbs in the area, said Ned Thiell, another member of the committee.

While the city is responsible for curb replacement, some residents are taking it upon themselves to complete the work, which requires a signoff from the city, Thiell said.

Thiell said he is looking forward to next week's trek.

"It will be interesting to see what other people say, what their concerns are," he said.

Meanwhile, the committee is staying on top of the proposed streetscape improvements to Third Street. The design firm of Kinzelman Kline Gossman was expected to send the final draft of a master plan, which spells out various improvements to the corridor, to the city of Columbus on Tuesday. The city will then consider adoption of the plan.

Santin said the committee's mission and annual objectives have been "above and beyond Third Street."

"That's why we try to remain committed to the community as a whole," he said.

gseman@thisweeknews.com

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

[Chadoh25]

Blighted neighborhood may sprout 'food campus'

Thursday, October 21, 2010 02:55 AM
By Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A year-round farmers market, dozens of community gardens and a restaurant selling locally produced food might be coming to an impoverished neighborhood near the Ohio State University campus.

Weinland Park, already the focus of a number of efforts to transform its crime-ridden, blighted image to one of stability, also could get a food-processing center and business incubator.

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission received an $864,989 federal grant yesterday to plan those projects. The plan includes detailed building and landscaping designs, plus marketing and business plans that will be finished in the next two years.

It would be urban redevelopment based on a food-production system, a "neighborhood food campus" that the planning commission's Jerry Tinianow said would be unique in the United States.

Story continues belowAdvertisement Like many urban neighborhoods, Weinland Park is a food desert where residents can't find fresh produce in corner stores, he said.

"We used to have great neighborhood-level food systems. We lost them and are trying to get back to that," said Tinianow, the planning commission's energy and environment director.

The commission will share the money with groups from Ohio State University; the Community Entrepreneurial Growth Initiative; Local Matters, which supports locally grown food; and Wagenbrenner Development.

Wagenbrenner will use $280,000 of the grant, the largest amount. That will go to consultants that Wagenbrenner will hire for architectural and design work.

Wagenbrenner has an option to buy a former factory site at N. 4th Street and E. 5th Avenue. That's where the farmers market and restaurant could go, along with a food-processing facility and community kitchen to train residents and also provide food for OSU-catered events, Tinianow said.

Residents also would learn about good nutrition, composting and gardening. And 20 jobs would be created.

First, the city has to win a $3 million state grant in November to clean the 3.8-acre site, which used to be home to a metal-finishing operation. Gary Guglielmi, Columbus economic-development manager, said the city is in a good position to get the money because the amount available exceeds the total amount in the applications.

Down the street, Wagenbrenner also wants to build as many as 605 apartments and condominiums on or near the former Columbus Coated Fabrics site near Grant and 5th avenues.

The city already is spending $4.6 million to improve Grant Avenue along the site. Wagenbrenner also has received $2.5 million in federal money to help renovate 14 houses in the area.

Mark Wagenbrenner, company president, acknowledged that the plan would help his development.

Tinianow said it takes $900,000 to develop the plans because of the detailed nature of the architectural drawings.

The plans should be completed by the end of 2012, he said. Then comes the harder part: persuading government leaders, business people and foundations to invest in the effort.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the competitive grant.

Kay Bea Jones, an associate professor at Ohio State's Knowlton School of Architecture, said faculty members and students would consult with residents and work with Wagenbrenner on landscape and building design.

Joyce Hughes, who leads the Weinland Park Community Civic Association, said the community is working to empower itself.

"If we can do a market in that space, that's a good thing," she said.

mferenchik@dispatch.com

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[Chadoh25]

Modern Furniture Store Moving Into Short North

Business Profiles — By Melanie McIntyre on October 22, 2010 at 8:00 am

Tim Friar saw a void in the Central Ohio furniture retail scene and, rather than lament it, decided to fill it himself.

Friar, a modern furniture fan, was all too aware of the lack of local retailers selling mid-price pieces in that style. Now his store, Grid Furnishings, will carry them.

Located at 944 N. High St. in the Short North, Grid will carry a range of modern residential furnishings, art furniture, and art designed by makers and artists in the United States and Canada.

“Grid’s target customers are Columbus’s new urban residents, many of whom live in apartments and condos and show a preference for smaller, proportioned, and well designed furniture for their dwellings,” Friar says. “They also have appreciation for art and could be creating their first home or creating a transitional home later in life.”

When Friar decided to launch the store, he did his homework, researching Columbus downtown housing and development trends, business formation specifics, and possible store locations. He talked to gallery and furniture store owners in Columbus and across the United States. He also attended the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City.

Surely the Columbus College of Art & Design graduate’s professional experience −15 years at a local design consulting firm and seven years at a local medical product manufacturer, where he ran the product development department− also has come in handy.

However, Friar did have some help making Grid a reality.

He credits Clark Pritchett of Rance, Pritchett, Branter, Keller & Ely, Lisa Craig Morton of Victorian Village Guesthouse, Sandy Wood and Mark Wood of Wood Cos., Sharon O’Brien of Grandview Mercantile, Randy Carr of CPA Solutions, and Kris Harrison and Gina Cronley of Orbit Design with providing helpful advice and input.

Among the local resources he utilized are DowntownColumbus.com, Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, ColumbusUnderground.com, Small Business Development Centers, Development.Ohio.gov, the Short North Business Association, and CCAD Career Services office.

Ultimately, Friar says he wants Grid to be “the top spot for modern and art furniture between New York and Chicago.”

Grid will have a preview opening during the November Gallery Hop and the store will be fully operational the week of Nov. 8.

To learn more about Grid Furnishings, visit GridFurnishings.com.

More information about the store’s offerings can be found on ColumbusUnderground.com.

http://www.themetropreneur.com/colum...g-short-north/

[Chadoh25]

Franklinton ready for its close-up


The slow but steady drive to improve the housing stock in the Franklinton neighborhood west of downtown continues.

Franklinton leaders were joined by city and county officials Wednesday to celebrate the demolition of a duplex and a single-family home on West Park Avenue to make way for new single-family homes. The nonprofit Franklinton Development Association will work with Cleveland-based NRP Group to build the home at 38-40 W. Park Ave., the site of the demolished duplex, and other housing on nearby sites using funds from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

All told, the nonprofit association and NRP Group will build 32 new homes and renovate eight more through their ongoing, scattered-site Boulevard Homes project funded in part through $500,000 in the federal funds. The project focuses on affordable housing for those with moderate incomes.

“This is huge, absolutely huge,” said Jim Sweeney, executive director of the Franklinton Development Association.

“It’s 40 new homes in this neighborhood,” he said.

After the demolition, civic and political leaders including Mayor Mike Coleman, Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady and Columbus Councilwoman Charleta Tavares toured a few nearby Franklinton homes in various stages of renovation.

Sweeney said the association will sponsor a public tour of six renovated homes on Sunday from 1-3 p.m. One is a home the association has renovated and will put on the market soon while another is a home the nonprofit will begin renovating shortly. The tour costs $5 and will start in the parking lot of Florentine restaurant at 907 W. Broad St. Sweeney said word has it Tommy’s Diner at 914 W. Broad St. will stay open for after-tour refreshments.

Cheers!

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/..._close-up.html

[Chadoh25]

Aid worth millions
Casino builder now seeking city incentives for its new site

Sunday, October 24, 2010 03:00 AM
By Robert Vitale

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Penn National Gaming has abandoned its go-it-alone approach to building a casino in Columbus.

The company, which once said it needed no government help to build in the Arena District, now is seeking millions in public assistance, incentives and discounts for its new location near I-270 and W. Broad Street.

Penn National's requests for city, state and county aid are detailed in a four-page document that The Dispatch obtained through a public-records request.

The breaks easily could top $10 million initially, and some would continue for years.

The company wants:

• Twenty percent of the taxes that Columbus and Franklin County receive from gross casino revenue to be used for roadwork and other improvements around the future Hollywood Casino Columbus. That would amount to more than $8 million annually, based on Penn National's earlier estimates.

• A 10-year, 75 percent property-tax break, not for the casino itself but for any hotel, parking garage or other improvement on the site.

• Discounted rates for water and sewer services from the Columbus Department of Public Utilities, which city officials say

would amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

• Official support on applications for state grants to fund environmental cleanup and infrastructure improvements.

Penn National also wants to finance casino construction through the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority, a government-created body that helps businesses borrow money with the government's tax exemptions and other advantages.

Spokesman Bob Tenenbaum said the Penn National document, labeled "non-binding" and "draft for discussion," merely lays out "a series of possibilities," not a list of demands.

But after Ohio voters approved casinos last year, Penn National had pledged to pay all costs for sewer and water hookups, road improvements and other work required for the Columbus development.

"Penn ... has offered to pay for all the infrastructure necessary for this project," Tenenbaum said in December.

Last week, he said those comments applied to the 18-acre Arena District site that was in last year's constitutional amendment. Political and business leaders persuaded Penn National to build instead on 123 acres of the former Delphi auto-parts plant in western Franklin County, and voters statewide approved the change of address in May.

"This is a somewhat different situation, given that Penn voluntarily agreed to move the site," Tenenbaum said.

Ohio voters in November authorized casinos in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo. Columbus and Franklin County were the only host areas to vote against the measure.

After agreeing to move the project from the already-developed Arena District, the company views its casino as a more-traditional economic-development project, Tenenbaum said. The memo to city officials compares its requested breaks to those extended for such projects as building Easton Town Center and redeveloping the former Gowdy Field, as well as efforts undertaken by the Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp.

The document seeks city help "to evaluate the availability and timing of all available economic tools and incentives."

The Pennsylvania-based gambling company has not applied yet to annex its future casino site to Columbus from Franklin Township, but Tenenbaum said any delay is not related to the ongoing talks with the city.

City officials estimated in the spring that annexation would be completed by September.

Tenenbaum described talks with the city as "constructive" and said the company fully intends to annex its land.

Annexation is important for Columbus because the city stands to gain more than $24 million annually as a casino host. It's important for Penn National because the city won't extend water and sewer lines to the casino unless it's in Columbus.

Michael Reese, chief of staff for Mayor Michael B. Coleman, said city leaders expect Penn National to fulfill its annexation promise. He expressed no concern about the delay.

"We've struck hundreds of economic-development deals," he said. "These things take time."

Reese wouldn't comment directly on Penn National's requests for economic-development assistance, but he said the city is negotiating with an eye on both its budget and its interest in properly regulating the development.

"Our most-important principle is the city is not in the business of building casinos," he said. "We are in the business of creating economic-development opportunities on the West Side and protecting the public."

City Council President Michael C. Mentel, an early proponent of moving the casino out of the Arena District, said Penn National hasn't shared its requests with him. The Coleman administration is handling talks for the city, so he said he'll wait for an agreement to emerge.

But Mentel said he thinks the company should stick with its 2009 pledge of building a Columbus casino with its own money.

rvitale@dispatch.com

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

[Chadoh25]

Columbus schools plan to buy Maennerchor's buildings
Purchase will allow damaged Stewart Alternative to expand

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 02:51 AM
By Jennifer Smith Richards

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The fire-damaged Stewart Alternative Elementary School will grow as it is being restored if the Columbus school district buys the adjacent Columbus Maennerchor property.

The district has agreed to pay $1.3 million for the Maennerchor buildings, minus two small parcels. That's a price break from the original list price of $2.4 million but slightly more than a recent appraisal at $1.05 million.

The Columbus Board of Education is expected to vote on the proposed contract at its meeting today.

"The fact that this property makes such a significant enhancement of the school property makes us comfortable to offer a little more than the appraisal," said Carole Olshavsky, who oversees district facilities. Stewart has no parking, no separate cafeteria or gymnasium, no art rooms or tutoring rooms and little green space, she said.

A portion of the historic German Village school was gutted by arson fire in late July, so its students have been moved to the former Beck Elementary. Repairs from the fire would have cost between $600,000 and $1 million, Olshavsky said, so it made sense to renovate the school earlier than planned instead of making repairs now and renovating in the near future.

Stewart sits on a 2-acre site and typically has about 275 students.

The property Columbus aims to buy currently houses the Maennerchor's Cloak and Dagger Theater and the Zum Rathskeller restaurant. It's too soon to say what would happen to them, Olshavsky said.

The Maennerchor, a German singing and cultural organization that was formed in Columbus more than 160 years ago, would keep two small buildings in which to operate its club. It has more than 500 members.

"We've wanted to size down since 2004," said Columbus Maennerchor president Werner Niehaus. "The present Maennerchor is just too big for us, and the costs are too expensive. In general, if the school board buys it, it's beneficial for both sides."

There are several stipulations on the sale. For it to go through, the Columbus Maennerchor board also must approve the purchase contract. The district would have to sell school construction bonds. And the plans would have to be OK'd by the city, the Brewery District Commission and the Columbus Historic Resource Commission. A portion of Pearl Street would have to be rerouted.

Maennerchor would want to remove its artifacts from the buildings, including windows and lights, and would want permission to use Stewart's parking lot when school isn't in session.

The German Village Society said it supports the school, but the Maennerchor idea is too new to comment on.

"We're just finding out about it. No one has had a chance to discuss it," said Russ Arledge, the society's office coordinator.

The man accused of setting the Stewart fire, David S. Cunningham, 47, of E. Welch Avenue, is scheduled for trial Nov. 29 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

He was indicted in August on charges of aggravated arson, breaking and entering and two counts each of arson and vandalism.

Olshavsky said it would be at least a year before activity starts on the Stewart project.

Dispatch reporter John Futty contributed to this story.

jsmithrichards@dispatch.com

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[Chadoh25]

Gay Street Condos

[Chadoh25]

Metro Parks putting last year's property-tax hike to use
Newest park scheduled to open in spring

Monday, October 25, 2010 02:53 AM
By Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Last week, workers were pounding stakes in the soft earth along what will be a paved path at the new Walnut Woods Metro Park.

Although the park's opening has been delayed until spring, officials say it will be worth the wait for Groveport and Canal Winchester residents, as well as other visitors.

The 628-acre retreat, which is being built largely on the grounds of a former tree nursery, would not have been possible had Franklin County voters not approved a property-tax increase last year.

Metro Parks has spent $2.3 million this year to restore land at the park, part of the $8.8 million in improvements and land acquisitions that officials say they've accomplished since voters approved the 10-year, 0.75-mill tax.

The tax costs homeowners $23 a year per $100,000 of home value.

Metro Parks spokeswoman Peg Hanley said the system is spending money on projects it laid out for voters during the 2009 campaign. "Everything is going to plan," she said.

Walnut Woods was a big part of that plan. The agency bought 146 acres for $875,000 to expand the Walnut Woods site.

The path workers staked out last week was along what will be a 2.5-mile trail through what is now Richardson Road Park, 240 acres of undeveloped property now owned by the city of Columbus. Metro Parks will swap 32 acres at Pickerington Ponds for the city property by the end of the year.

The agency also is spending a chunk of $1.3 million in federal stimulus money to develop wetlands at Walnut Woods. The park features maple, hickory and honey-locust trees and a dog park.

"It's neat to work with as a designer," said Steve Studenmund, the agency's strategic planner, who was marking the trail last week.

Planner Anne Simpson said she hopes to see a canoe-launch area on Little Walnut Creek as well as park trails to connect with nearby community trails and the Groveport Recreation Center.

Restoration of another stream that runs through the property is almost finished, Studenmund said.

Even though the Three Creeks, Pickerington Ponds, Chestnut Ridge and Slate Run metro parks are close by, Canal Winchester's public works director, Matt Peoples, said he thinks residents will visit Walnut Woods.

He said he expects trails to connect the park with Canal Winchester's Walnut Creek Park, the George Bareis Nature Preserve and the system of trails within the village.

Kyle Lund, Groveport's parks and recreation director, said he would like a trail that goes across or beneath Groveport Road to connect Groveport Park and Walnut Woods.

The Metro Parks system also has spent $1 million to expand three parks, including Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park in western Franklin County. There, it spent $570,000 to purchase an additional 88 acres.

It also spent $2.2 million to develop trails, including the 11-mile Camp Chase Trail in western Franklin County. That will be a part of the Ohio to Erie Trail between Cleveland and Cincinnati.

The money also allows Metro Parks to expand its educational programs for schoolchildren. The system's Students Exploring Ecosystems Dynamics, or SEED, program has grown from 4,000 to 6,000 students. This was the first year every fifth-grade class in Columbus City Schools participated.

The park system also has spent $851,000 to continue to develop Scioto Audubon Metro Park south of Downtown. That includes $50,000 for the climbing wall and $3,000 for a dog park scheduled to open by the end of the year.

Hanley said the park is planning a number of events to attract more visitors, including a kickball tournament Nov. 6 to raise money to support the new bison herd at Battelle Darby Creek.

mferenchik@dispatch.com

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

[Chadoh25]

Some people are so stupid. I hope Council decides to keep the neighborhood historic!


Historic or not? Dispute continues over Old Beechwold
City Council set to decide issue in two weeks

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 02:53 AM
By Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The fight in Old Beechwold over whether the neighborhood should regain its historic status has become so bitterly divisive that longtime neighbors are shunning one another.

"I've seen people I've lived with for 32 years who won't speak to me," Charles Kistler told Columbus City Council members during a public hearing yesterday evening.

Almost 50 residents went to City Hall on a blustery night to try to sway council members, who are scheduled to vote on the issue on Nov. 8. Of those who spoke, 12 supported the designation and 11 were against it.

The city's historic-preservation officer said the vote could have implications for the city's 17 other historic neighborhoods.

This debate highlights arguments going on elsewhere in the city: historic preservation versus property rights.

Old Beechwold became one of the city's historic neighborhoods in 1985. That gave the city the ability to determine whether exterior renovations and improvements were appropriate and fit with the North Side neighborhood's character.

But attorneys for one resident in 2008 discovered errors in the way the historic boundaries had been drawn. That meant the city couldn't enforce the rules.

And those rules, many in Old Beechwold said, were arbitrarily enforced.

Randy Black, the city's historic-preservation officer, said that from 2000 through 2009, the Historic Resources Commission denied just nine applications for improvements of the 196 that were filed in the Old Beechwold neighborhood.

Residents such as Violet Meek said the council should support the will of the people, pointing to a city survey that showed 64 residents opposed it. That same survey showed 45 in favor - but 25 didn't respond.

Others urged a yes vote, including William Leiter, who was concerned that the neighborhood would lose its beauty.

Old Beechwold is one of Columbus' premier addresses. John DeFourny, who leads the Clintonville Area Commission, called it the "area's finest neighborhood," one of stately homes built near the Olentangy River, many dating to the 1920s.

"People aspire to move into Old Beechwold," he said.

Councilwoman Priscilla Tyson, who led the hearing, said the vote on Old Beechwold and the debate over the historic commission rulings are separate issues.

At the end of the hearing, she asked residents to consider what it would mean to lose that historic designation.

The city's Historic Resources Commission voted 4-0 in August to recommend the historic designation after a group of residents nominated the neighborhood. The Columbus Landmarks Foundation also supports it.

mferenchik@dispatch.com

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

[Chadoh25]

City OKs deal for rest of Northland Mall site
Developer starts hunt for retailers to refill properties

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 02:51 AM
By Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Now that he controls the last two pieces of the former Northland Mall site, developer Mo Dioun faces the tough task of luring retailers and other businesses to complement the other projects rising nearby.

A Dioun company, Northland Village Developers LLC, bought the remaining 19.8 acres from the city for $2.85 million. The Columbus City Council approved the deal yesterday.

One part of the property is west of Tamarack Boulevard and the Menards home-improvement store under construction. The other piece is just south of Northland Park Avenue, across from the Ohio Department of Taxation building.

Columbus acquired the site after Northland Mall died in 2002. In 2004, the city entered a lease agreement with the now-defunct Columbus Urban Growth Corp. for 75 acres, which Urban Growth was to sublet or sell to developers.

Landing Menards was the key to redeveloping the site, most of it bulldozed since 2004.

Dioun's $80 million Northland Village concept features more stores, plus offices and senior housing that could include an assisted-living center.

Dioun, president of the Stonehenge Co. in Gahanna, said he has no specific plans yet but is working on market studies. He said he has received a couple of inquiries from two national chains.

"People are interested to a degree, considering the market conditions," he said.

Menards plans to open its $11.5 million store by next spring, he said. Menards owns the land, and the city is providing a 10-year, 75 percent abatement on property taxes.

To the south, Franklin County is building an $18 million dog shelter. Much of the exterior work on the brick building is completed.

The county also is consolidating three offices into the mall's former JCPenney store, bringing 365 workers to the site. Vaud-Villities Productions is moving to space inside the same building, where it plans to stage its spring production.

"We kind of took it on as an effort to help that area," said Toni Auch, artistic director of the nonprofit troupe. "We all remember when Northland was the place to go."

Roseann Hicks, whose family has owned Yogi's Hoagies in the nearby Woodward Park shopping center on Morse Road since 1977, hopes the new operations drive more customers to her restaurant and other businesses hobbled since the mall closed.

"We obviously know it's taken a little longer than anyone expected," said Hicks, who also leads the Northland Area Business Association. "The key is patience. Thank God, Mo is able to be patient to get the right retailers in there, not just any business.

"We want to make sure it's a destination (with) sustainable businesses."

That's the city's hope, too.

"We think there are a lot of opportunities," said Mike Stevens, Columbus' deputy development director. "Mo and Stonehenge have put together a redevelopment plan embraced by the community. We're encouraged by that."

mferenchik@dispatch.com

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

[Chadoh25]

A year after being approved by voters, Central Ohioans are getting their first look at what the Columbus casino will look like.

Developer Penn National released preliminary plans for the building Thursday.

The 123-acre west-side site on Georgesville Road near West Broad Street is much larger than other Penn National projects, but the Hollywood Casino will have a familiar look and feel.

The casino is expected to open in late 2012 and the company plans to break ground on the $400 million project early next year, creating 3,500 construction jobs.

When the 300,000 square-foot casino opens, another 2,000 permanent jobs will open up.

The site plan calls for more than 4,400 parking spaces, from a five-story garage and three surface parking lots.
There is also a RV park and separate lot for truckers.

The inside will look like other modern Hollywood Casinos and there are currently no plans for a hotel, but the architect set aside more than 12 acres near the casino for that possibility.

There are no new developments in the annexation negotiations between the casino and the City of Columbus.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/nov/...ook-ar-281157/

[Mudhen419]

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=13464964


Gov.-elect seeks end to OH passenger rail deals

[Chadoh25]

Weinland Park

Full-court press to transform the struggling neighborhood near OSU

Sunday, November 7, 2010 02:56 AM
By Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Two symbols of the blight plaguing the Weinland Park neighborhood soon will be reduced to dust.

A pair of brick apartment buildings, long vacant and covered with graffiti, are scheduled to be demolished Nov. 15 and replaced with as many as 12 market-rate houses.

Those 12 will be part of 72 new or renovated homes expected to be finished by the end of 2011 in a multiphase effort to revive the neighborhood at Ohio State University's doorstep.

But the project goes beyond the houses. For example, 24 residents are being trained to help build houses there, said neighborhood leader Joyce Hughes, who lives in the same N. 6th Street home where she grew up.

Story continues belowAdvertisement "In five years I'd like to see a safe neighborhood - the Weinland Park when I was a kid," said Hughes, 63.

The houses are just some of the recent efforts to improve Weinland Park. Some others:

• The community policing center on E. 11th Avenue; the new Weinland Park Elementary School on E. 7th Avenue; and Ohio State's Schoenbaum Family Center, a preschool for children of faculty members and neighborhood residents.

• The 379 apartments renovated by the Ohio Capital Corp. for Housing and Community Properties of Ohio during the past seven years.

• Plans by Wagenbrenner Development to build more than 600 houses on the former Columbus Coated Fabrics site as well as other areas of the neighborhood.

• A multimillion-dollar commitment by foundations to boost housing and other programs in the neighborhood.

• An $864,989 federal grant to plan the transformation of the vacant factory site at N. 4th Street and E. 5th Avenue into a farmers market, restaurant and food-processing center. The money also will be used to plant more community gardens.

The Weinland Park Neighborhood Plan was adopted by Columbus City Council in 2006 and became a catalyst for efforts to transform the area. It spelled out how the neighborhood should revive itself during the next 20 years, including rehabbing or replacing housing, offering job training for residents, creating a "family-friendly social environment," and working with Ohio State and other groups to build up the neighborhood.

The plan's adoption led to the Weinland Park Collaborative, a group with representatives from the city, Ohio State, the Columbus Foundation, the JP Morgan Chase Foundation and 11 other institutions. The collaborative has pledged at least $15 million during the next few years. More than 100 houses are to be built or renovated in the next two to three years.

"This involvement is going to change the neighborhood in a positive way forever," said Jeff Lyttle, spokesman for the JP Morgan Chase Foundation, which already has invested more than $6million in Weinland Park.

Lyttle said he sees this as a model for future efforts in other troubled neighborhoods. "If we didn't think we'd be successful, we wouldn't be investing the time and effort."

The dozen houses that will go up at 4th Street and 8th Avenue will sell for $80,000 to $100,000, said Doug Aschenbach, president of Campus Partners, which is developing the site along with Wagenbrenner.

He said $1.5 million in federal neighborhood-stabilization money is being used. A family of four whose annual income is no more than $82,000 will be eligible to buy them, boosting the area's median income, he said.

Hughes, who leads the neighborhood's civic association, bristles at the word gentrification. The neighborhood has the largest concentration of federally subsidized - Section 8 - housing in the city, she said. And the 2006 plan calls for the neighborhood to remain mixed-income.

Officials have listened to the community, she said. For example, residents persuaded Habitat for Humanity to build two-story houses with porches and basements to match nearby homes, she said. Habitat is building six houses.

Betty Tucker, who has lived in Weinland Park all of her 77 years, said neighbors who now rent are interested in buying new homes. "They want to stay in the neighborhood," she said.

Tammy Forrest, assessment coordinator at the Schoenbaum Family Center, said it's going to take five to 10 years for Weinland Park to noticeably improve.

"That's not a surprise," she said. The community still has many deep-rooted problems to overcome, not only crime and poverty but health problems as well that prevent many residents from working or getting a high-quality education.

"Just housing won't do it," she said.

mferenchik@dispatch.com

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[Chadoh25]

Pizzuti dubs hotel project ‘The Joseph’

Business First - by Doug Buchanan
Date: Friday, November 5, 2010, 2:02pm EDT.


Pizzuti Cos.’ planned Short North hotel, office and parking garage complex has a new name honoring the family patriarch.

The developer’s president, Joel Pizzuti, said the 130-room boutique hotel planned for a city-owned lot at 618 N. High St. has been dubbed “The Joseph” after his grandfather, an Italian immigrant who worked in a factory and dabbled in residential development in northeast Ohio.

“It’s a great name for a hotel,” Pizzuti said, “and it pays homage to my grandfather.”

Residential development caught the fancy of Pizzuti’s father, Ron Pizzuti, who started the Pizzuti Cos. and transformed it into a leading commercial office and industrial developer. He remains chairman and CEO.

The Short North project budged a bit Oct. 28, as we reported in our print edition, when a majority of the Victorian Village Commission indicated in an informal poll that the developer likely has made enough of an economic hardship case to support the partial demolition of the historic United Commercial Travelers property at 632 Park St. A formal vote on the demolition, along with the design of the office and parking garage complex, could get consideration in mid-November.

If that portion of the project does get approved, Pizzuti still needs approval of the hotel across North High from the Italian Village Commission. Getting a parking component of the mixed-use project built is considered critical to the project’s success.

Joel Pizzuti said the naming of the $31.4 million project should not affect the developer’s ongoing quest to find a national hotel flag.

“We’re still going to affiliate with a major hotel group,” he said, “and utilize their reservation systems and other advantages that come with affiliation.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/...he-joseph.html

[Chadoh25]

City may aid condo project with $3.4 million

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 02:51 AM
By Mark Ferenchik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

JEFF HINCKLEY | DISPATCH

None of the 28 units in the Whitney condos project is finished, and no buyers have come forward.

Columbus is prepared to spend $3.4 million to rescue a Near East Side condominium project that developers are struggling to finish more than three years after breaking ground.

The money would refinance a $3 million construction loan the Whitney condos project received from the nonprofit Ohio Community Development Finance Fund in 2008. It also is aimed at reducing interest rates and keeping the condominiums affordable.

The nonprofit Whitney Young Collaborative is building the 28-unit project at 733 Mount Vernon Ave. Mayor Michael B. Coleman considers the project key in his effort to redevelop the King-Lincoln District.

Rita Parise, the city's housing administrator, said the money is an investment, not a bailout. She said the bad housing market and changes in financing rules for condominiums have hurt the project.

There have been no buyers to provide an income stream to pay off the original loan.

So the collaborative went to the city for money, said A. Robert Hutchins, the group's attorney. The three-year term of the loan is ending, he said, and the collaborative needs a quick cash infusion.

That would allow the collaborative to finish two model homes. As many as six potential buyers have been waiting to see a model before deciding, said Jon Moorehead, the Ohio Community Development Finance Fund's program loan officer.

Parise said it would be poor public policy to let the project die, considering the investments the city has made in the neighborhood, including the North of Broad housing development and the Lincoln Theatre restoration.

Neighborhood leader Dana Moessner said he has been concerned all along that no units had been presold at Whitney Condos.

"What we questioned from the beginning was the economic times did not warrant this project going forward," he said.

Hutchins said it's a good use of tax money because it will ultimately bring new housing to a site once home to the crime-ridden Whitney Young Apartments, a 54-unit federal housing project that was torn down in 2005.

Some of the money from condo sales would be used to fund other housing developments on the Near East Side, and some would go to partially reimburse the city, Parise said.

The Columbus City Council is scheduled to vote on the refinancing package on Monday. The city plans to sell $2.7 million in bonds to reimburse its special income-tax fund for capital projects and use $700,000 in housing-preservation funds.

The city already has committed $364,000 for street and sidewalk work.

The city would refinance the loan through the nonprofit Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County. The housing trust has provided a $756,000 construction loan for the project.

Today, signs trumpet condos for as low as $169,000, and town-house units in the brick and vinyl-sided buildings are going for less than $1,100 a month.

mferenchik@dispatch.com

[Chadoh25]

"It was unbelievable," she said. "You couldn't go in without a tie and jacket." Yeah, that's the problem. The Männercor has ALWAYs been very elitist. Many of the folks at the Germania, most of whom are German by birth, have been turned away from there because they did not "look" the part. So to be honest, the folks at the Männerchor only have themselves to blame for their situation. I'll be sad to see it go, but It's demise comes as no surprise! Also, it would be nice if the article talked about the fact that we have TWO German Clubs in this city. I'm a member of the other one!


Potential loss of Maennerchor lamented

ShareThisWednesday, November 10, 2010 12:52 PM
By GARY SEMAN JR.

ThisWeek Community Newspapers

By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek

Columbus City Schools wants to buy the Maennerchor property, 966 S. High St., and demolish the facility so it can build an addition on Stewart Alternative Elementary School across Pearl Street.Many people in German Village agree that much would be lost if the Columbus Maennerchor falls victim to the wrecking ball.

Supporters say the facility, which got its start as a German singing society 160 years ago, is an iconic symbol of the neighborhood's early days, providing a place to dance, enjoy shared heritage and eat ethnic food.

Other observers see the situation as a sign of the times, when ethnic clubs no longer appeal to the younger generations, who assimilate to the American culture and lose hold of their "old world" traditions.

Members of the Scandinavian Club of Columbus, who were using the Maennerchor's kitchen last week, lamented the potential loss of the institution.

"It's too bad because look at the place," Cheri Fitzgerald said. "It's fun, charming."

"Progress is what everybody wants," added Inger Gilbert, also a member of the Scandinavian Club. "It always wins out."

Columbus City Schools wants to buy the roughly 2-acre Maennerchor property, 966 S. High St., so it can build an addition on Stewart Alternative Elementary School across Pearl Street.

That means the Maennerchor building, which houses the Zum Rathskeller restaurant and large private ballrooms, would be torn down.

The place has financially struggled over recent years, general manager Sue Gall said. She was brought in last year to run the Maennerchor and get additional revenue from nontraditional sources. One is Cloak & Dagger mystery dinner theater that moved from Northland to the Maennerchor about six months ago.

Gall said the Maennerchor intends to retain and reconstitute the Dutch House, which is adjacent to the current facility, and turn it into a restaurant.

Dylan Shelton said he would hate to lose the Maennerchor facility as a comedy venue. For the past nine months, he has hosted several "Comedy: No Holds Barred" events at the venue, as well as taking over "Comedy in the Village" shows from comedian Dean Massello, who moved to New York City.

"It's terrible if it happens," he said of a potential sale to the school district. "I think that building's great. I'm a huge fan of it."

The Columbus school board last week voted to proceed with the sale if certain contingencies were met. The Maennerchor's board of directors now must decide whether to accept the school district's offer of $1.3-million. The board met Nov. 8 but did not vote on the contract.

If the plan proceeds, the school district would begin construction next year.

Geoff Schmidt, co-owner of Schmidt's Restaurant und Sausage Haus, said he would hate to see the community lose another place that serves German cuisine.

"Somebody might throw a bratwurst on, but I don't know if I'd call it German food," he said.

Germany native Rosemarie Keidel, owner of nearby Juergen's Bakery on South Fourth Street, remembers moving to Columbus 40 years ago from Canada. Her family immediately joined the Maennerchor, which was very popular at the time.

"It was unbelievable," she said. "You couldn't go in without a tie and jacket."

While she is still a regular attendee of events there, Keidel let her membership lapse about 20 years ago and watched many others over the years do the same. Yet, the place still draws singing groups, hosts Oktoberfest and Christmas events and brings in many clubs that meet regularly.

"I just don't want to believe it's going to be lost," she said. "I think they'll relocate it or do something."

gseman@thisweeknews.com

www.ThisWeekNEWS.com

[Chadoh25]

Committee to lead renewal on Near East Side
Hospital neighborhood focus of aid

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 02:58 AM
By Doug Caruso

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

city of Columbus and the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority get the most out of a planned $10 million investment in the neighborhood around University Hospital East.

"We want to create a sustainable community," said Frederick Ransier, a Near East Side resident, lawyer and former city councilman who was named chairman of the 16-member committee yesterday. "There is great pride and history in this area."

Ohio State and the city announced a partnership in February to improve the Near East Side. The university pledged to use $10million to help the neighborhood near University Hospital East.

The money would be generated from a city income-tax rebate on new jobs created through a $1billion expansion at OSU's main-campus medical center.

The Columbus City Council is expected to approve the rebate Monday, but it wouldn't take effect until new employees begin working at the expanded medical center, which is due to be complete in 2015.

Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee, CMHA Executive Director Charles Hillman and Councilwoman Charleta B. Tavares announced the formation of the committee yesterday afternoon at the hospital. Hillman said that as CMHA closes public housing on 25 acres in the neighborhood, that land will become available for redevelopment.

Ransier said the committee intends to listen to neighborhood residents and will seek the best ways to use the initial investment to leverage more dollars toward improved housing, health care, education and employment in the neighborhood.

Though more members could be named later, the 16 committee members announced yesterday include neighborhood leaders, residents and leaders from agencies that serve the area.

dcaruso@dispatch.com

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

[Chadoh25]

Hospital buildings come and go
OSU’s expansion requires careful moves of patients, staff

Saturday, November 6, 2010 02:55 AM
By Suzanne Hoholik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Hospital construction projects mean inconvenience for patients and staff members alike. Whether it’s changed traffic patterns, less parking or a doctor’s office being moved, the idea is to suffer now and be rewarded later.

Ohio State University’s $1 billion expansion of its medical center includes a 17-story hospital tower that will replace two office and clinic buildings. That means physician offices and clinics will move, and so will patients.

“The only thing I can say about this checkerboarding is, it’s a mess,” said Jay Kasey, chief operating officer at the medical center.

Means Hall was demolished last year, and many of those workers were relocated to a new building on W. 12th Avenue. Cramblett Hall, which is next door to where Means was, is scheduled to come down by mid-2012.

Before then, OSU will spend $14 million to renovate and add 14,000 square feet to McCampbell Hall, which is just southwest of Cramblett.

“We’re gong to convert it over to primarily clinical uses, a little research and some (doctors’) offices,” Kasey said.

Officials want to move offices only once, so many of the staff members and clinics will stay in McCampbell. Planned patient services for the building include the women’s health center and the trauma and burn clinics.

This means more space for the burn clinic.

“It will be a little more inconvenient because it will be one more building away” from the hospital, said Dr. Sidney Miller, director of OSU’s burn center. “But I’ve been reassured that it will be very usable space.”

Moving people and patients around during construction projects isn’t new to hospitals, but it can be tricky on crowded hospital campuses.

“A brand-new hospital may seem broad in scope, but it’s easier to move people from one area to another, compared to a renovation, where you’re moved, and then you move back,” said Tiffany Himmelreich, spokeswoman for the Ohio Hospital Association.

Besides shuffling workers and patients around, hospital construction also requires expertise not always needed on other projects. Making sure that a building being demolished, for example, doesn’t affect the precision of neurosurgery occurring in a nearby operating room is something planners have to consider, she said.

At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, renovating the allergy clinic required officials to make sure that air quality around the temporary clinic space wasn’t affected.

“These kids have allergies, and putting them in the middle of a construction site would be detrimental,” said Patty McClimon, senior vice president of strategic planning and facilities at Children’s. “We go to those lengths for the safety of our patients and staff.”

Children’s is in the midst of an $840 million expansion project.

shoholik@dispatch.com

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

[Chadoh25]

Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill Opens Today

By Walker | November 23, 2010 1:30pm | Filed under Dining, Sports | Comments
The Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill officially opens their doors at Grandview Yard today, just in time for Saturday’s OSU-Michigan game.

Located at 775 Yard Street, the 8,000-sqft venue provides a casual-yet-sophisticated atmosphere where sports fans can enjoy a full restaurant menu, full bar that includes 16 draft beers, 43 flat-screen tvs and a 140-inch projection display.

Loads of OSU memorabilia lines the walls and fills display cases located throughout The Grill, which includes Archie Griffin’s Heisman Trophy, Hopalong Cassidy’s 1955 Athlete of the Year Award, official programs from the 1936 Berlin Olymics where Jesse Owens won four gold medals, and several tables made out of the original hard wood OSU Stadium benches from the 1920’s.

“We currently have over 200 photos and pieces of memorabilia and we’re still adding more,” said Tina Guegold, VP of Marketing for Nationwide Realty Investors. “Some of these items are permanent and some are on loan, so we’ll be rotating them regularly.”

The menu at The Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill includes a variety of entrees, sandwiches and salads.

We asked Executive Chef Mark Johnston to name three of the most unique menu items that he would recommend trying out upon a first visit:

“The Babyback Ribs are definitely number one on the list,” said Johnston. “We slow-braise them overnight with a Memphis-style dry rub and then mop them with a house-made bbq sauce, and finish them on the grill and mop them some more. Also, the coleslaw that comes with the ribs is a roasted-peanut vinagrette slaw that includes cilantro and green onions and two types of cabbage.”

“Second would be the Enchiladas,” added Johnston. “They’re different from what you’d find at your typical Mexican restaurant. They’re served with a creamy cheese sauce, spinach, jalapenos, onions and our house-made rotisserie chicken in a corn tortilla. We also include a “tortilla sauce” that’s similar to our tortilla soup as well as a red chili sauce.”

“And last but not least is the Thai Steak Salad,” said Johnston. “It’s Asian noodles, cabbage, mint, cilantro, carrots and mango all tossed in a spicy vinagrette. Our steak is marinaded overnight in a traditional Thai sauce with soy, ginger, garlic and turbinado sugar and then grilled to order for the salad.”

The Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill also includes a wrap-around heated patio that includes a “Block O” fire pit.

The Buckeye Hall of Fame Grill is open from 11 am to 10 pm daily (or later if a game goes into overtime), and open until midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and during special events.

More information can be found online at www.GrandviewYard.com.

http://www.columbusunderground.com/b...ll-opens-today

[Chadoh25]

Lazarus building to get jolt of caffeine

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 02:55 AM
By Marla Matzer Rose

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Retailers are returning to the iconic Lazarus building Downtown.

Coffee and food purveyor Cup o'Joe/MoJoe Lounge and Huntington National Bank have agreed to lease about half of the 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space along High Street in the Lazarus building.

Both are expected to open in the spring, around the time the new Columbus Commons park officially opens across the street, on the site of the former Columbus City Center mall.

The new tenants will join about 2,000 office employees in the building. It was renovated by the Columbus Downtown Development Corp./Capitol South with the aid of city-backed bonds. The organization is also behind the development of Columbus Commons and the River South redevelopment plan that stretches west from the Lazarus Building on High Street to the Scioto River.

"Three years ago, the Lazarus building was an abandoned building," said Guy Worley, CEO of CDDC/Capitol South. "Adding retail was one of the last things we needed to do. . . . This will be excellent for the neighborhood as a whole."

Jim Kunk, central regional president for Huntington, said the bank's decision to open a branch office less than two blocks from its headquarters reflects its commitment to Downtown and its confidence in the emerging River South neighborhood.

"That's a new, developing district down there. There's the new park. There's new residential (apartments) and a couple thousand workers in the building," Kunk said.

Mark Swanson, president of the Cup o'Joe restaurants, also said his company's commitment to Downtown was a factor in its decision to open in the Lazarus building.

He said initial plans call for 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. operations. But the company will seek a liquor license and could add evening hours based on demand, even if it's on a limited Wednesday-through-Saturday basis.

"Our company's local. We live in Columbus, and we've always wanted a Downtown location," Swanson said. Cup o'Joe currently has High Street locations in the Short North and Clintonville neighborhoods, as well as stores in German Village and several other neighborhoods near Downtown.

mrose@dispatch.com

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