The latest Development Roundup features news from Downtown, German Village, Grandview Heights, and Upper Arlington, along with lots of nuggets from up and down High Street. Read on for an assortment of project updates, proposals, ribbon cuttings, and other news that we haven’t had a chance to cover yet:
Design work is underway for the new Columbus State culinary facility, and a location for the building has been revealed for the first time. A spokesperson said that the current timeline calls for the new School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts to open in 2020 at the southeast corner of Cleveland and Mt. Vernon Avenues.
It’s been over a year since the Columbus Metropolitan Library issued a request for qualifications to demolish and redevelop the row of apartment buildings just north of the main library. A request for information on the status of the buildings, which the library still owns, yielded this response from a spokesperson; “We have no new news to share with regard to Grant Oak, though we remain committed to selling the property.”
The first occupants of the Broadview – a 64-unit apartment development just off of Grandview Avenue – will be moving in soon. The four-story building was designed by Sullivan Bruck Architects and developed by Avenue Partners (formerly Snyder Barker Investments) and Elford Development.
Avenue Partners has another active project close by, a 113-unit apartment complex on Chambers Road called Steel House. That development, which is also four stories, is on track to open this winter.
Notes from the October meeting of the University Impact District Review Board document a dispute between the board and the team behind the Highline on Nine development. Certain elements of the completed building did not match the plans approved by the board, and a proposal for bringing the building into compliance was requested. One memorable quote from a board member — “The building as-built calls into question the entire design review process.”
The nine-story Arlington Gateway development was approved by Upper Arlington’s Board of Zoning and Planning earlier this month. Spavin Day Spa has been announced as a tenant, joining an unnamed office user described as a “top five financial institution” in city documents. Condos are also planned for the upper floors of the building.
Upper Arlington residents will get the final word on the J. Liu Project, a proposed five-story hotel and restaurant further west on Lane Avenue. Although variances required for the development were approved by the zoning board in August, a petition drive by opponents of the project has triggered a rezoning referendum, which is scheduled for November of 2018.
Phase one of the Short North streetscape improvements project is wrapping up, meaning that all lanes of North High Street between Vine and Goodale streets are open again. Next up is the second phase, which goes from West Poplar Avenue to Starr Avenue. Most of the work on that section will take place in 2018.
The city’s infrastructure update also includes information on construction projects in the neighborhood, and the significant impact they have on the movement of people and cars. With the Moxy Hotel now under construction on the former Haiku site at Hubbard and High, one lane of High Street will remain closed until the project is completed in spring of 2019.
Although Bollinger Tower was sold earlier this fall to Chicago-based developer AJ Capital Partners, the new owner will be moving forward with the design previously approved by the Italian Village Commission and city council, which calls for a first-floor expansion that brings the building up to High Street. The new hotel will be under the Graduate Hotels brand.
The German Village gas meter fight appears to have had a happy ending. An update on the German Village Society website lays out the details, but the bottom line is that the society is pleased with the settlement reached with Columbia Gas this fall concerning the placement of gas meters in the historic neighborhood.