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Demolition of Lazarus Sky Bridge will help prepare High Street for Active Retail
In his 2008 State of the City Address Mayor Michael B. Coleman announced the creation of a new district downtown, The Mile on High District to focus on rebuilding the High Street Corridor with active retail, office and housing to bring more people and new investment back into the area. Today Columbus City Council will consider ordinance 1090-2008 to authorize the release of $503,670 of bond proceeds currently held in the RiverSouth Area Redevelopment Project Fund in support of Columbus Downtown Development Corporation’s plan to repair the two alleys adjoining the northwest portion of The Lazarus Building to complete a plan to demolish the sky bridge connecting the Lazarus Building to City Center and repair the Lazarus facade, preparing it for street-level retail.
“High Street is the spine of our City and for our City to work best, our backbone must be strong,” said Mayor Coleman. “With more than 100,000 workers and an increasing number of residents moving downtown, we need to spur economic development and create new retail opportunities along High Street by demolishing the cavernous City Center walkway. We are grateful to Governor Strickland and our legislative partners for helping to secure money for this worthwhile project.”
The sky bridge that once connected City Center with Lazarus has been dormant for years and is a strong impediment to creating a thriving retail environment. Demolition of the Lazarus Sky Bridge will provide a catalyst for retail along the High Street corridor in front of The Lazarus Building helping to spur economic redevelopment. The total cost of the project is approximately $3 million with the State of Ohio contributing $2.5 million from the 2008 state capital budget.
Recent public and private investments have made RiverSouth an emerging neighborhood. Construction for the Main Street Bridge has been underway for several years, and The Scioto Mile Park began construction in April 2008 and the municipal garage at the corner of Front and Rich streets will be completed in the spring of 2009. Last month, Lifestyles Communities broke ground on a moderately priced housing development, featuring both rental and for-sale units on four empty lots just south of The Lazarus Building, providing an important housing product downtown.
Council will also consider ordinance 0973-2008 for the creation of a downtown Tax Increment Financing District (TIF). The TIF will cover a large area of Downtown approximately bounded to the north by the Arena District, south by the Brewery District, east by I-71 and west by the Scioto River and is targeted to fund a variety of public improvements including parking garages, roadways and parks.
The City of Columbus is helping lead the implementation of the Downtown Business Plan with the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation and local businesses. 2008 marks the sixth year of the 10-year plan to bring new investment, energy and activity into downtown. The total new investment in downtown since 2000 is estimated at $2.19 billion, with $711 million in public funding helping leverage $1.48 billion in private investment. This includes projects proposed, under construction, or built since 2000.
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Finally the sky bridge will come down! No, it won’t single-handedly revitalize downtown but it serves as too strong a tangible and intangible barrier between two sides of downtown town – a divide that frankly has unfortunate racial and socioeconomic overtones when you take a look around. Now if only they could accidentally also tear down the neon atrocity that went up this year.
Isn’t the useful life of such an idea interesting? Back in the 1980s, they were cheering the prospect of not having to cross High Street from City Center to enter the Lazurus store. God, they’d have to actually touch their feet to the sidewalk– outlandish! Now we’re paying 3 million to tear it down. I’m glad! But it’s so fascinating how good ideas turn bad in a matter of a couple decades. The trick is keeping it simple and true to the history of the business core, what we are thankfully returning to today. (Streetcars will come back too someday just for this reason!)
What is the garage they are refering to on the corner of Rich and Front Streets??
Actually the Lazarus skywalk was immediately identified as a flaw by many. It quickly sucked all the life from High Street and the (formerly viable) S. High Street retail storefronts faltered. Plunking a 1980s suburban style mall in the center of downtown was a terrible idea. It reinforced the notion that downtown is dangerous; you entered hermetically sealed underground parking and never hit fresh air until you departed.
But I did love Bendel’s while it lasted.
You’re so decadent.
A.
I’m not an opponent of skywalks generally, but it’s true that the City Center-Lazarus one does add a certain forbidding aura to that stretch of High St.
Who wants to have a skywalk demolition party? I’ll bring the sledgehammers! These things are terrible, and this is the worst one.
The only positive to the skywalk is that it’s good protection from the rain when waiting for the bus. It lets you get far enough away from the people smoking in the bus shelter. I won’t be sad to see it go, though. I’ll just get a bigger umbrella.
I think the whole south end of downtown is doing extraordinarily well right now, considering the lackluster economy. The Lazarus building is looking really good, with its rooftop garden, the Lifestyles condos have broken ground and the new courthouse or Hall of Justice or whatever it will be called is going up at record speed! The Main Street bridge is even looking like a bridge now! If only we can do something about that wig shop and liquor store…
I just added some more links to the original post to give more details on the projects.
More info about the garage can be found here:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12036
I just added some more links to the original post to give more details on the projects.
More info about the garage can be found here:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12036
It was the Lazarus parking garage. I used to use it every day when I worked at TV 19. I will not miss it when it’s gone. It was in very shabby condition, and since I didn’t trust the elevator, I usually used the stairs. Of course, so did the homeless apparently. Nothing like the scent of urine and excrement on a hot summer morning, to get you ready for your day! :roll:
Does anyone know any details about the ordinance (0973-2008) that the council is considering. Is this a tax on downtown residents, or businesses, or both? Thanks.
Check that, I just saw the other article about it.
I really, really wish they’d back off the “spine” and “backbone” metaphors.
:wink:
Bleeeeah.
Why? That always struck me as a good way to describe things.
+1
<— new guy to columbus
so the skywalk was that bad here? was the mall a failure from the get go too?
seems odd that it died, but also…there isnt anything down in that part of town that i’ve bothered to venture to yet either…
so the skywalk was that bad here? was the mall a failure from the get go too?
seems odd that it died, but also…there isnt anything down in that part of town that i’ve bothered to venture to yet either…
That skywalk is one of the most ugly sights in the city. It’s large too. It’s like a cave. The area immediately around the skywalk is a void. Just south of the skywalk is blighted. North of the skywalk is nice.
it’s damn ugly. You see it, and just turn the other way!
so the skywalk was that bad here? was the mall a failure from the get go too?
seems odd that it died, but also…there isnt anything down in that part of town that i’ve bothered to venture to yet either…
The mall enjoyed a brief stint of success. The Easton, Polaris and Tuttle came, coupled with a perceived rise in crime that sent people fleeing back to suburbia.