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Scioto Peninsula Development - News & Updates

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Started 2 years ago by Walker
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Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Continue the Development of the Scioto Peninsula
Main CU Feature: 12 Ideas Laid Out for Downtown 2010 Strategic Plan

The Scioto Peninsula represents an opportunity because nearly all of the land is owned by the City of Columbus. The 30+ acre contiguous development site has outstanding views of Downtown and access to cultural and civic amenities.

While COSI and the riverfront are strong anchors for the Scioto Peninsula, more can be done to maximize their potential. Turning COSI inside out by creating a new science and nature park on the riverfront side of the museum will provide a new front door for the museum and activate the riverfront. A new cultural promenade will provide a showcase for public art in Downtown and create a new edge along the Scioto River.

MORE HERE: http://www.downtowncolumbus.com/plan/scioto-peninsula

Posted 2 years ago #
JimSweeney
E. Fton
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well, hello. look at you!

Posted 2 years ago #
anillo
Marzipan City
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good news everyone!

Posted 2 years ago #
kcrissinger
Brookshire
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Hmm, COSI is already going that way. They have a native prarie area in the back of the building and a fairly new awesome rain garden in the lawn in front of the building.

Posted 2 years ago #
Rick Carraway

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To me, this is the aspect of the plan that is the most exciting.

Franklinton, the original seat of Columbus, is so well situated with access to the Arena District and Downtown, right along the river, with good freeway access.

To turn this into an area with (inexpensive) condominium communities would be a tremendous, tremendous step, IMO.

Posted 2 years ago #
JimSweeney
E. Fton
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Rick Carraway wrote >>
To me, this is the aspect of the plan that is the most exciting.
Franklinton, the original seat of Columbus, is so well situated with access to the Arena District and Downtown, right along the river, with good freeway access.
To turn this into an area with (inexpensive) condominium communities would be a tremendous, tremendous step, IMO.

+one zillion!

Posted 2 years ago #
jpizzow
580 N. Park St.
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Love the highrises. Although, I would like to see more R&D space. This entire development should be LEED Platinum certified and as carbon neutral as possible. It's an opportunity to build a shining example, not only for Columbus, but the nation. You want to get yourself in "Metropolis" or "Architectural Record" magazine, that's the way to do it. This development could also strengthen the argument for some sort of light rail line up through the 315 Technology Corridor.

I wander why they didn't expand the plan over to Vets Memorial. The building itself could use a facelift. It's 80's fugly.

+1 on whoever suggested the relocation of the Santa Maria over by COSI. It would definately get more use.

Posted 2 years ago #
alove
Downtown
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I haven't been to COSI in awhile, maybe something like this has already been done, but they could have more (potentially free) outdoor exhibits. The exhibits could focus on green technology, ohio geology & geography, waterways, biodiversity, alternative energy, exercise, health, weather, etc.

Posted 2 years ago #
Rick Carraway

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I really think Franklinton as a residential district has a lot of potential.

Young professionals want to be closer to downtown, but there's a dearth of affordable rentals/condos. That's slowly changing, sure, with pockets of developments all across downtown.

Short North, German Village, Harrison Park, Clintonville--these are places where there's consolidation. Franklinton can be another such neighborhood, with very easy access up 315 to OSU, or across the Scioto to Downtown, Columbus State, Franklin, CCAD. Couple that with the benefits of the new park space along the river, the running/biking trails, and the entertainment options in the Arena District and Short North and German Village, and this place is just waiting for the right touch, IMO.

That the area has a great history, and could serve as an impetus to development and and infusion of tax dollars to benefit all of its current residents...and to help Columbus to think about its citizens on the West Side as much as it does the North and South sides...would be a wonderful thing for all of us.

Posted 2 years ago #
CDS sherman
East Franklinton
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i dont mind sacrificing my great views of downtown for some new development on the COSI plains.

Posted 2 years ago #
columbusmike

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This development has a lot of opportunity. Would be great to see some big, local players get involved in this district to get things rolling (Honda, AEP, OSU, etc).

Posted 2 years ago #
colrex7
Ohio
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I think this could be very cool. That area would be so much more vibrant with some retail and dense housing. It would create a little dense "off-shoot" from downtown.

Posted 2 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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With the city owning so much land in this area, it does pose a very unique opportunity for development. Hopefully this is an area that can be developed a bit differently than some of our other large-scale properties recently. It's great to have a monolithic entity like NRI to tackle projects like The Arena District or Grandview Yard, but the number of big developers looking for big projects is limited.

What we should do with Franklinton is divide this land up into smaller parcels, set dense zoning requirements and lay out some expectations and put out an RFP to the entire country for the best developers, architects and investors looking to bite off one piece here or one piece there. Approach it with one singular unified plan, but allow some wiggle-room to create a more diverse landscape so that we don't just end up with another area with buildings that all look identical.

Posted 2 years ago #
colrex7
Ohio
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Walker wrote >>
With the city owning so much land in this area, it does pose a very unique opportunity for development. Hopefully this is an area that can be developed a bit differently than some of our other large-scale properties recently. It's great to have a monolithic entity like NRI to tackle projects like The Arena District or Grandview Yard, but the number of big developers looking for big projects is limited.
What we should do with Franklinton is divide this land up into smaller parcels, set dense zoning requirements and lay out some expectations and put out an RFP to the entire country for the best developers, architects and investors looking to bite off one piece here or one piece there. Approach it with one singular unified plan, but allow some wiggle-room to create a more diverse landscape so that we don't just end up with another area with buildings that all look identical.

I like it.

Posted 2 years ago #
cbustransit

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ok, i love the concept for this...we definitely need to develop that area and we can do it well.

BUT, MSI did a poor job in putting this together. The park in the center will continue to be underutilized space. It is uninteresting and bleak. Even surrounded by buildings, no one will use it. It should be redesigned as part of the build out. Imagine City Garden in St. Louis. There is art, meandering paths, seating, trees, stuff to do.

Secondly, the layout of the buildings seems highly suburban. There are still huge tracts of green space that will go unutilized, especially if we build this massive riverfront park. Two of the residential blocks will face the back of the other residential blocks. That back will be parking lots (if i am viewing this correctly). This isn't going to give people a walkable, urban feel. In fact, this entire area has no basic walkable scheme to it. Where will the focus be? Perhaps around the park in the center (see above complaints). But there are no interesting corridor streets. Additionally, each use is completely separated here. We have pointless green space in the middle of multiple blocks. I say get rid of all that space, densely build housing and retail there (mixed by building not by block) and focus the energy around corridor streets (which in themselves could be green space) and a single park area that will be well-used. We don't need more Sensenbrenner or Nationwide plazas, we need more Goodale parks, where there are enough people to adequately use the space consistently. You will not have all of these spaces used if you build them all.

Posted 2 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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cbustransit wrote >>
BUT, MSI did a poor job in putting this together. The park in the center will continue to be underutilized space. It is uninteresting and bleak. Even surrounded by buildings, no one will use it.

You think the park will be unused even if it's surrounded completely by dense residential development as the plan states?

Posted 2 years ago #
jpizzow
580 N. Park St.
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@cbustransit: Those renderings were merely a rough idea. I highly doubt that anything built over there will look anything like the renderings. Although I would love to see some highrises.

@Walker: Good points about the park and the call for national developers and architects. I think many of our top developers in central Ohio lack the confidence in this market as well as the ability (funds) to build something of such scale as this. The city should do some homework and find some of the best green builders out there. It's not an uncommon thing to do. Investors will build here if we can convince them that it's worth their while.

Posted 2 years ago #
cbustransit

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@Walker: Ya, I don't think it will be well-used if its poorly designed space. Do you want to hang out on the beautiful open green space that lines our highways for instance? I am not saying all of the parks in this design will be unused. I think the riverfront park would be fantastically used. But the space in the center of the peninsula, the area between the office buildings, that space will only be utilized at certain times by a select few people. We should prioritize one awesome green space and densely build out the rest of it.

@jpizzow: True enough, but if we are planning, we should say what our priorities are.

Posted 2 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Some interesting additional details on this development...

From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/planning-downtown-with-msi-design-part-3

Keith Myers: IOnce the market turns around, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s really no reason the City canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t go out immediately for RFPs because they already own all the land.

Andrew Overbeck: Yeah, thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s really the unique thing. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s sometimes so hard to aggregate land Downtown from so many different land owners, but here thatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s already been done.

Posted 2 years ago #
joshlapp
SoHud
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http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/02/copy/bridge-gets-extra-time-helping-scioto-mile.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

Bridge gets extra time, helping Scioto Mile
Construction of a second bridge connecting Downtown and Franklinton won't get in the way of next summer's opening of the Scioto Mile, state officials promise.

But to get everything finished on the east side of the Scioto River by June 1, 71/2 months have been added to the timetable for the rest of the bridge project.

The Ohio Department of Transportation's latest update on construction of the Rich Street bridge shows the project within $29,000 of its original construction budget.

What kind of affect will these new bridge openings and completion of the Scioto Mile have on development of the Scioto Peninsula? Will it finally be time for some action to be taken?

Posted 1 year ago #