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Construction on the first phase of new housing in Weiland Park is breaking ground in the next few weeks.
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Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Development
Weinland Park Redevelopment - News & Updates
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Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Some in Weinland Park fed up with OSU's 'urban lab' treatment
Friday, March 4, 2011
BY MARK FERENCHIK
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCHThe red, wooden stands have been put in the Weinland Park neighborhood so residents can say what they want to see instead of vacant lots and boarded-up houses.
Residents peppered the signboards with stickers holding their suggestions.
Posted 1 year ago # -
labi
Weinland Park
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cc wrote >>
It seems the Wagenbrenner's are the ones pulling the strings in Weinland Park. It would be good to get more information in this vein.Can you elaborate on what it is you want to know? There are enough real-estate-related projects going on in Weinland Park that even when you live here and go to lots of meetings, it can get confusing. I'm curious about non-residents' perceptions of what's going on.
Posted 1 year ago # -
cc
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Thanks Walker!
@labi
I hear WagCo is buying up everything they can get their hands on in WP (ie. if there is a house forsale, Wagco will pay cash) and are basically getting the city's pat on the back to get stuff rolling. From Harrison West it seems that they do a good job, but they control their own strings. I am hoping Walker will shed more light as the main project has been outlined, but there seems to be more going on under the surface.
Posted 1 year ago # -
labi
Weinland Park
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It's true (as Walker's interview I'm sure will describe) that WagCo is working with Campus Partners to do "revitalizing" real estate projects in WP using the city's federal Neighborhood Stabilization Plan money, among other funds. On the face of it, it would seem they are primarily doing this because their giant Cols Coated Fabrics site will be worth a lot more if revitalization works. But the layers of administrative bureaucracy are significant on these projects, to the point that I'm not sure I would say that it looks like they are really solely in charge. They often express great frustration at how restrictive and cumbersome the NSP regs are, and how no one seems to really be accountable for projects moving forward through through the regulatory process in a timely manner. I give them a lot of credit for sticking with it all this time, devoting a huge amount of time to interacting with existing residents, other "stakeholders," and everything else. They are remarkably accessible.
I think it's an open question what the unintended consequences of their presence in the market with all that cash might be, in terms of when individual buyers will have a chance to compete on properties that are for sale. When WagCo has a staff person whose job it is to know every single property in the neighborhood that could potentially be for sale, and to negotiate hard with cash in hand for anything that does come up, it feels like there's not a lot of room for the lowly, non-non-profit individual prospective buyer. I would say that the window for an individual to get a super screaming good price for a distressed property has been closed for a while. On the other hand, there have been few to none (as far as I know) properties picked up by slumlord investors who basically slap a coat of ghetto beige paint on everything and rent them back out, and that's a really good thing for WP. I'm really glad to see that kind of investor being out-competed by WagCo/Campus Partners.
There are a lot of houses in WP, and it might be reasonable to expect that once market values pick up just a bit there will be another phase of properties for sale that will still be good deals. Plus the rehabbed houses from the WagCo/Campus Partners projects, for those who aren't interested in the gut rehab route.
Posted 1 year ago # -
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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I would love to know what happened to all the jobs that were promised to those who completed the construction training program. So far, the only person I know for sure who got hired is the guy who was running the program and he now works for Waggonbrenner.
Posted 1 year ago # -
labi
Weinland Park
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berdawn wrote >>
I would love to know what happened to all the jobs that were promised to those who completed the construction training program. So far, the only person I know for sure who got hired is the guy who was running the program and he now works for Waggonbrenner.There's going to be an update on that at the housing committee meeting tomorrow (5:00, Godman Guild). As you know, the "jobs promised" were going to be in the rehab projects, which have been held up by the city and NSP approvals process, but are going to be starting soon, with any luck. Efforts to find other jobs for the trainees in the meantime have been extensive.
Posted 1 year ago # -
coolbuckeye
South Clintonville
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I've also heard that finding other jobs for those graduates has been difficult because of mobility issues.
@berdawn- I would say that some hard lessons have been learned from the gateway project. The bullish claims that the project would be an economic generator for the WP community makes residents loose trust in the redevelopment efforts led by the same players this time. The jobs were created but sadly went to more marketable students instead. I think this was partly because employers where not given incentives to consider the low skilled labor force available to them just a block east of them.
Also I think the current program is inadequate and far less comprehensive then its needs to be for the community and its diverse population. If they are truly sincere about getting people employed, a lot more needs to happen.
Posted 1 year ago # -
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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coolbuckeye wrote >>
I've also heard that finding other jobs for those graduates has been difficult because of mobility issues.
@berdawn- I would say that some hard lessons have been learned from the gateway project. The bullish claims that the project would be an economic generator for the WP community makes residents loose trust in the redevelopment efforts led by the same players this time. The jobs were created but sadly went to more marketable students instead. I think this was partly because employers where not given incentives to consider the low skilled labor force available to them just a block east of them.
Also I think the current program is inadequate and far less comprehensive then its needs to be for the community and its diverse population. If they are truly sincere about getting people employed, a lot more needs to happen.but but but wasn't there a position created specifically to help get WP residents jobs? don't tell me THAT isn't going as planned???
Posted 1 year ago # -
coolbuckeye
South Clintonville
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I know the person in that position and I think she must be thoroughly frustrated with the unrealistic goals set for her. It’s going to take a lot longer than a couple of years to have the population she is dealing with get into living wage jobs that they can hold on to.
I would have to add that this is not a one way relationship between developers providing services to residents. This proposed revitalization will only work if residents stand up for themselves and take the steps to make themselves be more marketable. Developers build stuff. They are not built for job training activities. These programs are nice to have and make the overall project look better but it’s not the singular objective of the builder/developer. Let’s be real, the only reason those programs are implemented is because it will help sell more houses. But I'm all for it if some small percentage of the local population benefits from these job programs.
The real question is how can anything be done for those who are so disenchanted with societies systematic rejection that they give up demanding a higher quality of life and resort to just surviving off of whatever assistance they can get?
Posted 1 year ago # -
News
Columbus Underground
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Changes in Weinland Park may chase away some residents
Monday, July 25, 2011
BY MARK FERENCHIK
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCHBill Woods shovels dirt from the basement at 1391-1393 Indianola, a Hometeam Properties project. Hometeam has purchased 15 homes in the Weinland Park area since 2009.
As landlords buy and fix up homes, and as civic leaders chart a new course for the Weinland Park neighborhood north of Downtown, some residents such as Leannette Lyles are being pushed out.
READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/07/25/price-of-progress.html?sid=101
Posted 10 months ago # -
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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jimbach said:
It's absurd that anyone could think a neighborhood could improve yet still maintain the same levels or concentration of poverty.I don't think anyone is asking to maintain the same levels of poverty, just expressing a desire to not see people pushed out of their neighborhood when rents spike. The real key is probably what was mentioned in the article: offering options that lead to ownership.
It's good to see these places fixed. It would probably make diversity more attainable if it was owner occupants fixing it up rather than landlords trying to make a profit.
Posted 10 months ago #
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