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Who Knows What About Olde Towne East?

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Started 2 years ago by thenakedredhead
Latest reply from NDaEast

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thenakedredhead
Olde Towne East, the land of gratuitous E's
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Hi! Can someone tell me (or point me to a thread) about Olde Towne East? My boyfriend and I are looking at condos out there (there are newly rehabbed ones on Latta that look interesting). I've pretty much lived in every downtown C-bus neighborhood except that one (Short North, Harrison West, Grandview, German Village, etc.) and would love details. How "up and coming" is it? I've heard it's iffy from street to street, but that the neighborhood watch has helped improve things a lot.

Any info and recommendations would be much appreciated!

Posted 2 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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Here's two places to start:

Discussions: http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/tags/olde-towne-east

News: http://www.columbusunderground.com/tag/olde-towne-east

;)

Posted 2 years ago #
hugh59
Aboard the ultimate power in Olde Towne East
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I don't know squat about OTE...but then, I just live there.

All kidding aside, parts of OTE are great. I hope you move in. The more CU'ers in the neighborhood, the better.

Posted 2 years ago #
joev
Merion Village
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One question about OTE that I don't think has been addressed anywhere else on CU: Why the vestigial "e"s? It's not like OTE was settled during the Elizabethan era.

ETA: I bet HeySquare can answer this.

Posted 2 years ago #
Lakee911
Clintonville (South)
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joev wrote >>
One question about OTE that I don't think has been addressed anywhere else on CU: Why the vestigial "e"s? It's not like OTE was settled during the Elizabethan era.

They just want to be as cool as Clintonville. It ends in an "e" too so clearly they are copying! :)

Posted 2 years ago #
ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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I've lived in that area most of my life. It is extremely spotty --a great street can be right next to a real hellhole. Make sure you spend some time walking your street before you buy.

The condos on Latta look great, and I'd love to see them occupied. But please be aware that the rest of that area has not yet come up. It might be a great investment, but you'd have to be willing to both hold for a long time and to put some work of your own into neighborhood improvement.

If you're willing to expand the definition of OTE a little, you might look into the King Lincoln District --lots of nice new condos here, and this neighborhood is definitely improving quickly.

One question about OTE that I don't think has been addressed anywhere else on CU: Why the vestigial "e"s? It's not like OTE was settled during the Elizabethan era.

They were added during the renovations.

Posted 2 years ago #
rus

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What Chris said re: "Make sure you spend some time walking your street before you buy."

I apparently work in OTE ( one of these days I might figure out what the neighborhood boundaries are ). Street crime and random crackheads have been a problem, although an infrequent one.

Posted 2 years ago #
thenakedredhead
Olde Towne East, the land of gratuitous E's
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Thanks! Any specific "parts" you'd recommend? I keep hearing about these "parts" that are better than others. :)

Also, silent e's make everything fancy.

Posted 2 years ago #
Columbusite
Minneapolis
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It's worth keeping in mind that a couple of businesses/buildings are going to be knocked down on Parsons and the rest of the businesses are going to be hurting, possibly leaving, as a result of years of highway construction which will likewise put revitalization on hold or reverse it. Same goes for King-Lincoln. If you must live in the Near East, You might as well move to Woodland Park where there is no commercial street that can go into decline and there's also Eastgate tucked away on the other side of the railroad bridge: also mainly residential.

Boundaries are hard to remember here. I'm working on an OTE progress map...

Posted 2 years ago #
Snarf
Dystopia
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I live one block east of Latta near Madison, been there two years, have had zero issues with crime.

The condos on Latta look really nice but I thought they all sold?

Posted 2 years ago #
NOBOPatriot

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The condos on Latta are way cool and good values (close to Broad as well) and Franklin Park (lots going on). I moved from VV (had a house on Dennison near Goodfale park)to KLD/OTE 7 years ago and got a super house (could not afford Neil Ave). I love it no regrest (the entire area has gotten better and better and better) - check it out/the condo several different times during a day and at night to be sure you are comfortable with street and feel safe and then negotiate a good deal. IMHO the construction fears of i71/70 are ooverblown it will have an impact, but longterm could be very, very good. Latta, Fair and Auburn are great streets too

Posted 2 years ago #
ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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thenakedredhead wrote >>
Thanks! Any specific "parts" you'd recommend? I keep hearing about these "parts" that are better than others. :)

I grew up on Fairwood between Main and Bryden, and it literally was the case that you could walk half a block one direction and be on one of the more ghetto corners of Columbus, or half a block the other, and pass some of the best maintained, most luxurious real estate. It was as though there was an invisible line a few houses down from us, and I literally almost never crossed it during the entire time I spent growing up. On the other side the line, at various times, were brothels, crackhouses and gambling dens. But on our side of the line, we had a great house and experienced almost no problems, crime or otherwise, the whole time I lived there. That's what I mean by "spotty".

Posted 2 years ago #
bababoohi

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I wouldn't try to persuade you one way or the other, but I'd suggest going to the neighborhood at night too. Not just the day. As Whodini so aptly put it, "The Freaks Come Out at Night".

Posted 2 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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Columbusite wrote >>
It's worth keeping in mind that a couple of businesses/buildings are going to be knocked down on Parsons and the rest of the businesses are going to be hurting, possibly leaving, as a result of years of highway construction which will likewise put revitalization on hold or reverse it.

Over-exaggerated.

According to a Real Estate Professional who lives and works in the area:

ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s going to be a pain for residents of KLD and OTE for the next 4-6 years and there will be inconveniences. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think property values will be adversely affected in the short term. I do think that, in the end, with a solution in place that looks better, feels better and will be more connected than what is currently there, property values and interest in these areas will increaseÃ¢â‚¬â€œwith an obvious bump up for OTE and KLD which have so much more pricing room than German Village.

MORE: http://deliciousrealestate.com/2010/07/20/interstate-7071-split-fix-will-stress-neighborhoods-but-eventually-be-good-for-columbus-real-estate/

Posted 2 years ago #
thenakedredhead
Olde Towne East, the land of gratuitous E's
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Thanks to everyone for the info. This has all been most helpful and definitely assists with my search!

(PS-Gambling dens!? I wanna go!) :)

Posted 2 years ago #
chopchop
OTE, and the west side
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I have a house on Latta a few doors down from those condos. We LOVE our neighbors - it's a good street. PM me if you have any specific questions i might be able to help.

Posted 2 years ago #
Coy
Discovery District
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http://www.cobenickstudios.com/csgallery/events.htm

There is an event tomorrow night at CS gallery, and I'd bet there will be some folks there who can give you first hand advice. Dan knows quite a bit about the area...

Posted 2 years ago #
Core_Models
Columbus
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I think its a great neighborhood...now...especially since I stayed at Bryden and 20th in like 1991 (and trust me, it has changed a LOT for the better).

Posted 2 years ago #
BCNation
Franklin Park
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It is iffy from street to street...Main Street, they are trying to improve, slowly but surely. Heck, there will be rehabbed condos @ Main & 22nd/Ohio by next year.

OTENA (Olde Towne East Neighborhood Association, for short) meets on the 2nd Weds. of the month @ the ex-Columbus Music Hall (building that looks like a 19th Century firehouse) @ the NE corner of Oak & Parsons.

nakedredhead- Bryden's a good street (1), but as Columbusite said, areas around Parsons could be heavily impacted by ODOT's highway plans, so neighborhoods (Franklin Park/Woodland Park/Eastgate) would be better than OTE (2). You get to know some of the people in the neighborhood through events, such as OTENA (3).

Posted 2 years ago #
christylwilliams
Olde Towne East
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I know this is anecdotal, but I've never had a neighbor come up to me and introduce themselves in the first week of me moving there in any place other than in Olde Towne. There's an unspoken understanding between folks that live there. A feeling like we're all in this together.

Posted 2 years ago #