Although plans appear to be in the early stages, the Stonehenge Company is looking to build on the current site of the Ibel Building at the corner of West Third Avenue and North High Street in the Short North.
Architect Jonathan Barnes presented a proposal for a six-story, 32-unit apartment building to the Victorian Village Commission at their August 14th meeting. Renderings show a modern design featuring glass and metal materials, although it was stressed that elements of both the design and the configuration could change in future iterations.
One notable feature of the proposal is the parking garage, which is designed to hold 32 smart cars, with additional space for hanging 24 bikes. The garage would sit behind a small lobby and a 1,900-square foot retail storefront.
Since it was a conceptual review, no vote was taken on the proposal by the commission.
Commissioner Marc Conte said he was eager to see what the developer came back with, given the constraints of the site (it is relatively small and sits right up against a pair of two-and-a-half-story residential buildings to the west). He also said he was intrigued by the ideas presented for the garage.
“I think that’s great,” he said. “Now that we have all these options – Car2Go, Uber, Lyft, CoGo – the ability for Short North residents to forego a car is there in a way it wasn’t before, and it’s good to see developers responding to that.”
The existing single-story building located at 1055 North High Street was the location of the Ibel Gallery until its closing in 2011, and gallery owner Rebecca Ibel is now the curator and director of The Pizzuti Collection. The building is currently home to the Ibel Agency, a creative design company led by Sebastian Ibel, which is planning to relocate Downtown within a few months.
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All visuals by Jonathan Barnes Architecture and Design.
