Development| Published on November 30, 2006 3:04 pm

Jackson on High – New Condo Project for the Short North

By: Walker


SHORT NORTH, TALL BUILDINGS

How high is too high for new condos?

By Sara Smith / Novmeber 30, 2006

Ask a few people to describe what an average building in the Short North looks like, and you’ll get pretty consistent answers: There’s a brick storefront down close to the sidewalk, with another story or two up above.

So Brad Howe of LBH Holdings knew his firm was stepping outside the box a little when it presented the Victorian Village Commission with its plans for Jackson on High, a multi-story condo building planned for North High Street just south of Fifth Avenue.

Sure enough, over the course of several meetings, some commissioners mentioned a concern about the height: They thought it was too short.

“We showed the commission a five-story building,” Howe said, “and a couple of the commissioners wanted to take the building taller, so we went back to the drawing board.”

He returned to the commission with an 11-story tower. Too tall, commissioners said. Finally, LBH and the commission agreed that eight stories was just right.

“They want this to be a unique building, a symbolic building,” Howe said. “They made the point in some of our meetings that they didn’t see the height as something that’s going to be commonplace for the area.”

Skully Webb sure hopes it’s not going to be commonplace, and he wishes Jackson on High weren’t going up right next to his nightclub, Skully’s Music Diner.

“It’s crazy, the height of this thing,” Webb said. “It has no character and nothing to do with the design of the rest of the Short North.”

Howe said he sees his 47-condo project as a landmark that can jump-start development at the district’s north end, which hasn’t yet amassed the chic retail and residential projects that are common several blocks to the south.

Plans for Jackson on High, which is still on the drawing board, call for a private parking garage, its own doggy park and a rooftop pool. But Webb is more concerned about how high the roof is than whether you can sunbathe on it.

“This project is above and beyond anything we need in this neighborhood,” he said. “There has to be guidelines.”

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Author: Walker Walker is the founder of ColumbusUnderground.com and co-founder of TheMetropreneur.com along with his wife and business partner Anne Evans. Walker has turned local media from a hobby into a full time career over the past decade and serves on multiple boards and committees throughout the community.

6 Comments

  • Anne November 30, 2006 3:07 pm

    as long as they don’t make it all look like the brick and glass of The Arena District, I don’t have a problem with the height. I think Skully’s could use a couple of stories on top of it actually.

  • Walker November 30, 2006 3:15 pm

    Yeah, the article goes on to talk to some other people who are in favor of it. I really don’t know why Skully is objecting to more people living around his venue. I’m sure it may increase property values a little bit, but if it drives more traffic into his business, wouldn’t it even itself out?

  • Likes Old Houses January 4, 2007 7:31 pm

    I drove this site today and it looks like there has been a construction wall of some sort, built. I hadn’t heard that this project was ever accepted by the VV commission. Does anyone know anything?? The VV commision stopped putting their meeting minutes on-line.

  • Walker January 25, 2007 12:52 pm

    Development slated to bring 46 condos, rooftop pool to Short North

    MELANIE MCINTYRE

    Daily Reporter Staff Writer

    01/25/2007

    Though the project will not break ground for several months, condominiums in the Short North’s latest mixed use development became available this week.

    “We’re ready to go,” said Brad Howe, managing member of JBH Holdings LLC, the company developing the new Jackson on High project located at 1145 N. High St. next to Columbus Eyeworks.

    “We’re looking for people who want to be in the middle of things, who want to experience a lifestyle of wellness and relaxation- all while being able to commute to work, live and play,” he said.

    Mike Casey, real estate agent with Remax Connections, will market and sell the building’s townhouses and flats, with prices ranging from $199,900 for a one-bedroom to $899,900 for a penthouse.

    The Jackson’s 46 units vary in size; the smallest is 938 square feet while the largest is more than 2,500 square feet.

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  • spacernglr September 10, 2008 6:58 pm

    I just drove past and saw they were boring ~3foot diameter holes on this site. Perhaps they are starting the foundation work? Anyone have any idea?

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