Our Development Roundup feature is designed to keep you up-to-date on the latest proposals, approvals, delays and ribbon-cuttings. This month we are seeing a lot happening in the University District, where the demand for new rental housing does not appear to be letting up, as well as some interesting proposals for downtown, Clintonville, and elsewhere.
Framing is going up fast on East Eighth Avenue for the first phase of Edwards Communities’ seven-acre development south of the South Campus Gateway (pictured up top). Ryan Szymanski of Edwards said that construction on the High Street portion of the project is likely to start in the spring, with a delivery target of August, 2017.
There’s been no movement on Elford Development’s proposed mixed-use building at the corner of Lane and High – the former gas station is currently being used as a parking lot. The city has encouraged Elford to talk with Schiff Properties, the owner of the retail strip just south of the site. The hope is that the two developers could come up with a plan that would work for that whole stretch of High – from Lane Avenue south to the UDF – but word is still out on whether anything has come from those talks.
In the meantime, Schiff Properties has presented a concept to develop the parking lot behind its building, which contains a Radio Shack and the restaurant Diaspora, among other stores. The developer has proposed a seven-story apartment building/parking garage but is still working through the details with the University Area Commission (UAC).
Four Points Development has also been working with the UAC on its proposal for the northeast corner of Lane and Tuttle Place. An early concept called for a five-story building with 54 apartment units and parking.
It looks like the former GetGo at the southwest corner of High and Tenth Avenue will not be redeveloped any time soon – an application submitted to the University Area Review Board shows new signs bearing the name “Stop and Shop,” indicating that it will remain a 24-hour convenience store.
Developer Brad Howe, whose five-story Burwell Heights development at the southwest corner of East Fifth Avenue and Summit Street was approved by the Italian Village Commission last spring, has now set his sites set on the parcel across the street. A proposal for the northwest corner of Fifth and Summit has been presented to the UAC, with preliminary plans calling for a three-story development featuring apartments over retail.
Lifestyle Communities’ proposal for the 41-acre United Methodist Children’s Home site across from the Worthington Municipal Building appears to have stalled after significant push-back from the neighborhood. A statement adopted by Worthington’s City Council on October 12th said that no revised plan has been submitted to the city and emphasizes that the council “has never supported nor does it support the plan presented by UMCH and the developer.”
A modest renovation plan for the Holiday Inn at 175 East Town Street was presented to the Downtown Commission in September, but it was denied approval. The commission wasn’t happy with the look of the proposed changes, so the hotel chain will likely be back soon with a second try.
Continental Realty’s proposal to build two eight-story buildings on Park Street was reviewed conceptually by the the Historic Resources Commission last month. Randy Black, the city’s Historic Preservation Officer, said that commissioners spoke favorably of the idea of putting a hotel, office and parking on the site, but encouraged the developer to find a way to incorporate the existing buildings into the plan. Black added that he expects the proposal to be back on the agenda for the commission’s November 19th meeting.
In Clintonville, construction has started on Crawford Hoying’s three-story, Bareburger-anchored development at the corner of Weisenheimer and High. And half a mile to the south, exterior construction is wrapping up on a new Rusty Bucket at Croswell and High. Crawford Hoying had scaled back their original plans for that development – which called for condos in addition to the restaurant space – due to neighborhood concerns.
Meanwhile, another Crawford Hoying plan in Clintonville is still up in the air. Bob Hoying said that they would like to build something similar to the Bareburger project – a ground-floor restaurant topped with two floors of apartments – at 4476 North High, site of the former Novak Funeral Home, but have yet to close on the property.
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