Planning Downtown for the Future with Mike Brown

The 2002 Strategic Business Plan set the stage for a lot of the urban development we see taking shape today. The plan called for new residential buildings Downtown, greenspace improvements, and other types of public and private-sector growth.

The first of three public meetings (event info can be found here) will take place on March 2nd, which will set the stage for the new 2010 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan, which will define our growth strategies and expectations for the future.

We sat down recently with Mike Brown, Urban Ventures Coordinator for the City of Columbus to review the 2002 plan, and provide some insight on what we might expect over the next decade.

Walker Evans: The 2002 Strategic Business Plan for Downtown (PDF LINK) brought a new focus for revitalization in five key areas: residential development, office market stabilization, revamping of Gay Street & City Center, creation of a riverfront park, and transit improvements. In which of those five areas do you think we’ve seen the most improvement in the past eight years?

Mike Brown: I think the most visible impacts are along Gay Street, in River South and along the riverfront’s Scioto Mile. Although some of this is still under construction, we’ve erased acres of surface lots, torn down City Center, saved Lazarus and slowed down the traffic, big steps toward building livable neighborhoods. From CCAD to the River, I love the new Gay Street. While the Arena District started before 2002, much of the office space and housing was built since then, and it is working and attracting new investment and life. Less visible, but just as important is the 2,000 jobs brought Downtown and the fact that the number of people living in the area went from 3,500 to 5,500, the first increase after 50 years of residential losses.

WE: Those 2,000 new residents are a significant improvement, but the 2002 plan set a goal of creating an additional 10,000 residential units Downtown by 2012. Obviously, the national housing bubble bursting coupled with the national economic recession played a huge part that goal not being met, but do you think there were other factors at fault?

MB: The national situation is tough, and it is hurting every part of the housing industry for buyers and sellers Downtown, in neighborhoods and suburbs. That is a reality we cannot escape in 2010. Despite that, we still have turned a corner by adding population for the first time since 1950. And we have some 2,400+ units in development or construction, in addition to the 2,500 built. The number of units Downtown will continue to grow through our 2012 goal, and beyond.

A big issue that concerned the Mayor early on was that developers focused all their energy on more expensive condos, and it took time for the private sector to see the need for more affordable options. While we were happy for every unit that was built, it was clearly not covering the spectrum of affordability we needed to build a great Downtown. That is now being corrected with new apartments being built near CCAD, the Seneca and River South. This will help attract a younger audience and keep Downtown interesting. We saw the problem early, but it took time to find private partners willing to invest in apartments, like we are seeing at LifeStyle Community’s Annex. Clearly, we’ve learned many lessons on how much harder it is to build Downtown, and the City is getting better at working with developers to make a project doable.

We invite the critics to join us at the Downtown strategic plan meetings to share their ideas and open their wallets to buy the land and build the structures they think will work! Everyone is welcome.

WE: One key element currently lacking Downtown is the total number of available retail amenities that many people expect of an urban area. There have been a few new incentives offered to help drive retail growth Downtown, but little seems to be taking hold so far, outside of restaurant and food-related businesses. Is there more that the city could be doing to drive retail growth Downtown?

MB: There’s truth to that, but I’m not complaining about all the great pioneering restaurants that got the ball rolling. At the same time, the North Market, Kroger in the Brewery District, and Giant Eagle on Neil Avenue are all within a three mile line of each other, so anywhere in Downtown is only one mile from groceries. Retail is available, just not the walkable street shops that we all want Downtown. Again, this started as a national problem, with major retailers fleeing en masse from the failing City Center to the suburbs, and then as we began to improve the area the national recession hurt efforts to bring it back.

The key for success is that we know we have growing demand and population, and retail follows people. As we get more people and activity Downtown, the Mayor believes we’ll see more retail set up shop. My hope is to see entrepreneurial small businesses sneak in while properties are cheap to capture parts of the market.  The Capital Crossroads SID has research showing incredible untapped demand based on workers in the area, and the City funded a position for 2010 at the SID to help connect retailers with the open storefronts. We also have a concept for an independent micro-retail cluster Downtown, just for independent small shops. The City also created a menu of incentives (pdf) for the Mile on High area, to show small businesses, retailers and companies what financial support is available for those coming to the area and filling space.

WE: The redevelopment of flat parking lot area is one of the things outlined in the 2002 plan, and quite a few surface lots have be consolidated into parking decks to make way for development in the past decade. Do you see this being a continuing trend moving forward?

MB: Yes. Surface lots may make a lot of money for owners, and we don’t have a lot of legal options to impact what they choose to do with their land, but these lots are an overall blight on Columbus’ Downtown. We’ve seen a few owners invest in better landscaping and screening, but not nearly enough, especially along High Street and Third Street. The cost to buy a surface lot is a major impediment to redevelopment, but we do hope that more owners will do something productive with their land. On the positive side, there are so many acres available, that creative developers can dream big for projects, especially throughout the Discovery District. Jeff Edwards’ Neighborhood Launch project is a great example of this, and we hope he inspires others.

You’ll see this question of surface lots and density as a big topic in the Downtown Strategic Plan.

WE: Transportation is one piece of the puzzle that could be the biggest potential “game changer” for Downtown development. The Streetcar project was moved to the backburner, but the 3C rail corridor may be up and running and servicing Downtown by 2011 or 2012. Do you think that additional rail development may soon follow and continue to drive private investment surrounding rail stops and stations?

MB: Better public transportation, including rail, better bike routes, better bus routing and better car traffic management are among the most expensive items on the Mayor’s Downtown wish list, but they are also among the most important elements to make a dense urban area really rock. The City, COTA and MORPC are in on-going talks about how we connect the districts and how we connect Downtown to other parts of the city. This includes the North Corridor light rail concept. A great outcome of the 3C discussion is that we also have ODOT engaged in our vision to create more multi-modal transit stops. Columbus is falling behind on the rail issue, and will lose millions in economic development if we don’t address it well.

WE: The first of three public input forums takes place on March 2nd at the Columbus State Conference Center from 6-8pm. Do you have any predictions on what sort of things will be brought to the table, or what you personally think the priorities may be for the next wave of Downtown development?

MB: Hopefully we’ll see some of the ideas we read about on Columbus Underground brought up in the discussion. This is a forum for people to bring concepts to the table and to react to existing realities. I’ve personally heard from artists who want to see more public art, students who want to move in, rail advocates who want us to get the buses off of High Street, residents who want vertical gardens, planners who just are impatient for progress and more. It should be a very diverse crowd, and their comments will influence where the City drives the next generation of public funding for infrastructure and the kind of private sector projects that the Mayor and CDDC are willing to support. The Mayor is a pragmatic leader, and he knows we will only have so much to invest, so this is an important time to show that people support rail, or biking, or two-way streets, or whatever people think we need most.

While Downtown is huge, from the rails in Franklinton around to the Freeways, it gives us room to dream. We are going to work to get folks to look at Downtown in three distinct districts and plan the kinds of development that are most realistic for each area. In a more micro sense, I really want to see the Lynn and Pearl Alleys rebuilt as a funky, independent retail and restaurant zone. It should have an Independent’s Day vibe every weekend. The SID’s got great ideas, and it is time to see owners and developers step up and build on the momentum on Gay Street.

More information about the 2010 Downtown Strategic Plan can be found at DowntownColumbus.com/Plan.