This month we are back downtown to take a look inside Dawon Hawkins’ condo at Sixty Spring. He has been living in Sixty Spring for three years, and has been a downtown resident for quite sometime. He first lived in German Village and then moved to an apartment on East Town Street across from the Topiary Park. When he decided he wanted to buy, he looked at everything downtown. Everything. If there was a condo development Dawon knew all about it and had checked it out. When he took a tour of Sixty Spring, he saw his future home when it was very bare bones and fell in love with it. The 800 sq. foot condo had soaring windows, gorgeous views of downtown and the original floors from its former life as an electrical supply warehouse. He was the first person to rent his place and the second he was able to purchase it, he did. [Read More]

So, what sort of hot topics are the suburban mayors thinking about in 2009? A pair of Dispatch articles yesterday reveals two major items: new parking garages being built into denser projects, and new entry point gateways serving as new welcome signs for different areas.

The article on parking decks reveal that Gahanna may be the only current suburb with a parking garage while Grove City and Grandview are both have them in the planning phases for new developments. Other suburbs contemplating them include Dublin, Upper Arlington, New Albany, and Westerville. [Read More]

blog.cleveland.com wrote Armond Budish floats urban revitalizing idea

Posted by Aaron Marshall

November 20, 2008

Ohio House Democrats are looking to tackle urban revitalization issues and targeted tax credits for businesses that create jobs when they seize control of the House in January.

Those were two of the ideas floated Wednesday as the new House leadership team led by House Speaker-elect Rep. Armond Budish, a Beachwood Democrat, held its first Statehouse press conference.

“I believe we need a focus on urban revitalization, and we may create a committee to have that as its primary focus,” Budish said.

READ MORE

The Dispatch wrote Rescued from rougher days, neighborhood thrives as it did a century ago

Sunday, September 7, 2008

BY SHERRI WILLIAMS

Queen Anne manses tower over quaint cottages and rentals on the streets of Victorian Village. The diverse housing stock dates to the late 19th century, when the mix of large homes, row houses, doubles and cottages resulted from “a mix of people with money, and people who worked for people with money,” said Rob Pettit, a Victorian Village Society board member.

Today, Victorian Village is still home to a diverse group: families and singles, owners and renters, and gays and straights, many of whom describe the community as cosmopolitan, progressive and tolerant.

But where today there are stately homes and a cosmopolitan charisma, 20 years ago there was blight and crime. The decline began 80 years ago, according to the Victorian Village Society, when the automobile helped create suburbs to the north and northwest. By the 1970s, large houses had been divided into apartments. Others were boarded and vacated.

READ MORE

Press Release wrote Mayor Appoints Coordinator for Urban Ventures and Announces New Communications Director

As Columbus moves forward in the rankings as one of the nation’s biggest and best cities, Mayor Michael B. Coleman today announced the hiring of a new Communications Director and the creation of a new position “Urban Ventures Coordinator,” to focus on transportation issues, arts and culture, young professionals, city marketing and the 2010 U.S. Census. The Mayor appointed Michael S. Brown to the Urban Ventures position and selected long-time local reporter, political columnist and editor Dan Williamson, most recently of The Other Paper and Columbus Monthly, to serve as his official spokesperson.

“Dan Williamson started covering City Hall when I was a member of City Council, and has proven to be one of the sharpest political observers and writers in Ohio,” said Mayor Coleman. “I know that Dan has the skills and the personality to be a critical thinker on policy issues and keep our team on track as we reach out to our residents on dozens of issues every day.”

Williamson will oversee the Communications Office, including two staff members, and coordinate internal and external communications for the City’s 13 Departments.

“Mike Brown’s been a part of my team since 1999, helping tell our story with persistence and creativity through thousands of events, announcements, memos, emails, quotes and late night calls,” continued Coleman. “As we’ve started to tell the nation why Columbus is so great, Mike’s shown great love for the City and he clearly has the ability to get things done. I’m proud to move him up to focus on important urban issues.”

Both Williamson and Brown take their positions effective June 2, 2008.

The following discussion is about Kroger’s plans to demolish and rebuild their store near 5th Ave in the Short North/Weinland Park area. Many have thought this store could use a revamp or major cleaning up for a long time. Changing this store will be a boon for the area.

WOSU News wrote Condo market better in city than ‘burbs

Mandie Trimble

For many people the housing market is not the best place to be right now. It’s almost inevitable that at least once a day one will hear something about home foreclosures, the credit crunch and the R word - that’s recession.

Ken Gold is the director of the Center for Real Estate Research and Education at Ohio State University. Gold said he’s not surprised that a condominium community in Harrison West is doing so well. He said that’s because areas near downtown Columbus are the hot place to be right now. Gold said downtown condos attract young professionals, who are often first-time home buyers, empty-nesters and people new to city. He said it’s condos in the suburbs that will be tough to sell.

While it may be easier for someone trying to sell a condo in say Victorian Village or Short North, Gold said it’s going to take longer - everywhere. But sale prices in the suburbs could suffer.

READ MORE

The Dispatch wrote Suburbs revitalize their old downtowns, or build new ones, as community focal points

Friday, January 25, 2008

BY MARTIN ROZENMAN

Gahanna did it. Hilliard is about to do it. Now, Grove City plans to do it.

Creating town centers to renovate slumping downtowns is hot among central Ohio suburbs. Some have them (think Westerville and Worthington), and some don’t (think Upper Arlington and Whitehall).

It’s a community’s centerpiece, a gathering place that includes workplaces, shopping, dining and entertainment, said Hazel Morrow-Jones, associate dean in Ohio State University’s College of Engineering and an expert in city planning.

“Some of the movement is baby-boomer nostalgia,” she said. Part of it is driven by “younger people who think there was something in a downtown they missed.”

READ MORE

Related Stories:

- Why suburbanites should care about Columbus

- Feeling the crush, some inner suburbs build upward

- Hilliard hopes to spruce up their Downtown

- Canal Winchester Revamping Downtown Area

Columbus Alive wrote District discovery

by Brittany Kress

October 11th, 2007

About 10 years ago, Columbus College of Art and Design administrators decided that a jumble of old, bunker-like buildings didn’t make a campus, especially for creative students. So they drew up some plans, planted a massive red “Art” sculpture in the center of campus and haven’t looked back.

The city surrounding CCAD’s “urban learning community” is catching up. About four years ago, Columbus administrators decided that Downtown life shouldn’t end at 5 p.m. They drew up plans to revitalize the city’s streets and asked businesses and organizations to join in.

The city and college’s plans now go hand in hand.

READ MORE

Related Story

- CCAD commits millions to a Broad Street presence

Columbusite has added an interesting post to his blog lamenting the fact that both CCAD and CSCC are essentially suburban, commuter campuses dropped into the city.

I too have always wondered how an area with so much potential as a vibrant, urban downtown district, attracting ten of thousand of people every day, has come to be what it is. Without a doubt the most prominent feature of this area is surface parking.

I rode my bike around that area yesterday afternoon and it was sad. There was absolutely no sign of life anywhere. The area consists of a few small buildings, many of which appear to have been converted form other uses, surrounded by a sea of ugly parking lots. There are very few residences or dorms and practically no stores or restaurants. Where do the students who attend classes there grab a bite to eat between classes? Where do they hang out with friends at the end of the day?

This has got to be one of the most underutilized areas of the city.