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From The Dispatch:
A Downtown gem when it opened in 1989, the forlorn mall will be torn down by summer
BY MARLA MATZER ROSE AND MIKE PRAMIKColumbus City Center is coming down, and Downtown as we know it is about to change. This summer, nearly 20 years after City Center opened as the shining star of central Ohio’s retail universe, the obsolete and nearly abandoned mall will be demolished. It is to be replaced by an urban park and, within several years, a collection of buildings that will contain residences, offices, restaurants and shops.
The city has dubbed the $165 million project Columbus Commons. It is seeking federal stimulus money to pay for the mall demolition and development of the park, which city officials expect to start this summer and complete within 18 months. The remainder of the project will take shape over the next five to 10 years, as the market dictates.
All that will be left are the parking garage, underground parking and the entryway to the mall off State Street.
Great, great news. I’ve always been a proponent of tearing this eye sore down and starting over. To help fund the park, and bringing an idea over from another thread, maybe the city could look into corporate sponsors / philanthropic donations ( a la Millennium Park in Chicago ).
I think we need to start a ‘Friends of Columbus Commons’ right now ….. I dont have a yard and I’m itching to do some landscape work.
It’s great and all, I just wonder how smart politically this is for the city and Coleman in light of current events.
After attending the press conference today I feel like I’m a bit more “sold” on the concept. It’s not the “grand new development” that I think was ideal for most everyone on CU, but given the economic challenges we face, I think the folks in charge have their heads in the right place with this plan.
“February 1977: Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. unveils a plan for the area south of the Statehouse that includes a shopping mall along with four new office buildings, a 400-room hotel, four apartment buildings, a performing arts center and a public pavilion.â€Â
From a timeline in the Dispatch.
I had no idea. Had they followed through on the other 5 things, CC might have been viable.
A.
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Andrew, I think the hotel they mentioned became the Hyatt on Capitol Square, the performing arts center was realized with the Riffe Center Theaters, and there is a small pavilion next to the Ohio Theatre leading back to a CC entrance.
As for the apartments and office bldgs, who knows?
After fighting empty storefronts for years, don’t you think the city of columbus would learn to fill all those empty buildings with retail before they start building something else? Looks to me like Coleman is trying to patch this hole up to make himself look good
Building on brandonphoto’s idea, maybe the city could sell or long-term lease the parking garages to a private company and use the money towards the redevelopment of the site (or build a streetcar).
“After fighting empty storefronts for years, don’t you think the city of columbus would learn to fill all those empty buildings with retail before they start building something else?”
While I understand the need to fill empty storefronts, I don’t agree that it is all on the shoulders of the city to “fill” them. The city has made a point to try to spur growth in the downtown area. We just aren’t getting enough private investments on the retail side. As more residents come in to downtown, i think the private sector will see more of an opportunity to step in and do more. This is a good project. I hope more people will support it!
This looks great, though it looks like they’re going to fill most the space with 8 buildings anyway? I think making the entire thing a park with a nice surrounding of trees and a small pond would make it much better. No, it wouldn’t make any money on its own, but it would probably have a large impact on the aura of the area. If you’re not too keen on auras, it would also raise land value.
Green space is great, but let’s put the empty real estate to good use.
I just worry that Strickland and Coleman are cashing too much of their political stock in. I hope we don’t take a few steps back if leadership changes.
Urbanboi: I don’t think Mayor Coleman owns those retail properties for lease downtown.
why not give businesses now and the ones that want to move in lower taxes so they can actually afford to stay there. Take a look at all the parking lots in downtown. Why not turn one of them into a park? When I moved here from nyc I moved to downtown because I thought it would have something to offer me. I am very sad to say it has nothing. I think that is why its so hard to fill the already empty storefronts and the great condos they have built. If you look a half a mile south or north you see nice urban neighborhoods with people actually out shopping. What I am getting out is spend this 100 million dollars on already what we have downtown.
The business incentives are there. It’s what was launched as “The Mile on High” last year. It’s had a slow start, but from my understanding, the new CC is to serve as an anchor for development.
I’d love to see parking lots redeveloped too. But the thing is… the vast majority of them are owned by private companies. It’s very difficult for the city to force property owners into selling or redeveloping their land without strong-arming them with eminent domain. There has been some success (we’re seeing around 9 blocks of parking disappearing between Neighborhood Launch and RiverSouth as we speak) so some progress has been made. We’re moving in the right direction.
The City Center has often been referred to as Downtown’s “Black Eye”. Today we have an empty three-story suburban-style mall. In 10 years we will have a cluster of 5-to-7-story buildings with a mix of retail, office space, and residential units surrounding a 1 acre urban park.
I’m really not understanding why you think this is such a bad thing.
I’m thrilled they are levelling the mall…and I love the idea of more green space. But, few people use the downtown parks that already exist; Northbank, Genoa, Bicentennial, Arch Park….and then there’s the Scioto Audobon Metro Park that is already under construction on the Whittier Peninsula. Plus…the city has cut backon maintenance of these parks. Community groups are responsible for planting the flower beds. I hope this will draw new downtown dwellers, but I’d love to find a way to get people into the parks that are already here.
People only use the park if the don’t have enough room in their own yard. If we build more density then people will use the parks. But everyone has to know there is a balancing act of people jobs developement crime and punishment
o and time and money as well just in case you didnt assume that…….im being realistic WoW!
Seems like a decent plan. The development sites on High Street and Rich Street make some sense and the park that anchors the development will add to the attractiveness of those sites. It seems odd to me that there is this notion that parks need to draw people downtown. Theaters draw people downtown. Parks like the one proposed here are for the people of downtown. Those that live and work here now, and hopefully even more in the future.
I like Columbusite’s suggestion of chess tables. Their presence or lack is a great measure of a city: is there a place where people can talk smack over a game of speed chess?
I think a park could have an appropriate private/commercial attraction as well. Think cafe or beer garden. Madison Square Park in NY has an awesome burger place in the middle – the kitchen is within a structure but the tables and chairs are all outside. If it’s designed right (open, still has a public feel, not too big), then the cafe/restaurant can further help increase pedestrian traffic.
Presence or lack of chess tables is a great measure of a city? Didn’t know that. Anyway, in case you didn’t know, we did put them in Goodale Park…Guess we’re a great city ;)
I’d love to see an area in the park set aside for a slew of foodcarts to serve the lunchtime crowds.