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All it takes is a quick walk around Goodale Park, Schiller Park, or Franklin Park to find some of the nicest, largest, and most valuable homes in our urban neighborhoods. A stroll through the Topiary Park downtown is just as pleasant, but the residential aspect surrounding the park is drastically different. The south side of the park still boasts several beautiful old brick homes, but the north and east sides of the park are surrounded mostly with parking lots.
The largest of these parking lots runs almost completely along the north side of the park and is owned by the Motorists Mutual Insurance Company located on East Broad Street. They’ve also got a multi-story garage next door and several other small buildings in the area.
First, I should point out that some condo developments downtown have been a tough sell, while others have sold out amazingly quickly. Despite the current market conditions, the Neighborhood Launch condos continue to sell like hotcakes today because they offer a product that specifically caters to the type of units that are still in demand. They’ve also got great proximity to existing amenities.
There’s really no reason that Motorists couldn’t build something similar in this location. In addition to having the beautiful and historic Topiary Park as your front yard, you’ve also got the number one Library in the country located next door, and the Columbus Museum of Art, CCAD and Jefferson Center all within a 5 minute walk. Additionally, the whole Capital Square area is only a 15 minute walk away giving you easy access to everything around it while remaining secluded enough to be out of the downtown traffic and noise.
Nationwide has carved out their own neighborhood with the Arena District, and Grange is in the process of rebuilding the Brewery District as speak. Wouldn’t it be nice to see Motorists turn their parking lot into a dense residential development? Who knows… they might find that they’ll need fewer parking spots if they can provide some of their employees a new place to live where they can walk to work.
To further illustrate the potential that lies in this space, I’m displaying two photos below. One is of the view along Library Park, the narrow access road between Washington and 9th that runs parallel to the Topiary Park. This street is alright nice and narrow and cozy. The other photo below shows the view along John H McConnell Blvd in the Arena District. Again, a narrow street that also borders a park (Mcferson Commons). And instead of a parking lot, they’ve got the 100% occupied Burham Square condos.
Some food for thought.
Good article, I think a dense development such as “Burham Square” would be perfect for this site. Wait for the economy to turn first of course.
I do. Motorists’ position is that Downtown should just be damn grateful that they’re not in the burbs and shut up. Have any of you seen the prices of existing homes in the area? They ain’t cheap, they aren’t facing the park and extending such a beautiful neighborhood is obvious, well, it was more obvious before. There was already more of that which is noticeable if you walk along Washington near Oak and Franklin, but it was torn down for employee parking. It’s obviously a great location for homes since it’s facing one of the best parks in the city.
In fact, developers wanted to build homes on the park itself on the northern stretch, but that was a long while ago and their proposal was rebuffed by locals. It only makes sense that they would have proposed homes along the park only to have Motorists shoot that down leaving them with building on the park itself as their only other option for development there, otherwise it was a rather dumb idea since it shrinks the park and makes no use of already existing surface lots.
Good article, Walker. I think those two images tell the whole story. While there are a lot of other places in town that could use some infill, this one seems like a no-brainer.
Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Motorist Insurance Company or their subsequent shitting on downtown. The name is just a coincidence.
As per Neighborhood Launch, they have sold 27 out of 47 units, 30% behind their own projections.
This projection was made 3 years ago, amidst the housing bubble. So the demand is 70% of what it was at the peak of the housing bubble. Not too shabby. I just wanted to put this particular statistic in context.
Columbusite Says: Motorists’ position is that Downtown should just be damn grateful that they’re not in the burbs and shut up.
Do you have a source for this comment, or did you completely fabricate it? Please try to stay on topic.
Just going by their actions regarding their parking lots facing the park which should be lined with buildings.
So fabricated then. Please don’t present such things as if they were in any way factual. Thanks, Walker.
Walker,
great topic and observations, particularly for a city that leads the country in the number of surface parking spaces per capita. This particular “bumper crop” lot is only 115 parking spaces, and at about one acre you could very comfortably replace that parking on site (if you really needed to, or develop along with adjacent ample parking) along with some mix of housing and neighborhood commercial that would really enhance the park and reconnect the east-west pattern of residential development that has been disconnected by urban renewal of the 1960s and the I-71 corridor, which is being planned to reconnect the urban activity of Old Towne/King Lincoln to downtown.
1) Can we use Walker’s wish list series as a launch pad for a tangential series on wasted real estate and empty buildings in town and our ideas to use them? The NE corner of High/5th is killin’ me, for starters!
2) Walker, no fabrication allowed? That would break the whole system! It would be like requiring politicians to be honest. :-)
Some of these comments are very curious as to their origin and basis in fact or lack thereof.
Just a few points to condsider. First, it is highly unlikely that the Topiary Park would even exist if not for the advocacy and considerable financial support of Motorists. Ask the Topiary Park Board. But, I guess this is how we do things today. Instead of thanking people for the good works they do, just trash them for the things not meeting someone else’s agenda. I doubt that there is a single person who commented above that has ever developed one commercial piece of property, or they would not have made those comments.
Maybe somebody should ask the Art Museum, CCAD, the Kelton House, ADAMH, Grant Hospital, Operation Feed, The united Way, GCAC or the area churches just to name a few, about corporate citizenship or contributions to the neighborhood made by Motorists. Of course, thats not how we do things these days.
I’m guessing Motorists will most likely develop these properties one day when a clear need is identified, not through any pressure exerted by senseless coments such as those above. By the way, no building has been torn down by Motorists in well over 30 years. Most of this property when acquired was blighted, dangerous, rat infested, fire hazards, which according to the above, is preferable to parking lots used by the entire neighborhood.
Thanks for the comments. I wasn’t aware about the Motorists community outreach efforts, but assumed that such efforts existed, as they do with nearly all large companies downtown.
Please keep in mind that the negative/senseless comments are fairly minimal, and only the opinion of a minority here. It sounds as if most people just want to continue to see the area grow and develop, and want to see Motorists continue to be a leader in those efforts.
Any affiliation with Motorists, informed? Just wondering if this thread attracted any attention there? Maybe it’s just me, but of all the Insurers in town, I know the least about Motorists. I’m all for doing good deeds for their own merit, with no thought to PR value, but it seems many have a negative opinion of Motorists for reasons that escape me.
Anyway, I fully support development downtown. I just don’t think this area will see much of it soon. I also support Motorists prerogative to do as they see fit with their property and holdings on a scale and timeline that is in their best interests. My $.02…
UncommonSense Says: I fully support development downtown. I just don’t think this area will see much of it soon.
This parcel isn’t really that far from The Seneca, Rich Street Walk, and Market Exchange. Not to mention the ongoing development at Grant Hospital, The CMA, and CCAD. Granted, they’re all spread out a little bit (5-10 minute walk in various directions), but there’s been a decent mix of public and private development in this area lately, all things considered.
“Urban parks attract economic development, increase the desirability of living downtown, and enhance environmental sustainability.â€Â
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/01/24/coverstory.html
I realize my comments may have been seen as negative or senseless too. I guess in this case I don’t care. I lived in Motorists shadow for several years, and while I dislike their parking lots, my negativity was/is focused more on the abandoned buildings owned by State Auto and CBCS than anything else.
I was already well aware of Motorists’ involvement with the Topiary Park, including their summer music series, but that pales in comparison to what real improvements could be done. Only a couple of other cities come close to having a downtown so full of parking lots that we obviously have no excuse. Other cities were able to deal with that, so it’s not like we’re in a different universe. I find it hard to believe that the homes similar to the stately ones which are now parking lots were all impossible to save and had to be torn down. I had to go by these lifeless eyesores multiple times when I lived next door. The surviving residential portion demonstrates the quality of existing homes. As Walker already pointed out the parking lots facing the park could be the site of homes similar to those along Goodale or Schiller, both with homes clocking in at the $1 million mark, and yet Motorists’ doesn’t know this? I’m calling bullshit.
Columbusite – Which other cities’ downtowns come close to having as many parking lots as Columbus? How did those cities “deal with that”? Do you know the history of the specific houses that were torn down? Do you know when, specifically, they were demolished and for what reason? Were they already eyesores when you moved in next door? Who did you contact at Motorists about your concern? Did you offer directly an alternate use plan? Did you support it with engineering studies, blueprints, financial projections? Have you ever, in any capacity, had anything to do with any major development? Have you ever, for any reason, contacted a company including but not limited to Motorists regarding their civic responsibility?
What I’m getting at (and I am biased here, as indicated earlier in the thread) is that you seem to be sharing some really strong FEELINGS with absolutely no SUBSTANCE or ACTION to back them up. I have already forwarded this article to my dad who is passing it along to Chuck Wickert (CFO) and John Bishop (CEO). When they get on here and tell us all to get f*cked, then maybe you and I will be on the same page. Until then, try to come up with something more constructive than “I like million dollar homes better than parking lots,” cuz I’m pretty sure we’re all on that train…
ps – I’m not implying that they will take any action, one way or another, or that I have some sort of pull or insider status there, which I certainly do not. Just that my way of taking action is to go to the people that make the decisions and then to wait for their response rather than to mindlessly bash an entity we’re trying to get to listen to our voices.
The Discovery District SID basically scoffed at the prospect of suggesting development on their parking lots, which have been sitting under their (Motorists’) noses for decades without any sort of effort on their part to change the landscape. When they do, they can rub it in my face.
edit: Motorists is part of the DD SID
http://www.discoverydistrict.com/sid.php
Right now, their parking lots serve as a moat severing Town-Franklin from tying together with new development such as the Seneca, new CCAD dorm building, and Gay St. with the Edwards project which is continuously moving eastward, .
Central City Recording Says: My way of taking action is to go to the people that make the decisions and then to wait for their response rather than to mindlessly bash an entity we’re trying to get to listen to our voices.
Well said. You don’t win a convincing argument by shouting and insulting. :D