Last week, local development company Borror announced plans to build a new six-story mixed-use apartment building on East State Street in Downtown Columbus. The project announcement doesn’t specifically address the role that demolition will play for preparing the site for the new project, but does indirectly indicate that all or some of the buildings between 229 and 275 E. State St. will need to be torn down.
“An interesting mix of eras and architectural styles, this stretch of buildings represents an evolving streetscape that is harmonious,” explained Becky West, Executive Director of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation, a group that advocates for historic preservation. “The mid-20th century buildings were designed to be pedestrian-scaled and responded to the earlier buildings nearby without overwhelming them. We believe all of these buildings to be worthy of saving.”
The building located at 275 E. State St. is a two-story structure with a lower level that sits half below street level. The 6,800 square foot office building was constructed in 1966 and has a small surface parking lot in the rear.
Next door, the larger 10,000 square foot building at 271 E. State St. is another mid-century two-story office space, constructed in 1958. The building — which also includes a small parking lot in the back — was formerly home to the Ohio Democratic Party, and still displays their logo despite relocating in 2007.
The parcel that makes up 255 E. State St. contains multiple buildings, which were formerly the Downtown location of the O.R. Woodyard Co. funeral home. The original structure dates back to the 1890s, and includes multiple additions that were installed over the past 125 years. The south end of the site also features a two-story building adjacent to Chapel Street.
Lastly, at 229 E. State St., the Borror press release mentions specifically that the development would replace a “portion of the Schoedinger Funeral Services parking lot” but is unclear about the funeral home buildings themselves. When asked for clarification, representatives at Borror stated that they’re not making further comments on the project until after they present their plan to the Downtown Commission for review.
UPDATE (8:45AM 11/20) — Columbus Landmarks confirmed via email that the Schoedinger Chapel building is not being proposed for demolition.
While Columbus Landmarks does not have an official say on the Downtown Commission process, West weighed in with her own opinions on the new proposal.
“We do not believe the design as proposed will add interest or character to the streetscape,” she stated. “This large-scale design, in its monolithic form, interrupts the rhythm that the older streetscape achieves. The setbacks and changes in material are not enough to provide differentiation.”
The Downtown Design Guidelines, which the Downtown Commission utilizes in their decision making process, states that one of the key design principals is to view projects with “adaptive reuse of existing buildings” as preferable to “demolition and new construction.” The Commission can vote in favor of a certificate of appropriateness for demolition if a proposed development is deemed “of greater significance to the character of the surrounding area.”
“We believe there is enormous power and potential in older buildings and that a mix of old and new is the best formula to achieve the density we all desire,” added West. “It is our goal for Columbus to shift to a mindset of adaptive reuse as the default, and demolition as the very last resort.”
The proposal from Borror will go in front of the Downtown Commission for review on Tuesday, November 21.