The group of historic buildings located at 72-90 North High Street that have been proposed with a mixed-use renovation took another step forward during this month’s Downtown Commission Meeting this morning. The Commission approved the designs for the renovation of the three main buildings, as well as the demolition of the two-story building at 90 North High, which will create a new pedestrian walkway and additional restaurant and retail opportunities.
Project architect Chris Meyers from Meyers + Associates explained the thought process behind the design elements, stating that many of their decisions were based upon limits of building material integrity and limits with regard to the historic tax credits received from both state and federal programs.
“It’s an adaptive reuse,” said Meyers. “We’re working with a lot of existing conditions while modernizing the building. There’s already been some careful selective demolition of a few elements of the facade, which has been beneficial for us to discover the structural evolution of these buildings.”
Several commission members expressed concern with the north side of the White Haynes building, which features smaller windows installed in the existing facade. Property Owner Ricky Day of The Day Companies explained that they explored the idea of restoring the bricks, but structurally it would not work, and the tax credit process limited what they can and can’t do with that type of work.
“Getting any windows at all was a big concession,” said Day.
Commission member Bob Loversidge also expressed concern with the design of the pedestrian alley with a winding sidewalk.
“I’m not particularly enamored with design of the wandering sidewalk,” he stated. “It seems a little suburban.”
Meyers said that the pedestrian elements will continue to be revised as a part of a larger collaborative effort with the City of Columbus and with the Edwards Companies, which is building a large-scale six-story mixed-use development on the opposite side of High Street.
“We plan to enhance the entire streetscape beyond the property,” said Meyers. “Some of it is about incorporating the city’s pedestrian guidelines and standards when it comes to the streetscape, as well as bringing back some of the pedestrian connectively to High and Pearl as a way to enliven the area.”
The commission voted to approve the project unanimously, which also included a demolition approval for 90 North High. Day said that next steps include the finalizing of construction drawing to be submitted for permits and final approvals by the preservation office.
“We want to start demolition in late summer, and we expect construction to take about twelve months once we’re able to get started,” he added.
A second phase of the project was not formally discussed at today’s meeting, which Day has previously stated is still very conceptual at this point in time. Those plans call for the construction of a 12-story 132-room hotel on the north side of the pedestrian alley, which could also include a 325-space parking garage and more ground-floor retail.
For more information, visit www.daycompanies.net.
All renderings by Meyers+Associates Architecture.