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    University District Leaders See Opportunity in New Development, Special Improvement District

    Although some University District residents have expressed concern about the impact of new development in the neighborhood, community leaders are hopeful that the influx of new mixed-use developments on High Street and Lane Avenue – along with plans for the redevelopment of nine acres at the corner of 15th Avenue and High and another seven acres between 8th and 9th avenues – will bring additional vibrancy to the main corridors of campus while freeing up space in the area’s many historic, single-family homes for more families and young professionals.

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    “I think people have really begun to recognize that the district is neighborhood of neighborhoods,” said Pascuale Grado, who sits on the University Area Review Board and is also president of the University Community Association. “The housing stock is so diverse… we have something for everyone, from $60,000 houses to million dollar mansions.”

    Grado also sees potential in a new SID, or Special Improvement District, to help keep the neighborhood clean and safe in the face of all these changes.

    When City Council approved the new SID in March for the stretch of High running from 7th Avenue to two blocks north of Lane, it marked the fulfillment of a long-term goal of neighborhood leaders.

    “It was along time coming, but it’s going to make a major positive impact,” said Grado, who had tried unsuccessfully to get a SID established when he headed up the University Community Business Association more than 20 years ago. “When you complement all of the development that’s going to happen with the SID, and the maintenance of infrastructure that will bring, it’s going to be phenomenal.”

    The campus area SID will be the city’s fourth such district (after the Capital Crossroads and Discovery SIDs downtown, the Short North SID, and the Morse Road SID). An additional tax assessment from property owners will fund a range of initiatives, including additional security patrols, litter and graffiti control, infrastructure maintenance, and new landscaping.

    Matt Hansen is the Executive Director of the University District Organization (UDO) and the person responsible for rounding up the required signatures of support from 75% of property owners within the boundaries of the new SID.

    “It’s designed to start changing some of the negative perceptions about the district, whether that’s about safety, litter, or graffiti,” he said, adding that, “the property owners want to get a larger market drawn toward the University District.”

    For Grado – who spearheaded efforts in the mid-1980’s to add dumpsters behind apartment buildings and remove a 60-foot mandatory setback for new buildings along High Street – the new SID and the coming development boom are arriving at the perfect time, just as the neighborhood is ready to write its next chapter.

    “We’ve developed a wonderful, collaborative relationship with the city, OSU and the greater community,” he said, explaining that the university was not nearly as involved in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, when the area around campus was struggling and suffering from many of the ailments – like crime and vacant housing – afflicting other urban neighborhoods at that time.

    The next challenge will be filling the void caused by the 3,200 sophomores who’ll be required to live in dorms instead of off-campus by the fall of 2016. “I look at it as a very positive thing,” said Grado. “There’s an opportunity there to create incentives that would attract other demographics to the neighborhood.”

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    Brent Warrenhttps://columbusunderground.com/author/brent-warren
    Brent Warren is a staff reporter for Columbus Underground covering urban development, transportation, city planning, neighborhoods, and other related topics. He grew up in Grandview Heights, lives in the University District and studied City and Regional Planning at OSU.
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