The American Planning Association (APA) has selected Campus Partners' University District Revitalization initiative to receive the prestigious 2010 National Award for Planning Excellence for Implementation.  The Ohio State University, in cooperation with the city of Columbus, created Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment in 1995 to spearhead the revitalization of the neighborhoods of the University District which surround the university campus.

The award recognizes Campus Partners, but the neighborhood revitalization is a reflection of the significant and ongoing partnership of Ohio State, the city of Columbus and the neighborhoods of the University District over the past decade.  Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee, Mayor Michael Coleman, Columbus Planning Administrator Vince Papsidero, and University Area Commission President Ian MacConnell each wrote letters in support of the award nomination.  Those letters underscored the partnership required to create sustained, positive change in these neighborhoods.

For more information on the award, see the news release printed below.

Text of news release distributed by APA on December 9, 2009:

OSU Campus Partners Receives National Planning
Award for Revitalization Work

Washington, D.C. – The American Planning Association (APA) has selected Campus Partners' University District Revitalization (Campus Partners) to receive the 2010 National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation. The Ohio State University, in cooperation with the city of Columbus, created Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment in 1995 to spearhead the revitalization of the neighborhoods of the University District which surround the university campus.

“As a pioneer in university-community partnerships, Campus Partners has addressed the physical, social, and environmental issues facing an entire urban district of 40,000 residents and advanced the idea that smaller cities can create urban communities that attract the resources to make diversity succeed,” said Marie York, FAICP, 2010 National Planning Awards Jury Chair.

The National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation recognizes a project that demonstrates a significant achievement for an area — a single community or a region — in accomplishing positive changes as a result of planning. The award emphasizes long-term, measurable results that have been in continuous effect for a minimum of five years.

“This award affirms the value of our collaborative and comprehensive approach to urban neighborhood revitalization,” said Doug Aschenbach, president of Campus Partners. “We are pleased to accept this award on behalf of Ohio State, the city of Columbus, and most importantly, our neighbors in the University District.”

By the early 1990s, the economically and racially diverse district around Ohio State University had fallen on hard times. In response, OSU established Campus Partners with a broadly representative independent board and $28 million in funding for programs and investment. Its “smart growth” agenda focused on reviving the district’s neighborhoods as places of choice.

Since its inception, Campus Partners’ accomplishments include:

-- Preparation and adoption of a comprehensive revitalization plan for the Univeristy District; of a master plan for High Street, the “Main Street” through the University District; and of a plan for one of the more distressed neighborhoods of the University District.

-- Construction of the signature South Campus Gateway project, a dynamic mix of retail, entertainment, office, housing and structured parking, as well as catalyzing the investment of more than $125 million in other construction and renovation along High Street.

-- More than $150 million leveraged as investment in University District neighborhoods including housing, community facilities and redevelopment of a large “brownfield” site.

-- Creation of a homeownership incentive program with more than 90 university employees purchasing homes in the University District.

-- New partnerships among the university, the city, public schools and other agencies serving the University District to improve municipal services, public safety, and education.

The Implementation Award for the Campus Partners' University District Revitalization will be presented at a special awards luncheon at APA’s National Planning Conference in New Orleans on April 12, 2010. The Campus Partners' University District Revitalization efforts also will be featured in an upcoming issue of Planning magazine, APA’s flagship publication.

For a list of all of the APA 2010 National Planning Excellence, Achievement, and Leadership Award recipients, visit www.planning.org/awards/2010. APA’s national awards program, the profession’s highest honor, is a proud tradition established more than 50 years ago to recognize outstanding community plans, planning programs and initiatives, public education efforts, and individuals for their leadership on planning issues.

The American Planning Association is an independent, not-for-profit educational organization that provides leadership in the development of vital communities. APA and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, are dedicated to advancing the art, science and profession of good planning -- physical, economic and social -- so as to create communities that offer better choices for where and how people work and live. Members of APA help create communities of lasting value and encourage civic leaders, business interests and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people's lives.

APA has offices in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Ill. For more information, visit www.planning.org.