| History of Gateway |
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History of South Campus Gateway Campus Partners’ initial planning effort in 1995 and 1996 identified a potential redevelopment area around High Street and 11th Avenue. The University Neighborhoods Revitalization Plan (1996) recommended redevelopment of the area, which was the most distressed portion of High Street between the university campus and downtown. Campus Partners undertook a second planning initiative in 1997 and 1998 to prepare a more specific master plan for High Street in the University District. The planning work outlined the size and scope of the redevelopment project that became South Campus Gateway. The Gateway site of 7.5 acres stretches for three city blocks along High Street, the “Main Street” of Columbus, adjacent to the southeast corner of The Ohio State University campus at 11th Avenue. Gateway is on the edge of a distressed neighborhood with a high concentration of poverty and is in the federally designated Columbus Empowerment Zone. In its planning stage, the project was known as the University Gateway Center. As the project moved into its construction phase, Campus Partners consulted with stakeholders and conducted focus groups to develop a permanent name for the project. “South Campus Gateway” was chosen in 2003 because the name reflected the historic reference to the area as “South Campus” and the project’s purpose as a “gateway” to the university and the neighborhood. Developer competition Campus Partners sponsored a competition in early 1999 among three master developer teams for the right to build South Campus Gateway. On May 21, 1999, Campus Partners announced that The Druker Company, Ltd., of Boston, had been selected as the preferred master developer for the Gateway project. Druker’s proposal had received the widest support among stakeholders in the University District. Columbus City Council on Dec. 13, 1999, authorized the city administration to enter into an economic development agreement with the Gateway Area Revitalization Initiative, a non-profit affiliate of Campus Partners, for development of Gateway. The agreement outlined responsibilities for property acquisition, requirements for a relocation plan, funding of public improvements, creation of a tax increment financing district (using non-school revenues), required traffic measures, neighborhood employment initiatives and related matters. In 1999, Campus Partners began negotiations with property owners to acquire some 30 parcels for the Gateway site. The City of Columbus eventually filed eminent domain actions to acquire five parcels owned by three parties, but Campus Partners negotiated the sales before the matter went to trial. By early 2002, Campus Partners had completed the acquisition of all of the properties required for the site and had negotiated relocation agreements with all of the existing businesses in those properties. Demolition of the existing buildings to make way for Gateway began May 1, 2002, and was completed by mid-July 2002. In March 2003, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that Campus Partners would receive $35 million in tax credit allocations under the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program for construction of South Campus Gateway. Campus Partners received the largest such allocation for a single project in the country. Construction begins The first-phase public improvements on the Gateway site began in May 2003 and by late fall 2003 were substantially complete. These public improvements included burial of overhead utility lines, moving and separation of storm and sanitary sewers, and roadway work. Second-phase public improvements, such as sidewalks and pedestrian lighting, will take place after the buildings are constructed. In May 2003, Campus Partners also unveiled its merchandising plan for South Campus Gateway at the annual spring convention of the International Council of Shopping Centers in Las Vegas. The start of construction of Gateway was marked with a major public celebration on October 18, 2003, on the site. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and Ohio State President Karen Holbrook were among the dignitaries who offered remarks. Construction of buildings on the Gateway site began in January 2004. Use of a fee-developer The Gateway project continued to evolve since The Druker Company was tentatively designated as the preferred master developer in 1999. The project remained on track, but the preferred development model that emerged was the use of a fee-developer who would work with Campus Partners to manage the project. With the completion of the land acquisition, both Campus Partners and Druker agreed in July 2002 that it was the most appropriate time to make such a change. Among the factors that made the fee development services model a more appropriate mechanism than a land-lease to a developer or a joint venture were the increased utilization of the space in Gateway for university-related purposes (such as housing for students of the Moritz College of Law) and the ability of Campus Partners to access less expensive tax-exempt financing for the Gateway project. Unfortunately, The Druker Company, like many development companies, does not provide development services on a fee basis and, therefore, in July 2002 withdrew from its involvement with Gateway. As a result, Campus Partners in July 2002 invited a selected number of development firms with fee-developer experience to respond to a request for proposals. Campus Partners interviewed several firms and subsequently selected Jones Lang LaSalle as development management advisor for the project. Many members of the development team assembled by Druker, such as Elkus/Manfredi Architects, continued with the project. Gateway opens Major construction was substantially complete by mid-summer 2005. Law students began moving into the Gateway apartments on August 1. Ohio State’s Office of Human Resources moved into its office space on August 8. Barnes & Noble-The Ohio State University Bookstore opened on August 15. Potbelly Sandwich Works was the first restaurant to open on August 22. The Gateway movie theater had a grand opening “red carpet” event on November 3. Updated May 3, 2009. |