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Update from Campus
Partners:
Prepared for residents the University Area Commission
November 17, 2004
Contents:
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Gateway construction remains on schedule Construction
at the South Campus Gateway site continues to proceed on schedule. Dry wall installation for the
residential units in the five-story Building B is preceding
rapidly. Installation of the
exterior skin and interior framing of the residential units in Building A is
well underway. Steel erection for
Building C is complete and the framing of the exterior wall has begun.
Foundations for Building D are complete and over one-third of the structural
steel has been erected. The
parking structure contractor has completed all of the horizontal concrete
pours for the entire parking structure, which continues to run slightly ahead
of schedule. Campus
Partners has now contracted for the construction of all major Gateway
construction components, except for the cinema fit-out and Building F (the
housing along the north and south sides of the parking structure). Campus Partners also will be bidding
the fit-out of Campus
Partners has begun marketing the apartments in Building A to Refuse collection remains source of concern Refuse
collection continues to be a source of concern. The city’s Refuse Collection
Division is scheduled to pick up all 90-gallon containers, 300-gallon
containers and metal dumpsters on Tuesdays in the University District. Although the 90-gallon containers,
which require residents to roll them to the curb, are generally picked up on
time, the 300-gallon containers and dumpsters often are not serviced until
Wednesday or Thursday. In
addition, missed containers, which subsequently overflow, remain a
problem. Funding and staffing
issues appear to prevent the division from offering the level of service that
was in place last year at this time. Unfortunately, Larry Hines, the new
refuse collection administrator who joined the division last June, died
unexpectedly a few weeks ago. Pasquale
Grado of the University Community Business Association
and neighborhood residents continue to monitor the refuse situation. The Campus Partners Public Service
Committee on refuse and recycling will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 4 p.m.
in the Community Properties completes initial renovation work Senior
citizens on Oct. 22 celebrated their return home to the apartment building at
During
the celebration, Rachel Ankrum, who was raised in
the neighborhood and who moved into the building in 1993, spoke on behalf of
the residents. She told visitors
that she had not wanted to move to other senior citizens housing during the
year-long renovation process.
“I’m 84 years old, and I don’t like change,”
she said. But when she first saw
her building after the renovation work, she said that she declared,
“Oh, it’s beautiful.
Everything is clean and new.
This is my home, and this is where I should be.” Other residents confirmed that they
were delighted with the quality of the renovation. Three residents gave tours of their
apartments, showing off new bathrooms, kitchens, windows and other amenities. Isabel
Toth, president of CPOMS, presented the residents
with a television and VHS and DVD players on a rolling cart so they can
gather in the building’s common spaces to watch programs and
movies. Franklin County
Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy welcomed the residents
back to the building on behalf of the local, state and federal government
partners whose support led to the acquisition and renovation of this housing. Since
Oct. 22, CPOMS also has completed the renovation of the first of a number of
properties along Mayor helps demolish problem building in Weinland
Park Community
Properties of Ohio Management Services (CPOMS) has taken an important step
toward improving neighborhood safety.
Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, City Attorney Rick Pfeiffer and other
community leaders participated in a public celebration on Sept. 21 to mark
the beginning of demolition of the apartment building at Before
he mounted demolition equipment to strike the first blow against the
building, Mayor Coleman held up a thick stack of papers which detailed 753
calls to Columbus Police since 1998 reporting criminal activity, violence and
other problems involving this property.
“We are here to make sure that violence and crime are not a part
of this Property
manager Josh Martin coordinates CPOMS’s
“Eliminate the Elements” crime prevention program. He told the audience that the
demolition was only one part of the crime prevention program. With support from a federal grant
secured by Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, CPOMS leases a Columbus Police
cruiser and employs 24 police officers on special duty 72 hours per week to
follow up public safety matters affecting CPO properties. CPOMS also carefully screens housing
applicants, requires residents to abide by terms of their leases, and
encourages residents to participate in block watches, neighborhood civic
associations and crime prevention programs. CPOMS
doesn’t have specific plans for the future use of the lot at 228 E.
Eighth, although one temporary use may be a community garden. CPOMS welcomes suggestions from
neighbors for uses. Forums permit public comment on High Street streetscape plan Citizens with
an interest in High Street will have two opportunities this month to hear
presentations and to make comments on a new streetscape plan for High Street
from MSI
Design will make a presentation on the streetscape plan to the University Area
Commission on Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the Several
organizations will co-sponsor a public forum on Tuesday, Nov. 30, titled
"Speak Up on High Street: A Public Dialogue on Improving the Appearance
of Our ' MSI
Design made a presentation of its initial work to a meeting of the University
Community Business Association last month. Public safety plans
in place for Ohio State-Michigan game Plans
related to public safety for the annual Ohio State-Michigan football game
were the primary topic of the University Area Safety Committee which met Nov.
10. Law enforcement agencies, the
Office of Student Affairs, and other stakeholders reported extensive plans to
encourage responsible behavior and to prevent the type of serious disturbance
which followed the game two years ago.
Columbus Police will use the The
University Area Safety Committee will not meet in December unless called by
the co-chairs. The next regularly
scheduled meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 3:30 p.m. in City and university announce plans
for Neighborhood Policing Center Columbus
Mayor Michael Coleman and Ohio State President Karen Holbrook on Oct. 7
announced a commitment of $3 million to a partnership that will include the
construction of a new A
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by • • A
six-person University-City Working Group will recommend to President Holbrook
and Mayor Coleman a site and program details of the Center in approximately
90 days. • The
University will provide up to $200,000 annually to support additional
neighborhood policing efforts, including Columbus Division of Police foot and
bicycle patrols and a mobile substation that will be located around key areas
of the university community. The
current Columbus Police substation for Precinct 4 is located at At
the University Area Safety Committee meeting Nov. 10, Barb Seckler, assistant public safety director for the city,
reported that working group has met a couple of times and is investigating
potential sites for the Neighborhood Policing Center. The city’s bond issues passed
earlier this month, so city funds will be available for the policing
center. She expects more details
on the policing center will be available soon. Crime Stoppers offers rewards to stop dumpster fires Dumpster
fires in the University District declined in the 2003-04 academic year. On some weekends last spring no such
fires were reported. The Columbus
Division of Fire notes that dumpster fires have returned this fall. Nine fires were reported one weekend
and 11 fires another weekend in October. In
response, the University Area Crime Stoppers Board is reprinting 200 11-inch
by 17-inch reflective decals to be placed on dumpsters in the predominantly
student neighborhood. The decals
read: “Have info on dumpster arson or other crimes? It pays to call: 247-8477. Rewards available.” The decals include the University Area
Crime Stoppers logo. Volunteers
from Undergraduate Student Government and Evans Scholars will put the decals
on dumpsters on Nov. 18. These decals
were originally printed and distributed in the spring of 2002, but many of
those decals have worn off or the dumpsters have been replaced. Division of Electricity supports
replacing street lights Representatives
of Undergraduate Student Government, Community Crime Patrol, Campus Partners
and the University Community Business Association met Nov. 4 with Linda Scothorn, street light engineering coordinator for the
Columbus Division of Electricity, to discuss street lighting in the
predominantly student neighborhood.
At two meetings last spring, the group had discussed the possibility
of replacing the street lighting system in the student neighborhood. Students had reported instances in
which all the lights on a street would be out, which indicated circuit
problems. Ms.
Scothorn told the group on Nov. 4 that the division
does support replacing the street lighting system. She had earlier made a ballpark
estimate that replacement would cost about $900,000. The lighting system, which has buried
electrical lines, serves an area bounded by Mr.
Grado subsequently talked with Ms. Delay, who was
receptive to considering a proposal to replace the lighting system. She promised to talk with Ms. Scothorn about the division’s justification for
replacing the system and what the costs might be. Mr. Grado
expects to hear back from Ms. Delay in the next few weeks. When more information is available on
a proposal to replace the street lighting, a presentation will be made to the
University Area Commission. Fewer Ohio State students
report living in University District The
number of Campus
Partners staff met earlier this month with key property owners to talk about
the situation. They agreed that
they face high vacancy rates throughout the area, but particularly in south
campus. The units which are
hardest to rent are one- and two-bedroom apartments. No one was sure if students listing
their address as outside The
city’s Planning Division has been working since late last winter with
civic leaders and other stakeholders in With
support from a federal appropriation sponsored by Congresswoman Deborah
Pryce, Campus Partners has engaged Goody, Clancy & Associates to assist
the Planning Division and Working Committee in developing the planning concepts
and recommendations that grow from the policy statements. Goody, Clancy also will advise Campus
Partners on the potential reuse of the Columbus Coated Fabrics site and the
possible renovation or redevelopment of the Community Properties of Ohio buildings
on The
Working Committee will meet with the consultants on Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 7
p.m. at Godman Guild, Groups work on “appearance
of order” and couch legislation A
few months ago, the University District Code Enforcement Task Force and the
University Area Safety Committee jointly established the ad hoc Appearance of
Order Task Force to investigate more effective ways to prevent nuisance
behavior such as public indecency, noise and littering. The ad hoc task force, currently
chaired by Catherine Girves, is reviewing how The
city’s Development Department earlier this year drafted legislation
that would prohibit the placement of indoor furniture on unenclosed porches
and balconies. Councilman Mike Mentel has asked for a show of public support for the
legislation before introducing it for council action. As a result, civic leaders recently
have obtained resolutions of support from University District organizations, The
University District Code Enforcement Task Force will meet next on Tuesday,
Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. in the Students discuss Gateway leasing plan The Campus Partners Student Advisory Board met Oct. 27 to discuss the South Campus Gateway leasing plan with Doug Aschenbach and Pam Atwater, head of Jones Lang LaSalle’s leasing team. Mr. Aschenbach and Ms. Atwater explained the leasing process and the mix of potential tenants and talked about some of the tenants which have signed leases or may soon sign leases. The students also offered ideas on what types of businesses they would like to see in Gateway. Dan Work has been serving as chair of the advisory board until a successor is chosen to Jim Mitchell, who graduated last spring. In other activity, the board is co-sponsoring a public forum on Nov. 30 on the High Street streetscape plan. |
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Campus Partners for
Community Urban Redevelopment, Inc.
1824 N. High
St., Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 294-7300; fax (614) 294-7333