Update from Campus Partners:  February 28, 2002

Contents:

Broad Street Portfolio

        Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing (OCCH) has been feverishly working with us as our primary development partner in the implementation of the Broad Street restructuring plan. Hal Keller, president of OCCH, has secured OCCH board authorization to pursue this acquisition and, with his staff and development partners, are undertaking all of the required due diligence needed to close on the purchase of the portfolio by June 30 of this year.

        OCCH was formed in 1989 by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to support the production, rehabilitation and preservation of affordable housing in Ohio. OCCH has since become an independent non-profit corporation working with public and private developers on the financing, construction and management of thousands of units of affordable housing. OCCH also provides training and consultation on a range of affordable housing issues. Sharon Austin, former president of the University Community Association, is employed by OCCH as training and technical assistance manager.

        Contrary to our earlier expectations, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring (OMHAR) in December did not restructure the Broad Street Portfolio with its current ownership under a so-called Phase 1 restructuring. The challenges of executing a two-phase restructuring were deemed to be significant, and the two-step process was viewed as unnecessary if HUD and OMHAR could be convinced that Campus Partners and OCCH is likely to acquire these properties. Campus Partners has reached an agreement with the local HUD office, OCCH and the current owner on the key issues which need to be resolved in order for a June closing to occur.

Homeownership Incentive Program

        The Ohio State University Faculty and Staff Neighborhood Homeownership Incentive Program has assisted more than 70 employees to buy homes in the University District since its inception in June 1998. The program's funding, however, is exhausted for the purchase of homes in the less-distressed neighborhoods. (Funding remains for the area south of East Norwich Avenue and east of High Street.) Campus Partners plans to re-establish its homeownership committee to review the design of the current incentive program. Due to our current work load, however, we have not yet convened a meeting of this committee.

Gateway Redevelopment Project

        After extensive negotiations, Campus Partners closed Feb. 27 on the purchase of five properties owned by Jack Beatley and on the purchase of the building on High Street which once housed the Oar House. Campus Partners also has under contract the High Street building which once housed Magnolia Thunderpussy, which is final property needed for the Gateway project. Closing on this last property is expected to take place shortly.

        The environmental remediation of the properties currently owned by Campus Partners was completed in early last month. We have contracted for the sampling required by the state prior to demolition for the yet-to-be acquired buildings and expect to have any necessary remediation of these properties completed by the end of March. We contracted with the Gilbane company to assist us in developing specifications and bid documents for demolition of the Gateway properties. Those bid documents were distributed Feb. 27. We expect to come before the University Area Commission in April to discuss the planned demolition. We anticipate beginning and completing demolition in the second quarter of 2002.

        We are in continuing discussions with Nancy Rogers, dean of the College of Law, and Bill Hall, vice president for student affairs, to explore the feasibility of designating a significant number of housing units at Gateway as law student and graduate and professional student housing.

Gateway Public Improvements

        The preliminary design of the Gateway public improvements was completed in the early part of 2001. Campus Partners is now negotiating a Design Reimbursement Agreement with the City of Columbus, in accordance with the terms of our Economic Development Agreement with the city. Under this Design Reimbursement Agreement, Campus Partners, or its designee, will retain and mange the engineering firm (EMH&T) which will complete the construction drawings for the Gateway public improvements. Our goal is to complete these drawings over the next several months so that we can proceed this construction season with the underground portions of these improvements, such as burial of overhead utility lines and relocation and separation of storm and sanitary sewers.

Tenant Relocation

        As you probably noted in the local news coverage, all of the nine remaining commercial tenants in the Gateway redevelopment area terminated their business operations by the end of January. Jack Beatley relocated tenants in all but three of his apartment units. None of these apartment tenants are eligible for the relocation benefits provided for within the Gateway Relocation Plan because their leases were executed after December 1999. We will, however, be working with these students and providing assistance with their relocation.

Acquisition Activity

        As authorized by the Campus Partners Board of Trustees, Campus Partners has closed on the purchase of the apartment properties at 1468 and1482 N. High St. and 18-24 E. Eighth Ave. These properties are located one block south of the Gateway site and were part of the portfolio being sold by Stuart Kaplow under court order.

        Also as authorized by the board, Campus Partners closed on the Henry property located at 1486 N. High St., immediately north of the Kaplow apartment buildings. The combination of these four buildings provides an excellent redevelopment site, comprising a third of a block, located just south of the Gateway project.

Crime Stoppers

        In cooperation with the parents of a missing Ohio State student, the University Area Crime Stoppers board in mid-January offered a reward of $5,000 for information about the disappearance of Chris Gerspacher. The Crime Stoppers telephone line received four calls about Mr. Gerspacher. At least one call appeared to have relevant information. Unfortunately, Mr. Gerspacher's body was found Jan. 29. Police now are investigating the case as a homicide.

        University Area Crime Stoppers is ordering large decals to place on metal dumpsters in the predominantly student neighborhood in an effort to stop dumpster fires. Ohio State and several property owners are buying the decals. The 11-inch by 17-inch decal will read: "Have info on dumpster arson or other crimes? It pays to call: 614-247-8477. Rewards available." Undergraduate Student Government's Off-Campus Committee has agreed to help put the decals in place.

        At its annual recognition breakfast on Jan. 30, Central Ohio Crime Stoppers presented the 2001 Citizen Crime Stopper of the Year Award to Steve Sterrett in recognition of his efforts and those of a number of other University District stakeholders to create the University Area Crime Stoppers program.

Heritage Festival

        The African American Heritage Festival Coordinating Committee, chaired by Bill Hall, has been meeting monthly with broad participation from the university and community. The festival's major events will be:
-- Pan Hellenic Council Step Show on Friday evening, May 17, in St. John Arena followed by a dance in the parking lot of French Field House from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.
-- Town Square on the Oval festival from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, followed by a dance in the parking lot of French Field House from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.
-- Picnic on the Oval and a community clean-up on Sunday afternoon, May 19. (Amanda Runyon Lynch of the University District Organization and Steve Sterrett of Campus Partners are co-chairing the community clean-up.)

        Walter Distelzweig, deputy chief of Columbus Police, told the committee on Feb. 13 that the route for the cruising that has become associated with the festival hasn't been finalized yet, but that the police are hoping to spread the traffic out to avoid gridlock on High Street in the Short North and University District.

        The next meeting of the coordinating committee is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13, at 1 p.m. in the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road.

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Public Safety

        For the fourth consecutive year, Columbus Police, University Police and the Community Crime Patrol cooperated with joint patrols and undercover officers in the University District to help prevent burglaries when students leave for winter break. A burglary prevention message was included in the Buckeye Net News e-mail message to all 55,000 students at the end of autumn quarter.

        Burglary reports during winter break went up compared with the same period one year before, due at least in part to a break-in at one fraternity house which resulted in 14 burglary reports. Columbus Police Sgt. Terry Perrigo told the Campus Partners Safety Coordinating Committee on Feb. 13 that police received 74 burglary reports for the period of early December 2001 through early January 2002 in the University District. That compared with 47 in the previous year and 63 two years before.
Although many variables may affect crime statistics, the low number in 2000-01 may be due in part to the extremely cold weather and the fact that no Greek houses were struck. The patrols in 2001-02 did pay off, however, as three persons were arrested in three separate burglaries-in-progress. CCP was involved in the arrest of an individual for entering a residence on East 17th Avenue and stealing a purse. During this period, CCP patrollers also monitored a number of individuals who were looking in windows and checking door locks on cars and apartments.

        Columbus Police Lt. Thomas Henterly reported that more than 20 robberies of individuals have occurred in the University District since Jan. 1. This is an unusually high number. Police are taking action, but there doesn't appear to be a pattern at this time. He said the perpetrators have been white and black, male and female. He noted that dumpster fires continue to be a problem. He said 21 such fires were reported on the day that Brent Thomas was sentenced for being arrested the second time for setting dumpster fires.

        The next meeting of the Campus Partners Safety Coordinating Committee will be Wednesday, March 13, at 2:30 p.m. in Blankenship Hall, 901 Woody Hayes Dr.

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Off-Campus Strategies

        A number of university-sponsored initiatives are in place to help avoid the out-of-control parties and disturbances which plagued the University District in the fall of 2000 and spring of 2001.

        Bill Hall in early 2001 convened the Off-Campus Strategies Committee to deal specifically with the disturbances. Eric Busch and John Kleberg chaired the committee, which included university staff and students, neighborhood leaders and police officers. This committee proposed the "Neighborhood Patrol," composed of three teams of police officers, usually on bicycles, who patrol early on Friday and Saturday evenings in the fall and spring. Each team has two Columbus Police officers and one University Police officer. The committee also worked with the Student Wellness Center and Off-Campus Student Services on a number of initiatives.

        Among her new responsibilities, Barbara Rich has become chair of the Off-Campus Strategies Committee. At the meeting of the Campus Partners Safety Coordinating Committee on Feb. 13, Ms. Rich proposed that her committee be combined with the Safety Coordinating Committee because many of the same persons serve on both bodies. Her proposal was well-received.

        Meanwhile, the following activities are in place:
-- The Neighborhood Patrol will resume spring quarter. The patrol seems to have developed a good rapport with students.
-- The Student Wellness Center developed and is distributing "Party-Smart" kits, which include ideas and guidelines for parties, as well as a coupon for a free case of Coke products.
-- The Student Wellness Center and Off-Campus Student Services are hosting periodic meetings with property owners to share information and promote actions to prevent further disturbances.
-- The Student Wellness Center continues to expand its late-night programming on the weekends. For information, see the center's Web site at www.shc.ohio-state.edu/swc/.
-- The Student Wellness Center is piloting its "community ambassador" program of identifying students on key streets who can communicate a positive message to the other residents on the street.
-- Ron Meyers of Student Affairs is working with students to create BuckEyes Watch programs, particularly on West Eighth Avenue where residents have reported a high number of auto break-ins and car thefts.
-- Off-Campus Student Services will meet with students in the residence halls during spring quarter to talk about how to be good neighbors when moving off-campus.
-- The Student Safety Initiative met on Feb. 22 and agreed to meet again on Friday, April 12, at noon in the Campus Partners office.

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Code enforcement

        The University District Code Enforcement Task Force has resumed regular meetings on the
second Tuesday of each month. At its meeting in January, the task force elected Pasquale Grado as chair and Steve Sterrett as secretary. The task force discussed a number of code enforcement issues related to historic districts with Connie Torbeck, assistant historic preservation officer with the city.

        At its meeting on Feb. 12, the task force discussed the proposed revisions to the city's noise ordinance that are before City Council. A second hearing on the revisions is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m. at the Columbus Health Department offices, 240 Parsons Ave. The task force also discussed extending the city's systematic exterior code enforcement into the predominantly student neighborhood south of Lane Avenue. Undergraduate Student Government has adopted a resolution asking for such code enforcement. Neighborhood residents on the task force also supported this approach. City code officers expressed concern about a lack of funding for an "envelope program" as a companion to enforcement. After discussion, the task force agreed that the code officers will consider a possible pilot area for enforcement; on behalf of the task force, Mr. Sterrett will write the city's Development Department to seek funding for an "envelope program"; and representatives of the area's property owners will be invited to the next task force meeting to participate in the discussion of the systematic approach.

        The next meeting of the University District Code Enforcement Task Force will be Tuesday, March 12, at 2 p.m. in the Northwood-High Building, 2231 N. High St. (Note that the task force is moving its meeting time one hour earlier to 2 p.m.)

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Refuse collection and street sweeping

        The next meeting of the Campus Partners Public Service Committee will be Wednesday, April 17, at 4 p.m. in the Northwood-High Building, 2231 N. High St. The regular program of street sweeping in the University District will resume in April. The date of the next meeting on street sweeping has not been set yet, but probably will be held in March.

Student Involvement

        The Campus Partners Student Advisory Board held a successful public forum on Jan. 16 to inform students about off-campus housing. Serving on a panel at the forum were representatives of the Student Housing Legal Clinic, Off-Campus Student Services, Columbus Apartment Association, Undergraduate Student Government and Campus Partners. More than 80 students attended. The Student Advisory Board currently is planning to conduct a survey of student opinion regarding High Street developments and a public forum on the Gateway project during spring quarter.

Visitors

        Campus Partners hosted a meeting with three city leaders from Morgantown, W.Va., on Nov. 28. Bill Byrne, a member of Morgantown City Council, asked for the meeting to learn more about our partnership among the city, Ohio State, the neighborhood and Campus Partners. The Morgantown city leaders intend to approach West Virginia University about creating a similar partnership, at least in part because of housing issues in a neighborhood which attracts a number of students. Mr. Sterrett invited Steve McClary, administrator of the city's Planning Division; Wayne Garland, president of Buckeye Real Estate; and Mike Casto, past director of the Campus Collaborative, to participate in the discussions so the Morgantown leaders could hear the viewpoints of three key stakeholders.

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