|
Structural
steel rises on South Campus Gateway site
Construction
at the South Campus Gateway site is well underway. The erection of
structural steel for the five-story Building B (southeast corner of
Chittenden and High) is nearly complete, and the contractors have begun to
pour concrete for the second level of the parking garage. Campus
Partners has now contracted for the work on all Gateway construction
components except building D (northeast corner of East Ninth and High),
project “hard-scape” (plaza, landscaping, and phase 2 public
improvements), and the townhomes along both sides of the parking structure.
Gateway buildings A, B and C will house a mix of entertainment, restaurants,
retail, apartments and office space. The 1,200-space parking garage is
known as Building E. The fifth building, building D, is designed and
will be bid later this spring. Building D will contain retail and entertainment
tenants, including an eight-screen cinema to be operated by the Drexel
Theatres Group.
In a mid-April progress report, Turner Construction, the construction
management advisor for Gateway, notes that “the overall project is on
schedule, the quality of work is very good, and the coordination and
cooperation of the contractors is also very good.” Gateway is
scheduled to open in the fall of 2005.
Back to the top
Marketing begins for Gateway
The
marketing of South Campus Gateway to the broader university community began
with the printing of 60,000 copies of the colorful, four-page brochure
“Plug In” to Gateway. The brochure will be widely
distributed over the next six months. The brochure has been inserted in
the Lantern and will be given to new and transfer students and their
parents during summer orientation, to students in the residence halls and to
prospective students and other visitors at the university’s Visitors Center. Campus Partners also
will distribute the brochure at public meetings and other events.
In response to
Campus Partners’ request, the Ohio State Alumni Magazine donated
a full-color page in its March-April 2004 issue to Gateway with architectural
renderings, a brief description of the project and an appeal to alumni to
suggest stores, restaurants, clubs, bars and services that would do well in
the neighborhoods around Ohio
State. The
magazine’s editor received nearly two dozen replies, which have been
forwarded to the Gateway leasing team. The most knowledgeable and
detailed replies tended to mirror or reinforce the existing leasing plan.
Back to the top
Event to celebrate start of renovation of Community Properties
Congresswoman
Deborah Pryce, Mayor Michael Coleman and Ohio State President Karen Holbrook
will speak at a special public event on Monday morning, June 14, to celebrate
the beginning of renovation of the Community Properties housing in the
University District. The event also will be an opportunity to express
appreciation to Congresswoman Pryce for her sponsorship of federal
appropriations totaling $2.2 million to Ohio State.
The funds have supported the work of Campus Partners and Ohio Capital
Corporation for Housing in acquiring and renovating this housing and making
other neighborhood improvements.
Ohio Capital
Corporation and Community Properties of Ohio Management Services are
organizing the event. People will gather at 9:45 a.m. under a tent in
the courtyard of one of the properties being renovated at 1332 N. Fourth St. The program
will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude by 10:30 a.m.
Ohio Capital
Corporation closed May 14 on the financing package for the first round of
renovation for the buildings. The properties along North Fourth Street are among the first
to be done.
Back to the top
Update on public safety issues
Campus
Partners is working with Off-Campus Student Services on a public awareness
campaign to prevent overcrowding on porches and socializing on roofs.
These are common problems in the student neighborhood, particularly during
warm weather. The goal is to avoid a deadly porch collapse as happened
in Chicago
last June or a fall from a building roof. A simple flyer has been
designed and is being widely distributed by property owners to residents to
discourage this inappropriate behavior.
The African
American Heritage Festival was held April 25 to May 1 with no public safety
concerns reported. The festival’s events during the week were
well-attended; the annual step show sold out; and, for the second year in a
row, there was no cruise on High Street.
On April 7,
Central Ohio Crime Stoppers unveiled a billboard along Ohio
315 across from Lenox
Town Center
that seeks information on the fire that killed five college students on East 17th Avenue
in April 2003. The unveiling drew wide news coverage and was attended
by family members of the students who died, law enforcement personnel and university
officials. Clear Channel Communications donated the billboard
space. A second billboard with the Crime Stoppers message was located
on East 11th Avenue east
of North Fourth Street.
At its meeting
April 14, the University Area Safety Committee heard a report on the
university’s concerns regarding the state’s new concealed weapons
law. In addition, Kevin O’Connor, battalion chief with the
Columbus Division of Fire, announced that his staff will do fire inspections,
install smoke detectors and replace batteries in smoke detectors at the
request of any property owner or tenant.
At its meeting
on May 12, the safety committee received a presentation from Columbus Police
Detective Thaddeus Alexander on gang activity in Columbus. Speaking of gangs in the
University District, he estimated that about 20 individuals are involved in
the Short North Posse and about eight with the Short North Crips. He
didn’t think that gang members were coming into the predominantly
student neighborhood because they tend to limit their operations to their own
neighborhood, but that there are “thugs” who probably have been
involved in some muggings in the student neighborhood.
Unless matters require a meeting, the University Area Safety Committee will
meet less often this summer. The next scheduled meeting is Wednesday,
Aug. 11, at 3:30 p.m. in 33 W.
11th Ave.
Back to the top
Street sweeping, refuse collection and recycling
issues
The City
of Columbus began its 2004 program of street sweeping in the University
District on April 8 and 9. Campus Partners staff worked with the city
to publicize the sweeping with a Lantern advertisement, a message on
the weekly Buckeye Net News that goes to all students, flyers distributed in the
neighborhood, and a front-page story in the Lantern. The city
also placed a highway sign board at 15th and High for the week of the
sweeping. Despite the publicity, the city set a one-day record of
towing 327 parked vehicles on April 8 and another 169 on April 9. From
the calls to the Campus Partners office, there were a large number of parked
vehicles towed for the sweeping May 13 and 14. City staff noted that
the sweeping, particularly in April, encountered a large amount of leaves, trash
and other debris that had accumulated over the winter. The streets
looked much better after the sweeping.
The Campus
Partners Public Service Committee discussed refuse collection and recycling
at its meeting on March 17. “Skip”
Parks, operations manager for the
city’s Refuse Collection Division, told the committee that the division
hopes to have a new administrator chosen by the end of April. Mr. Parks
noted that he closely monitors the collection in the University District and
that the area is in good shape. He explained that the city is
instituting a new system for yard waste and recycling with Rumpke Waste,
Inc., effective April 1. Yard waste and curbside recycling will be
collected on Thursdays in the University District.
Catherine Girves, a University District civic leader, told the committee that
she is working with the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) to
develop a two-year recycling program. As a first step, Ms. Girves,
SWACO staff and Ohio
State representatives
are studying three or four possible drop-off sites among the greek houses for
recycling. More attractive recycling dumpsters are available for the
sites and may be placed before the end of spring quarter. Ms. Girves
also is working with student leaders interested in recycling.
The Campus Partners Public Service Committee will meet next on Wednesday, May
19.
Back to the top
Students plan “Dump & Run”
yard sale
Ohio State’s
Students for Recycling is planning a “move-out yard sale” called Dump
& Run at the end of spring quarter. The purpose of the event is to
reduce the amount of waste generated as students leave the residence halls
and to promote the re-use of clothes and household goods. If the event
goes well, it may also generate funds for local non-profit
organizations. SWACO has awarded a grant to Students for Recycling to
help stage the event, which could become self-supporting in future years.
Dump & Run
is a national organization that helps students to organize these “yard
sales” at colleges and universities around the nation. The event
at Ohio State is the largest planned to
date. Students for Recycling decided to focus its effort in the first
year on students living in university residence halls. The goal is to
encourage students to donate items for the yard sale, rather than discard the
items when they move out of the residence halls. If the event is
successful, it may be expanded next year to include students living
off-campus.
Students for
Recycling is partnering with local non-profit organizations to organize the
event and to share in the funds generated. Volunteers are needed from
late May through mid-June to receive donations from students of reusable
clothing, furniture, books, electrical appliances and other household
goods. If students have large items to donate, they should call
247-4949 to arrange pick-up. Volunteers also will categorize, price and
label saleable items. The items will be offered for sale on Saturday,
June 19, at a large, community-wide “yard sale.” The sale
will run from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. outside the Jesse Owens Recreation Center West
at the corner of Kenny Road
and Carmack Drive.
Back to the top
Code amendments to deal with couches on porches
The city
administration is proposing to amend the Columbus Zoning Code to prohibit the
placement of upholstered furniture on open porches, balconies, roofs and
yards. Such furniture would be permitted on porches and balconies which
are enclosed with glass or screens. Andy Baumann, the city’s code
enforcement supervisor for the University District, informed the University
District Code Enforcement Task Force on May 11 that the new legislation will
be presented to the University Area Commission on May 19 and then to the
Columbus Development Commission later in May. If those bodies are
supportive, the legislation is expected to go to City Council in June.
The University District Code Enforcement Task Force agreed to send a letter
supporting enactment of the legislation.
The graduate planning class completed its report and recommendations on
parking the University District. The class, led by Jennifer
Evans-Cowley, assistant professor of city and regional planning, conducted a
neighborhood survey and research parking issues during winter quarter.
The class report and recommendations may be viewed at <http://facweb.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/jevanscowley/crp852/Report.htm>.
An overview of the report was presented to both the code enforcement task
force and the University Area Commission.
The University District Code Enforcement Task Force will meet next on
Tuesday, June 8, at 2 p.m. in the Northwood-High
Building, 2231 N. High St.
Back to the top
City responds to street lighting concerns
Campus
Partners staff arranged a meeting to discuss street lighting in the
University District with Linda Scothorn, street light engineering coordinator
for the city’s Division of Electricity; John Rensink and Chris Brinkman
of Undergraduate Student Government; and Pasquale Grado of the University
Community Business Association. USG had conducted a survey last winter
of street lighting which found a number of lights were out and other lights
were blocked by trees. At the meeting on April 8, Ms. Scothorn noted
that her division's maintenance crews are far behind schedule on routine
maintenance because they have focused for the past year on correcting problems
with wiring on structures like the downtown bridge where a boy was
accidentally electrocuted. She also said that the number of people on
the maintenance crews have fallen from 150 to 100 due to progressive city
budget cuts. As a result, the division tends to respond to complaints
about street light outages, rather than being proactive in looking for such
outages. She readily agreed to investigate the problems identified by
the students.
Since that
meeting, the students supplied Ms. Scothorn with maps showing the problem
lights. The division’s maintenance crews have repaired the
individual lights and trimmed the trees where necessary. Ms. Scothorn
subsequently did a spot check to make sure the work was completed. A
follow-up meeting has been scheduled for May 19 to discuss alley lighting and
long-term maintenance and possible improvements to the lighting system.
USG should be
commended for bringing the street lighting problems to the attention of the
university and the city.
Back
to the top
Planning for streetscape improvements
Ohio State
representatives and the city’s Planning Division have agreed to jointly
fund the preparation of a streetscape plan for High Street from Chittenden to
Lane Avenue. Campus Partners is participating with city, university
staff, and local neighborhood leaders to select a firm to prepare the
plan. The effort will promote a coordinated approach to both sides of
High Street from 11th Avenue
to Lane Avenue and will estimate the cost of proposed improvements. The
selected firm is MSI Design. (The city has earmarked capital
improvements dollars for streetscape enhancement south of Gateway to Fifth Avenue and
north of Lane Avenue to Arcadia.
Utility relocations for the project north of Lane Avenue are expected to
begin this summer.)
Students sponsor forum on Gateway leasing plan
The Campus Partners Student Advisory Board sponsored a public forum
in the Ohio Union on April 22 for students, faculty and staff to learn more
about the leasing plan for Gateway and to offer their own suggestions for
specific restaurants, clubs, stores and services that they think would do
well in Gateway. About 30 persons attended. A reporter for the
Lantern covered the forum, and the newspaper printed her story on page
one on April 23. Terry Foegler began the forum by showing the Gateway
video, then he gave a 15-minute overview of the Gateway project and the
leasing plan. The audience members asked more questions than they offered
specific ideas for venues to include in Gateway. In general, the tone
was quite supportive of the Gateway project.
|
