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New: Campus Partners appoints CB Richard Ellis to manage South Campus Gateway – June 30, 2005

Campus Partners announces retail tenants for South Campus Gateway – May 4, 2005

Update from Campus Partners: 
Prepared for residents the University Area Commission
June 15, 2005

Contents:

· Gateway construction on schedule for fall opening · Opportunities for Gateway employment · Public workshop set for Weinland Park plan

· Refuse Collection and Code Enforcement groups meet · Public safety reports · Student and public involvement

Gateway construction on schedule for fall opening Construction at the South Campus Gateway site proceeds toward an autumn 2005 completion. All major Gateway construction components are under contract. Construction of the Building F housing (located along both sides of the parking structure on East 9th and 11th avenues) is on track for a Sept. 1 completion. Construction of the fit-out work for the cinema, the law school alumni facility, Ohio State’s Human Resources office space, the property management office area, and the security and parking offices in the garage are well underway.space have all begun. The cinema fit-out is scheduled for completion in mid-October. Panera Bread, Barnes & Noble-The Ohio State University Bookstore, Ugly Tuna Saloona and Potbelly Sandwich Works are actively fitting out their spaces. Finish Line, Buckeye Greek, Lave and The Skye Bar are planning to initiate construction in the near future. Construction work associated with the Phase II public improvements and all other remaining site work is well underway. Sidewalks, street trees and traffic signal poles are being erected. Although many of the construction schedules are extremely tight, the apartments in Buildings A and B are expected to be ready for occupancy in early August. Some 500 construction workers are currently engaged on the Gateway site. Opportunities for Gateway employment Campus Partners and CB Richard Ellis staff members met last week with Robert Caldwell, president of the Weinland Park Community Civic Association, and Vanessa Jester of TEACH Staffing to discuss employment opportunities in Gateway for neighborhood residents. Campus Partners and CB Richard Ellis will continue discussions over the next several weeks on how to best create links between retailers and service providers at Gateway who will be seeking employees and neighborhood residents. Campus Partners and CBRE supported a grant proposal for workforce development submitted in April by Godman Guild Association that would link job training for young adults to employment opportunities at Gateway. Whether or not that grant proposal is funded, Campus Partners also will cooperate with Godman Guild on employment opportunities. The South Campus Gateway retail leasing materials include a brochure from the Columbus Compact outlining the various economic development incentives available to businesses located in the Empowerment Zone. Several Gateway retail tenants have contacted the Columbus Compact to explore how these programs might apply to their particular operations. Back to the top Public workshop set for Weinland Park plan The Working Committee for the Weinland Park planning process will meet Monday, June 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Godman Guild, 303 E. Sixth Ave., to review the draft planning document being prepared by Todd Singer, senior city planner. The Working Committee also will prepare for a public, neighborhood-wide workshop on Saturday afternoon, July 16, to share the draft plan with the community. The workshop will be at Godman Guild, but the specific time hasn’t been set. The Working Committee also is scheduled to meet Monday, July 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Godman Guild to make any last-minute revisions to the draft plan and to send it on to the Weinland Park Community Civic Association and the University Area Commission for their review. Eventually, the planning document must go the Columbus Development Commission and City Council for adoption. Refuse Collection and Code Enforcement groups meet The University District Code Enforcement Task Force and the Campus Partners Public Service Committee on refuse collection and recycling met jointly on June 14 to discuss a number of matters that interest both panels. They agreed that the annual special collection of bulk refuse in the University District will be conducted Aug. 26 through Sept. 12. They also discussed public awareness and enforcement of the new ordinance adopted by Columbus City Council earlier this month that prohibits indoor furniture from being placed on open porches and balconies. Council’s action was the culmination of nearly 18 months of work by neighborhood, city and university advocates who promoted adoption of the ordinance. The two groups will meet jointly again on Tuesday, July 12, at 2 p.m. in the Northwood-High Building. The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) continues to work with Columbus Public Service Department staff and with stakeholders in the university area (including Battelle and the Ohio Expo Center) to develop a solid waste management plan (SWMP) for the North Central Impact Area. The SWMP will include data on the generation, collection and disposal of solid waste in this area, as well as opportunities for recycling and for reducing solid waste. The SWMP originally was expected to be produced by mid-summer, but SWACO and city staff members are working in more depth on a number of issues related to the SWMP so the plan’s completion is delayed until fall. The next meeting of the SWMP advisory council will be Sept. 9. Back to the top Public safety reports The University Area Safety Committee, which met May 11, heard reports that the annual African American Heritage Festival went well with few public safety concerns. The Columbus Division of Police is likely to make further cut-backs on its forces deployed for the festival next year. University Police in early May arrested two persons for breaking into parked cars on the university campus. This may help to reduce the recent spike in reports of auto theft and auto break-ins. Cynthia Buettner and Amy Greenland of the College of Human Ecology reported to the safety committee on a federally funded project which the college has undertaken. The three-year project, which began last September, is evaluating a “community engagement intervention model (known as the Pragmatics Project) on reducing high risk drinking and mixed-issue campus disturbances.” The intervention model engages students in identifying the solutions to problem drinking and student disturbances. Undergraduate students participate in a class for academic credit to study the situation and to propose and help implement testable interventions. During spring quarter, the class had four sections with about 15 students in each section. The students presented reports on their work in early June. Unless called by the co-chairs, the University Area Safety Committee will not meet over the summer. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 3:30 p.m. in 33 W. 11th Ave. Back to the top Student and public involvement The Campus Partners Student Advisory Board met May 24 to hear an update on South Campus Gateway and a summary of the streetscape planning for High Street. Terry Foegler explained the timetable for opening Gateway this fall and the progress on signing retail tenants. Lee Shadle, who graduated spring quarter from Ohio State, talked about his new restaurant, Pesto Creative Italian Bistro. He will open the restaurant in Gateway in September. A representative of MSI, an urban design firm, presented the draft streetscape plan for High Street from West 11th Avenue to Lane Avenue. The streetscape plan, which has been under development since last summer, is being paid for by Ohio State and the City of Columbus. Campus Partners staff hosted a delegation from Cleveland on April 29 to discuss Campus Partners’ approach to High Street revitalization. The delegation included representatives from The Columbus Foundation, The George Fund Foundation, University Circle Incorporated, Case Western Reserve University and Neighborhood Progress, Inc. They were interested in how Campus Partners’ experience might apply to economic development in the University Circle area.

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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