Update from Campus Partners

June 17, 1998

Contents

The consulting team from Goody, Clancy & Associates is completing the second draft with graphics of its report and recommendations for the High Street Urban Design Project. This draft also attempts to address some of the issues and concerns raised by the Advisory Steering Committee. Meanwhile, the consultants have completed a more refined draft of the High Street-University District Development and Design Guidelines. This document has been distributed to the Design Guidelines Subcommittee of the Advisory Steering Committee, and the subcommittee met June 10 to review the document.

Terry Foegler is scheduled to make presentations on the proposed implementation strategy for the High Street project to the University Community Business Association and the University Area Commission on June 17.

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Gateway Redevelopment Project: Developer Request for Qualifications

The Campus Partners staff believes it is important to identify a preferred master developer for the Gateway redevelopment project in the area of 11^th Avenue and High Street as soon as practical. Such an approach is necessary to insure that additional decisions regarding project design, use mix, implementation, etc., are made with a clear understanding and assessment of the impacts of those decisions upon the proposed development.

Campus Partners intends to pursue a two-step selection process, the first of which would involve a widely advertised Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to identify a select number of highly qualified developer/designer teams. The goal is to advertise the RFQ nationally as soon as possible, and, from this response, select three or four qualified developer/designer teams to submit much more detailed project proposals.

The Ohio State University Faculty and Staff Neighborhood Homeownership Incentive Program began June 1. Northside Development Corporation has held two-hour informational workshops for university employees about the program on May 9, May 23 and June 13. The first workshop drew more than 50 people from 39 households; the second workshop had about 35 in attendance from 21 households. Campus Partners staff has worked with representatives of Ohio State's offices of Human Resources and Legal Affairs, Northside Development Corporation, the Columbus office of Fannie Mae and the city's Neighborhood Development Office on the details of implementing the program. Anyone interested in information about the program should call Northside's home buyer information line at 299-9859.

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Real Estate Acquisition

As authorized by the Campus Partners Board of Trustees on May 21, Campus Partners is proceeding with the acquisition of two additional properties, located at 1569 N. High St. (known to some as the "Chinese laundry building"), and 1599-1601 N. High St., the site of the former National City Bank. Pending approval of the university’s Oversight Committee, the closing for these properties should be held in the next 30 to 60 days.

The University District Code Enforcement Task Force met June 9 and heard an update on the systematic exterior code enforcement project under way in the northern part of the University District. The city's code enforcement staff has compiled a list of community resources to assist property owners on limited incomes with making needed repairs. Code enforcement officers will distribute the list with all notices of violation. Campus Partners staff will work with neighborhood civic associations, local social service agencies and churches to supplement that list. The task force will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, July 14, at 3 p.m. in the Campus Partners office.

The next meeting of the Campus Partners Public Service Committee to consider refuse collection issues will be Wednesday, August 19, at 3:30 p.m. in the Campus Partners office, 1824 N. High St.

At its meeting on June 10, the Campus Partners Safety Coordinating Committee discussed the activities along High Street following the African American Heritage Arts Festival in mid-May. The committee agreed to work with university planners regarding public safety issues related to the festival in the spring of 1999. The committee also suggested that the festival's planning committee should be broadened beyond students to include university administrators and appropriate representatives of the city and the neighborhoods. The next meeting of the committee will be Wednesday, July 8, at 2:30 p.m. in the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road.

The city conducted street sweeping in April and May. The city towed 130 cars on Friday, May 8, and 170 cars on Thursday, May 14. (Sweeping is done on the second Thursday and second Friday of the month. In May, the second Thursday and second Friday were in different weeks.) At its meeting on street sweeping on May 20, the Campus Partners Public Service Committee decided not to sweep in June because the second Friday is spring quarter commencement at Ohio State. The committee will meet again on street sweeping on Wednesday, July 22, at 3:30 p.m. in the Campus Partners office.

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Cooperation with Columbus Public Schools

The University District Education Committee and the University District Organization's Center for Civic Values sponsored town meetings, titled "Taking Ownership for Education in the University District," on April 30 at Hubbard Elementary School and on May 28 at Medary Elementary School. The town meetings, which included a spaghetti dinner without charge, drew parents, teachers, neighborhood leaders and university faculty and staff to discuss how the university can most effectively contribute to the schools.

These meetings build on two forums held last fall on the public schools serving the University District. As a result of these community meetings, the University District Education Committee will bring forward a proposal to establish a non-profit corporation to encourage improvements in each school through parental and community involvement and networking among the schools and the university. The committee's leadership hopes a formal proposal in writing can be prepared this summer.

Some 15 volunteers participated May 30 in the first of a series of training sessions on the skills needed to complete the Ohio Historic Inventory form. Kathy Mast Kane is conducting the training as part of "Taking Stock," the historic preservation project in the University District. The goal of the project is to complete the forms on 1,000 residential and commercial buildings in the University District over the next 15 months. Richard Lott, a work-study student from Ohio State, is assigned to the Campus Partners office to work with Ms. Kane on this project. He is contacting area churches, associations and agencies to recruit volunteers for the project. He also is contacting Ohio State faculty members who may assist in recruiting students interested in participating in the project. The first training session focused on library research. The second training session will be June 20 from 9 a.m. to noon to conduct architectural survey field work in teams. Volunteers will gather in the Campus Partners office before going into the field. To register for the free training sessions, call Campus Partners at 294-7300. For more information on the project, contact Ms. Kane at 263-3440.

Bill Courson, planner with the City of Columbus since 1994, joined Campus Partners as director of community development on May 26. He brings to Campus Partners extensive knowledge of city government and, in particular, its planning and capital improvements for urban neighborhoods. His education is in city planning and cartography, and he has experience with geographic information systems and computers. He earned a master's degree in city and regional planning from Ohio State and a bachelor's degree in geography and cartography from the University of Akron.

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