Update from Campus Partners:  September 24, 2001

Contents:

BROAD STREET PORTFOLIO

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring (OMHAR) are moving forward with plans to restructure the Broad Street Portfolio with its current ownership.  Since meeting with HUD and OMHAR officials in Washington in late August, Peter Roche, our housing consultant, has become even more confident that the federal agencies will accept the concept of a two-stage restructuring that will permit Campus Partners to continue to pursue implementation of its alternate restructuring plan.

Campus Partners expects that OMHAR will close on the initial restructuring with the current owner by Oct. 31, 2001.  How soon a second restructuring might occur in unknown, but is likely to be six to 18 months beyond the first closing.  We have begun initial discussions of what ownership entity or structure might be put in place to make the second closing.  With strong support from President Kirwan and the university, we continue to pursue a special federal appropriation for this project this fall.  Senator Mike DeWine and Congresswoman Deborah Pryce have agreed to sponsor the legislation.  The tragedy which engulfed New York and Washington on Sept. 11 makes the timetable for congressional action on such an appropriation uncertain.

HUD this month awarded Campus Partners three Mark-to-Market Intermediary Technical Assistance Predevelopment Grants totaling just under $210,000.  The grants will cover a significant portion of the consulting, legal and architectural expenses and staff time associated with the Broad Street Portfolio.

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NEW EMPLOYEE AT CAMPUS PARTNERS

Campus Partners has appointed Doug Aschenbach as vice president for real estate development.  He joined the Campus Partners staff on Aug. 27.  Aschenbach, 42, has 16 years of commercial real estate experience.  Since 1994, he has been the sole proprietor of Guided Solutions, a commercial real estate consulting firm in Columbus.  He previously worked for W. Lyman Case & Company of Columbus, Karsten Realty Advisors in Los Angeles, and Price Waterhouse in Philadelphia.   He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Ohio State in 1981 and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985.  He lives in Victorian Village.


PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT

        Eric Busch and John Kleberg of Student Affairs are chairing the Off-Campus Strategies Committee, which has met several times in August and September to consider measures to prevent a repeat of last spring’s neighborhood disturbances.  This committee, which was first brought together last winter, includes representatives of Columbus and University police, Student Affairs administrators, student leaders and others.  In its meetings late this summer, the committee recommended that the “Neighborhood Patrol” be continued on Friday and Saturday nights through early December.  The Neighborhood Patrol teams two Columbus Police officers with one University Police officer to patrol the neighborhoods.  They work with students and other residents to prevent parties and other situations from getting out of control, but they also will enforce the law.  The teams were instituted spring quarter.  Three teams of three officers each restarted the patrols Sept. 7 and 8.  The patrolling, usually on bicycles, begins about 7 p.m.  Police reports on Ohio State students arrested during incidents in the neighborhood are being sent to Student Judicial Affairs for possible disciplinary action.

        The Off-Campus Strategies Committee also has coordinated the preparation of printed information on public safety and neighborhood disturbances.  This information was given to major property owners early in September for distribution as students move into their apartments.  Similar information has been given to students as they check into university residence halls.

        In other activities for this fall, the Student Wellness Center has worked with a number of on-campus and off-campus partners to expand the number of week-end late-night activities for students.  The Student Wellness Center and Off-Campus Student Services also held a meeting in August for property owners to discuss ways to control off-campus parties and situations which could lead to disturbances.  They are planning to bring the property owners together again in mid-October.  In addition, several neighborhood associations are planning activities to interact positively with student neighbors early in the fall.

        The annual “Walk Around the University District” was replaced this year with the Buckeye Pride Patrol on Friday, Sept. 21.  University students and staff, police officers, Community Crime Patrol staff and residents went through the student neighborhood to greet returning students, deliver safety information and conduct a clean-up of litter.  A free Buckeye Pride Patrol University District Cookout followed in the parking lot of Summit United Methodist Church, 82 E. 16th Ave.

        Officer Nick Chucales started in late August as the new community liaison officer for the Columbus Division of Police’s Fourth Precinct, which includes most of the University District.  He is familiar with the University District from previous assignments with the police division.  He has already met with a number of civic leaders and student leaders.  Officer Chucales can be reached at 645-1404.  His fax number is 645-4111.

The Campus Partners Safety Coordinating Committee met Sept. 12 to review preparations for the opening of autumn quarter.  The next meeting of the committee will be Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 2:30 p.m. in Blankenship Hall, 901 Woody Hayes Drive.

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UNIVERSITY AREA CRIME STOPPERS PROGRAM

The University Area Crime Stoppers Program is under way with a functioning board, bank account, telephone line for tips, and a designated crime.  This program will operate as a subsidiary of the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers Program.  Like its parent program, the University Area Crime Stoppers will give cash rewards for anonymous tips which lead to arrests for specific crimes.  The university area program will focus on crimes which affect the university campus and off-campus neighborhood, but not rise to the level of a serious felony dealt with by Central Ohio Crime Stoppers.

Eric Busch, assistant vice president of student affairs, is president of the University Area Crime Stoppers board.  The board also includes a student and representatives of property owners, businesses and residents.  Lt. Denny Hollern of University Police and Community Liaison Officer Nick Chucales of Columbus Police serve as liaisons to the board.  University Police will monitor the telephone line and share the information with Columbus Police.  The phone number is 247-TIPS.  The Lantern has agreed to be a media partner with the program and help to publicize the crimes.  The first crime designated by the board for possible rewards is a new style of graffiti which uses a liquid chemical to permanently deface glass.  A half dozen businesses on High Street have been hit in the last month, causing thousands of dollars in replacement costs for windows.

REFUSE COLLECTION AND STREET SWEEPING

The city’s Refuse Collection Division conducted its fifth annual special collection of bulk refuse in the University District from Aug. 25 through Sept. 9.   Large metal roll-offs were placed in seven locations to receive bulk trash.   Refuse Collection crews also worked overtime during that period to remove trash in the alleys, dumping containers two, three or more times a week, rather than once a week.   Campus Partners staff worked with the city to find sites for the containers and publicize the special collection.  Campus Partners thanks property owners who permitted roll-offs on their parking lots, refuse companies who donated use of the roll-offs to the city, and city staff who worked hard to keep the alleys clean.

The Campus Partners Public Service Committee will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 17, in the Northwood-High Building, 2231 N. High St.  The committee will meet on street sweeping at 3:30 p.m. and on refuse collection at 4:30 p.m.

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CODE ENFORCEMENT

The University District Code Enforcement Task Force was scheduled to resume monthly meetings on Sept. 11, but the attacks that day in New York and Washington resulted in the cancellation of the meeting.  The next meeting of the task force will be Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 3 p.m. in room 100 of the Northwood-High Building, 2231 N. High St.  The task force hopes to rebuild its neighborhood representation this fall.

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STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

The Campus Partners Student Advisory Board recruited students at the annual Student Involvement Fair on Sept. 17.  The board hasn’t scheduled its first meeting yet for autumn quarter.  Luke Whitworth of Evans Scholars will continue to chair the Student Safety Initiative.  Steve Sterrett met earlier in September with Ashley Brown, chair of Undergraduate Student Government’s Off-Campus Committee.  She wants to work closely with Campus Partners and is recruiting students to serve on a number of committees affiliated with Campus Partners.

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