Columbus: Arena District Developments and News

[ColDayMan]

First Look: Municipal Light Plant buildings coming into focus

 

Brad DeHays has never backed down from a difficult construction project, but the Municipal Light Plant in the Arena District was a category all its own.

 

"You've got a building that's on a brownfield site, and it was built in the 1900s, and it was falling apart," DeHays said, standing just under the shadow of the Nationwide Boulevard building's 206-foot smokestack that can be seen across downtown. "It's one of the most complex kinds of construction projects possible."

 

Work has been underway at the site for over a year, and the buildings are rapidly coming together for what will be one of the more unusual creative redevelopment projects in the city's former industrial heart.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/09/29/first-look-municipal-light-plant-buildings-coming.html

[aderwent]

19 hours ago, DevolsDance said:

Well, with a $27M cash infusion, I now absolutely demand/expect NRI give us a tower for Parks Edge III! 

 

One can dream, right?

 

With a 327 space garage, 151 units already produced, and *1.5 spaces per unit I'd put the third phase at 67 units. So we're probably looking at eight, possibly up to ten floors only.

 

* I can't for the life of me find how many parking spaces the North Bank condos have for their 100 units. I just see each condo has one or two spaces so I used an average here.

[DTCL11]

FWIW on this discussion of finishing the Arena District, There's also the vacant lot to the south of the FBI building NRI is sitting on. It's quite a large plot. 

 

I also always envisioned a mid-rise on the plot next to Columbia Gas. I know they've never announced it as being part of a master plan but would be nice to see something pop up there too that's a bit outside the norm. 

 

Otherwise I agree with sentiments that the last plot at Parks Edge deserves to be closer to the original tower or taller than the new condos or the other brick structures along the park. 

Edited October 11, 2019 by DTCL11

[Toddguy]

2 hours ago, aderwent said:

 

With a 327 space garage, 151 units already produced, and *1.5 spaces per unit I'd put the third phase at 67 units. So we're probably looking at eight, possibly up to ten floors only.

 

* I can't for the life of me find how many parking spaces the North Bank condos have for their 100 units. I just see each condo has one or two spaces so I used an average here.

Well the Northbank Tower has 20 floors and only about 80 or 85 units right? If they went a little slimmer they could get 65 units up to that height. Just sayin' and all as I realize we will probably get the brick box. But who knows?

 

*As brick boxes go, I will say that Nationwide does know how to build good ones.

Edited October 11, 2019 by Toddguy

[wpcc88]

On 10/11/2019 at 1:28 PM, DTCL11 said:

FWIW on this discussion of finishing the Arena District, There's also the vacant lot to the south of the FBI building NRI is sitting on. It's quite a large plot. 

 

I also always envisioned a mid-rise on the plot next to Columbia Gas. I know they've never announced it as being part of a master plan but would be nice to see something pop up there too that's a bit outside the norm. 

 

Otherwise I agree with sentiments that the last plot at Parks Edge deserves to be closer to the original tower or taller than the new condos or the other brick structures along the park. 

The space by Columbia was always slated for green space I believe.. 

[aderwent]

23 minutes ago, wpcc88 said:

The space by Columbia was always slated for green space I believe.. 

That can't be right. It's just grass. The garage isn't screened whatsoever and they don't use the space for anything other than a lawn. No way they don't build something there. Seems like a perfect spot for a hotel.

[Zyrokai]

4 minutes ago, aderwent said:

That can't be right. It's just grass. The garage isn't screened whatsoever and they don't use the space for anything other than a lawn. No way they don't build something there. Seems like a perfect spot for a hotel.

 

I work for Columbia Gas. The rumor has always been that it was meant for a third COH building, but they never built it. I don't believe they have plans to build it now, either.

[DTCL11]

2 minutes ago, aderwent said:

That can't be right. It's just grass. The garage isn't screened whatsoever and they don't use the space for anything other than a lawn. No way they don't build something there. Seems like a perfect spot for a hotel.

 

Sadly, it is accurate. It is intentionally left as green space with no plan to build. It has always been green space on the master plan since they moved to develop Columbia Gas. 

 

I hope they revisit the plan but I would put money on it staying green space unfortunately 

[DTCL11]

27 minutes ago, Zyrokai said:

 

I work for Columbia Gas. The rumor has always been that it was meant for a third COH building, but they never built it. I don't believe they have plans to build it now, either.

 

This article describes how a contingency was built into the agreement plans to allow for growth. That makes sense then that they would keep the park space as part of that agreement and bill it as green space while the terms of the original agreement are in effect. I just wonder how long that applies. Let's hope that agreement can be revised in the future if Columbia Gas is confident they won't need it or better yet, build office space AND residential or a hotel to get a decent mid-rise and then Columbia can still have the option to expand as needed.   

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2011/03/31/arena-district-to-fill-last-gap-with.html

 

[aderwent]

33 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

 

This article describes how a contingency was built into the agreement plans to allow for growth. That makes sense then that they would keep the park space as part of that agreement and bill it as green space while the terms of the original agreement are in effect. I just wonder how long that applies. Let's hope that agreement can be revised in the future if Columbia Gas is confident they won't need it or better yet, build office space AND residential or a hotel to get a decent mid-rise and then Columbia can still have the option to expand as needed.   

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2011/03/31/arena-district-to-fill-last-gap-with.html

 

I imagine the agreement is 15 years so NRI isn't paying taxes on something with no return. Also, waiting on Columbia Gas to need more space is not the same as "this will never be built on."

Edited October 12, 2019 by aderwent

[DevolsDance]

On 10/11/2019 at 12:09 PM, aderwent said:

 

With a 327 space garage, 151 units already produced, and *1.5 spaces per unit I'd put the third phase at 67 units. So we're probably looking at eight, possibly up to ten floors only.

 

* I can't for the life of me find how many parking spaces the North Bank condos have for their 100 units. I just see each condo has one or two spaces so I used an average here.

 

Was curious and decided to check the auditors site for the Parks Edge III plot after looking into the Dispatch Site this morning, looks like the plot of land is listed as having 82 parcels.

So, doing some quick research and math gave me this...

 

PARKS EDGE I

Acres: 0.46 Acres 

Units: 69 Units

Parks edge phase I also included resident lobby and amenity spaces

 

PARKS EDGE II

Acres: 0.56 Acres 

Units: 82 Units

 

PARKS EDGE III (Plot)

Acres: 0.48 Acres 

Units: Potentially 82 Units

 

Based on this information, I think we will likely see a 12 story structure. I however could see them maybe breaking bit higher on the souther end and going with a design that steps down to match the 7 story units to the north. Time will tell but it does look like they are aiming for a similar amount of units depending on the market. 

 

Also, looks like North Bank has a 174-space garage. https://www.messer.com/our-work/additional-expertise/nationwide-realty-investors-condominiums-at-north-bank-park/ which equals 1.7 spaces per unit if there only ended up being 100 units.

Edited October 14, 2019 by DevolsDance

[wilson]

https://jbadusa.com/project/buggyworks/







Does any know what happened to this project? 

[Toddguy]

6 minutes ago, wilson said:

https://jbadusa.com/project/buggyworks/







Does any know what happened to this project? 

I believe it had problems and then the great recession killed it. The old brick buildings part(second image)is already redeveloped. 

[DarkandStormy]

On ‎10‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 4:24 PM, DevolsDance said:

PARKS EDGE I

Acres: 0.46 Acres 

Units: 69 Units

Parks edge phase I also included resident lobby and amenity spaces

 

PARKS EDGE II

Acres: 0.56 Acres 

Units: 82 Units

 

PARKS EDGE III (Plot)

Acres: 0.48 Acres 

Units: Potentially 82 Units

 

It's crazy to me how fast these units have sold out, yet they continue to build these middling ~12 story buildings.  The demand is there!

[Zyrokai]

Edit: Nevermind, misread a post.

Edited October 30, 2019 by Zyrokai

[jonoh81]

39 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said:

 

It's crazy to me how fast these units have sold out, yet they continue to build these middling ~12 story buildings.  The demand is there!

 

Same problems that have existed for a while- 1. Developers underbuilding for whatever reason, 2. City leadership not pushing for larger projects, 3. Poor zoning across the board, and 4. Parking minimum rules.  All these people have seen the studies showing how much growth is coming, and yet they twiddle their thumbs and do nothing to prepare.

[Pablo]

^There are no City mandated parking minimums in Downtown. Developers feel they need to provide parking to attract residents. 

[jonoh81]

23 minutes ago, Pablo said:

^There are no City mandated parking minimums in Downtown. Developers feel they need to provide parking to attract residents. 

 

I wasn't just referring to Downtown.  The recent news about the Rogue arena comes to mind.

[DevolsDance]

1 hour ago, DarkandStormy said:

 

It's crazy to me how fast these units have sold out, yet they continue to build these middling ~12 story buildings.  The demand is there!

 

As much and I hate to say it, I think NRI is still skittish from North Bank Tower. North bank was a pretty bold step out of the box for NRI specifically; they like their high-end low risk developments that promise a pretty quick return and that usually means the 3-5 story red brick format. In 2007 when NRI decided to go big for the first time the recession hit, it took NRI almost 8 years to sell all 100 units and I think that really scared them off. While I don't think it's a sound logic based on how quick Parks Edge sold, I think it's the reason we won't see another true tower from them unless someone else enters the market and shows them up. 

[Columbo]

1 hour ago, Pablo said:

^There are no City mandated parking minimums in Downtown. Developers feel they need to provide parking to attract residents. 

 

55 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

I wasn't just referring to Downtown.  The recent news about the Rogue arena comes to mind.

 

Yes, jonoh81.  But you were posting about "minimum parking standards" in a thread about downtown.  That leads to confusion that there are downtown parking standards holding back downtown development projects - i.e. the arena district (aka this thread).  Thank you to Pablo for pointing this out.

[jonoh81]

7 minutes ago, Columbo said:

 

 

Yes, jonoh81.  But you were posting about "minimum parking standards" in a thread about downtown.  That leads to confusion that there are downtown parking standards holding back downtown development projects - i.e. the arena district (aka this thread).  Thank you to Pablo for pointing this out.

 

Okay, I thought it was appropriately vague...  Anyway, whether there are parking requirements Downtown doesn't really change much.  The city still maintains those standards elsewhere.  And we don't really have developers willing to build Downtown without it, so the lack of parking minimums hasn't affected development practices there.  It's not just about parking minimums, but an overall culture that still treats the car as one of the biggest considerations in development.  The city pushing parking in other places arguably creates contradictory policy and incentivizes parking even within Downtown because developers feel no real pressure to do anything different.  The city should be a leader in that culture change, but it isn't.

[Columbo]

2 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

Okay, I thought it was appropriately vague...  Anyway, whether there are parking requirements Downtown doesn't really change much.  The city still maintains those standards elsewhere.  And we don't really have developers willing to build Downtown without it, so the lack of parking minimums hasn't affected development practices there.  It's not just about parking minimums, but an overall culture that still treats the car as one of the biggest considerations in development.  The city pushing parking in other places arguably creates contradictory policy and incentivizes parking even within Downtown because developers feel no real pressure to do anything different.  The city should be a leader in that culture change, but it isn't.

 

Appropriately vague?!?!

 

This is about a precise statement in a precise thread.  You mentioned "minimum parking standards" in a thread about downtown.  That leads to confusion that there are downtown parking standards holding back downtown development projects - which is not the case.  If you cannot admit an error, just move on.

 

If you want to just b!tch about Columbus development - then start a new thread in the City Discussion section.  And I am 100% serious about that - to jonoh81 and everyone else(!)

[jonoh81]

13 minutes ago, Columbo said:

 

Appropriately vague?!?!

 

This is about a precise statement in a precise thread.  You mentioned "minimum parking standards" in a thread about downtown.  That leads to confusion that there are downtown parking standards holding back downtown development projects - which is not the case.  If you cannot admit an error, just move on.

 

If you want to just b!tch about Columbus development - then start a new thread in the City Discussion section.  And I am 100% serious about that - to jonoh81 and everyone else(!)

 

 The post I responded to didn't seem to just be talking about Park's Edge, so I responded in kind.  Apparently a misread. The "appropriately vague" thing refers to me thinking it was clear I wasn't just talking about Downtown.  I did not mean to imply that Downtown itself had parking minimums and am well aware that they don't exist in the AD.  If that wasn't clear, then maybe I should've phrased that better.  In any case, I don't understand the confrontational response from you.  Sorry if I said something wrong here.

Edited October 30, 2019 by jonoh81

[Columbo]

8 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

 

 The post I responded to didn't seem to just be talking about Park's Edge, so I responded in kind.  The "appropriately vague" thing refers to me thinking it was clear I wasn't just talking about Downtown.  I did not mean to imply that Downtown itself had parking minimums and am well aware that they don't exist in the AD.  If that wasn't clear, then maybe I should've phrased that better.  In any case, I don't understand the confrontational response from you.  

 

The "confrontational" response was because you (jonoh81) were given two separate chances to simply acknowledge or move on from an erroneous assertion.  Instead you (jonoh81) replied with snark and then doubled-down on the snark - all without acknowledging or moving on.  This is becoming a habit with you (jonoh81).  And it needs to stop.  You are an otherwise wonderful poster here in the Columbus threads - but please stop with the constant one upmanship.

[jonoh81]

53 minutes ago, Columbo said:

 

The "confrontational" response was because you (jonoh81) were given two separate chances to simply acknowledge or move on from an erroneous assertion.  Instead you (jonoh81) replied with snark and then doubled-down on the snark - all without acknowledging or moving on.  This is becoming a habit with you (jonoh81).  And it needs to stop.  You are an otherwise wonderful poster here in the Columbus threads - but please stop with the constant one upmanship.

 

Honestly,  I was unaware you had a problem with me or my posting history.  I can assure you that there was no snark in any of these responses.  I was just genuinely surprised by the reaction. But anyway, this news definitely changes things for me, and if the mods feel that I am a problem, then I should refrain from posting here.

Edited October 30, 2019 by jonoh81

[Columbo]

8 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

 

Honestly,  I was unaware you had a problem with me or my posting history.  I can assure you that there was no snark in any of these responses.  I was just genuinely surprised by the reaction. But anyway, this news definitely changes things for me, and if the mods feel that I am a problem, then I should refrain from posting here.

 

jonoh81, you are a decent and productive poster.  I think all this "the city sucks at everything development" lately in these Columbus development threads finally just got to me.  And when you responded the way you did - you became the whipping boy today.  For that I apologize.

 

You are not a problem.  I just think everyone needs to dial it back a bit.  Don't stop with the criticism, but keep it in perspective.

[TH3BUDDHA]

Nationwide Realty to break ground soon on 10-story Arena District condo tower

 

 

Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. is moving ahead with plans for a third building in its Parks Edge condominium project at West Spring Street and John H. McConnell Boulevard.

 

The 10-story, 50-unit tower will be the final phase of the luxury condominium community. It's slated to break ground in early 2020 and welcome its first residents in 2021, according to an email obtained by Columbus Business First.

 

...

 

According to the email, the new building will offer similar floor plans to the existing buildings, with the majority of the units fronting the commons. The building's exterior will feature two stories of brick facade with glass on the upper floors, designed to "connect seamlessly" with the architecture of the first two buildings, according to the email.

 

More here: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/11/07/exclusive-nationwide-realty-to-break-ground-soon.html?iana=hpmvp_colum_news_headline

[DevolsDance]

Sigh, honestly this is what we all expected but it's such a missed opportunity.

In the end this is another 60+ residents downtown and it is realistically great infill but I really wanted something big. 

 

Unfortunate.  

Edited November 7, 2019 by DevolsDance

[aderwent]

On 10/11/2019 at 12:09 PM, aderwent said:

 

With a 327 space garage, 151 units already produced, and *1.5 spaces per unit I'd put the third phase at 67 units. So we're probably looking at eight, possibly up to ten floors only.

 

* I can't for the life of me find how many parking spaces the North Bank condos have for their 100 units. I just see each condo has one or two spaces so I used an average here.

Almost nailed it. Ten floors, but only 50 units. Wonder if it'll be brick or steel and glass?

[cbussoccer]

Obviously disappointing that they didn't go higher, although that was always going to be a long shot assuming they wanted to mesh this with everything else around the park. The fact that we've seen two 12-story buildings and one 10-story building go up right next to each other over the course of just a few years is a pretty good sign. These would have been 6-story buildings just seven or eight years ago. 

 

Hopefully they will go higher on some of their other undeveloped parcels, such as the vacant lot at the NW corner of Spring and Hannover.

 

 

[cbussoccer]

4 minutes ago, aderwent said:

Wonder if it'll be brick or steel and glass?

 

From the article:

 

The building's exterior will feature two stories of brick facade with glass on the upper floors, designed to "connect seamlessly" with the architecture of the first two buildings, according to the email.

 

It sounds like it will look exactly like the other two buildings, just two floors shorter.

[DarkandStormy]

29 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

Sigh, honestly this is what we all expected but it's such a missed opportunity.

In the end this is another 60+ residents downtown and it is realistically great infill but I really wanted something big. 

 

NRI might be the most predictable developer in town.

[cbussoccer]

9 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said:

 

NRI might be the most predictable developer in town.

 

Probably true, although the amount of development they've undertaken over the last decade is impressive. How many residential units have they built downtown and at Grandview Yard in the past 10 years? It's got to be around 2,000 units across the two different areas. 

Edited November 7, 2019 by cbussoccer

[GCrites]

^They have decent access to capital and aren't trying to be iconoclastic.

[aderwent]

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

 

From the article:

 

The building's exterior will feature two stories of brick facade with glass on the upper floors, designed to "connect seamlessly" with the architecture of the first two buildings, according to the email.

 

It sounds like it will look exactly like the other two buildings, just two floors shorter.

Sounds more like a blend of McPherson Commons and Parks Edge. Parks Edge is stone at the base, not brick.

[cbussoccer]

2 minutes ago, aderwent said:

Sounds more like a blend of McPherson Commons and Parks Edge. Parks Edge is stone at the base, not brick.

 

Ah, that's probably true. Good catch.

[DevolsDance]

14 minutes ago, aderwent said:

Sounds more like a blend of McPherson Commons and Parks Edge. Parks Edge is stone at the base, not brick.

 

Yep, this is also my guess for why the project is slated for 10 stories. McPherson Commons is 8 stories and Parks Edge II is 12 stories so, if you're trying to create some transition between the two than 10 seems like a natural choice.

 

It seems NRI may have felt more favorable towards completing a "vision" than anything with this project. I'm pretty confident these will sell fast (if not before construction is complete) and then maybe they can focus efforts on their lot at Long, Marconi, and Spring to give us something big and bold. 

[cbussoccer]

Rendering:

 

[17thState]

I think it looks really nice, but I'm still a little let down. NRI actually has the capital to do more interesting things, they just seem so risk averse. I thought the sell through rates on the 2 more recent parks edge buildings would push them to want to maximize their investment and go taller, but I guess not. 

 

Still will be nice to have this section of the arena district complete. 

[cbussoccer]

Here's another angle from CU:

 

 

https://www.columbusunderground.com/nri-announces-final-phase-of-parks-edge-project-bw1

[DevolsDance]

3 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

Here's another angle from CU:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/nri-announces-final-phase-of-parks-edge-project-bw1

 

My favorite piece of this article is the quote from Brian Ellis, 

“We’re excited to get the final phase underway and fulfill the full vision for this project which has forever changed our city’s great skyline.”

Whoa man, that's a neat little take on this project.  Like, can you all imagine how stunning these would be at like 25/30 floors! That would be skyline changing. 

 

Okay, got bored. Enjoy some photoshopping of my dreams everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 8, 2019 by DevolsDance

[Toddguy]

This is about what I expected..maybe a bit more than I expected. This will fill in around McPherson Commons fine. I do like those photoshopped pics though. Maybe somewhere else west of the first 20 story condo tower? Just extend the line of these to the west?  One can hope, right?  I do think with how these have been selling that first 12 story building could have worked as the photoshopped 25 story tower.

[TH3BUDDHA]

NRI is presenting the Chipotle anchored first phase of the Arena District expansion on the parking lots to the Downtown Commission next week:

 

First Look: Chipotle office building and mixed-use development to kick off $210M Arena District expansion

...

 

Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. plans to go before the Columbus Downtown Commission Wednesday with a plan for the four-story, 132,000-square-foot office building along Neil Avenue between Vine Street and Spruce Street. The $14 million building will have an address of 200 Vine St.

 

...

 

The new Chipotle office building will create 110 construction jobs and be able to house up to 650 employees, according to company information. The restaurant chain has signed a 15-year-lease for up to 100,000 square feet of space in the new building. The non-Chipotle space remaining will be ground-floor multi-tenant space for office or retail users.

 

...

 

Meanwhile, Nationwide Realty also submitted a site plan that shows an E-shaped apartment building planned to be attached to the garage structure, though it did not indicate the price of that development or the sizes and price points of the units contained within. The developer has previously said this would include about 150 apartments, and the site would have a pool deck along Vine Street, across the street from the Flats on Vine apartments.

 

...

 

More here: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/11/15/first-look-chipotle-office-building-and-mixed-use.html?iana=hpmvp_colum_news_headline

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by TH3BUDDHA

[wpcc88]

One of the few remaining lots, big news on a Friday!

[Toddguy]

The 150 apartments and using up the entire block with mixed uses(office, residential and possible retail) is a good thing.

[wpcc88]

18 minutes ago, Toddguy said:

The 150 apartments and using up the entire block with mixed uses(office, residential and possible retail) is a good thing.

 

I think it would be awesome for them to slap a 10-12 story building right in the middle of all this(the lot directly to the east by BBR) with more of the same. However I think it’ll end up being parking.

[17thState]

I like the site plan, normally I'd prefer the garage be faced with apartments on all sides, but in this case the garage faces a 670 on-ramp so I'm not worried about it. 

[jonoh81]

The design is ZzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzzzz.

[aderwent]

2 hours ago, jonoh81 said:

The design is ZzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzzzz.

I notice you can't see the apartment building behind the Chipotle building. Another three floor Flats? Booooring!

[ck]

I don't mind it being 4 stories, but it doesn't look very pedestrian friendly.  For an area that's supposed to be where tourists spend a lot of their time - generally - i would think we'd want to pay more attention to activating the street experience.