OH [Columbus] - Lazarus to become "Green Development"? And other notes.

[seicer]

I have been coming to Columbus for the past 15 years, and I am amazed at how much Columbus has come in revitalizing its downtown core and districts. I remember a time when Short North and the district that follows it to Ohio State's campus was a very sleezy area, full of non-period structures, businesses with suburban lots, and derelict buildings. Come through there on a Saturday, or at night, and you would find buildings locked up with fences in front of their doors and windows - or closed off alltogether with a metal "garage door." I remember seeing very few people out and about walking, certaintly no one with pets, and it was a place where I felt unsafe to get out and poke around.

I also remember a time when the mall in the center of town was quite a nice place - back in the late-1980's. But the vast empty parking lots sort of drove me away from ever walking around with my parents down there.

But today it has changed for the better - and quite rapidly. Short North has become a bustling arts district, with lofts and condos at every corner. Many of the suburban lots have been redeveloped with stores that now line the sidewalk instead of a parking lot. I see people walking, going to these shops and restaurants, and actually socializing in the pocket parks, community gardens, and so forth.

Now we just need a trolley line to make it all the better

(Also if anyone remembers, there was a split-foyer brown brick structure, sort of recessed from High Street. What happened to this?)

Now even City Center is being redeveloped. I thought, from the web-site, that it contained PacSun and all, but was that before its renovations? I still see a Kauffman's along High Street, so is there some of the mall intact? I like the renovations along High Street, next to the old Lazarus store, as it adds some excitement to the streetscape.

Is this what will become of the old Lazarus? Page #15 item 3. If so, is there a page with more information, along with City Center?

http://home.columbus.gov/Asset/iu_files/GetGreen.pdf

Good job Columbus

[Walker Evans]

I'm about a year and a half late here, but the Lazarus Building has been wrapping up construction. One of the main anchors opened in February which is OSU's "Urban Art Space" center:

http://arts.osu.edu/3news_events/i_uas/uas_index.html

Here's a photo from Flickr of the building from Town Street:

http://flickr.com/photos/mc9/1133665870/

And two photos from inside the pedestrian walkway looking skyward:

This article from The Alive has some photos of the inside of the OSU Urban Art Space:

http://columbusalive.com/?sec=arts&sto...r-artscape.html

And here's some details about the "Green-ness" of the development:

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/s...tml?jst=b_ln_hl

Next door, the Lazarus Parking Garage was ripped down (last week) and is being replaced by a new garage:

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/conte...05.html?sid=101

Here's a rendering:

It's part of the RiverSouth redevelopment that includes a revamped South Front Street:

Also, the Minneapolis-based "ArtSpace" non-profit is looking to set up artist live-work space in the Trautman Building located across the Street from the City Center:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/storie.../05/story2.html

And lastly, while details are still scarce, as planning is still in the works, The City Center was purchase last summer by the City of Columbus from the absentee landlords that ran it into the ground (they filed suit the second they missed a rent payment and got them to turn it over cheap) there has been talk of ripping down the un-used Skywalk eyesore over High Street and redeveloping the mall into something more pedestrian-oriented. Here's a preliminary rendering I was sent by the Mayor's Office:

I'm about a year and a half late here, but the Lazarus Building has been wrapping up construction. One of the main anchors opened in February which is OSU's "Urban Art Space" center:

http://arts.osu.edu/3news_events/i_uas/uas_index.html

Here's a photo from Flickr of the building from Town Street:

http://flickr.com/photos/mc9/1133665870/

And two photos from inside the pedestrian walkway looking skyward:

This article from The Alive has some photos of the inside of the OSU Urban Art Space:

http://columbusalive.com/?sec=arts&sto...r-artscape.html

And here's some details about the "Green-ness" of the development:

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/s...tml?jst=b_ln_hl

Next door, the Lazarus Parking Garage was ripped down (last week) and is being replaced by a new garage:

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/conte...05.html?sid=101

Here's a rendering:

It's part of the RiverSouth redevelopment that includes a revamped South Front Street:

Also, the Minneapolis-based "ArtSpace" non-profit is looking to set up artist live-work space in the Trautman Building located across the Street from the City Center:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/storie.../05/story2.html

And lastly, while details are still scarce, as planning is still in the works, The City Center was purchase last summer by the City of Columbus from the absentee landlords that ran it into the ground (they filed suit the second they missed a rent payment and got them to turn it over cheap) there has been talk of ripping down the un-used Skywalk eyesore over High Street and redeveloping the mall into something more pedestrian-oriented. Here's a preliminary rendering I was sent by the Mayor's Office: