"New housing for homeless" The Columbus Dispatch

Link: New housing for homeless
Friday, May 04, 2007
Debbie Gebolys
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

...The Commons at Buckingham would be a $14 million complex at 328 Buckingham St., northwest of Columbus State Community College between I-670 and Abbott Labs.

Like the Commons at Grant, it would include 100 efficiency apartments, half for formerly homeless people and half for low-income people. Construction could begin as soon as next spring if the Ohio Housing Finance Agency grants tax credits this summer, said Patrick Higgins, spokesman for National Church Residences.

It would open by summer 2009...

"DeVere goes commercial at 232 N. 3rd" Business First of Columbus

Link: DeVere goes commercial at 232 N. 3rd
Brian R. Ball
Business First of Columbus
March 16th, 2007

Columbus developer Don DeVere has landed a familiar office tenant to anchor a 100-year-old warehouse building he considered turning into housing.

Architects Tim Welsh and Christopher Meyers plan to move their expanding Meyers Welsh Architecture & Design Ltd. this year into about 13,000 square feet on the first two floors of 232 N. Third St. The firm fills 6,000 square feet in DeVere's building at 15 E. Gay...

"Fortin's N. Third building getting offices, retail to go with its condos" Business First of Columbus

Link: Fortin's N. Third building getting offices, retail to go with its condos
Brian R. Ball
Business First of Columbus
March 16th, 2007

When developer Tom Fortin bought the building at 154 N. Third St. in Columbus last year, he faced a choice: Ride the wave of downtown condo conversions or renovate the five-story property for offices and retailers.

He decided to mix housing and commercial uses at the building. A potential commercial tenant for 3,200 square feet on the second floor prompted him to set aside more office space in the building beyond the retail planned for its ground floor...

...Fortin said he plans to build two condos into the back of the ground level at 154 N. Third's, which will include residences in the basement. The top three floors each will include two condos with high ceilings, exposed brick walls and hardwood floors, he said...

"DeVere considers putting condos in building on developing N. Third" Business First of Columbus

This is the first official rumblings of a potential new project for the Warehouse District in some time. Mind you, this is only rumblings, but and interesting tidbit nonetheless.

Within the Warehouse district, there are still a lot of buildings and land with potential for development. Equity Inc. passed up an opportunity to buy up a chunk of the district back in the end of March:

Link: DeVere considers putting condos in building on developing N. Third
September 22nd, 2006
Brian R. Ball
Business First of Columbus

The North Third Street entry to downtown Columbus could land another condominium construction project next year.

Developer Don DeVere in September bought a 25,000-square-foot commercial building at 232 N. Third St. with tentative plans to develop about 15 residences in the building.

The project would follow an 11-condo project at 225 N. Fourth St., where DeVere LCC delivered its first residence a few weeks ago. The building also has ground-floor retail space for sale...

"Good things, small packages" The Other Paper

Quietly evolving and nestling into its newly renovated yet "old" home, BalletMet dances on in the Warehouse District. At one point it was suggested that they were going to move into a spot in the currently quite RiverSouth project. In another instance they had even investigated relocating over to Jeffrey Place.

All the other plans have been laid to rest with their purchase of the facility that they had been renting for years:

Link: Good things, small packages
With its intimate dance space almost complete, BalletMet hopes to attract new audiences and fresh talent
The Other Paper
August 31, 2006

...If all goes as planned, however, Charles’s frustrations will be worth it. BalletMet acquired the 20,000-square-foot warehouse—about a quarter of which will be used as performance space, while the rest will go toward set construction and dressing rooms—about a year ago when it purchased the entire BalletMet complex from its landlord for $4.85 million.

Long term, BalletMet plans to use all that new space to build a large campus where both its professional dancers and students can continue to flourish. But the most immediate benefit of the purchase is undoubtedly the new performance space, which, among other things, will allow BalletMet to produce more original, cutting-edge work—shows that don’t sell enough tickets to pay the rent at the Ohio or Capitol theaters but could easily be staged in the new space...

"Newest city district plan back on ice" Business First of Columbus

I guess I've just been out of the loop on this one but a large deal slated to sell a collection of warehouses to a local developer just fell through putting the future of the Warehouse District on hold, temporarily I'm sure (ever the optimist).

The group of buildings included the former and fizzled Ice House Lofts project that came and went a year or so ago:

Link: Newest city district plan back on ice
Business First of Columbus
March 31, 2006
by Doug Buchanan

The Warehouse District may still have a chance at becoming the next hot destination for downtown Columbus living, but a deal that could have spurred that along has fallen through.

Worthington developer Equity Inc. has decided not to buy a collection of warehouses in the northeast downtown district, passing up on the chance to create a neighborhood. The company had a preliminary deal to purchase eight buildings on Neilston, Naghten and North Fifth streets for what real estate sources had valued at $25 million...

...That could make it attractive for residential development...

For a little jaunt down memory lane:

POSTING: The Ice House Lofts
POSTING: "Ice House condos nixed; Carlyle's Watch ready to go" Business First
POSTING: The Icehouse project...uh, is on ice.

"Deal for dance studio done by BalletMet" Columbus Business First

BalletMet now officially owns it own home in the Warehouse District:

Link: Deal for dance studio done by BalletMet
Columbus Business First
December 16, 2005

BalletMet Columbus has completed the purchase of its dance studio at 322 Mount Vernon Ave. in Columbus, along with two adjacent buildings and a parking lot, for $4.85 million.

The deal marks the first time in the dance company's 28-year history that it has owned its own facility. In addition to BalletMet's 35,000-square-foot headquarters, the deal included two warehouses and a 72-space parking lot...

53rd Annual Columbus International Film and Video Festival

Few know (part of the problem) that downtown Columbus hosts the nation's oldest indy film festival every year at CCAD

The 53rd Annual Columbus Film & Video Festival  - The Chris Awards - is starting November 9th and will run until November 13th.

This event was once an Academy Awards nominating/qualifying event but due to several factors in the past few years the entire Festival is on the verge of collapse.

Please support a hometown & downtown event that is a true treasure.... Attend one or all of the screenings or parties affiliated!

WWW.CHRISAWARDS.ORG

[Contributed by Josh Miller]

"Room to roam: Funding deal gives BalletMet green light to buy block" Columbus Business First

Well this article puts an end to all the speculation surrounding the future of a permanent home for BalletMet. Rumors and hopes of BalletMet going into the RiverSouth project had been around for some time along with additional rumors that they may have made their way into a spot in Jeffrey Place. Strike them all...they have a new home right where they are in the Warehouse District:

Link: Room to roam: Funding deal gives BalletMet green light to buy block
Adrian Burns
Business First
October 28th, 2005

...The Columbus dance company plans to purchase the entire block surrounding its leased location at 322 Mount Vernon Ave., and hopes to have the deal closed by November, said Executive Director Cheri Mitchell...

Columbus RetroMetro :: Warehouse District

I finally stumbled across the boundries for the Warehouse District on the Columbus INFObase website. I've added the map to the Districts & Neighborhoods section of RetroMetro.

There is currently only one living urban project falling into that district, but given the Proximity to the population base that will be growing at Jeffrey Place just north of the Warehouse District, I think this area will be one that should get some attention from developers in the coming years...where there are people, the amenities and retail can be supported:

Link: Columbus RetroMetro :: Warehouse District.

Warehouse District Boundaries

Columbus Ohio -- Minneapolis Lofts Riverfront Article

"The study area is bounded by Grant Avenue on the east, Third Street on the west, the Conrail tracks and I-670 on the north and LaFayette Street on the south."

My source on this one is a little shaky because the page refers to a Business First article...but here it is none the less. There is also no date on the article so how reliable the information is could be questioned. When I go to map out the districts I will be confirming what information with them that I can. To my understanding they don't keep all the official boundaries for some of the neighborhoods and disrticts due to the fact that they haven't all been official recognized by the city coucil. Case in point...according to the city's INFOBase website there are only 4 historically "recognized" districts but it states that there are 19 in all.