Interstate 70/71 Split Fix will stress neighborhoods but eventually be good for Columbus Real Estate

Written by: Joe Peffer

Olde Towne East and the King Lincoln District will be eventual winners

If you’re considering a purchase on the Near East side of Columbus or in the German Village, Schumacher place communities, you should know that the Ohio Department of Transportation is going to tear up the highways on the East and South sides of downtown, where Interstates 70 and 71 meet and are the same road for a stretch.

Right now it’s a mess and the most congested, accident prone stretch of highway in the state.  Two generations ago, the highways tore apart neighborhoods and severed the Columbus Community while razing gorgeous and important residential and commercial buildings. Early ODOT renderings showed caps re-connecting downtown Columbus to its neighborhoods similar to the cap over I-670 that connects the Short North to downtown.

Now that construction is inching ever closer, it appears that only one of the bridges will be capped with enough real estate on top of it to actually build something – at Long Street over I-71, a big win for the King Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood.  In the beginning though, there will only be a grassy field on the cap until a developer with some money decides to build there.

Most of the rest of the bridges be will built with the ability and strength to support a cap with buildings on it but that’d be an entirely new construction project or projects. Many Olde Towne East residents are upset that the project will wipe out a couple historic buildings on Parsons Avenue, including Carabar and ET Paul Tires–the Country’s  first gas station (I know, the irony).

I love the idea of a functional Broad Street bridge over I-71 that is pedestrian friendly with no on or off ramps coming onto Broad. Throw in that treed, park like median we’ve all been hearing about for years, extend it to Franklin Park and we’ll be in business.

It’s going to be a pain for residents of KLD and OTE for the next 4-6 years and there will be inconveniences. I don’t think property values will be adversely affected in the short term. I do think that, in the end, with a solution in place that looks better, feels better and will be more connected than what is currently there, property values and interest in these areas will increase–with an obvious bump up for OTE and KLD which have so much more pricing room than German Village.

Here is the latest from THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Coveted highway caps still in Downtown plan
But budget will limit final number
Monday, July 19, 2010 02:51 AM
By Robert Vitale
Bridges over a rebuilt I-70/71 will be better than the standard concrete and chain-link of today.

But only one of the six spans to be replaced during the project’s first half will include a Short North-style cap that near-Downtown neighborhoods have coveted throughout the planning process.

Ohio Department of Transportation officials say earlier drawings and descriptions were conceptual and now are outdated, even though they’re still posted on the agency’s website. The “visioning exercises” included cost estimates but weren’t subjected to the budget realities applied as the state moves toward a 2011 construction kickoff.

“We’re down to the nuts-and-bolts decisions now,”  more here

Discussion: 3 Comments »

Is the best home search ap for smart-phones’s getting even better?

Written by: Joe Peffer

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a geek about mapping and home search solutions. The more intuitive the better. Cool factor is nice too. A while back, I wrote about Realtor.com’s new iphone ap and called it the best home search ap for smart phones on the market.
While following a Real Estate conference in San Francisco today, I followed a link and found this….it looks like it could get much cooler.

Discussion: Join The Discussion!

Helpful Columbus Open House Visitor Researches Construction Date – 1st time for everything

Written by: Joe Peffer

If you’re looking at ages on homes for sale in Columbus, Ohio, you’ll notice that many homes in areas surrounding downtown appear to have been built in 1920.  Many Columbus homes date to 1920 because, as I understand it, there was a fire at the courthouse in that year and the actual dates of construction on many of Columbus’ older homes was simply reset to 1920.  I’ve never confirmed that though and I know that City Hall burned in 1921 so that may be the actual case but….

On Sunday I held an open house at my listing on 1224 Fair Avenue in Olde Towne East. It was the first open house we have had and it generated somewhere between 150-200 visitors.  Of course, it helped that the Olde Towne East tour of historic homes was happening around it on that day and that the garden next door was on the tour.

Even before I closed up the Open House -which was dated to sometime between 1900-1910, I had this email from one of the day’s visitors…

“I went through your open house today on Fair Avenue.  I got home and poked around in some online sources and thought you might like to know  for your marketing purposes that the house WAS around as early as 1900 (Thomas M. Lilley – the original owner is listed as living there in the 1900 Census).  He and his wife Ida lived there with her two parents and a servant.   Sometime between 1910 and 1920, they moved to Los Angeles, but must have maintained the residence here in Columbus.   They had two sons, but neither made it past a year old.  The entire family is buried at Greenlawn.   Thomas is listed as a bookbinder, the superintendent of the State Book Bindery, and as an insurance salesman in California.   No clue if that’s of any interest to you, but I always like to know who built the houses!  Good luck with your sale!”

I was amazed that he was able to go into so much detail in so little time — Thanks Hal!  Currently the best place to research your home is the 3rd floor of the Columbus Library (which, by the way, was built by the same person who built and lived in my house!). Maybe some day soon I will do a post about researching your Columbus home’s history.

Discussion: Join The Discussion!

Come to the 2010 Olde Towne East Summer Tour of Historic Homes

Written by: Joe Peffer

The big news, of course, is that 1224 Fair Avenue will be holding an Open House from 1-5 on Sunday. I’m toying with the idea of making this Open House the first ever Live Streaming Open House in Columbus Ohio. (That I know of anyway) It just so happens that the Summer tour of Historic Homes will be going on also.

Seriously, get your tickets because there are some great stops on this tour. You’re going to love it.  I’m somewhat bothered by the home on the poster not actually being on the tour, that doesn’t seem right.  This is the first time there has been a Summer tour, it replaces the Spring tour which was always rainy. I was going to write it up myself but then I saw the press release, so…..

Find More here: http://oldetowneeast.org/2010/summer-tour-of-historic-homes-2010/06/

Press Release:
Two Local Neighborhoods Partner for the First Time Ever to Present 2010 “Summer Tour of Historic Homes”

The Olde Towne East Neighborhood Association (OTENA) and the Franklin Park Neighborhood Association have partnered for the first time ever to present the 2010 “Summer Tour of Historic Homes.” Slated for July 11, 2010 from 1pm-7pm, this year’s tour will feature 13 residences throughout the Olde Town East and Franklin Park communities, the majority of which have never been featured on a tour before.

The homes on the tour will showcase historically significant renovations or preservation, and will include both interior and exterior spaces. The tour will begin at Tifereth Israel, 1354 E. Broad St. Attendees can walk or drive the tour route.

The homes on the tour are:

Royal York Penthouse,1445 E Broad St
1450 E. Broad St.
39 Auburn Ave.
74 Auburn Ave.
1205 Madison
70 Wilson Ave.
15 Wilson Ave.
1240 Fair Ave. Garden
73 Sherman Ave.
1220 Fair Ave. Garden
1212 Fair Ave.
57 Champion Ave.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 day of the event. Advance tickets may be purchased online at www.oldetowneeast.org or at any of the following business locations:

Black Creek Bistro, 57 Parsons Ave.
Cafe Brioso, 14 East Gay St.
Columbus Metropolitan Library Store, 96 Grant Ave,
Dog Works/Cats 2, 195 Thuman Ave.
Piece of Cake, 772 North High St.

Discussion: Join The Discussion!