Downtown Columbus

Yes, people live in Downtown Columbus.  More and more people, in fact, are discovering the happiness that is living where you work and play.  Let’s face it, if it’s happening in Columbus, it’s happening downtown at a theater, a performance space, a concert venue or a Sport Facility where you can take in NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets or the Cleveland Indians AAA team in the new Huntington Ballpark.

Long Street Bridge Work Begins April 2

demolition will occur 24 hours a day starting Monday, April 2 through Friday, April 6. The bridge will be sawed in half lengthwise, then removed in segments

If you and your favorite Columbus Realtor (me, of course) are thinking of looking at homes for sale in Downtown Columbus or homes for sale in Olde Towne East in coming weeks, you need to be aware that work on the Long Street Bridge, the signature bridge of the entire 70-71 split project, is about to begin. Here’s the press release…

Long Street Bridge Demolition Update

Work begins the week of April 2 on what will be the signature bridge of the Columbus Crossroads project — the Long Street Bridge.

Long Street will remain open during construction. It was originally anticipated the road would be closed for up to six months, but being mindful of the potential impacts on businesses and residents, the design-build team came up with a way to build the bridge, public space and cultural wall while keeping Long Street open. If something unplanned occurs, Long Street is only permitted to close for one week, and prior notification will be provided.

Please note that demolition will occur 24 hours a day starting Monday, April 2 through Friday, April 6. The bridge will be sawed in half lengthwise, then removed in segments by truck. While crews will do their best to keep noise to a minimum, expect the sounds of heavy machinery and trucks coming and going.

Here are the details:

* The traffic switch on Long Street is currently scheduled for Monday, April 2, start time is still to be determined.
* From Monday night, April 2 through Friday night, April 6, there will be various lane closures on I-71 South and I-71 North to remove the fence and saw the bridge. Details of those lane closures are still being finalized and will be announced on Facebook and Twitter.
* Demolition of the Long Street Bridge over I-71 South is currently scheduled for the week of April 9.
* Demolition over I-71 North is currently scheduled for the week of April 16.

The Long Street Bridge is a signature bridge because it will feature a one-of-a-kind cultural wall on one side and a public space on the other.

If you’ve got questions about how we’re managing traffic in and around the I-71/670 Columbus Crossroads, it’s easy to get in touch with us by phone or e-mail:

Hotline: 1-877-381-7071
info@odot71670.org<mailto:info@odot71670.org>

NOBO – North of Broad (affordable new housing on Columbus’ near East side) is Alive and Well

New homes don’t pop up in old neighborhoods every day. It happens, certainly. Builders or would-be homeowners buy vacant lots and put a new house on them. It’s called in-fill housing. At a time when many condo projects in and around Columbus are/have been flailing, North Of Broad has ever so slowly continued selling homes in a neighborhood full of vacant homes that is still struggling to regain an identity while balancing new interest in historic homes with gentrification.

Along the way, Columbus Housing Partnership’s Homeport division has built the City’s first LEED Certified home and buy, develop and market new projects. Here is one new home-owner’s heartfelt appreciation for her new home.

You should also know that, “Homeport Housing Advisory Center services give people the information they need to improve their financial lives and prepare to purchase their own homes. Homebuyer and Housing Counseling Programs also work to address the underlying social and economic needs facing families within Columbus neighborhoods. The Homeport Housing Advisory Center helps people understand that purchasing a home comes with many obligations. The Homeport Housing Advisory Center teaches its clients how to be responsible homeowners and good neighbors.”

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

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

Short North Real Estate Market Update including Victorian Village, Italian Village and Harrison West

Homes on the market: 159 Greater Short North Homes and Condos for sale today

• $255,953
• $189/sf and
• 279 days on market – see below
• CONDOS ONLY – 114 Listings, $$237,880 1259 sf, $201/sf, 333 DOM*
• HOMES ONLY – 45 Listings, $301,738 – 1901 sf – $159.63 sf – 142 DOM

*The current Active Short North condo market has many unsold, long-time listings From Harrison Park which skews both days on market and average list price. This is the first update since it was announced that Ibiza will be turned into apartments, not condos.

Greater Short North Homes in contract with escape clauses:

(1) A three bedroom three bath 1620 sf condo on Dennison Place is in contract contingent on the sale of a home. It is listed at $270,000.  Because of the contingency, an interested buyer could conceivably swoop in and make an offer that would force the hand of the current buyers in contract with the home sale contingency.

(I’m surprised that there aren’t a few more of these, ala Empty Nesters in Columbus suburbs selling their homes and moving to be closer to the action. Maybe the Spring and the impending end of the $6500 tax credit will bring some more home sale contingencies-though Sellers aren’t generally accepting them unless the Buyer’s homes are in-contract and past the inspection period)

Greater Short North Homes in Contract contingent on financing/inspections as of today: 34

• Averaging 1360 sf
• $268,074
• $207/sf
• 97 days on market
• CONDOS ONLY – 26 w/ avg of $288,528, 1340 sf (!) $226/sf, 109 DOM – Most of these are  in The Jackson
• HOMES ONLY – 8 with an avg of $201,600 – 1424 sf – $131/sf – 81DOM

Greater Short North area Homes in firm contract as of today: 4-all condos

• Averaging 1608 sf
• $303,350
• $181/sf
• 332 days on market 2 of them are in Harrison Park w/ 522 DOM, 1 on Summit, 1 on Brickel

Greater Short North area Homes SOLD in January and February, 2010: 30

• Averaging 1368 sf
• $233,617 avg List but a $225,125 Sale price or 96.32%
• $199/sf (up $34/sf over last quarter)
• 117 days on market – 2 weeks longer than last qtr
• CONDOS ONLY – 9 @$206,108, 1324 sf, $198/sf, 171 DOM
• HOMES ONLY – only 3! @ $302,933- 1931 sf – $183/sf –81 DOM

This 3 story home with 5 bedrooms at 122 W 2nd Ave sold for $356,500 just over a week ago after 3 days on market

The Most expensive home on the market at the moment is (still ) 1029 Neil which boasts 3,800 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and is listed at $649,000. It has been active on the market a whopping 675 days.

Two of the least expensive homes in the area at the moment are both two bedrooms – 1071 North 4th came on the market about a week ago, a small cottage-y home in need of lots of love for $45,000 and 252 Detroit which has been on the market a year with 770 sf at $79,900.

Homes and Condos temporarily off the market – 3 all condos

71 East 5th Ave 1 bedroom at $89,000, 11 West 3rd, 1 bed at $249,000, 949 Neil 2 bed, $329,000

Joe Peffer is a Realtor who works in Victorian Village, the Short North, Italian Village, Harrison West and specializes in midtown Columbus Neighborhoods.

Would you like me to break it down by Victorian Village vs Italian Village or just condos? Call or email me anytime with questions or concerns and I will be glad to get back to you.

The Scioto Mile – What’s new on Columbus’ downtown riverfront park?

The beginning of the Bicenetennial Park Bandshell and Cafe

For the latest in what is new in regard to the Scioto Mile, check their blog… http://www.sciotomile.com/inside-the-mile

I’m down that way once a week or so and I’m always surprised at the progress. Though I have to say that I’m never surprised by the progress of the Main Street bridge–it seems like it’s the longest project in the world.

The Scioto Mile is a $44 million investment in Downtown Columbus’ Riverfront. Under the direction of Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC), which was created in 2002 to lead Downtown redevelopment and implement the Downtown Strategic Plan, The Scioto Mile is just one part of the City’s five-part revitalization plan.

Part of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, The Scioto Mile features:

• The Promenade on the Scioto Mile, a grand esplanade and green corridor that stretches along Civic Center Drive from Broad Street to Rich Street, connecting Battelle Riverfront Park with the John W. Galbreath Bicentennial Park.
• The John W. Galbreath Bicentennial Park, a 4.7-acre park featuring a stunning 15,000-square-foot water fountain, casual dining cafe and eye-catching bandshell.