A new development proposal for High Street south of campus is working its way through the approval process.
Buckeye Real Estate has submitted a plan to the University Impact District Review Board to build a six-story, 95-unit apartment building at the southwest corner of High Street and Ninth Avenue. The project would require the demolition of three existing buildings, each home to local businesses with long tenures in the neighborhood.
None longer, though, than the Bier Stube, 1479 N. High St., the dive bar located in a one-story building set back from the street that has been been a University District fixture since 1966.
Also within the footprint of the proposed development is a two-story brick building – home to Yau’s Chinese Bistro and Portofino’s Pizza – and the 14-0 Express beer and convenience store.
A representative of the Bier Stube declined to comment on the proposal, and an email sent to Buckeye Real Estate was not returned.
The proposal will be presented to the review board at its January 26 meeting as a conceptual review, meaning no vote will be taken. The project would need to get a vote of approval from the board before it can move forward, and will also need to go before the University Area Commission (UAC) for a recommendation, before eventually heading to City Council.
Michael Kehlmeier, who sits on the zoning committee of the UAC, said that the project was discussed by the group in December, but “the committee wanted more time to consider the plans, so we did not vote on it.”
Plans submitted to the city show first floor storefronts along High Street in the proposed building labelled as “amenity space,” and a ground-level parking garage. The apartments would be mostly one- and two-bedroom units, totaling 120 beds overall. A zoning variance would be needed to allow for an apartment building in the C-4 district without ground-level commercial space, and to reduce the amount of parking provided from 60 to 49 spaces.
The stretch of North High Street between The Ohio State University campus and the Short North has seen a lot of development activity in recent years – immediately to the south of the proposed project, a six-story, 143-unit development called 8th and High is currently under construction, and a 153-unit complex is rising at the intersection of King and High. The six-story Uncommon development opened several years ago at East Seventh and High.
Buckeye Real Estate, a company with a large portfolio of student housing in the area, has also been active in the immediate area. In 2016, the company renovated a Ninth Avenue row house and the three-story brick building next door (located at 1509 N. High St.), and also built a new, three-story building at 34 W. Ninth Ave. that contains apartments and the company’s offices.
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For more information on the University Impact District Review Board, see columbus.gov.
