The Dispatch wrote
Developers kick out tenants of Downtown’s Trautman Building
Saturday, August 16, 2008
BY MARK FERENCHIK
The Columbus Downtown Development Corp. is charged with revitalizing Downtown. So Nancy Menefee wonders why it’s torpedoing her jewelry business. The corporation owns the Trautman Building in the 200 block of S. High Street, home to Ouellette Jewelers for 28 years.
On Monday, the agency delivered notices to 31 tenants in the five-story building, telling them their month-to-month leases would end Sept. 30, giving them 50 days to find new space. The leases require only a 30-day notice.
The private, nonprofit Downtown Development group wants to redevelop the building and needs it to be empty so the property can be assessed and inspected, project coordinator Steve Michalovich said.
Last year, a Minneapolis firm, Artspace Projects Inc., prepared a report for the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the city that identified the building and its 11- to 12-foot-high ceilings as potential work and living space for artists.
Related Stories:
– CU Poll: Where should Artspace be located?
– Artspace Artist Market Survey to begin March 25