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    Development Roundup: August 2022 Edition

    The latest installment of our ongoing Development Roundup series features news from the Short North, Upper Arlington, Downtown and more. Read on for an assortment of project updates, new proposals and other nuggets from the world of Columbus development:

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    A development proposal that was voted down by the Upper Arlington City Council in June after going through several rounds of design changes has now been scaled back some more and will be presented again to the suburb’s Board of Zoning and Planning on August 17. Now called Scioto Villas (the previous name was Fairlington Heights), the latest iteration calls for 15 condos with two garage spaces each, along with 14 guest parking spaces.

    The Columbus Recreation and Parks department has developed two concepts for a new West Case Road Park and is looking for feedback from the public on which one is preferred. Home for years to OSU’s sheep farm, the 58-acre site at 2425 W. Case Rd. was acquired by the city in late 2019. Renderings of the two concepts and a chance to take a survey can be found at westcaseroadpark.com.

    The Columbus City Council in July voted to approve a plan to redevelop the former Thurber Village retail plaza at 777 Neil Ave. Plans call for a still-unnamed grocery retailer and a five-story apartment building. Also approved by council (by a 5-2 vote), is an expansion of boundaries of the Humko Community Reinvestment Area, which will make the project eligible for a tax abatement. Both the Short North Civic Association and the Harrison West Society opposed the expansion of the CRA boundaries.

    At its July meeting, the University Impact District Review Board signed off on the design of a six-story, 125-unit apartment complex at 50 E. Seventh Ave. The project, which first went before the board a year ago after going through a unique mediation process, had already received zoning approval. Representatives of the developer, Chicago-based Peerless Development, told the review board at the meeting that they plan to utilize the city’s buy-out option for the project (meaning they will pay a fee to the city in lieu of providing more affordable units, in exchange for receiving a tax abatement).

    RAPID 5 announced last week that local developer Thrive Companies has committed to donating $1 million to the parks and greenways nonprofit. The gift was described in a press release as critical for building up the new organization’s capacity as it looks to transform and connect Central Ohio’s five main river corridors; “This gift catapults RAPID 5 from a vision to a movement,” said Amy Acton, who was named RAPID 5’s President and CEO in May.

    Columbus Landmarks recently announced the finalists for its annual James B. Recchie Design Award, which “honors excellence in urban design.” Several high-profile renovations made the list – Budd Dairy in Italian Village, the Municipal Light Plant across from Lower.com Field, the Open Air School in Old North – as did OSU’s work to transform the Mirror Lake District and one new-build project, the Franklinton Slingshot.

    Wood Companies received an initial approval from the Victorian Village Commission for the zoning variances needed to build a 12-story mixed-use development at 21 W. Hubbard Ave. The project will need to return to the board for final approval of the design.

    The Short North-focused developer is also returning to the Italian Village Commission this month with a scaled down plan to renovate a two-story building at 700 N. High St. The new proposal does not include a third-floor addition, as a plan presented last year did. Meanwhile, construction work has started on the company’s Parkside on Pearl development.

    A proposal from the Lykens Companies was conditionally approved by the Italian Village Commission at last month’s meeting. The three-story project, called Bethany Flats, would bring new apartments and townhomes to the corner of North Sixth Street and Detroit Avenue.

    At last month’s Downtown Commission, in addition to approving new pubic restrooms, the board also gave the green light to a five-unit infill project at 580 E. Rich St., and to a plan to renovate a one-story building at 342 E. Long St., where a marijuana dispensary is planned.

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    Brent Warren
    Brent Warrenhttps://columbusunderground.com/author/brent-warren
    Brent Warren is a staff reporter for Columbus Underground covering urban development, transportation, city planning, neighborhoods, and other related topics. He grew up in Grandview Heights, lives in the University District and studied City and Regional Planning at OSU.
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