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    Development Roundup: Eight Updates from Italian Village, Downtown and Beyond

    Our Development Roundup feature is designed to keep you up-to-date on the latest proposals, approvals, delays and ribbon-cuttings. Whether it’s incremental updates on the many projects we are tracking, or short blurbs on some of the smaller or more far-flung developments that we have yet to cover, the aim of the roundup is to keep you informed.

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    Developer Kevin Lykens has bought two parcels at the southwest corner of East Fourth and Mt Pleasant avenues – also known as the Short North Post Office. Lykens declined to comment on his plans for the building and parking lot, and a spokesman for the USPS said they are waiting to hear from the new owner as to whether he will be keeping the post office as a tenant or not.

    Stonewall Columbus recently made an appearance at the Italian Village Commission to talk about the future of their property, at the northeast corner of High Street and Fourth Avenue. Don’t expect a big development project anytime soon, though – both of the buildings the organization owns are considered to be historically contributing structures, so demolition would be discouraged. Executive Director Karla Rothan said that they just wanted to “find out what the parameters are and to look at future capital projects.”

    A potentially significant mixed-use project is on this month’s commission agenda – a proposal to demolish two warehouses at 995 North Fourth Street and replace them with a three-story building featuring 51 apartment units and ground-floor retail. Brad Parish of Architectural Alliance said that the design is still very preliminary and that they hope to get feedback from the commission before moving forward with the project.

    Garden Building — Elevation by Juliet Bullock Architects.
    Garden Building — Elevation by Juliet Bullock Architects.

    The Garden at 1172 North High Street (that’s “Columbus’ Finest Adult Emporium,” not to be confused with the theater across the street), will be getting a small second floor addition. The project, which was approved at the January Italian Village Commission meeting, will add office space over the front portion of the building and will feature a brick facade similar to other buildings on the block.

    Rounding out the Italian Village news, Urban Order Architecture is the applicant for a proposal to build a three-story restaurant and office building where there is currently a city street. The city’s Department of Public Service will decide if a portion of Hull Alley, between High Street and Pearl Alley, is sold to the developers to make the project possible. Both the Italian Village Commission and the Italian Village Society have expressed concerns about the idea. 

    Franklin County Commisioners approved a $375,000 loan earlier this month to Community Housing Network. The money will support the renovation of existing affordable housing units on the north side as well as the completion of the organization’s Hawthorn Grove project downtown.  

    Work is continuing through the winter on Trotter’s Park, the 144-unit apartment project in Harrison West. Jason Snyder of Snyder Barker Investments said that the clubhouse and first apartment building are on track to be completed by June, and that they could start taking reservations as soon as April. Preferred Living is the builder and will also be handling leasing and management of the apartments.

    Trotters Park in Harrison West - Renderings provided by Snyder Barker Investments.
    Trotters Park in Harrison West – Renderings provided by Snyder Barker Investments.

    Homeport recently announced that they had a record-breaking year in 2014, selling 27 homes. Four of those were through their lease-to-purchase program, while 17 were new or renovated homes in the North of Broad community. (For much more on Homeport’s efforts to provide affordable housing all over Columbus, see our recent interview and tour with President/CEO Amy Klaben).

    For the latest updates and discussions on development in Columbus, CLICK HERE to visit our Messageboard.

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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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