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    In Limbo: Still No Shovels in the Ground For These 42 Projects

    At the end of each year, we like to group the urban development projects that we’ve been tracking into categories – completedunder construction and announced. We’ve also come up with this fourth category for all of the projects that don’t fit neatly into any of the other three. That could mean proposals from previous years that have been dropped, projects that are still very much alive but just haven’t started construction yet, or, in a few cases, development sites where construction began but has now stopped.

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    Read on for a list of those projects, and our best guess for what might happen with them in 2022.

    Downtown

    The North Market tower project appears to be moving forward after getting approvals from both the Historic Resources Commission and the Downtown Commission, although work hasn’t started yet on the development.

    Likewise, the redevelopment of the former Kroger Bakery site on Cleveland Avenue got a key approval this fall and will likely be moving forward in 2022.

    A view of the rooftop deck on the shorter of the two proposed buildings at Harmony Tower. Rendering by Meyers + Associates.

    There weren’t any major updates on a 2020 proposal from Schiff Capital Group to build a 30-story mixed-use tower on High Street.

    It was another quiet year for news on the Millennial Tower, which was approved by the Downtown Commission in early 2018.

    Two historic buildings that were declared unsafe by the city in 2019 remain empty.

    There was no news in 2021 about a plan for a mixed-use development on three acres of prime real estate on Capitol Square.

    No further action has been taken on a plan from late 2019 to renovate and add onto a historic warehouse building.

    Several other proposals from 2019 were also quiet in 2021 – a seven-story building on Mound Street, the renovation of the Salesian building, and new restaurant space on Fourth.

    Although the other buildings planned for the Reach on Goodale have been completed, work hasn’t started on the final phase of the project.

    There wasn’t much movement in 2021 on plans for the municipal courthouse that were announced in 2020.

    Near East Side

    A new renovation plan for the former Macon Hotel has been submitted, although work doesn’t appear to have started on the historic building.

    Also no sign of progress on the Broadwin or this historic car dealership on Franklin Avenue, although both projects were awarded state historic tax credits in 2020.

    No news on a plan to turn the former MLK library branch into a community center or on a Recreation and Parks plan for the former Douglas Alternative Elementary School building.

    Work has yet to start at the corner of 18th and Oak in Olde Towne East.

    The former Bellows Avenue School in Franklinton. Photo by Brent Warren.

    Franklinton

    Work has not started on the renovation of the historic Bellows School, although a revised plan for the site was approved earlier this year.

    Homeport’s McDowell Place project has yet to get started.

    Single family homes and apartments are still planned for the former Mount Carmel West campus; expect some movement on the project in 2022.

    Harrison West

    There’s been no news on the redevelopment of five-acre Thurber Village retail plaza since early 2020.

    A new plan was approved for the long-stalled construction project on Michigan Avenue, but work has yet to resume at the site.

    Italian Village

    The proposed Parkside on Pearl building, with the 800 North High building in the background. Rendering by The Columbus Architectural Studio.

    A revised Parkside on Pearl proposal surfaced early in the year, but there’s been no activity on the site.

    A 175-unit proposal for East Second Avenue has also been quiet.

    University District

    A plan that was approved in 2018 for a prominent corner is likely on hold since the site is now for sale.

    The High Street building that holds Bibibop on its first floor is safe from demolition for now, as a plan to build new apartments on the site has not been brought back to the review board.

    Worthington

    A plan to redevelop the Shops at Worthington Place was approved in March, although revisions have been made and the project is going back to the planning commission in January.

    A new proposal for the former United Methodist Children’s Home site was presented in September, but city council voted it down in December.

    Other Neighborhoods

    At Grandview Yard, work has not yet started on an office building at 840 Yard St. that was announced in 2019.

    Work has yet to start on a plan to convert a Marble Cliff mansion into four residential units and develop the surrounding property. The project was awarded historic preservation tax credits in 2020.

    This Fifth by Northwest proposal has not moved forward.

    A proposed boutique hotel at the corner of Livingston and City Park avenues in German Village. Renderings by Moody Nolan and Edge.

    A contentious German Village hotel proposal remains in limbo.

    Plans to redevelop Westland Mall have not advanced, and nothing has happened at Cooper Stadium since a new redevelopment plan was floated in 2019.

    Work is scheduled to start in 2022 on the redevelopment of the Golden Bear shopping center, which is now being called Golden Bear at Riverside.

    The latest plan to redevelop the former International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers site was approved by the Victorian Village Commission in May.

    Fundraising efforts continue for the latest plan to restore the original Port Columbus Air Terminal building.

    There was no news this year on the massive entertainment complex proposed for Delaware County.

    The plan announced by the city in late 2018 to bring a community sports complex to the former Mapfre Stadium site has not advanced.

    Although new businesses continued to open in 2021 within the latest Easton expansion, work on one of the buildings to the north of Worth Avenue appears to have paused.

    There have been no updates to a plan from 2020 to redevelop 58 acres of land in Westerville.

    READ MORE: 32 Urban Development Projects Completed in 2021

    READ MORE: 60 Urban Development Projects Under Construction in 2021

    READ MORE: 51 Urban Development Projects Announced in 2021

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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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