Last week, the Capital Crossroads and Discovery Special Improvement Districts (SID) hosted their annual meeting to showcase accomplishments, celebrate yearly award winners and to impart some wisdom on the crowd from special guest speaker Paul Levy. Levy is the President and CEO of the Center City District (CCD), a similar type of organization located in Downtown Philadelphia.
The message to the crowd of local business leaders, civic leaders and community members is that a Downtown can no longer simply remain as a “Central Business District” while trying to adapt to a post-pandemic world where many office workers are spending more of their time at home.
“All downtowns face these major challenges, but the more diverse the land use — the more hotels, the more residential, the more office, the more arts and culture — the greater the mix, the more animated you are 24/7,” explained Levy. “You must continue to fill gaps in the fabric, building dense vibrant spaces.”
Levy shared some insight from Philadelphia over the past 30 years, which mirrors the Downtown Columbus trajectory, but at a larger scale.
“Our organization got started in 1990 when everyone thought our Downtown was dirty and dangerous,” he explained. “We operated nine-to-five and then the place rolled down at night, and we had a lot of empty floors of older buildings.”
Since 1990, the Philadelphia CCD invested in providing safety teams, graffiti removal and trash cleanup. The group encouraged office building conversions to residential use while helping to build new public park space and fill those spaces with programmed events.
“We had an old office district about 40 percent vacant and we prioritized this as our new arts district,” said Levy. “We renovated historic theaters and built new theaters. Today we have office, arts, university and hotels — mixed-use became the formula for our success.”
Levy’s presentation cited some impressive numbers outlining the growth in Downtown Philadelphia over the past several decades. Over nine million square feet of former office and industrial buildings were converted to residential units, over 400 sidewalk patios were added, and the population of Downtown Philadelphia grew 55% to approximately 70,000 people.
By comparison, Downtown Columbus had a residential population of just 3,400 people in the year 2000, which has grown over 300% to an estimated total of 11,200 today. An ambitious goal contained within the new Downtown Strategic plan is aiming for a population of 40,000 people by the year 2040, which would surpass the peak high of 30,000 residents in the 1950s.
The story of new 21st century growth is not an uncommon one for major US cities, nor is the harsh reality that the coronavirus pandemic pumped the brakes on that growth. The white collar office workers that dominate much of the workforce in Downtown environments began working from home in 2020 and not all of them have returned.
“The last three years I think we all know have profoundly challenged Downtowns, and there’s scores of reports predicting our demise,” said Levy. “But all across the country, every Downtown organization I know is using this moment to rethink their Downtown.”
Additional Updates on the Future of Downtown Columbus:
• Common Thread: New Downtown Columbus Fashion & Retail District
• City Council Supports Downtown Plan Recommendations
• First Look: Hilton’s New Downtown Tower
Levy referenced the 2012 book Triumph of the City by economist Edward Glaeser, pointing out the inherent value that cities have in their dense structure. Levy sees these values as something that can’t always be recreated from a home office.
“Density itself is an economic value because it fosters innovation and collaboration,” said Levy. “Densities have unintended interactions that go on, unexpected conversations that take place on the street — so our goal is not just to fill up office buildings in isolation. It’s really to create a setting where your office buildings and all forms of work are set within a thriving mixed-use Downtown. So much of the activity of collaboration, innovation, discussion, disagreement and mentoring can really only take place in person.”
Levy shared in his presentation some reported figures indicating that 55% of today’s American workforce is working entirely at a job location while 15% are at home full time and the remaining 30% are hybrid. He sees those figures potentially shifting if the US economy enters a recession, noting that a survey of CEOs have indicated that remote workers are more likely to be let go of first before their in-office counterparts.
“I’m not sure I completely believe that, but there’s a tense negotiation going on right now between employer and employee,” he added. “A few professions clearly lend themselves to remote work, but it’s not uniform across all cities and the structure of industry and type of job have a lot of variables.”
Levy toured several neighborhoods in Columbus prior to his presentation, and he had a lot of positive things to say about the city and the growth trajectory as it pertains to Downtown.
“Columbus has got really great high quality adjacent residential neighborhoods, and you connect well into the Short North and The Ohio State University campus,” he stated. “You know you’re on the right path when your suburban competition is saying that they’re offering urban style. Your challenge is to make the original and the authentic even better. Innovate, take reasonable risks, and grow.”
For more Info on the Capital Crossroads & Discovery SID, visit downtownservices.org.
To view the full presentation of the 2022 Annual Meeting, check out the video, below: