Please Sign In and use this article's on page print button to print this article.

Landmark downtown projects paved way for urban renewal

By Steph Greegor

While downtown Columbus remains in a state of vibrant change with many projects proposed and under construction, three past projects made all the difference for the city. Here’s a look at these major game-changers.

Nationwide Arena

The $175 million Nationwide Arena kicked off construction of an entire neighborhood that transformed the northwest quadrant of downtown Columbus – the Arena District, conceived and built by Nationwide Realty Investors, the real estate arm of Nationwide Insurance.

The Arena opened Sept. 9, 2000, as home to the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets. As the new millennium wore on, 1.5 million square feet of offices, sports parks, dining, entertainment venues and residences filled in barren fields dotted by warehouses and the sprawling site of the razed Ohio Penitentiary.

“No city in North America has had the opportunity to rebuild a quarter of its business district – and with such success,” said Bob Loversidge, a member of the Downtown Commission and CEO of the architectural firm Schooley Caldwell Associates at Marconi and Nationwide boulevards.

“When we moved here 20 years ago ... we were surrounded by parking lots and abandoned buildings and after-hours sketchy bars,” he said.

The landscape is desolate no more thanks to Nationwide Arena.

“It’s superbly designed to fit into the context of the city, and parking, traffic and the like are extremely well-managed,” Loversidge said. “It’s a thriving city.”

I-670 cap

The nearly $10 million I-670 Cap at Union Station project was a big deal for Columbus back in 1999, when the city of Columbus jumped on an Ohio Department of Transportation plan to widen Interstate 670. The Cap connected the Short North to downtown and added 26,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space.

Continental Real Estate Cos. was responsible for the 2002 construction of the retail strip on each side of North High Street, while David Meleca, president of Meleca Architecture, was responsible for the design. The Cap ultimately was responsible for connecting the arts, entertainment and convention spaces along High Street, increasing retail spending and foot traffic up and down High Street.

“The Cap had a significant impact throughout downtown Columbus,” said Eric Wagenbrenner of Wagenbrenner Development, which has done notable downtown projects including Jeffrey Park.

Wagenbrenner remembers the 670 bridge as being in “pretty bad shape,” with uninviting sidewalks.

What made the Cap such an interesting project, he said, was that it took guts to make it happen.

“It was a big risk to take at that time,” Wagenbrenner said. “With that particular project, it takes a vision to see that. It really helped spur development along High Street to continue the urban movement.”

Exchange Urban Lofts

Former Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman introduced a tax break in 2002 that he hoped would draw 10,000 people to live downtown by 2012. The Exchange Urban Lofts was one of the first residential developments to capitalize on that tax break.

And while the city fell just short of the mayor’s 10,000-resident goal, the initiative is considered a success. The tax break helped bring more than 2,700 apartments and condos to downtown since 2002, with more residential on the horizon.

“Because of the downtown housing incentive program, downtown is becoming an 18-hour, really 24-hour neighborhood,” said Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District. “It was the first of a wave of residential development in downtown.”

Residential population does many things for an urban core, Ricksecker said.

“It makes downtown feel like a neighborhood and feel safer for employees,” he said. “It also helps bring new business downtown because, oftentimes, the residence of a CEO determines where the business locates.”

Some well-known downtown dwellers with CEO status include John Wolfe and Ron Pizzuti.

“That influences where business locates,” said Ricksecker. “It also makes downtown a more walkable place. Most residents walk to work.”

Steph Greegor is a freelance writer.