Right Now Downtown

Budding trees aren’t the only touches of green downtown this spring. After three years of rehab, The Lazarus Building has been reborn as the Midwest’s largest “green building.” When Federated Department Stores vacated the more than 1 million-square-foot landmark at High and Town streets in 2004, the City of Columbus and the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation stepped up with some radical plans—to not only renovate the former department and make it premier office space, but also to create an eco-friendly building using environmentally aware construction practices. Phase 1 of the project complete is now complete, the new offices of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Ohio Environment Protection Agency have moved in and are officially open for business. Later this year, Ohio State is expected to unveil its 10,000-square-foot Urban Arts Space on the ground floor that will include a gallery and performance space. The new and improved Lazarus Building uses utilizes harvested rainwater for its cooling system, a “living roof” landscaped with plants to reduce summer heat buildup, energy-efficient windows and low-flow plumbing. More than half of the 10,884 tons of old materials removed from the building were recycled, including almost 2,000 tons of metal, 95 tons of wood, 33 tons of carpet and 25 tons of ceiling tiles. “We not only renovated a historic Columbus landmark, we created space for 1,800 jobs downtown in the most significant ‘green’ building in the Midwest,” said Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “Lazarus is going to be a national model.” The project is remarkable in another way, too: Led by the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, The Georgetown Group and Turner Construction, it came in under budget. “I’m very excited about the opening of the first phase of the Lazarus Building,” said Guy V. Worley, the new CEO of the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, which owns the building. “As the first project in the RiverSouth district, it’s important that we build on this momentum.” Ultimately, tours of the Lazarus Building will provide an up-close look at the power of recycling. “Our larger objective is to enable Columbus residents to utilize the Lazarus Building as a teaching tool for school children, other real estate professionals and residents,” said Georgetown Company partner Edgar Lampert. “We hope to share the lessons of Lazarus, which will be useful in our daily personal and professional lives.”

If you blinked, you might have missed the transformation of Liu Pon Xi on the Cap at Union Station into two new spots: Bluefish, Seafood on the Cap, and Paul Liu’s Chinese Restaurant. The high-concept, Pan-Asian Liu Pon Xi, which opened in early 2005, closed recently for a month-long renovation and has reopened as a seafood restaurant with a sushi bar, and a moderately priced, more traditional Chinese restaurant. While Liu Pon Xi was popular, owner Paul Liu and his wife, who also own Haiku in the Short North and Bento Go Go in the Ohio State neighborhood, consider the new concepts an even better fit for the neighborhood. “The Short North needed a neighborhood Chinese restaurant,” Liu said. “It was a hard decision, because we put a lot of thought into Liu Pon Xi and were making money. But we just felt that when people from out of town come into the neighborhood and you say, ‘Would you like Chinese food?’ they say, ‘Yes.’ If you ask, ‘Would you like Liu Pon Xi?’ they say, ‘What’s that?’” Fans of Liu Pon Xi’s fabulous décor will be glad to know it’s still in tact. The fish tanks and koi pond, for example, are now in Bluefish. Meanwhile, Paul Liu’s Chinese Restaurant includes a dumpling bar, where the potstickers and steamed and boiled varieties are handmade with what Liu considers the most important ingredient: love. “It’s nice to work a little harder and offer a little more love,” he said. “Even if you go to fast food restaurants, one place always tastes a little better because they put care into what they do. I think people are surprised that they can taste the care and attention and love you put into it.” Bluefish, Seafood on the Cap and Paul Liu’s Chinese Restaurant, 8 E. Goodale St., are open Monday-Saturday for lunch and daily for dinner. 437-8168.

With all due respect to Kermit the Frog, sometimes it is easy being green. If Earth Day last weekend started you thinking about simple ways to go eco-friendly, here’s one of the easiest: answering a few quick questions about recycling. The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and Capital Crossroads are celebrating Earth Day by surveying downtown residents, employees and business owners about recycling interest and habits. With more than 100,000 employees and 3,200 businesses, downtown is one of the largest producers of recyclables such as paper, cardboard and cans. At least, that’s what city stewards are guessing. Until now, no one has actually tracked how much trash downtown produces, and how much of that might be getting recycled. The idea is ultimately to develop an easy, cost-effective recycling program for the area that will reduce waste and pollution and save room in the county’s landfill. “We believe today’s throwaways are a resource to tap to protect the environment, promote economic development, and develop and save energy,” said SWACO’s John Remy. SWACO, which operates the Franklin County landfill, is exploring alternatives fuels as well; it has added a hybrid truck to its fleet that uses landfill gas and bio-diesel, and there are plans to use landfill gas to heat the SWACO offices. Currently SWACO provides more than 60 recycling drop off-locations throughout the county, including at major sporting and entertainment venues, Columbus Public Schools and Port Columbus International Airport. Click here for more info.