Right Now Downtown

The 2010 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan was adopted by Columbus City Council on July 19, after many months of public input, planning, discussion, dreaming and synthesizing.  This Plan is not a to-do list; rather it is meant to guide investment and development in downtown for the next 10 years.  It takes off where the 2002 Strategic Business Plan for Downtown Columbus ended, building on the long-term framework and looking to identify catalysts for growth.

The planning process, which included public meetings, an online survey and discussion with downtown stakeholders, identified a list of 10 Principles to define the community’s goals and vision, 12 Ideas emerging from those Principles, and 8 Strategies to implement the Ideas.  To view the complete Plan, including the Principles, Ideas and Strategies, click here.

What does this mean for Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District (CCSID)?  First off, Cleve Ricksecker, Executive Director of CCSID, was involved in the planning meetings and participated in a downtown stakeholder interview.  All efforts to improve the downtown are important to the SID, and Ricksecker approached the planning process with that point of view in mind.

“The SID had already worked with MSI to develop our Public Realm Enhancement Plan - a wish list for the SID, if you will.  I was able to offer input from a SID-perspective through the strategic planning process,” explained Ricksecker.

Andrew Overbeck of MSI added, “We know Cleve real well and he was part of these meetings.  The SID’s plan was done beforehand, so that informed our planning sessions with regard to what enhancements they were looking for downtown.  It will be great to integrate these plans.”

As the City seeks to implement the Strategic Plan over the long term, public/private partnerships will play a vital role.  And over the years, CCSID has acted as a catalyst for such parternships, from the revitalization of Gay Street in 2007 to the wayfinding sign system that was installed in 2008.

Overbeck identified Ideas four through nine of the Plan, which deal with the High Street Core, as falling specifically within the SID boundaries and as places where the City, the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC) and others will look to partner with CCSID.  These ideas include:

• Redefining Broad Street as the civic spine of the City;
• Restoring High Street as downtown’s commercial corridor;
• Developing a Downtown Transit Center to replace the High Street Transit Mall;
• Building a 3-c Multi-Modal Station;
• Developing a Downtown Field House.

“We have looked at each part of the Plan and identified where partnerships currently exist and where they can be developed.  Right now these are just ideas, but it’s important to get everyone at the table to let some of these ideas take hold,” added Overbeck.

Ricksecker agrees.  “We look forward to partnering with the City, CDDC and others to bring these ideas to fruition.  Through the SID’s efforts, some advance work has already been done, particularly with regard to bike facilities and restoring the High Street retail corridor.”

Overbeck noted that if one looked at photos of Columbus from 1995, one would see an abandoned prison, an abandoned school and an undeveloped gash through the city where 670 cut through.   Fifteen years later, those same areas are vibrant sectors – the Arena District, COSI and the High Street cap over 670.  The vision of our city leaders in the 1990s has taken root in our city’s fabric.

“It’s an inspiring thing.  We can do an awful lot in Columbus.  None of these things is out of reach,” concluded Overbeck.

The next fifteen years should be something to behold.

Capital Crossroads kicked off its summer programming with the return of the ever-popular Pearl Market to the Pearl and Lynn Street alleys on May 18.  Sponsored by WCBE 90.5 and managed by Capital Crossroads, the Market runs on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., May through October.  This season of Pearl Market is bursting at the seams, with more farmers (27) participating than ever before and more than 40 merchants.

The farmers’ fantastic offerings, including asparagus, greens, herbs, peas, green beans, radishes, strawberries, plants, flowers and, later in the season, sweet corn, tomatoes, squash and apples, remain a big draw.

“People realize the importance of purchasing food that is locally grown,” explained Adam Schroeder, Pearl Market Manager.  “Shoppers get to know farmers who grow their food, they get to support area merchants and they really learn the benefits of buying local.”

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission recently released the region’s first Central Ohio Local Food Assessment and Plan, which highlights the importance of having fresh, local, healthy food available to all neighborhoods in Central Ohio.  Executive Director of MORPC, Chester R. Jourdan, Jr., addressed the crowds on opening day of the Market, emphasizing that Pearl Market’s offerings fit right into this “locavore” movement.

Joining some returning vendor favorites, such as Great Harvest Bread Co., 3 Babes & a Baker, Sweet Thing Gourmet and Nellie’s Samosas, are some vendors making their Pearl Market debut, including Let Us Eat Cupcakes, J Squared Organics, Devour Cookie Co. and Afrikan Designs.

In addition, daily live entertainment and a public eating space will encourage visitors to pick up lunch from one of the food vendors or bring a packed lunch and enjoy the hustle and bustle.

There are some changes afoot.  Due to overwhelming requests from the farmers and merchants, the Market will now spill out of the alleys and expand on to both Broad Street and Gay Street.  The spill-over will include both farmers and merchants, with farmers setting up shop on the Gay Street end of the alley for the first time.

“This will give the Market more presence on those high-traffic thoroughfares,” added Schroeder.  “Especially on Gay Street, where folks are beating a path to new lunch spots like Plantain Cafe’, J. Gumbo’s and Sugardaddy’s.”

In addition, after a test run during the Winter Pearl Market, the summer Market now accepts credit cards and the Ohio Direction Card.  Customers just need to visit the Market tent located at the intersection of Lynn and Pearl to pick up red credit card or green Ohio Direction Card tokens.  All vendors that are accepting the tokens will display a special sticker on their vendor sign denoting which tokens they accept.  This change will allow those who may not be cash-carriers to make some must-have purchases.

As the summer progresses, fans of the Market should keep an eye out for special events.  The Ohio Department of Agriculture will bring their Ohio Proud Mobile Food Kitchen to the Market, where area chefs will shop the Market, do a live cooking demonstration and let visitors sample their dish.  Mark your calendars for June 29, August 31, September 28 and October 26.  Other special events include Strawberry Day on June 8, Sweet Corn Day on July 13, Kids’ Day on July 27, Tomato Day on August 10, Squash Day on September 14 and Apple Day on October 12.  The Market will be closed on Friday, July 2 in observance of Independence Day.

For a sneak peek at the beautiful sights of Pearl Market, take a look at our Opening Day Photo Album.

BIKING GAINS MOMENTUM

Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Statehouse on Monday, May 17, 2010, to celebrate Bike To Work Day sponsored by Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District.

Bikers converged at OSU Gateway along with Mayor “Bikin’ Mike” Coleman, ODOT Director Jolene Molitoris, members of Columbus City Council, the Columbus Foundation and Consider Biking for the Third Annual Bike To Work Launch and Cycling CEO Challenge.  Dozens of area CEOs assembled teams to ride to the Statehouse to champion alternative transportation.

Riders from the Columbus Chamber even donned Pearl Market veggie costumes to show their support of bicycle commuting.

Lisa Courtice from The Columbus Foundation presented Consider Biking with a check for $295,000 to pursue the “2 by 2010″ initiative, which is a program that encourages every central Ohioan to use a bike or other form of alternative transportation to get to work or school at least two days per month by the City’s bicentennial in 2012.

Doug Morgan, attorney at Hahn Loeser and Parks, presented a check for $15,000 on behalf of the firm and challenged the corporate community to pull together to match The Columbus Foundation gift.

To see more photos of the event, click below.

Bike To Work 2010

ON YOUR MARK, GET READY…

Grab your walkin’ shoes and shoppin’ bag and GO!

Pearl Market opens in just one short week and shoppers will find record numbers of vendors this year offering a cornucopia of treasures.  One-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry and artwork, baked goods, meats and cheeses, and don’t forget the freshest seasonal fruits, vegetables and flowers abound on Tuesdays and Fridays beginning May 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Get to know the farmer who grows the food you purchase and find out what inspired the artist who creates that can’t-live-without necklace.  While you’re there, grab a bite of lunch and enjoy the live entertainment.

Shopping is even easier this year since Pearl Market now accepts major credit cards and the Ohio Directions Card.

Want a little preview?  Check out the video below.  Farmers Jarrod and Carie Starr from Cherokee Valley Bison Farm and Steve and Gretel Adams from Sunny Meadows Flower Farm tell you all about the benefits of Pearl Market.

Pearl Market Opens Soon from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

Spring Services: Flower Power (Washing)

As the seasons change, the services provided by Capital Crossroads SID make a season-specific shift.  Though some services, such as graffiti removal, safety escorts and special event support are ongoing, when the warm weather returns, other duties move to the front burner.

First on the list is power washing to clean the winter grime off downtown.  Power washing began on March 22, which is a bit earlier than in other years.  The early spring weather combined with an effort to improve overall power washing program bumped up this year’s start date.  This allowed the two power washing crews to get a jump start on the city’s hot spots, including High Street, Pearl Alley, the COTA bus shelters, and the areas surrounding Columbus Commons, RiverSouth and Scioto Mile projects.  In addition, the SID received a permit to power wash in areas where nighttime power washing can be disruptive.  Finally, a study is underway to find new power washing products that will offer greater mobility and expediency with special assignments.  Several machines will be given a test run in the coming weeks with the goal of finding a machine that the SID can use at any time of day for areas that need immediate attention.

The warm weather also means spring flowers.  Once again, the SID will be planting flowers in the beautiful new Gay Street Medians and in hanging baskets along High Street.  The planting is set for May 24, after the danger of frost has passed.  Advance work includes coordinating with the City to get the water to the sprinkler systems turned on.  In addition, the SID is working with a new nursery called Ambius this year to purchase flowers.  Once all of the flowers have been planted, the Ambassadors will help keep the planters watered and fertilized through the summer months.

At the beginning of May, the SID will begin a special project to stain all of the benches along High Street.  This is part of a general effort to spruce things up along that corridor.  Using a power sprayer, the crews will spiff up the benches in quick time, as the sprayer allows for multiple coats with uniform distribution.  This is a far more efficient process than painting by hand.

Graffiti removal remains a key duty of the Ambassadors year round; therefore, a team of Ambassadors has been chosen to receive hands-on training from a prominent graffiti-removal specialist in Columbus.  This will help the Ambassadors better combat graffiti problems in both the Capital Crossroads and Discovery SIDs.

The Clean and Safe Teams continue to receive special requests for service through the online service request form found on the DowntownColumbus.com Website.  Ben Barker, the new Operations Manager for both SIDs, has developed a new work order system to more effectively assign, track and manage the various requests and special projects that emerge.  This improves efficiency and helps ensure that requests are completed in a timely fashion.

“We are not trying to reinvent the wheel,” explained Barker.  “We are striving to make the wheel more efficient and in doing so improve the duties that the Capital Crossroads and Discovery SIDs have come to expect.”

Current Hours of Operation:

Monday – Friday, 6:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Saturday, 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Sunday, 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

THE REAL DIVINE MS. M

Meet Melissa Fast.  She’s officially on board at Capital Crossroads SID as Marketing Director.

Officially, she started last Monday.  Unofficially, she’s been supporting the downtown community for years.

As a local patron of the businesses, restaurants and arts scene, the new director has long celebrated the city’s core as its crowning glory.  She says, “I want to help promote the fact that it is a destination – whether it’s for a cup of coffee in the afternoon or a night of entertainment.”

She continues, “I really want to do my part to make sure that people embrace the fact that downtown is a cool place to be.  I think it’s important for the experience to be easy for people so they want to keep coming back.”  It’s everyone’s neighborhood.

Her favorite downtown finds have stories behind them – like the treasures from Pearl Market.  In fact, the Pearl Market itself is a great place to find a story.  The shops were just highlighted in The Columbus Dispatch… and the market caught the national spotlight when the Associated Press picked up the story for distribution.

Downtown Columbus is indeed a place with a great story.

They vied for your votes via video.  The competition was fierce.  And the final margins were razor thin.

Congratulations to the 2010 Show Your Love Contest Winner (drum roll please…)

Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace!!!

Thanks to all of you who voted for your flav-o-favs!  With hundreds of votes cast, J. Gumbo’s fell short of the winner’s spot by a mere three votes, with Jack’s Diner, last year’s Show Your Love winner, and Burgers Dogs and Fries in hot pursuit.

Now the love showing worked both ways.  By voting for their favorite lunch spot, food fans were entered to win free lunches from our featured downtown restaurants: Barrio, Burgers Dogs and Fries, Caffe Daniela, Dirty Frank’s, J. Gumbo’s, and Plantain Cafe.  Congratulations to our winners who now know that there is such thing as a free lunch:

Erika Haske
Trish Mester
Alyson Miles
Angela Butler
Kristine Kring
Jen Town
Christina Ringley
Mary Groves
Jeremy
Chris Powers
Joshua Young
Rhonda Ries
Sandy Auckerman
Chris Carpenter
Mark Siple
Kris Davis
Charlie Letson

Without question, Downtown Columbus is the most underserved retail location in Central Ohio.  With 100,000 employees; 5,500 residents; 250,000 overnight hotel guest; 31,000 college students; 65,000 in-town residents in the Short North, German Village and surrounding areas; and millions of day visitors to the Arena District, Convention Center, theatres and museums, there is significant demand for retail services.  But since the collapse of City Center, downtown has lost its retail sector and the ability to attract corporate retails stores.

Without a major developer pulling those corporate chains downtown, they likely won’t reemerge anytime soon.  But that does not mean that downtown cannot attract retailers.  Independent and start-up retail are the likely players in downtown’s retail future.  But after years of negative coverage surrounding City Center’s demise, there is a negative perception of downtown retail.

Capital Crossroads SID and the City of Columbus have developed a new retail initiative to educate independent and start-up retailers about downtown to and to help overcome the misperceptions that abound.  Announced by Boyce Safford, Director of the City’s Development Department, at the Capital Crossroads Annual Meeting in November, the City is offering several incentives to entice retailers downtown.

The incentives, which apply to the “Mile on High” are on High Street from Spring Street to Mound Street and from Front Street to Fourth Street, include cash incentives and tax abatement specifically for retail investments for property owners and retailers.

However, there remains a communication gap.  Work must be done to overcome the misapprehensions retailers hold and to share the information regarding the City incentives.  Relationships need to be built with independent retailers throughout the area to encourage them to consider downtown as a location.

To that end, Kacey Campbell, the former CCSID Promotions Coordinator, has been tapped as the new downtown Retail Recruiter.  Campbell will serve as a “matchmaker”, reaching out to retailers, answering questions, encouraging them to consider downtown, then matching them with leasing agents who can finalize the deal.

For the last four years, Campbell has connected with existing downtown retailers and with the many vendors who participate in the very successful Pearl Market.  She has an understanding of downtown and believes in its potential.

“There is a huge demand for retail in downtown,” says Campbell.  “It’s a matter of getting accurate information to people and then helping them navigate downtown.  It will take time to see results, but there is good opportunity.”

The seeds of success are already sewn, evidenced by the burgeoning pockets of retail on Gay Street and Fourth Street.  Programs such as this have also proven successful in other cities with a dearth of downtown retail, including Nashville, St. Louis and Minneapolis.  With new incentives from the City and a retail recruiter making the pitch, look for retail to return to the heart of Columbus.

Recent snow storms showed that employees who commute by bus can be more reliable than employees who drive.  Last Tuesday, I had to advise my own staff about whether to come to work on Wednesday in a level 2 snow emergency.  Because driving is discouraged during a level 2 emergency, I notified employees who drive to work that they could stay home on Wednesday.  Employees who take transit had no such excuse.  I required them to come to the office.

The experience got me thinking more about the logic of company policies toward parking and transit.  Employee parking benefits are common, but transit benefits are not.  Some companies pay $85 to $160 per month for an employee to park at commercial garages or lots.  Others build and maintain their own parking facilities and offer “free” parking to employees.

Both options are expensive and create an artificial demand for parking, unless companies also offer transit benefits.  Parking benefits can drive up the cost of doing business downtown because bus passes are generally less expensive than parking.  Given a choice, many employees will choose to take transit if free passes are offered as an alternative to free parking.

For many tenants, workers and visitors, the Capital Crossroads Clean and Safe Ambassadors are the face of downtown.  While the ambassador program is operated out of the Capital Crossroads SID offices on Fourth Street, it is managed by an outside business specializing in SIDs and clean and safe services.  Since the beginning of January, a new, locally-based company has taken over the contract: Ohio Support Services.

Since the SID’s inception, the clean and safe program was overseen by a national company called Block By Block.  Though Block By Block had done a commendable job, in 2009, the CCSID and Discovery SID boards determined that a request for proposal should be made.  This was done to ensure that the SIDs were indeed getting the best service possible for the best price.

Nine proposals were received, and four companies were chosen to interview, two local and two national.  Ohio Support Services, a local company with experience providing clean and safe services for a number of downtown buildings, eventually won the contract.

“After studying the proposals and going through the interview process, the boards decided that, all things being equal, they would like to go local,” explained Lisa Defendiefer, Downtown Safety Coordinator.  “Block By Block did a good job, especially when we were getting the program off the ground, but the property owners definitely saw the value in supporting a local company.”

Because OSS’s offices are local, it has freed the Capital Crossroads Operations Manager and Operations Supervisor to be out on the street more, working directly with the ambassadors and the public.  In addition, OSS provided security in buildings throughout the downtown; these relationships have served to improve the network of security offered by CCSID.

The boards were also impressed with OSS’s president, Scott Tucker, who is committed to downtown and cares about the community.  He has a history of giving back, and has been actively involved in ASIS, an organization that helps train security officers to be top of the line employees.

The good news for downtown tenants, residents and workers is that you won’t really notice the difference.  While the change improves function within the CCSID offices, the services provided for both cleanliness and safety on the streets will remain the same.  In addition, both OSS and Block By Block worked together to smooth the transition, so CCSID was able to retain more than 95% of the ambassador personnel.  One change is the new CCSID Operations Manager, Ben Barker, who was previously with OSS as a security manager at the Grange Building. 

“OSS received hundreds of applicants for the position and eventually narrowed the field to two highly qualified candidates.  Cleve Ricksecker and I sat in on the final interviews and were definitely struck by Ben’s depth of security knowledge, enthusiasm, confidence, and love of new challenges,” added Defendiefer.  “A change like this could have been tough on the ambassadors, but they have handled it well.  OSS has just done a great job with the details of the transition; it’s been pretty seamless.”