Right Now Downtown

Cars are expensive!  The Columbus Dispatch reported on Friday that the average cost to own and operate a car is $8,487 per year.

I remember the sticker shock I experienced when I bought my first car in 2007 (earlier I married into a car, had kids and got divorced).  With joint custody of three school-age kids, taxicabs did not meet all of my needs, and the closest Zipcar location was a 30-minute walk.

Prior to buying into the “American dream” of owning a car, transportation had cost me $60 to $80 a month.  Expenses included a car rental about once a month and a cab ride about once a week.  My employer paid for my bus pass.

Living in Columbus without a car was easy.  From 1977 to 2007, I lived in Bexley, German Village, Short North and University District.  All of these neighborhoods offered life’s necessities within walking distance, including groceries, pharmacies and bars.  I have always worked in or near downtown.

In seven years, I will go carless again.  The money I save will go toward something more pleasurable than sitting in traffic.

If you are bored of Columbus, don’t move to Portland, Oregon.  Move to the Columbus High Five.  This stretch of the High Street corridor includes German Village, downtown, the Arena District, Short North and University District.

The sheer volume of great, urban experiences in this part of Columbus compares favorably to any other place in the U.S.  It has everything Boston has except urban rail, department stores and outrageously high housing costs.

Good public transit and city sidewalks will take you to 20 movie screens, a public market, Barnes & Noble and more than 200 high quality, independent retail stores.  It is home to an NHL arena, a AAA baseball park, historic theatres and one of the county’s most prestigious universities.

There are scores of nightclubs, beautiful city parks, charming neighborhoods, several world-class museums, great live music and 40 art galleries.  You can stay in one of 4,000 hotel rooms, quickly hail a taxicab and dine at 150 full-service restaurants.

The Columbus High Five is a magnet for highly educated people from throughout the world.  It is young, creative and entrepreneurial.  Best of all, it is in our backyard.

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.

Many people in Ohio share a characteristic with the rest of the country.  Rather than making positive change at home, they leave.  Instead of making a commitment to live an urban lifestyle in Columbus, for example, they flee for Chicago or one of the coasts.

This trend is not new.  Ohio has been experiencing a “brain drain” among so-called young professionals for more than 30 years.

Columbus has had its share of change agents, including people who invested “sweat equity” in the Short North, German Village, Old Town East, local music and visual arts, and one of the most vibrant gay communities in the country, to name a few.  These grass roots changes are often lead by recent college graduates.  They are the truly meaningful changes that capture a generation.

Where are the young change agents in Columbus?  What are they advocating?  Where are people investing sweat equity?  Who is “rocking the boat”?

Five miles of High Street offers one of the best walks in the United States.  On High Street or within a “stone’s throw” of High Street between German Village and the University District are 20 movie screens; more than 30 live performance venues and dance clubs; 4,000 hotel rooms; 300 restaurants; 200 retail stores and boutiques; and 40 art galleries.

The area includes four city parks, a developing riverfront park system, and an NHL arena.  There is a baseball park, a public market, and three farmers markets.  Six historic districts line this stretch of High Street, as well as the historic Ohio Statehouse, three historic theatres, and two historic parks.  The walk would take you past the country’s largest university campus and the Wexner Center.

High Street offers Gallery Hop, ComFest, the Columbus Marathon, Greek Festival, Gay Pride Parade, and a host of other events, races and parades.  You can sit at outdoor cafes, listen to street musicians, browse in bookstores, and easily hail a cab.

There are some gaps to be filled, for sure.  But if you work or live downtown, you are in the middle of a very special place.

My dentist is located on East Whittier Street near Jaeger.  Twice a year, like clockwork, I get my teeth cleaned and checked, and I walk through German Village on my way to the appointment.  Each time, I am stunned at how beautiful German Village is.

I live in the Short North, to be precise Victorian Village.  I don’t get off the farm much.  Most of my life happens on foot or COTA between Ohio State University and downtown.

To be sure, the Short North has some pretty places, for example, Neil Avenue and the Circles.  But it has quite a bit of grit as well.  Dennison Avenue has God-awful-looking high tension electric lines, and the whole neighborhood has quite a bit of property that is “rough around the edges,” including my own house.

German Village, on the other hand, seems flawless.  As a die-hard, 29-year resident of Victorian Village who thinks the world revolves around the Short North and downtown, I must admit that a walk through German Village is a humbling experience.