Right Now Downtown

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.

I have a pet peeve about the use of statistics, and an article in the Saturday (January 16) Columbus Dispatch made me peevish.  The Dispatch ran an article entitled, “Worst corridors to bike, walk.”  An insert listed the most “dangerous streets” in order of danger, led by North High Street from Dodridge Street near OSU to Goodale Street in the Short North.  MORPC provided the data.

I will not dispute that High Street has the high volume of crashes because it undoubtedly carries the highest volume of bicycle and pedestrian traffic in central Ohio.  But to say that High Street is the most dangerous corridor in Central Ohio is absurd.  Is biking or walking along High Street more dangerous than Polaris Parkway?  According to this article, it is, by virtue of the fact that nobody walks or bicycles on Polaris Parkway.

In my experience, High Street is a relatively safe arterial street because bikers and pedestrians are so prevalent that motorists tend to watch for them.  The MORPC report is a service to the extent that it leads to improving the design of High Street.  But to call High Street the region’s most dangerous corridor makes no sense at all.

This week Cleve welcomes guest blogger, Steve Sevell.  He shares his thoughts on public transit, along with some cool pics.

And a disclaimer (please read this in your head at a very fast pace like those TV commercial speed-talkers): the views and opinions expressed by guest bloggers may or may not reflect the views and opinions of DowntownColumbus.com and its affiliated parties.

STREETCARS OFF ON THE WRONG TRACK

I believe there are problems for electric streetcars in Columbus, especially in the Short North and OSU, where the first streetcars would run, such as:

• taking up critical lanes of traffic;
• cutting down on the very limited parking;
• rails catching bicycle tires and women’s heels;
• the overhead electric wires they run on are exceptionally ugly;
• the 2.8 mile stretch of track, costing $103 million, is outrageous; and
• they can only run on expensive tracks, limiting routes and destinations.

So streetcars aren’t nearly as cool as they might seem at first.

If we considered the next generation of futuristic electric buses, we could achieve all of the good with none of the bad.  Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) has designed a “Superbus”, which looks like something Batman would use to commute to work.  Being on wheels, it requires no new, expensive infrastructure.

Matter of fact, turns out Las Vegas has taken steps to improve their mass transit.  Take a look at their new buses!  Congratulations LVTA!

How about Columbus riding into the 21st century with some new sets of wheels?  So instead of being like other cities, we could do something different.  Something better.

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”?

COTA recently introduced a bus line called the “Night Owl.”  It’s a late-night party bus that runs every 30 minutes on Fridays and Saturdays from the Arena District to northern Clintonville.  The last run from Clintonville to downtown leaves Clintonville at 2:13 am, and buses depart from downtown and the Short North until 2:40 am.

The service is a great addition to the Columbus scene.  It allows folks who want to drink and dance the night away to leave their cars at home when they flock to watering holes on Park Street, the Short North and University District.

The service is also a huge benefit for the hundreds of bar and restaurant employees who work until the wee hours of the morning.  Parking anywhere between 11th Avenue and Nationwide Boulevard is expensive.  Imagine walking several blocks to a remote location at 2:30 am to retrieve a car or paying for daily taxicab service.

The Night Owl replaces the #20, which COTA discontinued several years ago during a budget crisis.  If the Night Owl draws a similar crowd, it will feel like Toronto’s street cars late at night.  Experiencing the Night Owl will be almost as much fun as the destination.

Cheryl of Crimson Design Group is awesome! Come check out her storefront at 51 N. Pearl & at the Market. Here’s what she had to say to us the other day:

Can you describe your art and process? Tell us a bit about yourself?

I founded Crimson Design Group 6 years ago after working for a firm here in Columbus. I have always known that I would have my own company at some point in my career. I enjoy the freedom that operating your own business brings. I started working in design in NYC managing a furniture boutique in Soho. I loved the city but life called me back to Columbus and here I am 10 years later. Crimson Design is a full service interior design firm. We work on a vast scale of projects and clients. We work on new construction projects, remodels, to furnishing interior spaces. (Custom window treatments, furniture placement, lighting, art and all other elements of design)
We are launching a new program called designer for a day. We go into a home recreate a room using their existing furnishings and make suggestions on things they can add as well as color consultations. Room redesigns start at $350.
My philosophy on design and working w/ someone is that we really work on finding out who our client is and translating that into design in their home or corporate space. Finding your style and inspiring your life!!!

So- what inspires you?

Traveling is what inspires me most. I am always changing my environment from day trips out of Columbus to traveling internationally.  I love culture and seeing how people live and how colorful everyday life is for people in other countries. Also the simple things in life give me alot of pleasure. Tasting beautifully created food, to fresh cut flowers out of my garden, seeing the array of color combinations in nature, and appreciating beauty in life everyday.

What do you love about Columbus?
I love that Columbus is an easy affordable city to live in. Seeing the growth and change downtown and in the Short North has been fun to see. We just moved into Pearl Alley this year and love the energy that the alley and Gay street brings. It is also a very easy city to fly in and out of. Columbus is my base home and love to see the world from here.

To be truly comfortable, rewarding and timeless, environments must speak to the heart of who you are– as an individual or organization.

Thanks so much! Please stop by Crimson Design and say hello! Tell them the Market Maven sent ya!

I got a taste of suburban commuting last week when I took two of my kids to camp near State Route 315 and Bethel Road.  The 7:30 am trip from the Short North to camp was easy because the trip was a “reverse commute” against incoming traffic.  My return toward downtown at 8:00 am, however, was hellacious.

Traffic kept stopping on 315 for no apparent reason.  When traffic moved, people tailgated me, cut in front of me for no apparent reason, honked and traded hand gestures.  I cursed so loudly for most of the trip that my dog cowered in the back seat.

The Short North looked really good to me as I ditched my car and began walking to work.  The experience made me wonder why people choose to subject themselves to expressway commuting.  Columbus, Grandview, Bexley, Upper Arlington and other communities have many safe, beautiful and affordable neighborhoods with great transit, bicycle and car access to downtown.  Why would someone choose to subject themselves to such a horrible experience?

I would love to go dancing in The Bottoms.  For that matter, I would enjoy telling people that I lived in The Bottoms.

What is The Bottoms?  It is the former name for Franklinton.  It is the name used for well over a century for the area between downtown and the Hilltop.  At about the time folks in the near north side began embracing the name “Short North,” people in The Bottoms decided that their name carried too many negative connotations and began calling their neighborhood Franklinton.

“Short North,” a term used by police and taxicab companies to describe the area between downtown and The Ohio State University, had terrible connotations in the early 1980s.  “Short North” meant prostitution, drug dealing and abandoned buildings.  It was, however, authentic, and it ultimately became cachet.

“Franklinton” is not a bad name for a neighborhood.  But it cannot compete with “The Bottoms” for authenticity.  “The Bottoms” is exotic, mysterious and appealing.

Where would you rather go dancing?

On May 7, Alive published a terrific section entitled, “What Columbus Needs.”  A response to the question, “What’s the one thing that should be done to improve the city’s future?” caught my attention.  It read, “Parking in the Short North - lack of it sometimes causes me to go elsewhere.”

I have news for this commentator.  The Short North will never solve its parking problem.

That’s not to say the neighborhood won’t add some parking spaces.  The Ibiza project includes public parking.  On-street parking policies will probably change to increase availability.  A few hundred additional parking spaces, however, will quickly fill, and the Alive commentator will continue a frustrating search for parking in a neighborhood that generally refuses to accommodate cars.  That’s OK.

People visit the Short North precisely because of its density.  An attempt to accommodate demand for parking would diminish this essential quality.  The built environment in the Short North is designed for walking, transit, bicycles and taxicabs.  Perhaps it is time to begin using them.