Updated Elevations of Condos

Updated Plans of Condo

 

Site Plan @ Condos. Brown and Orange is existing buildings/areas.

 3d Site Area showing pocket parks between buildings and relation to surroundings.

 

Enlarged Pocket Park area. Makes a nice outdoor area facing high street for residents and shoppers. Park would have benches for seating and plantings to beautify the area. The plantings would also help hide resident entrances into the buildings.

 

Site section through condos including light rail line. The height of the building will help connect the short north to campus by creating a transition of building heights. Also pulling the building closer to the street creates the high street building corridor. This section is the same section as drawn in a previous post below as section 4.

3d Site Mass Model of Current Site

The blue buildings are ones that will be affected by my master plan.

Existing Street Sections through Site

Building Heights on Site

All the buildings included in my site range from 1-3 stories. The areas East and West of my site are mainly 2-3 story buildings. North of the site (Campus Gateway) the buildings soar to 5 floors typically and are comprised of retail/residential and restaurants. South of the site (Short North) the buildings are mainly 3 stories with sporadically placed 1 story structures. Also in the short north there are a few exceptions where buildings are higher than 5 floors. These two areas specifically are a new construction condo complex at roughly 8 stories and a retirement home that is 15 floors.

The image below breaks down the heights in my specific areas (all mainly 1-3 stories) in order to properly tie my thesis site into the areas of campus and short north a building height transition seems to be logical. The buildings in my master plan will range from 2-5 stories creating a proper transition to the surrounding areas. This will be graphically shown in a N-S site section in the near future that extends beyond my site into the campus gateway and short north with a current and proposed section shown.

MasterPlan vs Current Conditions

Below is a comparison between the current site conditions and an outline of the program for my masterplan. I have reverted back to the original site and have disregarded the area west of high street to neil ave. In talking w/ my interviewee and visiting the site a few times it has been determined that the area west of high street wouldn't benefit as much as just the high street corridor. The area west of high is too historical to mess with and the student housing section is determined and controlled by the Ohio State University. The most benefit for my thesis is and has gone back to be both sides of High Street between 5th ave and 9th ave. The retail spaces outlined in the bottom graphic can and will include restaurants and other types of business establishments.

Parking Facing High Street

One of my original beliefs was the overabundance of parking facing high street. The plots of land these parking lots are on are valuable to the success of my masterplan. The value of these lots is not obtained via parking but should be rezoned and reused to house buildings that function for the betterment of the site. The image below shows all the parking lots that face high street. These areas are prime candidates for programs to help make the overall site a destination that connects campus to downtown. Parking although a very necessary aspect of the program is not doing the site justice by facing high street. Through the knowledge obtained through my personal interview, it is apparent the parking is an issue and needs to be maintained but yet addressed differently and should not be visible from high street at the magnitude that it currently is. The areas outlined below could be more properly utilized as will be address by my master plan of the area.

Site plan with building outlines

The image below helps one understand how the site is laid out w/ its buildings. There is a lot of open spaces with is mainly occupied by parking. The goal of the thesis is to create the building corridor to connect campus to short north. As the image shows there is no corridor, just sporadically placed buildings w/ parking facing high street.


(This image is in progress)

Video about short north

The video below addresses some of the needs for housing that can be obtained on my site making it a transition/extension of the short north

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwcBRHUlGGE

Interview Feedback

1.  How long have you lived in the area?  31 years total – Victorian Village: rented 4 years; Harrison West: rented 4 years, homeowner 23 years.

2.  What was the state of the area when you first moved to it? Victorian Village was beginning its gentrification, focusing on the housing stock along Neil Avenue.  Gentrification radiated out from that street to the more “working class” housing on either side of Neil. High Street from South Campus to Union Station was a prostitute and drug dealer hangout among the  many empty, abandoned, or boarded-up storefronts. What caused the site to be in its current state?  Were the changes in the neighborhood  gradual or abrupt, were they based on zoning changes, demographic changes, or something else? Changes were gradual and began with the residential portion of the areas: initially in Victorian Village, then Italian Village and finally into Harrison West and Dennison Park.  The commercial development followed as the neighborhoods began to stabilize. Among a number of urban gentrification pioneers there was a shared vision to celebrate the unique character of the residential neighborhoods and preserve as much of the original architectural significance and environmental texture as possible. The establishment of neighborhood Commissions for both Victorian and Italian Villages gave teeth to applicable city codes.

3.  Do you know what this area was like in its prime, do you think it has had several "primes" since it was first started? High Street and Broad Street were the major corridors between the business portion of Columbus (Downtown) and its residential neighborhoods. Residential development expanded from these two arteries growing both north and east. High Street had one major difference from the Broad Street corridor: it had an additional type of area directly on its path. That distinctive area was the  educational neighborhood of Ohio State University. The connection between the commercial and educational nodes was a very important segment of the city’s organizational structure. The residential neighborhoods adjacent to this OSU-Downtown segment flourished because of their proximity to both Downtown and OSU as well as their adjacency to Union Station and its connection to the rest of the nation. All the Short North neighborhoods had their primes prior to World War II. Like so many urban situations across America, families’ exits to the suburbs in the 1950’s brought about an abandonment of the residential, and subsequently the commercial, areas with close proximity to the cities’ cores. Additional rapid deterioration was related to the closing of rail connectivity when the Federal government took over rail service in the early 1960’s and the area surrounding Union Station was abandoned.


4.  What district of Columbus do you enjoy hanging out in (for entertainment, for basic needs, for occasions only a few times a year) and why? (i.e. Art, Downtown, Campus, etc) Primary criteria for deciding on destinations is proximity to home.  So, for the Performing Arts: Downtown (Symphony, BalletMet, CATCO); Fine Arts and Galleries: Short North, OSU (Wexner Center), Downtown (Columbus Museum of Art); Cinema: Lennox, OSU (Gateway), Downtown (Arena Grand); Dining and Cocktails: Short North, Grandview Downtown (Gay Street corridor).

5.  What is the most occupied/inhabited part of the site on a consistent basis? Does it vary from weekday to weekend? Day to night? Seasonally? Your thesis site, High Street (Fifth to South Campus Gateway): Bus Shelters, consistently from early morning to late at night, and sometimes al night occupancy by homeless.

6.  What aspects of the site programs are economically successful and should not be removed? Bus Shelters


7.  What aspects of the site programs are not successful on urban, economic, and social levels? Parking lots facing High Street, longevity of City-installed street plantings

8.  What site programs do you think the area is lacking, what do you feel needs to be done to tie the site in with the Short North and Campus  areas to complete the transition through the site? 1. Portals or inviting entries to adjacent neighborhoods to demonstrate a direct connectivity between residential and commercial. 2. Gradual scaling change of the “street canyon” proportions between the narrow, moderate height of the Short North to the wider, taller height of the South Campus Gateway. 3. gradual “morphing” of the architectural texture of the canyon walls from the historic original cues of the Short North to the more modern interpretation of the walls in South Campus Gateway’s new buildings. 4. play off of the success of “The Cap” that linked Downtown and the Short North, physically, aesthetically, and psychologically. Urban renewal  efforts in the 50’s created the chasm of what is now I-670 as a real, not imagined, barrier between the two areas.  It truly had been a line of demarcation beyond which people from the Downtown/Convention Center area wouldn’t venture; now there is no impediment – the Cap has now generated a smooth, inviting portal or transition point into the Short North.

9.  Would an introduction of green space (i.e. parks, gathering spaces, landscapes) have a positive impact on the site? if so, what location(s) would this green space be most successful? What kinds of green space would be the most beneficial? (basketball courts, tree-planted boulevards, parks with benches, playgrounds etc)  Green Space is always a welcome visual and physical relief in an urban context. Any and all green spaces should include gathering space; the more passive or non-energized spaces should be in the transition from the commercial to the residential zones while the  more active spaces should be scattered within the residential portions, encouraging residents’ active interaction and promoting a feeling of community. 


10.  What activities do you believe would be successful to incorporate into the green spaces (i.e. benches, water features, trees, outdoor amphitheatre, dining, public transportation stops, etc)  All of the above.  To help differentiate each green space area from the others and to provide a reference for conversational use, utilize one distinctive, unique feature for each space so that they can be easily referred to.  In other words utilize landmarking principles to create a sense of place for these areas.

11.  Are there any times of day/year when the site most utilized and abundant with street life? Your thesis site is a very busy thoroughfare 24-7-365.  And that’s the problem – it’s a thoroughfare (i.e., few people have a need to stay there, there is no reason to stop or “be” there, it’s a transition area and not a destination).

12.  Are you familiar with the Weinland park revitalization proposal? What aspects of it would be helpful to utilize on the current site? Assuring that there is a direct visual and implied connection between it and the High Street corridor; create that “portal” and incorporate some of that neighborhood’s architectural character into the final design recommendations for the Corridor.

13.  What impact do you expect the street car line to have on the site and the real estate values within a 1/2 mile of the area, or will the current state of the area be a factor?  If and when the street car line is installed, it will help reinforce the “people connection” between OSU and Downtown that has been lost over the past 50-60 years. It will allow more visibility of potential “stop-off” points along its path for passengers and thereby creating more real, purposeful destinations. Residential real estate values will probably remain the same in the more settled neighborhood areas. In nearby areas in need of improvement, the residential real estate values would logically improve as the process of gentrification progresses.


14.  Would revitalizing the area beyond high street (boundaries of Neil Ave. on the west, 5th Ave. on the south, and campus on the north) help or hurt the revitalization of the area? why? If it would help do you think the area west of high street would thrive as a residential community for college students, young professionals, and/or families?  I believe this residential area is a part of the University District and may have its own guidelines set. Since OSU-owned properties are interspersed among privately owned properties within this area, a master plan would need to be developed with the University.  However, I believe OSU is attempting to be a responsible and good neighbor to the local associations and is working with then on improvement guidelines.  This area would definitely benefit from a revitalization; its improvement would help in OSU’s recruitment efforts for faculty and staff as it could promote the proximity to work for its employees.  Stabilizing this neighborhood also are would help in attracting families to the area as it has such direct and great access to many of the popular destinations in the “inside 270” portion of metropolitan Columbus.


15.  What are your thoughts on introducing new mixed use retail, restaurants, and commercial structures along with apartment and condos into the area to promote entertainment and destination points (whether they be new construction or reuse of existing buildings)? These are all very good options to add to the mixed-use.  As stated before, it’s imperative to create your thesis area into a destination “of choice.”  Providing options (retail, entertainment, dining) to non-residents would give outsiders an opportunity to discover the area.  Additional benefit is that area residents are offered these same options whereby they can say within close proximity (and be “greener’).


16.  Do you think creating a building corridor along the site (similar to Short North, pulling the building facades towards the street and hiding parking lots in alleys) would help tie in the site with the surroundings and make the area aesthetically pleasing, both in architecture and economically?  Yes – and for more, see my answer for #8 above.

17.   What would be the best building style for the site (all new construction or a mix of the old and new to maintain the historical look of the area)?  I think a mix of recycling the old and interspersing new, with a design-nod to the character of the old, is the best sort of transition.  The “clear-cutting” philosophy of the governmental urban renewal efforts of the 50’s and 60’s has proven that it’s not successful for a city’s health when the existing fabric is completely eliminated and replaced.  Throughout history, most all city’s neighborhoods have evolved with infilling, renovating, rehabilitating, and replacing elements in their environs.  The same approach for your thesis site will benefit the final solution and give the best example of transitioning from one area to another as seamlessly as possible.

How do a buildings reactions to corner lots differ depending on building usage?

Each of the main intersections shown below has a different approach to draw visual attraction to the buildings. All the buildings serve different purposes. For example the apartments on 10th and High Street use windows on both streets to maximize views and light. On the other hand the building at 11th and High has more of an angled entrance to attract visitors from both High Street and 11th ave while still maintaining the views down both streets. The buildings at Goodale and High street symbolize the start of the short north and the facades are not used for views as much as for aesthetics. 5th and 9th avenue buildings use the corner to attract visitors into the retail spaces. All of these approaches are dependent on the use and location of the buildings. The approaches will help me determine how to wrap corners depending on the use of the buildings. For apartments/condos maximized light and views will be important on as many sides as possible. For retail spaces the importance of attracting customers to the main entrance becomes the key role. 

All the buildings in the shown area are 2-3 story structures w/ multiple uses. The orange area is student housing, mainly apartment buildings and multi-resident housing. The green areas are more single family home oriented, although some of the buildings are duplex/triplexes inhabited by one family per unit. The pink areas are mixed use commercial/retail buildings with varying programs oriented to the location. These programs include but are not limited to grocery store, tanning, misc retail, thrift store, supply warehouse, bar, and dining.

additional photos

Click link for new photos of site boundaries

Extended Site Drive Thru Photos

Photos linked above show area of extended site. It is a very crowded area yet no one hangs out there. The housing is typically 2-3 stories and occupied by on campus students.

In Progress Scheme

progress map for schemes

 

 Green Space at Round-A-Bouts