Latest news with #DowntownCommission
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Downtown officials back Columbus State plan for new health sciences building
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus State Community College is readying to break ground on a new 80,000-square-foot academic building. Columbus' Downtown Commission approved on Feb. 25 the college's collaboration with OhioHealth to construct a new healthcare education building at the southwest corner of Cleveland Avenue and East Spring Street, currently home to a parking lot. The three-story building will be named the 'OhioHealth Center of Health Sciences' and is set to break ground this fall. Watch a previous NBC4 report on the center in the video player above. Is Shaquille O'Neal's chicken chain still coming to Columbus? 'This is an important step forward in meeting our commitment to rapidly scale up home-grown healthcare talent,' Martin Maliwesky, Columbus State's senior vice president of academic affairs, said. 'This building represents another investment of Franklin County bond proceeds to provide the in-demand skills critical to the ongoing prosperity of our region.' Columbus State said it is using bond proceeds approved by Franklin County residents to fund construction of the $66.5 million academic building bearing OhioHealth's name. The center will provide upgraded labs, simulation spaces, classrooms and other student success amenities, as Columbus State works with the region's healthcare providers to double the talent pipeline over 10 years. The college announced the project in June 2023 and expects it to open by the start of the 2027-2028 academic year. The new building is one part of the college's $120 million OhioHealth partnership, which aims to increase the number of professionals in five key fields: nursing, surgical technology, medical imaging, respiratory therapy and sterile processing. OhioHealth touted a $25 million endowment it created to support instructional and administrative needs as college healthcare programs grow. COTA program for residents with disabilities faces criticism for late arrivals, no shows After the Center for Health Sciences is completed, Columbus State plans to renovate an existing building, Union Hall, to update further dedicated healthcare education spaces. The college also announced last fall it will invest more than $50 million in other new classroom improvements, including a $35 million Franklin Hall renovation that will yield new classrooms and specialized labs. Columbus State's new center was one of several construction projects reviewed by the Downtown Commission during the February meeting. Members voted to table Bluestone Brothers Development's request for approval to bulldoze several single-story buildings on the southeast corner of East Rich and South Fourth streets. After demolition, Bluestone Brothers plans to construct a 24-story, 504,000-square-foot tower called 'The Estrella.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Austin seeks public input on $12.5M in Seaholm area upgrades
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin has more than $12 million earmarked for improvements in downtown's Seaholm area — and is seeking public feedback on how to spend portions of those dollars. The city established a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) in the Seaholm District neighborhood back in 2008, Alex Payson, Austin Transportation and Public Works' capital improvement program manager, told the city's Downtown Commission Wednesday one project initially outlined was a pedestrian and bicycle underpass beneath a roadway at Bowie Street. City leaders attempted to reach an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad for that project, but it stalled out. Instead, when council closed the TIRZ in December 2023, city officials reallocated $12.5 million from the TIRZ to the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department for five projects that would help achieve similar goals as the Bowie Street underpass intended. Those five projects include: Cesar Chavez Street shared-use path connecting Sandra Muraida Way to San Antonio Street: $1.3 million Improved crossing safety via dynamic signs at Cesar Chavez Street and West Avenue, Walter Seaholm Drive: $200,000 Third Street and Power Plant Drive mobility improvements: $1 million Northern Shoal Creek trail alignment: $5 million East-west crossings of Shoal Creek at Third Street: $5 million The beefiest project discussed with the Downtown Commission were the mobility improvements at Third Street and Power Plant Drive. Transportation officials are reviewing four alternative design options for multimodal improvements in the corridor — with some featuring a possible pedestrian plaza. The first design consideration proposes closing Power Plant Drive and upgrading ramps while installing concrete and sod to develop a plaza for pedestrians and cyclists. Under this proposal, parking on Third Street would be maintained. Payson said staff have noticed a wide variety of conflicts in this area, particular from the two-way traffic on Third Street and one-way traffic on Power Plant Drive. Under this proposal, city officials would close Power Plant Drive and improve ramps while installing a pedestrian plaza, similar to the first alternative. Parking under this version would also be retained. However, unlike Alternative 1, this option would feature the installation of back-angle parking on the south curb of Third Street, which would allow city officials to recapture approximately 10 parking spaces compared to the first alternative — albeit resulting in a narrower pedestrian plaza as a result. With this alternative, Power Plant Drive would remain open but crews would expand the center median running between Third Street and Power Plant Drive. The widened median would double as an urban trail dividing the two roadways. Parking would be maintained along Third Street, with the possibility of ramp improvements. It would also take parking from the north curb of Power Plant Drive for a shared-use path and green space for east-west movement. Alternative 4 would also close Power Plant Drive and would upgrade ramps and install concrete and pod to develop a multimodal plaza, as well as add a delivery zone and ADA-parking area with ramp access. Payson said this design is similar to the first two options, but added the main difference is the south curb on Third Street would transform into a commercial delivery zone, taking four spaces from the curb and reallocating them. Work is currently underway on the Cesar Chavez Street shared-use path and the dynamic signs. Construction on the shared-use path began in October and is expected to wrap in late spring, while the dynamic signs should be delivered for installation in the coming weeks. For the Third Street and West Avenue improvements, city officials are collecting public feedback through March 23 via a community survey. A pop-up event is also scheduled for March 1 from 10 a.m. to noon at Third Street and West Avenue. Following that, transportation leaders will finalize design and construction plans for the Third Street and West Avenue enhancements. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plan OK'd to bulldoze former United Way for apartment complex
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The former United Way headquarters Downtown will face a bulldozer this spring to make way for a $29 million affordable housing complex. The Downtown Commission approved on Jan. 28 the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority's plan to replace the 55-year-old headquarters at 360 S. Third St. with a five-story apartment building. Called 'AspireColumbus,' the housing complex will predominantly serve middle- and low-wage earning families, as well as those with disabilities. Watch a previous NBC4 report on the proposal in the video player above. Happy Greek in the Short North closes after 20 years 'Downtown Columbus is increasingly becoming a magnet for people of all income levels looking for a place to call home,' said Scott Scharlach, the housing authority's chief operating officer. 'CMHA is committed to ensuring affordable housing options will exist for residents to live, work and play downtown, and the new AspireColumbus site is a perfect location to help make that dream happen.' Plans call for the complex to be home to 82 units, including a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments. After the former United Way building is demolished, construction is set to begin this summer with a tentative grand opening scheduled for 2026. Of the 82 apartments, 31 will be rent-subsidized by the authority's Housing Choice Voucher Program. Residents in those units are anticipated to be at 30% of the area's median income, which in metro Columbus is an annual income of about $21,700 for an individual and $27,900 for a family of three. The housing authority plans for 12 apartments to be at market rate. New attraction, restaurant coming to Zoombezi Bay this summer The Downtown Commission also approved on Jan. 28 the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts' plan to construct a new music hall in the building previously home to the Central Presbyterian Church at 132 S. Third St. The association purchased the property in 2012 and has long-planned a major renovation of the church building. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
