Thursday, November 2, 2006
By KEVIN PARKS
ThisWeek Staff Writer
The line between one neighborhood and another is often blurry at best.
In no part of a city is this more true than for the downtown.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of urban studies and history Robert M. Fogelson, in his 2001 book “Downtown: Its Rise and Fall, 1880-1950,” wrote: “As a place, downtown was hard to define. Legally, it did not exist. Unlike the city of which it was a part — indeed, unlike every parcel of real estate in the city — downtown had no formal boundaries, no precise lines to show where it began and where it ended.”
There is, in fact, a legal definition of what encompasses downtown Columbus. It was adopted in a 1997 ordinance, which states:
“The Downtown District is that area indicated in the official city zoning map and bounded as follows:
“Beginning at the intersection of Interstate 70 and the western bank of the Scioto River;
“Thence northeasterly along the Scioto River to the first railroad right-of-way;
“Thence northerly along said railroad right-of-way to the first intersecting railroad right-of-way;
“Thence westerly along said railroad right-of-way to to the intersection of state Route 315;
“Thence northerly along state Route 315 to the intersection of Interstate 670;
“Thence easterly along Interstate 670 to the intersection of Interstate 71;
“Thence southerly along Interstate 71 to the intersection of Interstate 70;
“Thence westerly along Interstate 70 to the place of beginning.”
What a mouthful! And dry as dust, to boot!
Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s administration views it more succinctly.
“We have two definitions,” press secretary Michael S. Brown wrote in an e-mail. “One, inside the interstates and RR tracks on the west.”
But then he drops the other shoe, muddying the waters just a bit:
“Two, for housing we include the ‘necklace neighborhoods’ like developments in Short North, Brewery District and Italian Village.”
What, Italian Village but not German Village?
“That’s often debated,” Brown admitted. “German Village is very much its own branded area, but we do consider it part of the core. Short North is the same. We just are cautious about where we count housing, because we want our downtown stats to be authentic.
“All necklace neighborhoods are separate, but connected to the downtown.”
Katharine Moore, executive director of the German Village Society, begs to differ.
“A true downtown needs density,” she wrote in an e-mail.”German Village, which has been a downtown neighborhood for 50 years, has coffee shops and a bookstore open till the late hours. We have restaurants and bars that are bustling well after midnight.
“We also have parks for children to play in, grocery stores, public gardens to enjoy, two elementary schools and all of the energy they provide, as well as 233 acres of pedestrian-scaled design that allows one to feel balanced and connected.
“I am certain that the success of the downtown revitalization effort will be tied directly to the ability of the developers to knit the emerging city to the historic neighborhoods of Victorian Village, the Brewery District and German Village.”
The interstates mentioned in the 1997 ordinance and by press secretary Brown had, in the opinion of Cleve Ricksecker, a profound impact on what can and cannot be considered downtown.
Ricksecker is project director for the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District.
In a reply to an e-mail inquiry, he wrote:
“The interstate system created boundaries for downtown that did not exist prior to the construction of the innerbelt. Prior to the mid-1960s, downtown connected seamlessly to neighborhoods on the south and east. To the north and west, railroad tracks established clear boundaries. Downtown consisted of High Street between Goodale Street and Fulton Street and two to four blocks east and west of High Street.
“I believe the downtown interstates have changed not only the legal definition of downtown, but the emotional understanding as well.”
Ken Danter is founder and president of a 36-year-old company that bears his name, a national real estate consulting firm that provides market research and demographic information to builders, lenders and developers. The Danter Co. conducted a survey in 2000 to determine interest in residential development in downtown Columbus, which he believes helped spur much of the condo and loft growth that has occurred. The firm is in the process of updating that survey for the Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp.
A few months ago, Danter referred to Ohio State as a “fine downtown university.” He was only half joking.
“That’s probably a stretch,” Danter admitted in a telephone interview last week, “but the fact is, I believe most people relate Ohio State to (state Route) 315 and Lane Avenue, but the reality is that OSU reaches to King Avenue. That’s very, very close.”
Danter falls firmly in the camp that includes German Village as part of downtown.
“From a market perspective, it certainly is,” he said. “When I see people walk to work, that’s a pretty good indication that they’re part of the urban community.”
Peter D. Scantland is the president of Orange Barrel Media, the firm responsible for putting cars in slingshots, gigantic soccer balls and other large-scale ads on the sides of downtown buildings, much to the vexation of Ohio Department of Transportation officials.
Scantland offered his thoughts via e-mail:
“I think that while the city and census reports may define our downtown as a specific and rather limited geographic area, bordered on the north by Goodale Street, the east by Cleveland Avenue, the west by Neil Avenue and the south by Mound Street, I would argue that many of the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to that boundary could actually be considered to fall under the ‘downtown’ umbrella, as well, if not geographically, then certainly by virtue of set of common characteristics.
“I would suggest that the areas immediately within the previously mentioned boundaries would better be described as our Central Business District. Generally, the core downtown area, as defined by the city, has traditionally been primarily business uses, with typical buildings characterized by tall ’skyscraper-like’ construction.
“Until relatively recently, there has been little by way of residential construction. Conversely, the Short North, Victorian Village, Italian Village, German Village and Olde Towne East, have been experiencing rapid residential development and escalating property values for the past 20 years.
“Under Mayor Mike Coleman’s Downtown Business Plan, developers have been able to service pent-up demand for downtown living in our central business district. The next 10 years will undoubtedly witness more tall buildings being added to our skyline, but they will more than likely contain condos and not offices.”
When the Downtown Residents Association was formed three years ago, according to president Kevin Woods, its boundaries were devised so as not to step on anyone’s toes.
“When we were debating what the boundaries of our organization should be, we basically looked at the established civic associations that were in the downtown,” Woods said in a telephone interview.
Existing civic groups were found operating in the Brewery District, Olde Towne East, German Village, Schumacher Place, Italian Village, Short North, Victorian Village and Franklinton, according to Woods. With only one largely defunct civic group located near the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Downtown Residents Association officials chose Interstates 70 and 71 in south, I-71 on east, I-670 to the north and the Scioto River to the west as their borders.
“Outside of those boundaries there is pretty much a civic association already established,” Woods said.
The association was created more or less as an exercise for the Leadership Columbus program Woods participated in three years ago. Membership is open to anyone interested, but only those residing within the specified boundaries may vote in board elections.
Prior to moving downtown, Woods lived in Shoemaker Place for nine years and then spent five years in Victorian Village.
“I always considered myself downtown,” he said. “We’re all one big neighborhood, but each one has its own different feel, amenities or lack thereof, pluses or minuses.”
Jon Myers, a partner in Fresh, a year-old downtown firm of Web site designers and developers, spent a decade in New York City before coming to Columbus. His take on his new home, Myers wrote in an e-mail, is that it is a “collection of neighborhoods (that) have identities, some of which are highly developed, the Short North, and some of which are not developed at all, Columbus downtown proper.”
“The boundaries for downtown Columbus are geographical,” Myers continued, “with lots of distinct landmarks in between. The convention center represents an area of dead energy and space on the east side of High Street. This represents a separation between ‘downtown’ and the ‘Short North’ both of which are ‘downtown’ or even more than downtown, they are simply urban environments.”
Larry Fisher is president of the Columbus Downtown Development Corp., a nonprofit, private-sector development organization, that was formed in June 2002 to implement the business plan for the central business district.
In his reply to an e-mail query, Fisher wrote:
“Downtown Columbus is the face of our region, and what the TV networks show when riding around in their blimps, and talking about Columbus. While there are no defined boundaries, there is a sense of place defined by excitement, diversity, vibrancy and strength.
“Downtown is our government, arts and business center. It includes the Arena District, the emerging RiverSouth neighborhood, and the theater and entertainment districts. It’s the home of three colleges: Columbus State, Columbus College of Art and Design and Franklin University representing 30,000 students. It’s big-name entertainment and professional hockey. It’s a perfect barometer of our economic well-being, because when downtown is healthy, so is the rest of our region. And as our Metropolitan area grows, so does its core. More and more people when they speak of downtown include places such as German Village, Brewery District, Old Towne East, Victorian Village, Harrison West, OSU campus and others.
“Downtown and its definition are both dynamic.”
Paul D. Astleford has two different perspectives on what downtown is and isn’t, one professional and the other personal.
Astleford is president and CEO of Experience Columbus, which employs approximately 40 people in convention sales, tourism sales, convention services, membership, marketing, communications, events and sponsorship development and administration.
On the personal side, Astleford said in a telephone interview, he and his wife, Susan, view downtown as kind of tall and skinny, going up through the Short North and south through German Village, but stopping on the west at the Scioto and the east at Grant Street.
Then there’s his view based on his position at the tourism-promoting organization.
“I would say that from the standpoint of what I’d call the selling and marketing of our community, I would define the downtown as a much larger circle, which would include the university and which would go out west on Broad, I’m not sure how far, some distance, through Franklinton and all that,” he said. “On the south side, I’d certainly think that it goes down to (Interstate) 270 or whatever. I think I could generally say when we’re selling our community we’re selling the greater Columbus Community, so it would almost be everything inside 270.”
Via e-mail, Spectrum Properties president Bill Shelby, whose firm has developed several downtown condo projects, offered this:
“I would argue that downtown and the (central business district) are synonymous. The CBD has some natural and manmade boundaries, which has led to defining the area both currently and historically. Typical boundaries for the CBD would be: I-670 to the north as a manmade boundary, the Scioto River to the west as a natural boundary, I-70 and I-71 to the south and east respectively as manmade boundaries.
“The feel of downtown Columbus is as unique as any of the suburbs that surround it,” Shelby continued. “Being able to step out your front door and walk to any number of restaurants and entertainment venues is drawing people to the convenience and exceptional opportunity that only living downtown can offer. Feeling the excitement and energy that downtown residents have come to know and love adds to the vibrant community formed in the CBD.”
Whatever the geographical or emotional definition of downtown’s boundaries might be, the Coleman administration views it as being of vital importance not only to the city but also to the region, according to his spokesman.
“When Mayor Coleman says it is ‘everybody’s neighborhood,” he isn’t kidding, because it matters to everyone,” press secretary Brown wrote. “Downtown is clearly the economic core of central Ohio, as well as the cultural and entertainment center.
“If downtown were to fade, as many urban cores have, it would hurt all of central Ohio. That is why we took action back in 2002, to reverse the troubling trends we were seeing and bring new life and investment into the heart of the city.”