Columbus Commons Grand Opening Thursday May 26

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imex99's avatar
imex99
Posts: 4,927
May 22, 2011 11:25am
Will anyone go check the commons out, watch a show, ride the carousel, walk the gardens, check out the reading room, watch a movie, etc...

How will the new park do in the dying downtown Columbus climate?

http://www.columbuscommons.org/



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S
Steel Valley Football
Posts: 4,548
May 22, 2011 11:35am
Is downtown Columbus really dying?
Cat Food Flambe''s avatar
Cat Food Flambe'
Posts: 1,230
May 22, 2011 12:56pm
I don't think downtown Columbus is dying at all - in fact, the newer residential areas around downtown ( German,Italian and Vic Villages, Harrison West, Grandview, Old Towne East) are the best selling area in the metro area. Where the people go, business will follow.
imex99's avatar
imex99
Posts: 4,927
May 22, 2011 2:08pm
Around downtown but if your actually at the heart of downtown(broad, high, state) on the weekend's or after 5pm, most fast food or lunch restaurants close.
Heck, dunkin donuts opened a few years back and recently closed because business was slow at broad and high.
Subway at high and state street closes at 3pm on Sundays because of slow business.
On state holidays, with State workers off, it's almost dead....
You mostly cota bus riders and stragglers from nearby events.
Hopefully this park/ entertainment venue will bring people back....

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Tiger2003's avatar
Tiger2003
Posts: 15,421
May 22, 2011 2:12pm
imex99;776503 wrote: Heck, dunkin donuts opened a few years back and recently closed because business was slow at broad and high.

You would know all about the Dunkin Donuts.
Tobias Fünke's avatar
Tobias Fünke
Posts: 2,387
May 22, 2011 4:36pm
imex99;776503 wrote:Around downtown but if your actually at the heart of downtown(broad, high, state) on the weekend's or after 5pm, most fast food or lunch restaurants close.
Heck, dunkin donuts opened a few years back and recently closed because business was slow at broad and high.
Subway at high and state street closes at 3pm on Sundays because of slow business.
On state holidays, with State workers off, it's almost dead....
You mostly cota bus riders and stragglers from nearby events.
Hopefully this park/ entertainment venue will bring people back....

That's because, as people know, people don't live downtown. Businesses are structured to serve the working commuters. Over 110 companies have headquarters downtown, with 100,000 employees and the $375,000,000 in spending power that goes with them. Businesses cater to that.

In the immediate downtown, life is starting to pick up. In 2005 the population was 2,200; it just recently topped 6,000. While the figure isn't great, the rate of increase is nice. Overall downtown has 65,000 residents, that needs to be doubled.

In my opinion the best thing for downtown would be to a streetcar line from German Village, to downtown, the Arena District, Short North, all of the way to Ohio State's Ohio Union. Something very similar to this, although I'd lengthen the route south to around Thurman Avenue. It would connect several neighborhoods and make it much easier for someone to go visit downtown; it would also allow someone to live downtown and have greater access to surrounding neighborhoods. The people who live downtown in condos and whatnot are the same people who don't want to drive everywhere, statistics back it up. Fuck the dirty COTA busing system.



To be fair, the places around downtown are having a ton of success. The Short North is fantastic and only getting better. The $75 million invested into the Arena District has led to $1 billion in economic return. You have to build for momentum, and the Columbus Commons is doing just that. In my opinion it won't be enough, we need to connect the neighborhoods.
imex99's avatar
imex99
Posts: 4,927
May 22, 2011 5:05pm
Agree 100%

A casino would have been excellent, imo with streetcars to get to the entertainment venues of Columbus.

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Tobias Fünke's avatar
Tobias Fünke
Posts: 2,387
May 22, 2011 5:38pm
How Columbus let the casino be placed anywhere but around downtown is beyond me. Toledo did the same fucking thing! They have the Marina District sitting empty since 2001 literally across the river from downtown and they decide to put it in down the river in Rossford because it's near I-75 instead of I-280. Whoever made that incorrigible decision should be exiled from the state permanently. People just don't understand you need to have your attractions in one central location. SMFH.
thedynasty1998's avatar
thedynasty1998
Posts: 6,844
May 22, 2011 9:09pm
Moving the Casino was a horrible idea.

The park is dumb.

Downtown Columbus is starting to be more appealing to residents but we are still seeing many business choose the suburbs rather than being downtown.
LJ's avatar
LJ
Posts: 16,351
May 22, 2011 9:15pm
The casino would have been awesome taking over the old city center. I just really didn't like the Arena District plan. The whole Casino deal is a mess anyway and in the long run probably won't matter where the hell they put it
se-alum's avatar
se-alum
Posts: 13,948
May 22, 2011 9:23pm
I just hope there is a strong police presence and this doesn't turn into a drug den...
thedynasty1998's avatar
thedynasty1998
Posts: 6,844
May 22, 2011 9:33pm
LJ;777021 wrote:The casino would have been awesome taking over the old city center. I just really didn't like the Arena District plan. The whole Casino deal is a mess anyway and in the long run probably won't matter where the hell they put it

Disagree with that. Would have been a nightmare at the City Center site. Arena District would have kept it away enough from businesses buy close enough to the entertainment.
LJ's avatar
LJ
Posts: 16,351
May 22, 2011 9:36pm
thedynasty1998;777043 wrote:Disagree with that. Would have been a nightmare at the City Center site. Arena District would have kept it away enough from businesses buy close enough to the entertainment.

At nightmare at City Center? So we have the Arena District, why can't we have the Casino District? It would have been perfect. Parking already there, infrastructure for the volume of people already there, revitalizing an area of downtown.
derek bomar's avatar
derek bomar
Posts: 3,722
May 22, 2011 9:42pm
imex99;776337 wrote:Will anyone go check the commons out, watch a show, ride the carousel, walk the gardens, check out the reading room, watch a movie, etc...

How will the new park do in the dying downtown Columbus climate?

http://www.columbuscommons.org/



Swyped from my HTC Evo with Eternal Prophecy 6.0 ROM.

dying?
imex99's avatar
imex99
Posts: 4,927
May 22, 2011 10:01pm
Get over it.... posted from my phone professor!

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LJ's avatar
LJ
Posts: 16,351
May 22, 2011 10:03pm
imex99;777068 wrote:Get over it.... posted from my phone professor!

Swyped from my HTC Evo with Eternal Prophecy 6.0 ROM.

Tobias Fünke's avatar
Tobias Fünke
Posts: 2,387
May 22, 2011 10:30pm
I'm in the camp that believes both the casino and Columbus Crew Stadium should have been placed in the Arena District. Yes, there is room.

I wouldn't have rejected a proposed to put the Casino in the former City Center.

The Columbus Commons though brings a green space that will naturally boost the real estate value of the adjacent properties, so maybe will see some spin off development.
LJ's avatar
LJ
Posts: 16,351
May 22, 2011 10:34pm
Tobias Fünke;777093 wrote:I'm in the camp that believes both the casino and Columbus Crew Stadium should have been placed in the Arena District. Yes, there is room.

I wouldn't have rejected a proposed to put the Casino in the former City Center.

The Columbus Commons though brings a green space that will naturally boost the real estate value of the adjacent properties, so maybe will see some spin off development.

Crew Stadium was done before there was an arena district and hardly even a dream of the arena district. Crew Stadium was being built before the Pen was even torn down
Tobias Fünke's avatar
Tobias Fünke
Posts: 2,387
May 23, 2011 1:50am
LJ;777100 wrote:Crew Stadium was done before there was an arena district and hardly even a dream of the arena district. Crew Stadium was being built before the Pen was even torn down

I know I meant it'd have been great. Yes, there is no one to blame, which is why I didn't go off on a rant like I did with Toledo haha