the urban news for the week ending Sunday, March 23, 2008
 
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If you still haven't had a chance to go over all the high points from Mayor Coleman's 2008 State of the City address, which he gave on March 13th, please join me for a review of the highlights from his speech that I think are the most noteworthy from the urban revitalization perspective. I give you the snippets that stuck out the most to me and also share some of my perspectives and observations along the way. More importantly though, I hope to be able to shed a little light into what some of the items really mean. I've been reading so many opinions out on the blogosphere and in the mainstream media of what folks think about various initiatives that were discussed by Mayor Coleman, but I saw too few attempts to explain what some of them really mean. There are a lot of good topics to get into from this year's State of the City address so I actually had to break them down into a multi-part editorial I'll present over the next couple of weeks so that you don't spend half your morning reading this thing. This week I cover the Bicentennial Bond Package, the Curfew, Vacant Housing and the Columbus Coated Fabrics project.
Paul Bonneville  
 Nearly broke and still short of solutions, the Columbus Symphony could fold as early as next month, the president of the symphony board says.
Musicians and board members of the financially strapped Columbus Symphony will meet this afternoon to begin discussions.
The chair of the Columbus Symphony board of directors says the orchestra will soon run out of money. Without an infusion of cash, Buzz Trafford says the orchestra could cease to function in less than 60 days.
Leaders of the financially struggling Columbus Symphony Orchestra and their musicians' union met this afternoon for the first time in nearly two months. Union reps walked out of their last meeting, after the board proposed cutting 22 of the symphony's 53 full-time positions.
Bexley City Council on Tuesday night tabled Capital University's request for a variance to allow student housing in the Woodsview Condominium complex, 2130 Astor Ave. Members said they hope to bring it to a vote at their next meeting, March 18.
Mayor Michael B. Coleman declared the end of Cowtown last night.
Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman wants to crack down on kids violating curfew, create more "green" jobs and turn the High Street side of City Center into a town square ringed by shops.
Many of his plans, however, sound nostalgic: His Columbus would have electric streetcars Downtown, a town square, more bike paths, neighborhood farmers markets and a quaint Downtown park with benches, swings, and tables for chess and dominos tables.
Columbus' new curfew policy sounds simple enough: Starting June 5, kids need to be off the streets by midnight. But as with many government programs, it will take a committee to work out the details.
NetJets will stay in Columbus. That is some of the best development news this city has heard.
"Businesspeople are able to communicate things I don't think that governments can about a community," Wexner said. "From my point of view, we'd love to have NetJets here because they're a good business, but we'd also like them to participate in the community in whatever their passion is."...
The city has tentative plans to boost downtown retail offerings and public transit more than six years after it began encouraging housing development with tax incentives.
Nearly a decade after announcing plans to help develop a project called Albany Park, Casto is preparing to start site work for a retail center at the 300-plus-acre mixed-use development.
Columbus City Council Highlights for March 17th, 2008
Post Card Caption: City Hall, Columbus. Ohio.
Last week, Katharine Moore, executive director of the not-for-profit, said the group will seek several hundred dollars from the city to help purchase planting materials for Schiller Park. No exact figure was given.
Over the past few months, there has been growing interest in the development activities taking place at the former Big Bear site. While the process of developing a site of this magnitude can become quite involved, the city appreciates the opportunity to inform residents and area businesses about what is on the horizonââ¬Â¦
The city of Grandview Heights is in the early stages of negotiating a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement with Nationwide Realty Investors for the developer's Grandview Yard project.
Grandview's Charter Review Commission continues to look into possible updates for the city's "constitution" -- and big changes for city government could be in the cards.
...I would be all for it," said Clintonville Area Commissioner Dave Southan, who heads the safety committee. "I'm willing to get anything I can from the city when it comes to helping crime."
Neighbors matter when putting a price tag on homes. Appraisers use comparable sales data to calculate the value of a home, a number lenders require for selling and refinancing. And comparable sales in neighborhoods plagued by foreclosures knock down the value of homes.
For first-time buyers, the environment is a whole lot better than it was six months ago, McBride said. "In the last six months, first-time home buyers have seen not only home prices decline but mortgage rates decline as well."
After months of watching a growing credit crisis made worse by steadily eroding home prices, the Bush administration responded on Thursday with the outlines of a plan that officials emphasized is meant more to prevent future crises than to address the current one.
Sales of existing houses in Central Ohio continued to lag last year's pace in February, but sales contracts saw their first increase in more than half a year, the Columbus Board of Realtors reported Thursday.
If it were not for the growth of central Ohio's seven counties, the state would have had a net loss of more than 16,000 residents in 2007.
Ohio led the 34-county list of population losers. Just two Ohio counties were on the list of 100 fastest-growing counties released Thursday.
A local developer plans to build a $25 million apartment and condominium project south of the old Lazarus building, continuing a renaissance in the city's RiverSouth district.
A developer best known for suburban housing has struck a deal to build apartments and condominiums near Capitol Square in a bid to create affordable housing in downtown Columbus.
The first day of spring kicks off the first Short North Third Thursday. Beginning March 20, the Short North will offer extended evening shopping hours the 3rd Thursday of each month. The news comes in response to growing demand for evening hours.
Arms Properties CEO Rajesh Lahoti said his company saw an underserved segment in the housing community, which prompted his company to build Ibiza--a hybrid home that aims to attract younger and retired renters.
Commuters who roll up major mileage between home and work are burning an ever-larger portion of their paychecks in their gas tanks.
When Mayor Michael B. Coleman proposed the construction of a streetcar line to ease traffic congestion in Columbus, the idea was ridiculed by many residents calling our local radio talk shows. However, after a recent visit to Portland, Ore., I am sold on the ideaââ¬Â¦
Coleman revisited his plan to relieve the pain of bloated gas prices during his state of the city address Thursday, March 13.
City, state and federal leaders met downtown on Wednesday to try and fix the transportation woes around Central Ohio.
Columbus City Council members gave their approval last night for an agreement with Wagenbrenner Development to clean and revive 17 acres in Weinland Park that once was home to the Columbus Coated Fabrics plant.
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