Downtown Living Blog

1. NBMBAA - Alert from St. Vincent Family Centers

December Alert: Adopt-A Family-Program

Each year St. Vincent Family Centers and its donors provide holiday gifts to the families we serve. This year the
Adopt-A-Family program will provide gifts to more than 200 families. Adopt-A-Family is a great help to our families. This year as much as any year, we don't want to let our families down or tell them at the last minute that they will have to find another way to provide holiday gifts. Based on what we have seen this year, other resources will be hard to find.

We appreciate your past support and interest in our programs. That is why we wanted to update you on where we are this season. As of this writing, more than 50 of our families have yet to be adopted by donors. As you well know, these are difficult times for many in our community. As adults, we understand the realities of a prolonged downturn in the economy. For children, this is simply a season of excitement and anticipation. In keeping with the spirit of the season, we really need your help.

Here's what we need you to do right now:
Contact Susan Brehm righ away (614 252-0731, ext. 1154 or sbrehm@svfc.org). Our deadline to have families matched is Friday. Once you are matched with a family, you'll receive a wish list and further instructions.

The important dates to keep in mind are:

• December 5: Deadline to be matched with a family
• December 12: Gift drop-off, from 7am to 5pm
• December 13: Gift drop-off from 10am to 3pm.

Again, please contact Susan Brehm (614) 252-0731, ext. 1154 or sbrehm@svfc.org) right away to be matched with a family or for additional information about the program.

St. Vincent Family Centers provides mental health prevention, intervention and treatment services to children and families in Columbus and throughout the state of Ohio. The agency is a 2008 winner of the SAMSHA Science and Service for Mental Health Promotion, a Council on Accreditation (COA) agency, certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health, and a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). St. Vincent Family Centers is a provider agency for the ADAMH Board, Franklin County Children Services and the United Way of Central Ohio.

National Black MBA Association
Columbus, Ohio Chapter

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7. Want to keep up on what’s happening in Columbus? Check out these links to local events:

MoveDowntownColumbus.com - event blog
Columbus Underground - Events
Columbus Alive
Experience Columbus - Event Calendar
Columbus Dispatch - Weekender
Columbus Arts Calendar - GCAC
City Scene Magazine - Top 5 List of Events for THIS Weekend
Right Now Downtown - eblast subscription

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8. YPC Sponsored Events

Holiday Lunch for the Homeless

Volunteer Opportunity: December 9th or 10th
Join YPC as we bring smiles and warmth to those less fortunate members of our community this holiday season. We will be teaming with The Largest Table & Capital Crossroads’ Outreach Team to serve lunch to hundreds of homeless individuals on December 10 from 11:30AM-1PM at St. John’s Church in downtown. We’re seeking volunteers to help staff the drinks and desserts table at the luncheon in shifts from 11:15AM-12:15PM and 12:15PM-1:15PM.

Can’t make it downtown for lunch? Then join us for a festive evening of baking and holiday decorating the night before the luncheon on December 9 from 6PM-9PM at St. John’s Church downtown. All supplies will be provided as well as dinner, courtesy of Capital Crossroads’ Outreach Team. If you have a favorite holiday dessert recipe or decoration idea, please share when you RSVP!

Here are the specifics:

When:
Tuesday, December 9, from 6-9PM – Baking evening for luncheon
AND/OR
Wednesday, December 10, from 11:15AM -12:15PM – Serving at luncheon 1^st shift WE ESPECIALLY NEED PEOPLE FOR THIS SHIFT!!
Wednesday, December 10, from 12:15PM – 1:15PM – Serving at luncheon 2^nd shift
Where:
St. John's Evangelical Protestant Church UCC
59 E. Mound St. Columbus, OH 43215
614-224-8634
RSVP:
Katie Tumblin via email ktumblin@gmail.com
*Parking info and other details will be provided when you RSVP
*Please put “YPC Holiday Luncheon” as the subject of your email

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10.

GROUP DANCE LESSONS
When: Thursday, December 11th, 7:45pm-9:45pm
Where: Fred Astaire Dance Studio, 5227 Bethel Centre Mall (off Bethel Road)

Learn some new dance moves and have fun with other CYP Club members in this social group dance lesson, led by instructors at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio. You can bring a partner, or come solo and get partnered up. Wine will be provided for all attendees.

Cost: $15 per person
· CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT

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11. MARTINI MIXER: Fundraiser & F2F Toy Drive

ALL are ENCOURAGED to attend.

Thursday, December 11^th | Club Spice | 491 Park St
6:00pm - 9:00pm
$25* (suggested contribution)
*entitles you to FREE MARTINIS from select list
*year membership w/ Progressive Action for Ohio
CULYPA MEMBERS**:
**FREE MARTINIS available from select list w/ donation of toy

This is a PARTY w/ A PURPOSE!!
~ Donate toys to disadvantaged children served by the Columbus Urban League's

Father 2 Father program (more info below).
~ Learn about the importance & purpose of political action committees.
~ Mix & Mingle with local political officials & up & coming young professionals.
~ Learn more about the CULYPA.

CULYPA Co-hosts: TheFlyPaper, and Progressive Action for Ohio

T'is the Season for Giving! This Networking Social event will also feature a Father to Father (F2F) Toy Drive. We NEED toys for girls & boys from 6-18 years old. Board Games, motivational books, and family DVDs are just a few F2F favorites. Your support will make 38 fathers in the Columbus Urban League Father to Father program thankful this holiday season. These DO NOT have to be expensive gifts. We encourage that you spend no more than $10 an any particular item. These gifts should be looked at as "stocking stuffers".

What is "Father to Father?"
The Columbus Urban League has an African-American Male Initiative called, "Father to Father." Their mission is to assist men in becoming the instinctive, responsible, & nurturing fathers they desire to be. While also, educating the general public on the unique, important, & essential role that Fathers play in the development of their children.

Please visit www.cul.org for more information on how you can support F2F and any of the Columbus Urban League's other programs and initiatives.

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12. Andrew invited you to "Jingle Mingle Dec 11 at the Statehouse Atrium" on Thursday, December 11 at 5:30pm.

Event: Jingle Mingle Dec 11 at the Statehouse Atrium | "Holiday Party and "Not-so-Silent Auction""

What: Holiday Party

Host: CMC PM

Start Time: Thursday, December 11 at 5:30pm End Time: Thursday, December 11 at 8:00pm

Where: Statehouse Atrium; Broad & High Street Downtown

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=37150437514

Thanks,

The Facebook Team

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15.

Green Columbus & The North Market Present Green Drinks Shop Local Happy Hour

You are cordially invited to join Green Columbus at the North Market on Thursday December 18th, 2008 for the first ever “Green Drinks Shop Local Happy Hour.” From 6-8 PM enjoy the North Market’s unique vendor and dining offerings with extended holiday hours just for you. It wouldn't be Green Drinks without the "Drinks" so Green Columbus will be on hand serving up local favorites from Columbus Brewing Company. Proceeds from CBC sales will fund Green Columbus’ educational and outreach programs which make the popular Green Drinks series possible.

So, this year skip the mall and keep your dollars local. You can find impressive gifts from exotic plants to handcrafted jewelry or create your own fruit basket with the help of the fine folks at the Greener Grocer. You'll also find unique holiday meal additions from the finest local bakers, fishmongers, and chocolatiers, not to mention the incomparable Jeni’s Ice Cream.

Local shopping is sustainable shopping and no one does local better than the North Market. Remember, December 18th from 6-8 PM...bring your friends, your shopping list, and your appetite. Besides, you can't shop at the mall with a frosty CBC Pale Ale in hand.
Cheers!

Team Green Drinks

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16. Looking for something different to do on Thursday nights, or need something to really get you in the holiday spirit? Come to Cocktails @ the Conservatory.  Franklin Park Conservatory

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17.

Who: COEXIST & Chop Chop
What: Invite you!
Where: Chop Chop Gallery / 78 Parsons Avenue / Columbus /OH
When: Friday, December 19th beginning at 6pm
Why: Itstimetomobilize.com
p.s. it's free.

December 19th, there's something to do,
so please come on out, and bring the whole crew!

You will find art for sale, but it won't be too formal,
cause if you've ever seen Chop Chop, you know we're not normal.

We'll have clusters of couches, in hopes to get cozy,
and of course some red wine, we all like to be rosy!

And a few of our doors that are usually closed,
they will now be open - our secrets exposed!

There may be a tall walrus, and he'll ask how you feel,
but don't be alarmed, he's just keepin' it real.

Bring a blank tee, we'll screenprint for you!
and what, you might ask, what more can they do?

A rotating art show! Buy off the walls, how fantastic!
But be sure to bring cash, cause we don't do plastic.

Come celebrate with friends, family, art, live music and booze,
and then settle down for a long winter snooze.

Featured Artists:
Joey Monsoon, Aaron Troyer, Ashley Puckett, Seth Scantlen, Nathan Ober, Craig Dransfield, Robin Rogers, B Collective (Adam Russell, Har Simrit Singh, Yusef Abdul Lateef, Kelly Lever), Danzo Danzo, Kevin Bickle, Able Projects (Ali Calis, Ryan Little), Hilary Hilario, OJ Hays, Evan Puckett, Jeff Kleinman, Max Growick.

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18. aja’s note: Jeff Lafever, executive director of the Columbus Historical Society, really wants to engage with members of the community. Super cool! Below are several opportunities to get involved.

a. The Columbus Historical Society has several programs set for 2009, but we need to finalize our schedule. We are also interested in looking for new ideas/partners for our programs, hence why you have been invited to this meeting. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, December 9th, 2008, 5:30 - 7pm at 65 Jefferson Avenue, in the Carriage house behind our offices. If you are interested in attending our next program committee meeting please RSVP by December 5th.

Thanks. We are looking forward to working with you!

b. The Columbus Historical Society is hosting a Birthday Party for the City! As a lead up to the big 200 celebration in 2012, CHS thought it would be fun to begin celebrating a little early. The event will be February 12th, 2009 at the Columbus Athenaeum will consist of a cocktail party, Dj, a short awards presentation, tours of the building, and fun! We are currently looking for sponsors, volunteers, host committee members, and attendees. Let me know if your organization would be interested in any of the above. We already have the commitment from city council members to present an award and Walker Evens has agreed to have The Columbus Underground be our online media sponsor. One of the awards will be voted on online at this site.

c. Stop by the Columbus Historical Society for your holiday experience and gifts. Please see attached (“author event.pdf”) for the Columbus Historical Society's next author signing. We also have signed copies of the books from the previous author events- great holiday gifts!

We have now opened 2 new shows in our gallery space-

The first- "Feels Like Home" (in conjunction with the Lyle Gallery) features paintings of Columbus scenes by local artists Curtis Wade Morris Goldstein and Rebecca Taft. These inspired works depict- the Short North, the Statehouse, Olde Towne East, Italian Village, Franklinton and other various parts of Columbus. Proceeds from the sale of these pieces benefit the Columbus Historical Society.

The Second- "The Holidays in Columbus" features the historic photos of holiday displays in Columbus including State Auto, Lazarus, and the Statehouse. Also featured is a large collection of toys from Christmas' past!

Please feel free to print this info in your publications or forward it on to any interested party.

Gallery hours are Tues - Fri. Noon - 4pm. or by appointment- Watch for extended holiday hours coming soon!

Jeff Lafever
Executive Director
Columbus Historical Society
51 Jefferson Avenue
Columbus, Ohio, 43215
614-224-0822
www.columbushistory.org

"Enriching Columbus through all things historic"

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19.

www.ohiostatehouse.org

Grande Winter Ball
January 24, 2009; 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.
Ohio Statehouse Atrium, Broad & High Streets; downtown Columbus
Free!
Individuals of all ages are invited to attend the Grande Winter Ball hosted by Civil War re-enactors, Ohio Statehouse Battery A. Come dance or watch. Learn how to reel or waltz. Dress in attire of the Civil War period or come as you are. Please RSVP at 614/728-3726 or statehouseball@live.com.

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20. aja’s note: An organization is considering launching an online networking tool to help YPs connect to volunteer opportunities. They seek a handful of volunteers to serve as advisors in the project. The specifics are listed below. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Pat Hoy at 875-2551 ext. 289 or phoy@gccn.org:

We would like to enlist the volunteer services of several (3 or 4) young professionals to help us fine tune the development of the website. Candidates should be familiar with social networking websites i.e. Facebook and Meetup.com. We need keen minds to brainstorm together with us concerning the….

• Functions - Think of and explore the many ways the site can serve volunteers (groups & individuals), organizations and communities.
• These might include communications options, secure information sharing, collaboration options, best practice model facilitation and other forms of functionality.
• Design - how it looks, user friendliness and ease of navigation.
• Marketing - Ways to go viral and facilitate a wave of volunteerism

Each participant will need to bring a laptop that can access the Internet. The sessions will be live online. We would like to schedule these meetings at the Panera Bread on Perimeter Loop in Dublin at 8am on any Tues, Weds. or Thursday morning in early December and January. We estimate the face to face meeting phase can be accomplished in three 90 minute sessions. Beyond this we will invite the participants to join a virtual advisory group for ongoing engagement. Those desiring a recommendation for their resume will be accommodated by the havetime.org leadership. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Pat Hoy at 875-2551 ext. 289 or phoy@gccn.org.

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21. aja’s note: Survey closes soon! If you do anything creative, you should complete this survey.

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22. The Ohio State University’s College of Humanities Alumni Society is SEEKING VOLUNTEERS! Alumni are needed to interact with college students in a “speed networking” environment for a HUMANITIES STUDENT-ALUMNI CAREER NIGHT on either February 17 or 24. Here are the criteria of volunteers:

1. Graduate of The Ohio State University
2. Degree from the College of Humanities (e.g., English, history, foreign language, linguistics, comparative studies, stuff like that…)
3. Young professional (i.e., someone that a college student could relate to)

If you’re interested in this super-cool opportunity to influence the career direction of college students, e-mail Andrea_Applegate@columbus.org for details. Thanks!

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23.

MORPC is Accepting Award Nominations

If you know someone who is actively involved in improving central Ohio tell MORPC about them. MORPC is accepting nominations for the Regional Leadership Award and the William C. Habig Collaborative Achievement Award. Outstanding nominees and award recipients will be recognized at MORPC‘s State of the Region Luncheon on April 30, 2009, which is a part of their 40th anniversary celebration. Submissions will be reviewed by MORPC’s officers and executive director with a final determination to be made by the MORPC Administrative Committee. Nominations must be received by December 31, 2008. To read the award descriptions or to nominate someone click here.

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24. If you knew of a family in our area that lost everything this holiday, would you help them find a place to stay and provide them a hot meal?

That’s exactly what happened to Alice, an area resident, last Thanksgiving.

After enjoying a wonderful meal at her grandparents’ house, Alice and her family pulled into their neighborhood and saw a hurried display of fire trucks, ambulances and Red Cross vans. Never did it occur to her that it might be her home set ablaze that was causing all this commotion. She felt like the curious onlooker. But as she turned down her street it was her world that came crashing down.

Your donation enables volunteers from the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus to provide this devastated family a safe place to stay for the night, blankets to keep their two young children warm and guidance on how to rebuild their lives.

Every time a blanket is placed over a shivering child, or food and shelter is provided to families victimized by fires or other disasters, it is made possible because you chose to make a difference.

We know that you have contributed to the Red Cross in the past, through your involvement with the Friends of the Red Cross, and we thank you. Will you consider making a difference again today? Your financial gift right now can help secure Red Cross services and resources needed for the next emergency and the next family who needs us most.

Even while the Red Cross is responding to tragedies like home fires and other disasters, we are also helping children and families prepare for emergencies through disaster prevention education, teaching lifesaving skills like first aid and CPR, providing support for military members and their families and driving seniors to life-sustaining medical appointments.

Please help us continue to prepare for and respond to emergencies that are happening today and everyday right here in our community by making a secure online donation. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Michael Carroll Corinne McManus
CEO, American Red Cross Volunteer President
of Greater Columbus Friends of the Red Cross

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25. Purchase your historic "From Slavery to the White House" calendar through WrightChoice’s Holiday Fundraiser by emailing Pam Wright at ghee1@sbcglobal.net or calling TyKiah at 614-802-2364.

Calendars are only $14.95!!
THIS IS A LIMITED EDITION
Visit www.black-gifts.com to view other calendars or holiday items you can order through our fundraiser. Make checks payable to WrightChoice and mail it to 6230 Busch Blvd Columbus, OH or call TyKiah at 614-802-2364 to pay by credit card. THANK YOU AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM WRIGHTCHOICE!!

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26. Advocacy Alert: Historic 1940 Gunning House Imminently Threatened

(photo from c.2006 copyright Tom Hogan)
Urgent action is needed to preserve the 1940 Gunning House, a rare example of Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced architecture located in east Columbus. Seller is considering an offer from a developer interested in demolition and redevelopment as commercial site. MORE »

• Action needed: Immediate purchase by buyer interested in preserving the property
• Serious buyers only may contact Robert Bickis Jr at 614.353.4663 or robert@resourcehomes.com for representation and consultation.
• Price: $275,000
• Address: 7495 E. Broad Street, Jefferson Township (Reynoldsburg/Blacklick vicinity)
• Property: Stunning 2.5 wooded acres sited on ravine with 1940 house (2100 sf), 1954 3-story studio tower, carport, pond, and tennis court
• Condition: Vacant since 2005, in deteriorated condition, but not beyond repair
• Designers: Tony Smith (Wright apprentice), Theodore van Fossen (designed Rush Creek Village), and Laurence Cuneo (Wright apprentice, interior designer)
• Historic status: Unquestionably eligible for listing in National Register of Historic Places and related tax benefits for income-producing properties.

Visit ColumbusLandmarks.com for MORE INFO »

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27. A new survey of young professionals in Central Ohio shows more work is needed selling the region to the next generation of business leaders and improving it to make the community more attractive to them.

Forty-seven percent of those responding to the survey by the ColumbusChamber said they expect to leave the region within 10 years, outnumbering the 43 percent who see themselves staying here for good.

“This is likely implying that young professionals believe that while you can start a career here, you have to leave to go to the top,” said Bill LaFayette, the chamber’s vice president for economic analysis. “We need to call attention to the fact that one really can rise to the top here.”

The opportunities are evident, LaFayette said, noting there are 37,000 management jobs in Columbus and 14,000 more will be needed over the next decade. And that total doesn’t include other professional positions, such as engineers, scientists, doctors, college professors and software and Web designers, he said.

LaFayette presented his findings during a chamber program about efforts being made on the young professional front. In 2006, the chamber adopted a strategy to attract and retain skilled workers in Central Ohio through a partnership with the city of Columbus, Franklin County, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Experience Columbus and Greater Columbus Arts Council.

The strategy focuses on finding ways to connect with skilled individuals in their 20s and 30s, build the area’s work force through internships and help companies market Columbus to potential employees.

Since April 2007, the chamber has been using recommendations from Rebecca Ryan, founder and principal of Next Generation Consulting Inc. in Madison, Wis., on how to connect with the coveted group. The effort has concentrated on convincing young professionals to return to Columbus, connect the ones here to the community and develop the city so it has the things they desire, said Susan Merryman, the chamber’s vice president for marketing and communications.

She pointed to examples of how progress has been made. For instance, the chamber produced and e-mailed a Best of Everything video highlighting Columbus to 900 young professionals and former residents who indicated an interest in returning.

To connect those individuals to the community, the chamber has brought together the leaders of the more than 50 young professionals groups so they can share information and network, Merryman said. It has also created an online directory of organizations and distributes event listings and volunteer opportunities each week to nearly 1,000 people.

In addition, there is a pilot program in which young professionals volunteer to show Columbus to workers being recruited by area companies. The chamber also helps businesses understand young professional demographics, Merryman said.

The chamber hired Robbie Banks, a former city employee, in 2007 to manage the young professional programs.

At City Hall, Mayor Michael Coleman has appointed a 34-member Young Professionals Commission to advise officials. Those issues include downtown development projects and public resources such as bike paths and parks.

The next step is for the chamber and its partners to build on the young professional programs already in place, Merryman said.

“Our main point,” she said, “is to help the business community attract and retain the work force it needs. A lot of this has not been done here before.”

Young and restless

Some of the findings from a recent survey of 350 young professionals by the ColumbusChamber:
• A majority has moved to the Columbus region, with 64 percent not born here.
• They are engaged in the community, with 93 percent donating to charities and 81 percent involved in professional or civic organizations.
• They are concentrated in the central city, with 87 percent living in Franklin County, compared with 64 percent of all residents in Central Ohio.
• They are highly educated, with 91 percent holding college degrees versus 38 percent of the total population. Thirty percent have graduate degrees, three times the regional average.
• Judging Columbus on a scale of 1 to 10, they gave the city its highest average score (7.5) for welcoming different viewpoints and ways of living. Convenient, attractive places to walk, bike and play outdoor sports received the worst score (6.3).

614-220-5456 | jabell@bizjournals.com

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28.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 24, 2008

CONTACT: JULI ROGERS, PRESIDENT, SHORT NORTH BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, rdesignprint@sbcglobal.net · 614.299.1420
New York Times: Columbus Has Hot Property in Short North

Columbus, OH (Short North Arts District)-The Short North continues to make waves nationally as the up-and-coming destination of the Midwest.

The latest recognition comes in the New York Times Style Magazine, Travel Issue (November 16). The article spotlights the newest trend in travel: "authentic" destinations. They include the Langstrasse in Zurich, Casco Viejo in Panama City, Barracas in Buenos Aires, Pigneto in Rome... and yes, the Short North Arts District in Columbus, Ohio.

The writer, Danielle Pergament, comments: "...this new localism has had the effect of suddenly putting cities with no previous claim to coolness on the radar. The Short North district of Columbus, Ohio, for example, is giving the town some buzz with its boutiques, galleries, art festivals, gay clubs and chef-owned restaurants."

"The Short North is transcending its Midwest moniker," says John Angelo, Director of the Short North Business Association. "We've been very strategic about our development, our programming and our message. We are becoming known as the anomaly of the region... the experiential center of Ohio. We're building a legion of fans from young professionals to empty-nesters, and it's putting Columbus in the spotlight in a new way."

Last year, the Short North also made the New York Times Style Magazine under the headline: "Columbus Cool." The article focused on Columbus' newfound status as a Midwest style capital featuring art, boutique fashion and local restaurants. Other examples of national coverage include "Neighborhood Watch" in National Geographic Traveler, numerous features in the Chicago Tribune, and even an article in the Toledo Blade entitled: Short North in Columbus offers vision for Toledo. The front-page, Sunday article begins with a stage-setting sentence: "There's a 14-block neighborhood north of downtown in the state capital that has a look and feel unlike anything in northwest Ohio."

In 25 years, the Short North has evolved from blight to brilliance, but the acclaim can be fleeting. As Pergament observes in her article, "the cycle of hipsterdom is a rapidly spinning wheel, and just as the creative class is quick to move on when places lose their edge, cool-hunting globe-trotters are perpetually on the search for virgin territory."

"The opportunity is here and it is now," agrees Angelo. "The question is, 'What will we make of it?'"

The text of the New York Times article is included below.
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New York Times Style Magazine
To view Pergament's article online, click here
Hub Scouts
WHY TRAVELERS TODAY ARE
HEADED INTO THE HOODS
BY DANIELLE PERGAMENT

It used to be that the highlight of a trip to Paris or London was the Tuileries or Trafalgar Square. But as cities around the world have been reshaped by writers, artists, foodies, bons vivants and those who emulate them, the humming little enclaves they create are redrawing the travel map. Call it nostalgia for Greenwich Village in the Beat era or the Left Bank of the Jazz Age: tuned-in travelers are seeking out more local precincts. Not just New York but Williamsburg, not just Tokyo but Harajuku: the neighborhood has become the new elemental unit of cool.

Simon Evans of Creative Clusters, a British economic development consulting firm, chalks the trend up to a quest for realness. ''Travelers have always sought authenticity, but our definition of authenticity has changed,'' he says. ''In the past, the tourism fantasy has been to capture the historic old monuments. These days, we have a more nuanced understanding of urban settings. In the era of globalization, people travel to see where real people live and eat and work.''
In addition to changing the way visitors experience well-trodden destinations - think of what Condesa did for Mexico City and how Mitte shaped Berlin's image - this new localism has had the effect of suddenly putting cities with no previous claim to coolness on the radar. The Short North district of Columbus, Ohio, for example, is giving the town some buzz with its boutiques, galleries, art festivals, gay clubs and chef-owned restaurants. In Zurich, the Langstrasse area's vintage shops, graphic design firms and thriving cafe culture have made tastemakers take note of the otherwise buttoned-up banking center. And the few dozen blocks of Casco Viejo in Panama City are giving the place its first taste of boutique hotels, jazz clubs and late-night cafes - and bringing in the travelers who flock to them.

''People are asking for more local-feeling experiences,'' says Nicholas Christopher of Turon Travel in New York, who confirms that his clients are planning trips with a more focused approach. ''They're doing their own research. They're staying in apartments over hotels. They want to understand a place before it becomes corporatized.''

Of course, the cycle of hipsterdom is a rapidly spinning wheel, and just as the creative class is quick to move on when places lose their edge, cool-hunting globe-trotters are perpetually on the search for virgin territory. Buenos Aires aficionados, despairing of the strip-mall-ification of Palermo Viejo, now behold the charms of Barracas, an area of hundred-year-old cafes and cutting-edge galleries. Now that Rome's Trastevere has become overrun with Rick Steves acolytes, locals and travelers alike have picked up and headed for Pigneto, a blue-collar quarter where trendy restaurants are popping up among the Middle Eastern immigrants, old Italian women, documentary filmmakers and design students. As Evans puts it, ''Tourists don't like to see other tourists. Once they do, they move on to the next place.''

Short North Business Association

1126 1/2 A N. High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43201
614.299.8050

info@shortnorth.org

www.shortnorth.org

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29. A recent study by Market Watch ranks the Columbus region as the 7th best metro area for business in the United States. Please click on the link below for the full story.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/players-change-twin-cities-still/story.aspx?guid=%7B545526D2%2DEE56%2D472C%2DB568%2D749D0EA2AE88%7D

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30. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/business/03columbus.html?_r=1

December 3, 2008
Square Feet
A Waterfront Revival in Columbus, Ohio
By KEITH SCHNEIDER
New York Times

The Columbus Arch was part of an old railroad station near the new Arena District, a riverfront development
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A decade ago, a 75-acre area along the Scioto River less than a mile west of this capital city’s downtown was an industrial no man’s land, consisting of barren railyards, old warehouses and a shuttered 19th-century penitentiary. But that was before Nationwide Realty Investors, an affiliate of Nationwide Mutual Insurance, turned the area into the Arena District.

The district, a $750 million mixed-use neighborhood of housing, offices, retailing and entertainment, has attracted some of the city’s most prominent architecture, law, real estate development and advertising firms and is regarded as one of the Midwest’s most successful urban redevelopment projects.

Late in October, the Columbus City Council approved the development plan for the Arena District’s final phase: a $250 million project to add 450 units of housing, 300,000 square feet of office space in two buildings, an 80,000-square-foot grocery store, an eight-level garage with 1,600 spaces and as much as 40,000 square feet of retail space.

As for the financial crisis that has gripped the credit markets, Brian J. Ellis, the president and chief operating officer of Nationwide Realty Investors, noted that in the 11-year history of the Arena District’s development, the company had contended with what he called “down cycles.” Though the current crisis is more severe than the others, Mr. Ellis said, the company’s strategy is to “build with the market.”

“What’s happening now may affect the speed at which we complete this final phase,” he said in an interview. “But we continue to see strong demand for the office space and housing. We continue to command the highest rental rates in the city.”

Indeed, at annual leasing prices of roughly $25 a square foot — compared with about $20 downtown — 97 percent of the 1.4 million square feet of office space is occupied in the Arena District’s three- and four-story brick buildings.

Their design pays homage to the old warehouses and factories that once stood here. They now house some 5,000 workers, including more than 100 employees of SBC Advertising, a top Midwest firm, which leased 30,000 square feet at 333 West Nationwide Boulevard, the district’s newest office building.

About 1,000 people live in the 525 housing units in the Arena District, and much of it is leased or sold. This includes North Bank Park, a 20-story condominium building along the river with striking views of downtown, which Nationwide completed in December 2007. The two-bedroom two-bath units sell for $350,000 to $1 million, and nearly 50 percent of 88 units have been sold.

Thousands of people from outside the area regularly attend games of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League in the 18,500-seat Nationwide Arena, which was the catalyst for this redevelopment, and they spend time before and after the hockey games and other events in 14 restaurants and bars in the district.

The area also includes the handsome and welcoming McFerson Commons, a pocket park that connects to the Scioto Mile, a $39 million promenade and riverfront park that the city started to build this year.

Nationwide is also developing Huntington Park, the new 10,000-seat baseball field for the Columbus Clippers, a Triple-A franchise of the Cleveland Indians. The $50 million stadium, which covers eight acres, is owned by Franklin County and is to open next spring.

“The district has become an experience,” Mr. Ellis said. “As each piece of the project is put in place, the experience of living in an urban neighborhood or working here or playing here improves.”

Such a view is a departure from the strategic vision that Columbus, and many other major Midwestern cities, embraced for much of the last half century. Though it is Ohio’s largest city, with nearly 750,000 residents, Columbus’s growth long came through suburban development and annexation. The city is now spread across 225.9 square miles, almost six times its 39.9-square-mile jurisdiction in 1950.

Columbus was so bent on pursuing suburban-type development that it supported highway construction that sped people out of downtown to the suburbs and scraped away historic buildings for parking. In 1989, it opened a windowless mall in the heart of downtown.

That approach proved disastrous. Even now, much of downtown is empty at night. High Street, once the city’s retail and business spine, has 152,000 square feet of vacant office space and 12 acres of vacant lots and parking, according to the city. In October, the city began demolishing an overhead walkway to the City Center Mall, which the city now controls and where just 10 of 100 original stores are still in business.

Nationwide Realty helped Columbus envision a new approach to land use. The Arena District, a partnership between the city and the company, which has developed almost everything in the decade-old district, was to be an answer to Columbus’s downtown woes, and it seems to be succeeding.

The mixed-use district embodies three influential theories of urban redevelopment of the last decade: energetic and walkable street and neighborhood designs, as advocated by prominent architects who call themselves “new urbanists”; urban settings that let creative young professionals weave work and play, as advanced in the writing of Richard Florida; and sports venues, which some experts see as essential to civic economic health.

The Arena District’s popularity has prompted Mayor Michael B. Coleman to accelerate a plan for the city’s depopulated downtown that he introduced in 2002. Four years after it closed as a historic department store, the one-million-square-foot Lazarus building reopened in 2007 as an office building.

Nearly 2,000 people work there, and it has spurred housing development. About 4,700 people have moved downtown into almost 4,000 units of housing built since 2000, and 1,000 more units have been approved for construction.

Mayor Coleman said his target was to attract 10,000 people to live downtown, and in March he committed to spend $20 million to develop 86 miles of bike paths and lanes, with both to be completed by 2012. “Let’s take advantage of our flat city,” he told a group of supporters earlier this year. “Flat is good.”

The 54-year-old mayor has also started planning a new streetcar line that would tie downtown to the Ohio State University campus, to the Arena District and other parts of Columbus. “Downtown is the engine that drives our economy and the epicenter of life as we know it in central Ohio,” Mr. Coleman said. “We are making progress.”

Since 2000, according to the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, $2.2 billion has been invested in commercial, office and residential development in and around the city’s core. More than a third was spent in the Arena District. “Our idea was to make this a 24-hour neighborhood,” Mr. Ellis said. “And that’s what it’s become.”

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31. Cleveland-Cincinnati passenger rail service plan gets boost from Congress
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/clevelandcincinnati_passenger.html
Posted by dsims December 04, 2008 23:15PM

Associated Press: Passenger rail service from Cleveland to Cincinnati could be up and running by 2010 if the state receives a $100 million grant.

Passenger rail service from Cleveland to Cincinnati could be a reality by 2010 if the state gets $100 million in proposed infrastructure stimulus money.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission also intends to apply next year for federal matching grants from a passenger rail bill passed by Congress this fall.

"I'm cautiously ecstatic," said Stu Nicholson, spokesman for the commission, who envisions two trains making a round trip each day. "The money is the game changer. It changed the whole dynamic."

The commission, an independent agency within the Ohio Department of Transportation, has long advocated the 3-C Corridor between Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. It also advocates the more ambitious and expensive Ohio Hub, a high-speed rail system on seven corridors in the state. Some $200 million is being sought to design and plan the high-speed network.

The state would pay Amtrak to operate the passenger service between Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati on rail owned by Norfolk Southern and CSX. The service would connect to other Amtrak routes through Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus has not had passenger rail service for 30 years, Nicholson said.

"The Amtrak planning staff told us that the corridor is probably the best underdeveloped passenger rail corridor in the U.S.," he said.

The $100 million would be used to purchase two trains, each of which would have a locomotive and three or four passenger cars. Each train, traveling at a maximum of 79 miles per hour, would run one round trip a day.

Ohioans support passenger rail and the freight companies that own the rails are on board, Nicholson said. But nothing could go forward without money -- and until now none was available.

President-elect Barack Obama has proposed an economic stimulus package that would immediately make $25 billion available for infrastructure projects across the country. He also wants to spend $60 billion over 10 years to create a "National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank" to fund transportation projects.

Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have said the stimulus package will be a top priority in 2009. Pelosi said she hopes to have a bill ready when Congress comes into session next year.

"The infrastructure issue is not a partisan issue," Pelosi said at a news conference this week. "It's going to be about innovation and about the future, about creating the jobs of the 21st century."

Gov. Ted Strickland wants to make sure the state gets its share of money. At the governor's request, ODOT Director James Beasley sent a letter last month to Ohio's congressional delegation outlining $1.7 billion in transportation projects that could be under way by next March.

They are "shovel-ready" and would create thousands of new jobs, said Scott Varner, ODOT deputy director of communications.

Among the requests were $100 million for the passenger rail system, which ODOT supports, but has not been able to fund, Varner said, and the $200 million for the high-speed rail network.

The service would probably not be self-sustaining and would require state subsidies, Nicholson said.

The route will be determined after Amtrak and the commission complete a ridership study to choose train stops between the three cities. That will be under way in a few weeks.

The high-speed Ohio Hub plan includes more than 1,200 miles of track and 46 stations. The seven corridors would connect to planned or existing networks in neighboring states and southern Ontario. It would take eight to 10 years to build and cost $5 billion, Nicholson said.

Once the $1.9 billion under the passenger rail bill are appropriated by Congress next year, Ohio will apply for grants for high-speed rail and the corridor, he said. The state would have to provide 20 percent.

Plain Dealer reporter Sabrina Eaton contributed to this story.

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32. Find out about Franklin University – without leaving your desk!

General Information Webcast

Log on and learn how you can complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree especially designed for working adults. Franklin advisors will be on hand to answer your questions.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008
• 8 a.m. EST
• 12:30 p.m. EST
• 7 p.m. EST
Choose a time that fits your schedule!

Register and attend the Webcast and you could win a FREE iPod^®!
www.franklin.edu/go/further  

Please register 24 hrs in advance

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33. If you want to be involved with our campaign to attract young professionals to Columbus, “Tell Your Story” here: http://columbus.org/tell-your-story/.

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34. Columbus Trivia:

Q. Who donated the land for Columbus’ first city park?
Look for the answer in next week’s e-mail.
Last week’s question:

Q. what year did Lazarus (now Macy’s) get its start?
A. 1851