Development in Reynoldsburg

Tim Fulton 0:12Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Confluence Cast presented by Columbus Underground. We are a weekly Columbus-centric podcast focusing on the civics, lifestyle, entertainment, and people of our city. I'm your host, Tim Fulton. This week, Columbus Underground reporter Brent Warren sat down with representatives from OHM Advisors and the city of Reynoldsburg to discuss the preferred scenarios for growth in the area and in our region, changing the zoning codes to accommodate that growth, and the best practices for planning for the future. You can get more information on what we discuss today in the show notes for this episode at theconfluencecast.com. Also, the Confluence Cast is on Patreon. Find out how to support this podcast on our website, theconfluencecast.com, or at patreon.com/confluence. The Confluence Cast is sponsored this week by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, or MORPC, featuring stories about local and regional partners that envision and embrace innovative directions in economic prosperity, transportation, sustainability, and an inclusive central Ohio. MORPC's transformative programming, innovative services, and public policy initiatives are designed to promote and support the vitality and growth of the region. For more information, please visit MORPC.org. Enjoy the interview.

Brent Warren 1:42Okay, I'm here with Aaron Dominy, principal at OHM Advisors, which is a planning, architecture, and engineering firm here in Columbus. Also a firm that is invol- has been involved, I believe, in both the Insight 2050 and the Corridor Concept plans. Is that correct, Dan?

Aaron Dominy 1:58Uh, Corridor Concepts.

Brent Warren 1:58Corridor Concepts.

Aaron Dominy 1:59We're not the first part of Insight 2050.

Brent Warren 2:00Okay. Right, right. At CU, we've kind of covered Insight 2050 and the con- the Corridor Concepts quite a bit. Uh, we've done some podcasts on that already, and we've written lots of articles about it. Um, I thought I'd kind of outsource that summary. For, for somebody who's just, like, tuning in now, could you give a quick background? What is Corridor Concepts? Uh, what was your involvement in it, and where does it stand now?

Aaron Dominy 2:26Sure. Um, well, the Corridor Concept is really the continuation of Insight 2050. So at the highest level, Insight 2050 was really, really focused on, how do we grow? Thinking about different scenarios, whether we grow outward, inward. You know, is there a hybrid? And so ultimately, that resulted in a preferred growth scenario, um, which was a, which was a pretty, um, inward, inward-focused growth scenario where we're trying to densify a lot of areas in and around Columbus versus sprawling out. So that kinda set the tone for the how. The Corridor Concepts was really the where. Um, so understanding that, you know, we have a preferred scenario, how are we gonna accommodate all that growth? And the Corridor Concepts really looked at five different corridors in Columbus, um, specifically, and they, and they were selected based on a certain set of criteria. Uh, so that was, what is the development potential? So how much can we develop or redevelop in these corridors and accommodate new growth? Um, also, you know, what is the ability for those corridors to serve larger populations and then, um, kinda marry that up with new transportation options for central Ohio? So it really was a land use and mobility-focused planning project to address the million people that are, that are coming to s- to central Ohio.

Brent Warren 3:45And what, uh, was the role of OHM? What, what did you guys work on specifically in that, in that project?

Aaron Dominy 3:51Sure. So we were a part of a, a bigger team. Um, at that time, we were a team with Calthorpe Analytics, uh, who developed Urban Footprint, which MORPC is using, and that was really the land use scenario planning model that was driving the process. Our role was really focused on, um, the engagement piece and working in, in the various corridors, engaging local stakeholders, and helping, um, Calthorpe Analytics basically be boots on the ground and run the planning process as part of that. So that involved, you know, the focus group meetings, the community meetings, uh, a lot of meetings here with MORPC, and, and also playing a big role in the development of the plan and, and the recommendations in that plan. Some of the other, uh, team mem- team members, uh, was Murphy Epson and Ice Miller here locally together with Calthorpe Analytics.

Brent Warren 4:38Mm-hmm. Um, so my big question and the question I've been asking everybody when I talk about this, either Insight 2050 or the more specific Corridor Concepts plans, um, is how likely is this to actually be implemented? And how... Because I feel like in Columbus we've seen a lot of... Especially on the transit and transportation side, we've seen a lot of plans.

Aaron Dominy 5:05Mm-hmm.

Brent Warren 5:05And a lot of those haven't really come to fruition. Um, and I know you guys have been involved somewhat in talking with different jurisdictions about how to kind of put policies in place to implement some of this stuff, and I'd just like to hear your, hear, hear your thoughts on that.

Aaron Dominy 5:20I mean, I definitely hear you.

Brent Warren 5:21Yeah.

Aaron Dominy 5:21We've, we've done a lot of studying, and it's, it's a risk as a planner even to say that, right? 'Cause we don't wanna just create plans and, and not move forward. Um, I think there's a couple of things happening now, um, that's different. One is, you know, there's a pretty significant involvement from the private sector now. A lot of that's coming from ULI, which is great. Um, and there's really a coming together of the development community, um, as well as the public sector to start to solve these problems, and I haven't seen that historically to the degree I've seen it today, so I'm pretty, um, optimistic that that, that's a really positive sign. Um, the other one is we haven't seen growth like this, right? So... And we haven't had to be as prepared for it. So I think the political will is even higher 'cause we know that doing nothing, uh, has some serious consequences. So I think you have that factor going into play here. Um, and then I think you have a lot of communities like Reynoldsburg, who's here with us today, um, you know, really starting to be focused on implementation- At a regional level. And so, you know, this common, um, effort to solve these complex problems. The other thing that's favorable right now is we actually we're moving forward. So the first project that came out of corridor concepts was the Northwest Corridor Mobility Study, uh, which is gonna be underway for the, um, the northwest corridor, which is, uh, essentially Olentangy Corridor all the way up to Bethel.

Brent Warren 6:41Mm-hmm.

Aaron Dominy 6:42Um, and really studying that as kinda this first leg to drive the mobility conversation forward from, okay, we have a land use solution, now it is what is the preferred mobility option, whether that's, uh, a light BRT like we have right now with the CMAX, a full BRT, is it rail? All those conversations are happening, and it's multimodal too, so we, we know that with that, with that corridor, we're looking at non-motorized transportation options. Um, you know, we have a huge amount of em- uh, employment up there between Ohio Health and Battelle and Ohio State, uh, together with the other employers in that corridor. So it's really a great opportunity to take a first swing at this. And I know the other corridors and communities in those other corridors are really interested as well.

Brent Warren 7:24Mm-hmm.

Aaron Dominy 7:25Um, but it's, it's encouraging that it's keeps, it's keep on moving. The process is building on itself versus just a one-off effort, and then we go to the next plan, which is different.

Brent Warren 7:34Right.

Aaron Dominy 7:35So...

Brent Warren 7:36So the Northwest Corridor is the first one that is kinda gonna get tackled. So we're actually gonna have a recommendation for what the transit is gonna look like on that corridor, 'cause that's the question everybody asks. They're like, "Oh, you're, you're talking about corridors, but is this gonna be light rail? Is it gonna be bus?" But you're saying this, that's all gonna be answered here. There's gonna be some firm recommendations, and it's gonna include probably a lot of different kinds. And just to step back, when you say BRT, you're talking about bus rapid transit, correct?

Aaron Dominy 8:08Correct. Yeah.

Brent Warren 8:08So BRT, bike, and pedestrian stuff as well included in that?

Aaron Dominy 8:14Yeah, that-

Brent Warren 8:14Yeah

Aaron Dominy 8:14... the way that RFP was written, it is, it is asked the consultant team to look at all motorized, uh, or all mobility options. So it has to be fully integrated.

Brent Warren 8:24Mm-hmm.

Aaron Dominy 8:25Um, and I think that this will set the tone for the other corridors. That's, you know, it's, it's one of those things I think people have had, um, some reservations on kinda making that pick of what's that preferred transportation option, and there's a lot of opinions out there what that should or shouldn't be. Um, and, and innovation's happening so fast, it's also making that conversation difficult, uh, because as soon as you think you have one option, there's... the, the mobility world's evolving really fast, and so, you know, it's trying to peace- keeping pace with that. But the goal, I think, um, from reading the RFP and the conversations I've been in is that, hey, we're putting the stake in the ground and this is it. We're, we're making a preferred, uh, mobility choice, and that's what we're gonna kinda drive forward. So I think that process will take, you know, a year, year and a half to go through that. And then best case scenario, you have that preferred option. You go into actually designing it, which is another couple years, and building it. So I think even if, you know, we are really aggressive, that's a seven year out project, uh, before we actually see that happen. So it's-

Brent Warren 9:27And that's the first one.

Aaron Dominy 9:29And that's the first one.

Brent Warren 9:30And that's only, that's only one.

Aaron Dominy 9:31Yeah. And I could be wrong.

Brent Warren 9:31Yeah.

Aaron Dominy 9:31It could be 10 years.

Brent Warren 9:32Yeah.

Aaron Dominy 9:32But, you know, this is not a year or two out. Um-

Brent Warren 9:35Mm-hmm

Aaron Dominy 9:35... the study is in that timeframe.

Brent Warren 9:37Mm-hmm.

Aaron Dominy 9:38The design and actual construction is, is even farther out. So we, you know, we have some work to do, and we need to work fast as a region to, to get prepared.

Brent Warren 9:46Mm-hmm. And that, that northwest, uh, the request for propo- proposals that you're talking about, that is the city of Columbus. That's not, there's not other cities involved with that at this point.

Aaron Dominy 9:57Correct. That was the city of Columbus-

Brent Warren 9:59Right

Aaron Dominy 9:59... put that out.

Brent Warren 9:59Um, okay. Um, I wanna kind of shift because we have Andrew Boucher here, uh, development director for the city of Reynoldsburg. Thanks for being here, Andrew.

Andrew Boucher 10:09Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

Brent Warren 10:10Um, the, the c- the northwest is Columbus, and so which of the corridors are we looking at when we're talking about Reynoldsburg?

Andrew Boucher 10:19Absolutely. We're talking about the East Main Street corridor. We're talking about from downtown Columbus all the way out on US 40 out past Edna.

Brent Warren 10:27And I think the interesting thing is, and we've talked a littlebout- a little bit about this before, is the kind of planning that you all in Reynoldsburg are doing to get ready for this corridor concept plan. So I mean, Reynoldsburg is not gonna be building the transit in your little section of Main Street by yourself, right? I mean-

Andrew Boucher 10:50Right

Brent Warren 10:50... but there's lots you can do now to get ready for that eventually coming down the pipe. Is that correct?

Andrew Boucher 10:56It is correct. So during this Inside 2050 and during corridor concepts, you know, uh, last year we had OHM advisors, Aaron Dominy, his team and, and our team at the city, we worked on a comprehensive plan. Uh, we... it was the first vision that the city had ever put out there to see how we were gonna grow and thrive within, you know, this new era, especially with unprecedented growth in central Ohio, and how were we going to adapt and, and reuse a lot of our, uh, abandoned and vacant spots, uh, to rethink what Reynoldsburg was gonna be like in the future. So, you know, we, we started with a steering committee and, and we went down the road of exploring different opportunities within the city. We, we allocated four different specific spots. We took a look at, you know, Main Street as a whole, but we also took a look at, you know, and I'm sure we'll, we'll talk further in detail about some of these, but, um, what's gonna happen to the old Kroger site, uh, the old Kamar that's at the corner of Brice and Main. And then finally we took a look at, you know, the Brice Road corridor, um, and, and its, in its current state is being, you know, uh, pretty dilapidated. It's lacking a lot of, uh, modern amenities. It may have been the place to be maybe back in the '80s, but it has since sort of fallen off a little bit. Um, and then- The main beating heart, I guess, of Reynoldsburg is, is old Reynoldsburg, which is our downtown area right along Main Street. And so that was also a key area that we wanted to take a look at, uh, because of without a healthy heart you can't have a healthy city. Um, and so we, we, we dove into these four different areas and took a look at it. And what sort of led out past that was we took a lot of the things that were happening in the corridor concepts and we mirrored them together. We knew that we were going to get, you know, densification along our corridors. We were going to expand to allow for this new transportation network, whatever it may be, on East Main. And I think we're primed and ready for that to happen, and we're already starting to see some dividends. But, but after that, you know, a comp plan is only as good as how you're going to take it to implementation.

Brent Warren 13:01Mm-hmm.

Andrew Boucher 13:01So this year, the entire year, we brought on Calfee Zoning OHM advisors again to work on a brand-new zoning code. We just had our open house two weeks ago, um, and it, it w- it went off really well. Um, later this year we'll vote on it through city council in December, uh, for approval. And basically what we're doing is we are literally rezoning every parcel in the entire city, which is going to allow for this, this densification on our corridors, which is... A lot of the single family homes aren't gonna be changed, but we're, we're looking at growth out east, but also how are we going to break down the bureaucratic red tape and allow for redevelopment on these corridors where we're talking about mixed use buildings. I mean, there's some areas that we're talking about, you know, upwards of seven stories high, and, and specifically that, that Kmart and Brice Road area.

Brent Warren 13:52Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think some people might be surprised. I mean, at CU we cover mostly the central city neighborhood, so we haven't written too much about Reynoldsburg. But, um, people... So I was surprised, and I think people would be surprised by exactly how much is going on right now in Reynoldsburg, and how much could potentially go on. I mean, when you say seven stories, that is probably gonna get some people's attention in Reynoldsburg. You don't have anything that tall there now, do you?

Andrew Boucher 14:20Certainly not, no.

Brent Warren 14:20No.

Andrew Boucher 14:21I think the tallest that we have is a, is a senior living f- care facility at five stories. And even that, that's extremely rare, and that's the only building that's there in the city. So, um, we're definitely turning heads, and I think that's sort of the goal. Uh, you know, we, we, we have this new invigorated team, and, and we're young and energized, and I think we're rethinking of what we can be. I think Reynoldsburg for a long time has sort of been the sleepy big brother that's been out east. Um, but we're 40,000 strong and growing. Uh, we have the hottest real estate market in the state of Ohio. Central Ohio as a whole is obviously the hottest, but out of that Reynoldsburg is the hottest, and we're the 10th hottest real estate market right now in the country, and that was just came out from Forbes. Um, so we're very excited about sort of the growth and the potential on what we're already seeing, but also all the different redevelopment efforts that are happening. Brand new 110,000 square foot Kroger's, uh, it's about ready to be open. Brand new retail across the way. But everything that we're building or revitalizing and tearing down and rebuilding is going to be more, more walkable, more urban and transit oriented development, especially on our corridors. A lot of people don't realize that 80% of all of the homes, um, are within a mi- one mile walking distance either north or south of Main Street.

Brent Warren 15:35Hmm.

Andrew Boucher 15:35Which allows for that, you know, first mile, last mile. Um, so even the, the individuals that are currently living in the more suburban housing, um, in Reynoldsburg can walk to all the new shops and amenities that we're trying to build.

Brent Warren 15:48From their house. You're not talking about-

Andrew Boucher 15:50Exactly

Brent Warren 15:50... building new housing. That's, yeah.

Andrew Boucher 15:51Absolutely.

Brent Warren 15:52Yeah, yeah.

Andrew Boucher 15:52Yeah. So we're, we're, of course we're going to absorb a lot of new housing, and a lot of that is gonna be more, uh, multi-family sort of luxury condos and apartments and, and things of that sorts along the corridors, but we're not changing sort of what Reynoldsburg was. We're just adding to it.

Brent Warren 16:09Mm-hmm.

Andrew Boucher 16:10And I think that's, uh, that's one of the key messages that we've been pushing through. We're not, we're not trying to, uh, change the past, but we're gonna pay homage to what we already have and, and what we're growing, but we're gonna take the opportunities and the good bones that Reynoldsburg has, and we're gonna build off of it. And we have a lot of great opportunities and parcels that are large enough to allow for this mixed use development, to allow it to, to be seven stories.

Brent Warren 16:33I wanna talk a little bit about the changing the... redoing your zoning code, because that's... I mean, a lot of people they hear zoning and their eyes kinda glaze over. But what in practice, like if somebody right now before you get this code change, if somebody wanted to build a seven story building on Main Street, what would that involve now and how would that be different after you get the code passed?

Andrew Boucher 16:56That is a, that's an amazing question. So that was one of the main challenges that we wanted to change, 'cause right now it could potentially take upwards to a year for somebody to walk through that entire process. There would be a lot of different zoning commission meetings, planning commission meetings, architectural design reviews.

Brent Warren 17:11And so that means votes from these different boards.

Andrew Boucher 17:14Absolutely. Absolutely.

Brent Warren 17:15Like multiple ones. Yeah.

Andrew Boucher 17:16Multiple ones. And then finally ending up at city council. And when you, when you combine that many times, there could be a huge shifting of different things that happen, and really it can derail a project really fast, especially if it's one that's, that's centered around exactly what we're talking about in our comp plan. So our comp plan was only as good if we, we made sure that we were building in to allow for this growth and this development. So when we, when we took a look at the future land use map that we created in the comp plan, we then overlaid that to create this new zoning map, and we took a look at these districts and these zones and we built it out. So we were basically custom making it to the development that we already knew that we had in the pipeline. But in addition, we were allowing for this growth to where maybe somebody can't even see. So, you know, if you were to drive down Main Street maybe two years ago, you'd be like, "This is not headed in the right direction." But now you drive down there and you're already starting to see the shovels in the ground. And I think if you take this and take it another five years down the road, it's going to look completely different than what it ever has looked in the past.

Brent Warren 18:19Mm-hmm. And so just to go back to that initial question- Once that zoning code is in place, somebody's gonna come and they can... They don't have to go through all those commi- like, the zoning will be there. They don't have to get a rezoning so they can come in and, and build basically.

Andrew Boucher 18:36Exactly.

Brent Warren 18:37Yeah.

Andrew Boucher 18:37So it really, it releases some of the strain, um, for a developer to come in there. They, they don't have to sit through a long process. They don't have to tie up a property and then wait for the due diligence period to lapse because they can't get approvals. So now if somebody were to come in and buy a parcel and say, "I wanted to redevelop this space", they would just submit a major site plan basically to the city. We would review it internally and then submit it to planning commission, at which time they would vote on it based on design and aesthetics and is it gonna meet all of our goals within the comp plan, at which time then they would approve or deny. Hopefully, it would approve. Um, and then they could start going right into our PGU, our Plot Grade Utility plan, which is basically working with our city engineer to make sure that they're gonna hook up to city infrastructure properly, and they're off to the races. I mean, this process, start to finish, we potentially could be the fastest area to, to, to have somebody come in and start building anywhere else in the state. Um, our, our process could be potentially be as little as a month.

Brent Warren 19:38Wow.

Andrew Boucher 19:39I mean, which is, which is a huge change.

Aaron Dominy 19:42And one of the other interesting things about the code and the plan together is that, um, there was a lot of care taken to really marry up the vision and the goals of the corridor concepts to what happened there. Um, so some of that, uh, looks like transit-oriented development, uh, land use policies and code recommendations. So we're actually building into the landscape opportunities for kind of the future connection or the future development of that mobility option to kinda take place in the corridor. So that means making good decisions now. So if Andrew's approving something and we understand the context of the corridor, the fabric of it, um, you know, there are locations where we already have identified, hey, this could be, you know, a mobility hub, and so we wanna make sure that we're kinda protecting that space and planning for it so that we can accommodate that mode in the future.

Brent Warren 20:34So that means actual physical space that you are reserving and saying, "Okay, we, we might need this right of way along the road in the future to provide a better transit link or transportation option" and maybe even, like, a, I don't know, what are you talking about? Like a turnaround or-

Aaron Dominy 20:52Yeah

Brent Warren 20:53... a park and ride or?

Aaron Dominy 20:54Well, I think it's, it's not necessarily... Reynoldsburg's right of, right of way is pretty static. I mean, we know what it is, and it's, it's, and most of it is in use right now for the modes that we have. So until we know what the mode is in the future, we can't reconfigure the lanes and things like that. But for the private development, you know, knowing that we wanna integrate those hubs into the development, just bringing that into the conversation with the developer, him or her, now is gonna be really important.

Brent Warren 21:23Mm-hmm.

Aaron Dominy 21:23So that might mean setting aside some space or actually using a surface parking lot that we know we wanna convert in the future into a mobility hub.

Brent Warren 21:30Hmm.

Aaron Dominy 21:31So just being aware of how we get from here to there, um, as development's taking place, I think is really smart versus trying to react later, undo some things, um, and just make it exponentially harder and, and more, and more costly. Uh, so just being, you know, planning smart now, but all along just keeping in mind the vision and the goals of the corridor concepts and so that the region's working together to solve this problem.

Brent Warren 21:55Hmm.

Andrew Boucher 21:56And I guess to piggyback off of that, I think it's, it's, it's good to mention that as far as our COTA park and ride now, we actually have the busest, busiest COTA park and ride in central Ohio outside of, you know, Columbus itself.

Brent Warren 22:08Yeah, that's actually... 'Cause I, I looked up directions, and I got the transit directions. It's not as long as you would think from downtown to get, like, just taking COTA as it exists now-

Andrew Boucher 22:19Right

Brent Warren 22:19... to get to Reynoldsburg, it's, it was a shorter time than I expected, so-

Andrew Boucher 22:23Yeah

Brent Warren 22:24... it could... And then potentially with these improvements, you could really cut that down, right?

Andrew Boucher 22:29A- absolutely. You know, unlike the northwest corridor, um, no offense to it, uh, we're a direct shot, and w- you know, Reynoldsburg has the, sort of, uh, the space that's already there. Uh, and so when Aaron talks about building that in, well, Reynoldsburg, because we've had such this suburban setback, we basically build in all this additional right of way. So we're gonna take, you know, some of this newer development that's happened. We're making sure that we're bringing it closer to the road but still leaving, you know, a 10-foot gap on either side of the roadway to ensure that whatever is coming down the line, that we're planning accordingly. The last thing that we want is to encroach in on our own development patterns, especially transit-oriented development, um, and that where we can't do something that we wanna do. Um, so we know that we already have a very high ridership. We think that creating more density along these corridors, the walkability that we're already pushing and implementing into, basically we're creating a, a, a short shot from downtown Reynoldsburg to downtown Columbus, and then that includes Whitehall, Bexley, uh, um, and then throughout the process.

Brent Warren 23:32Mm-hmm. Can we talk a little bit about a couple of these sites?

Andrew Boucher 23:36Yeah.

Brent Warren 23:36'Cause these, I mean, this isn't just sort of a planning process. You have some real, uh, projects that are moving forward. Is that right? Like-

Andrew Boucher 23:45Yeah, absolutely

Brent Warren 23:45... can we talk about the, uh, that Kmart site?

Andrew Boucher 23:48Yeah. So talking about that Kmart, you know, when we envisioned it, there was other potential, uh, properties that were adjacent to it. So the entire site, including some of the other, is 26 total acres. So when we take a look at that, we're very close to what you're seeing in Grandview Yard, and that was a lot of inspiration. I don't think that you have to, uh, fall off the Reynoldsburg boat. You can definitely hit some other development water, uh, in taking a look at Bridge Park, and Dublin, and Grandview, and all the new development that's happening in upper Arlington right now. Um, you know, you can look at that and you can say, "Okay, the, these are really great, and these are working really well." Well, what are we gonna do on the east side? Um, where are we gonna put our foot down and say, "This is what, this is what Reynoldsburg can be"? And so we- we've reached out to several different developers. There's actually a developer that's in contract right now on the parcel. Uh, we're working with them to create this mixed-use development. Um, the adjacent property owners, uh, have all been, you know, willing to play ball. Uh, they, they understand that this is just one piece of a larger vision for the corridor, both sides of Brice, both sides of Main Street. So we could see this as being sort of the gateway as we're coming into the city. This is the area where we're talking about the potential of, of seven stories, mixed use, office park with residential, maybe some townhomes in the back, and then continuing the partnership that we have with the city of Columbus. You know, there's retain- retention ponds, and we think that, you know, those would be a great location for a brand new 10-acre park, and that's right adjacent to this parcel. In addition, uh, we now know that, you know, the Columbus Metropolitan Library will be building a, a brand new library. We were working with them and their team on finding a different location, um, but then they found, you know, why not be a part of this brand new mixed-use development? So they're taking their current site, they're purchasing some land that's further to the south, and they're gonna rebuild, uh, right there on that land. So now these new residents and this new mixed-use development are gonna be able to have the amenities as long as, as well as some of the other, uh, you know, uh, residents that currently live in the city, uh, that are gonna have this brand new amenity. Um, and we've been told that it'll be, uh, very much similar, modeled off of the Dublin branch.

Brent Warren 25:59Yeah. Oh, wow, so the Dublin Library.

Andrew Boucher 26:01Yeah.

Brent Warren 26:01And then w- so what we're envisioning here is something along the lines of Grandview Yard or Bridge Park. I mean, not quite as big as Bridge Park, right?

Andrew Boucher 26:09Of course.

Brent Warren 26:10Right.

Andrew Boucher 26:10Of course. Yeah, but yeah, something very similar into the realm of that where not only are they adding buildings, but probably some infrastructure. You know, there's gonna be probably some dedicated walkable corridors. And when Aaron and I, we were, we were discussing this and, and modeling this comp plan, we were building in sort of this could be the first transportation hub as part of that, you know, transit-oriented development, uh, because you have the allotted land and, uh, you know, the hub that would be there.

Brent Warren 26:38Um, any other potential projects? I know you mentioned the, the, there's a new Kroger, and then there may be some plans for the old Kroger. Is that right?

Andrew Boucher 26:47Correct. Yeah, so currently, uh, the old Kroger's is in sort of a, uh, a large scale sort of strip retail, but out in front about two years ago, we opened up an OhioHealth emergency care facility. Um, OhioHealth has been a great partner for us. Um, not only are we building and about ready to open, uh, later this year or early next year, a brand new 75,000 square foot community center, uh, that the city, you know, bonded almost $30 million to, to implement and build, but we partner with the YMCA, and we're also partnering with OhioHealth to have some primary care facilities. So this partnership is sort of continuing. So getting back to that emergency care facility that I talked about, um, that is the busiest emergency care facility in the OhioHealth network, um, which is a good and a bad thing, however you wanna look at it. It just goes to show that Reynoldsburg is sort of, you know, underserved in a lot of different areas, and there's a lot of growth potential that, you know, that we could bring back to our residents. So taking a look at that and coordinating further with OhioHealth, the proposal is to take a look at that Kroger, uh, demolish it, and build a 65,000 to 100,000 ambulatory care facility right behind their already existing emergency care facility. So not only are we building in, you know, medical providers and, and services that's there that's going to serve the vast array, uh, but it puts it literally just a quarter a mile away from, you know, our old Reynoldsburg area and another quarter mile in the other direction from this new Kmart development that we're talking about. So it's going to give access to anybody that's on that transit corridor line or the walkability, you know, of that mile for the residents that are already existing.

Brent Warren 28:27Mm-hmm. We've seen in some other suburbs around Columbus, and in Columbus also, um, some real pushback to some of these proposals when you're talking about even just apartments. Sometimes, uh, single family homeowners react negatively to that idea in their community. Have you seen much of that in Reynoldsburg, and do you expect to see more of that as you move forward with some of these big projects?

Andrew Boucher 28:54That's a, that's a great question, and we absolutely have. We are not, um, you know, far reaching. We, we definitely have, uh, residents that are extremely concerned about what sort of development is happening within the city. And I think, um, the sticking point is, is they don't want sort of the, the old multifamily housing of the '90s and early 2000s that, that are built very much in the suburban model and pushed further out, and we're tearing into further green fields. However, you know, granted that w- w- we understand that we'll have to absorb a small amount of that, and there is definitely room for more single family housing. But what is getting people excited is this, this other form of multifamily housing that's a mixture of different uses because I think we've, we've done a great, um, educational process with the zoning code and the comp plan, um- And sort of pushing out that, you know, we can't have one sort of without the other. And so when our residents talk about, "Well, we want new restaurants, and we want new boutique shops and retail, and we, we want, you know, uh, f- you know, uh, year-round farmers market-esque type grocery stores," they're starting to come around and understand that we're having to have a mixture of uses that make it profitable for the developer to sort of bring into the city, and people are starting to really gravitate and get on board. I think that we have a very young population, and I think that we could have even a younger population of young professionals and empty nesters that wanna live within Reynoldsburg. I think you're starting to see rents increase in downtown Columbus, and I think with this transit corridor, if it comes or if it doesn't come, obviously we would love for it to, and we're planning for it, um, but we're offering the same exact sort of amenities at a little bit lower of a cost, yet, uh, we're getting the best of both worlds. Because we want people to invest in our community early on in their lives, hopefully stay, have kids, raise a family, maybe move into a single family home. So we basically want the first home and the last home that you have so you can, you know, stay in Reynoldsburg.

Brent Warren 30:54Mm-hmm.

Aaron Dominy 30:55And, you know, r- the other thing that's very interesting, and it's not germane to Reynoldsburg, but, um, it's common across these corridors, is that most of them are over-retailed.

Andrew Boucher 31:05Hmm.

Aaron Dominy 31:06And, you know, the way they were built out historically, um, and the amount of retail they carry is significant. I can't remember the number off the top of my head. It's in the plan that we developed together 'cause we did do the analysis to look at how over-retailed is East Main Street through Reynoldsburg, and the true s- same thing is true for Whitehall as well. Um, so the question that not only Reynoldsburg, Whitehall, but these other corridors are asking themselves is, you know, what do you do? How do you transition these corridors? And so the natural evolution, giving the kind of the shifting household structure and, and living choices, is that residential does become another key element of these corridors across Central Ohio. Um, and, and r- and Andrew's r- absolutely right. I mean, the, the conversation about multifamily or apartments or condos or townhomes is always, you know, it's always emotional. And we've seen it in Reynoldsburg, and I've seen it in other communities recently too, but usually that's on the fringe, right? And usually that's when you're trying to integrate some new multifamily maybe in a single family neighborhood or a budding one. And these commercial corridors, I haven't seen too much objection to that, uh, because the fabric's different, right? You're not wedging it into some place that it feels uncomfortable into somebody's backyard. Um, and so I think East Main Street's a kind of an easy place to accommodate some of that growth, um, and achieve some of the other economic objectives that Reynoldsburg's trying to get, get done there-

Andrew Boucher 32:29Mm-hmm

Aaron Dominy 32:29... which is workforce housing, which is how do you support these other businesses that people want to see in the community? The other thing Andrew didn't touch on yet is, you know, what's happening in Old Reynoldsburg. That's kind of another hub of growth where there's some new developments happening, which is a, is a key node right on Blacklick Creek. You have the new YMCA being built there, and so you have all these different nodes of development happening right there on East Main. And I know you've talked to, uh, Zach in Whitehall too, and, and Andrew and, and Zach talk a lot and work well together. And, you know, th- this section is just kind of this one section where a lot of the stuff we're talking about here is the same conversation they're having in Whitehall.

Andrew Boucher 33:05Mm-hmm.

Aaron Dominy 33:05Uh, which I think makes this whole conversation more powerful, and the, the evolution of E- East Main Street more powerful because you have, you have leaders kind of working off of the same playbook. And that's back to your question earlier of how is this different, and do you think it's gonna happen? I guess I'm more hopeful than ever because I am seeing these communities start to work off common playbooks-

Andrew Boucher 33:25Mm-hmm

Aaron Dominy 33:25... to achieve that, that common vision, which is really, really cool to see.

Brent Warren 33:28Do you, uh, just looking at the kind of region as a whole, do you think this East Main corridor may be a little bit ahead of some of the other ones just because of the work that Reynoldsburg and Whitehall are doing to, to sort of plan for it?

Andrew Boucher 33:43I mean, I'm biased, but I'm definitely gonna say yes. I mean, I think that we're, we're well ahead of the curve. I think that we're building in a, a zoning code that's, that's, that's very development prone.

Brent Warren 33:53Mm-hmm.

Andrew Boucher 33:53And, and it's, it's targeting these key areas where we want to see this happen because I think a lot of times you get developers that really are gun shy. They're like, "Well, we don't wanna go through this long process. We know that we're gonna get denied." You know, i- is the public ready? Well, if we're building this in and we have our, our civic leaders a- and, and the residents that are all on board that are saying, "Yes, we want this. We understand why this is important for our city and our growth, um, a- and basically we're, we're very much welcoming." So, you know, the city is taking a very proactive approach, and we're putting out proposals, and we're reaching out. And, and to Aaron's point, we actually have 800 acres of untapped potential. And going alongside that, not only is the Kmart on Brice and Main really important, but it's also happens to be in the city's opportunity zone, you know, which is over 14 million square feet in size, uh, which is very significant and large. But it's another economic incentive and an activator that we're utilizing to sort of push this development along, and we just see this as sort of a catalyst event as we continue to sort of move down into these pockets and creating these nodes of development along Main Street.

Brent Warren 35:00Mm-hmm.

Aaron Dominy 35:01I think it's, I think East Main Street's, you know, it's right at the top. I mean, I do think it's hard to turn a blind eye to North- the Northwest Corridor. I mean, nobody ha- none of these other corridors have that type of cluster, uh, especially with what happens-

Brent Warren 35:13Are you talking about Bridge Park, or you're talking about-

Aaron Dominy 35:15Well, the, the f- the Northwest Corridor kind of where they're looking at right now only extends up to about Bethel.

Brent Warren 35:20Oh, right.

Aaron Dominy 35:21But the cluster there of, of businesses and corporate headquarters and Ohio State and Ohi- I mean, it's-

Andrew Boucher 35:26Of course

Aaron Dominy 35:27... it's significant. It also I think is m- probably one of the most challenging just in terms of alignment of the roads and how you get through-

Andrew Boucher 35:33It's not a straight shot like we were saying before.

Aaron Dominy 35:35Yeah, I mean, there, that, there's a lot of tough things to, to solve there. Um, I think probably East Main's next in my mind. Um, I think it's a lot easier to get done, but I think you probably have... At the highest level, the most amount of, between the different communities there, a high degree of alignment of trying to get the project done. Um, and I think it's a pretty dense corridor too. So I think it makes sense that maybe that's the next one. Um, you know, obviously there's a lot of conversation that has to be had around that topic, but since we're kind of focused on the corridor concepts, I think that's a really interesting question you ask is like, well, where do you go next? Um, and I think East Main Street probably should be the answer, at least right now in my mind.

Tim Fulton 36:16Yeah. So stay tuned. Could be some interesting things coming out of Reynoldsburg, sounds like.

Aaron Dominy 36:21Absolutely.

Tim Fulton 36:22I want to thank both of you for speaking with us today. I really appreciate it.

Aaron Dominy 36:26Thank you.

Tim Fulton 36:36Thank you. Thank you for listening to Confluence Cast presented by Columbus Underground. Again, you can get more information on what we discussed today in the show notes for this episode at theconfluencecast.com. Please rate, subscribe, share this episode of the Confluence Cast with your friends, family, contacts, enemies, your favorite development director. If you're interested in sponsoring the Confluence Cast, get in touch with us. We can be reached by email at info at theconfluencecast.com. Our theme music was composed by Benji Robinson. Our producer is Philip Cogley. I'm your host, Tim Fulton. Have a great week.