Revision to Downtown proposal saves Dirty Frank's and 16-Bit from bulldozer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Plans for an apartment building Downtown that required the demolition of Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace, 16 Bit Bar+Arcade and other storefronts have been altered to keep the existing shops intact.
Presented to the Downtown Commission in July, the mixed-use development from Bluestone Brothers Capital would take the block surrounded by East Rich, South 4th, East Cherry and East Young streets. Called "The Estrella," the first plans envisioned a 23-story apartment building with 290 units and a 347-space parking garage. But on Tuesday, revised plans will be presented in response to feedback Bluestone received after last going before the commission.
That feedback called for the existing buildings on South 4th Street to be preserved, according to the latest proposal brought to the commission. The buildings along that stretch include Dirty Frank's, 16-Bit and the former Red Velvet Cafe, as well as three buildings that weren't up for demolition: El Camino Inn, Little Palace and The Wrecking Company -- a "therapeutic" space for customers to smash objects opening in October.
To keep those storefronts in place, Bluestone made the Estrella apartment building larger and removed a five-story commercial building that was originally going to take the existing businesses' space. Now, Estrella will feature a 24-story apartment building, and the proposal said it will "preserve and enhance the street-level pedestrian scale of the street."
A two-story open-frame structure that extends from the apartment building to the corner of those storefronts is now included in the proposal. It will have a canopy that helps "create a more comfortable human-scaled experience" and provide space for retail signage along the sidewalk. The proposal said the space could be programmed in a number of ways.
The Downtown Commission's staff report found that the proposal generally meets the recommendations of Downtown Design Guidelines but suggested a few tweaks. However, the commission said it will have to decide if the proposed demolition allows for new development.