Efforts continue to improve Midtown, part of city’s heart and soul
It has been said that to find the true heart and soul of a city, walk the streets of its downtown.
That certainly would apply to Columbus, which has invested heavily — with both private and public money — into the central business district along Broadway and the streets that parallel it and feed into the area. After all, downtown was the place to be for both shopping and entertainment decades ago before the suburban sprawl led to malls, cookie-cutter subdivisions and longer commutes.
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But Columbus does have yet another area that has similar merits of downtown in that it is an older area of the city in which people still live, play, work and gather for recreation and conversation. That would be Midtown, which starts at the eastern terminus of the 13th Street viaduct and meanders east along Wynnton and Macon roads, with distinct neighborhoods, businesses, offices and city buildings all part of the mix.
And, like downtown and other parts of the city, Midtown is constantly evolving and trying to find ways to get better. That said, research, insight and planning all are part of that process and it will continue at 4 p.m. next Tuesday at the Columbus Public Library auditorium, 3000 Macon Road.
Rick Hall, president of Tallahassee, Fla.-based Hall Planning & Engineering, will give a presentation on revitalization of 13th Street, which Midtown Inc. Executive Director Anne King and her staff have been working on for some time. Properties along a particular portion of the street, between the viaduct and 13th Avenue, have a very high vacancy rate of about 60 percent.
“We have asked Rick Hall to help us see things differently,” the organization said in an invitation to the public to attend the presentation, which will include a question-and-answer session. Long-term economic redevelopment, improved safety, connectivity and beautification all are expected to be part of the discussion.
Hall also is scheduled to make a separate presentation at the Columbus City Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Midtown Inc.
His is not the only input that Midtown and its proponents and supporters are receiving. The effort includes research and thoughts from the Incremental Development Alliance, which recently wrapped up its own work with a presentation called, “Regenerating Community: Lot by Lot, Block by Block.” It culminated a year of workshops, site visits and strategic visioning on how to make Midtown profitable in terms of small-scale development.
In essence, the efforts are geared toward making the heart and soul of the Midtown area of Columbus stronger, energetic and sustainable. And it sounds like it’s just what the doctor ordered.
This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Efforts continue to improve Midtown, part of city’s heart and soul."