What will 2017 hold for downtown Columbus redevelopment?

As 2016 closes and a new year is less than a week away, it is a good time to look into the crystal ball.

This has been a banner year for downtown Columbus as new businesses have opened and Columbus State University has finished the Frank D. Brown Hall and many of the education classes will be moving from the main campus to the corner of 12^th Street and Broadway.

We recently asked a number of people who are vested in the central business and entertainment district a simple question: What do you see happening downtown in 2017?

Here are there answers:

▪  “Based on Columbus State University occupying its new building; based on two new hotels announced in the 1200 block; and based on what we have on the drawing board I think you will see the biggest construction year since the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts was built.”

— Mat Swift, president of W.C. Bradley’s Real Estate Division

▪  “In a word, prosperity. What I really like is everything downtown now has value to it. And that has not always been the case. Uptown projects are now bankable and that is because uptown is the future.”

— Buddy Nelms, owner of downtown restaurants Mabella’s and The Loft as well as other businesses and real estate

▪  “That is a good question. I think by the end of 2017 we are going to have three full blocks of activity along Broadway. You will see the connection made between the 1000 block and the 1200 block. It doesn’t feel as connected right now. By the time it’s over, there will be a lot to do when you walk from the 1000 block to the 1200 block.”

— Reynolds Bickerstaff, chief xperienceofficer, Bickerstaff Parham Real Estate and Board chairman Uptown Columbus Inc.

▪  “You are going to see an explosion. I think things are about to go crazy. We are so blessed that we happened to jump on the downtown Columbus train at the right time.”

— Mary Brown, owner My Boulánge, a 12^th street coffee shop and bakery

▪  “There had to be more attention to long-range planning because more people will be coming into uptown and it will continue to be a destination for quality lifestyle. I think you will see the results from the Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau in its continuing rebranding process.”

— Richard Bishop, outgoing president of Uptown Columbus Inc. and the Business Improvement District

▪  “I think we will continue to see demand increase for people wanting to live in the uptown area. Developers will be working hard to fill these needs and I would expect some announcements, along with current projects taking shape. I believe the millennials will start to have an impact on uptown and will see some of that in activities to development. Amenities, like whitewater and the zip line, will continue to grow and build in the regional draw that has taken place over the past few years.”

— Ross Horner, incoming president of Uptown Columbus Inc. and the Business Improvement District.

▪  “We are going to see a continuation of the energy that has been building over the last 20 years or more. That will be evident in the activation of the 1200 block in a totally different way. You could also see new vision with new leadership in Uptown Columbus Inc.”

— Peter Bowden, president of Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau

▪  “We will see the spread of uptown’s success and vibrancy. The pebble of its success will begin to create very real ripples throughout the surrounding areas.”

— Teresa Tomlinson, mayor, Columbus

▪ “For uptown Columbus, 2017 is full of excitement and continued growth. To see the success of a vision that began years ago of Broadway being lined from one end to the other with restaurants, store fronts, spectacular homes, a beautiful campus for the arts and nursing is something Columbus should be very proud of.

— Olivia Amos, owner of downtown businesses WODLife Fitness and Bare Roots Farmacy

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "What will 2017 hold for downtown Columbus redevelopment?."