I interviewed Guy Worley with Capitol South and the CDDC last week, and it sounds like every other opportunity for salvaging the site, or developing something grander in Phase 1 has been explored and deemed financially improbable to execute right now. The mall was built to be a suburban fortress, and retrofitting the building for apartments or offices would be very cost prohibitive.

So what are we left with? We can either have an empty mall for another 5-10 years until the right developer with the right money at the right time comes along to do something with it.

Or we can have greenspace that may or may not get limited use in the meantime.

I wouldn’t discount the other 100,000 office workers, thousands of students, or thousands of downtown residents who have set up shop in downtown Columbus over the past few years. Granted, I can see this park being relatively empty on weekends compared to Goodale or Schiller, but that should be all the more reason that the development inflll over the park will be a more attractive option when the time is right.

On a personal note, I played in a kickball league on the Statehouse lawn last summer. The grass there is nice, but the space is just a bit too small. I’m looking forward to the possibility of moving these types of recreational activities to this new park.

Or something like that.

Even without significant housing nearby, such a park could serve as a civic focal point for concerts, farmers’ markets, artists or just plain hanging around. It could be a place where people imagine a different future.

>In the grand scheme of things, making parks out of shopping malls seems like good karma.

Same story in almost every American city that isn’t on a Coast, or that isn’t Chicago. My hometown opened the first downtown “mall”, in 1962. It just closed for good this year.

When we pose issues of spatial value pertaining to NYC it is not to say that there is some sort of example to be followed. We know that is a losing argument. As New Yorkers we are very accustomed to be hated by the rest of the country and know that they do not want to be like us. Still though, if you have a lot of philo in your urbanis this is the most urban of all American cities.

Look at a Google satellite view of downtown Columbus. It’s all surface parking lots.

Holy shite! You’re not kidding. I looked at a Streetview of the nearest point I could to the proposed site, which was one block east. But it looks like the 50 or so square blocks radiating out to the south are almost all parking, or at least rooftop parking. So I say build the park, and replace parking lots with housing and retail to serve it.

Honestly, the park would be worthwhile just as a place for birds and butterflies to rest while trying to find other greenspace. Columbus appears to need a serious shot of transit — that Google satellite view is depressing.

The had a downtown renaissance condo boomlet in Columbus. Last I looked into it nothing sold, and they are renting to students which (thanks to The Ohio State University) at least they have. The Third Ward Milwaukeee “Soho” seems more likely to stick.

Whether it worked, somewhat worked, or didn’t work, EVERY older city tried the urban renaisance thing in the past five years, along with quite a few older suburbs. We’re talking Downtown Fort Worth. In some cases, it sputtered out because no one wanted the suburban house the empty nesters would have to sell to buy the urban condo, at a price high enough to enable the purchase.

In Indianapolis, a city nearly identical to Columbus, there is a similar park. It is actually a “City Beautiful” memorial plaza that I think is one of America’s great urban spaces. It is a National Historic Landmark. The south end of it is anchored by University Park. This is actually flanked by multiple skyscrapers much taller and bigger than what is proposed in Columbus. And there are a number of condo buildings about, albeit not a huge population. The result? Practically no one is ever in University Park other than the homeless, unless there is a special event there.

The same fate awaits this park too, most likely. I suspect it will be vastly underutilized. Columbus doesn’t need more downtown parks. It needs more downtown density.

Housing is likely to be successful here, since housing has been becoming more popular in downtowns across the nation, largely because of demographic changes (those old baby boomers moving downtown after their children have grown up, as if they were repenting for the destructive effects of the suburbs where they lived most of their lives).

The biggest question in my mind is how pleasant the park might be with all the planned Phase 2 and 3 construction going on around it.

That’s not such a bad thing. Something has to start a positive trend. That’s what planning is. Central park was laid out long before it was surrounded by dense apartments. When they built the IRT it went through farmland. Just because something doesn’t realize it’s full potential the moment it opens it’s doors doesn’t mean it’s a failure. Even if it doesn’t look like the rendering for 20 years it would be a success.

Based on the suburban architecture trend of the past 20 years, the likely use of the property is a single family McMansion, combining lots of square footage, the bare minimum invested in the building facade, and lots of parking for the family SUVs (perhaps a fleet of private buses would be more appropriate).

Think of the bragging rights at the country club — a 1 million-square-foot house!

My Long Review of the Book “Retrofitting Suburbia”
http://theurbanophile.blogspot.com/2009/01/review-retrofitting-suburbia.html

The first installment of my series on “Building Suburbs that Last” (much more to come)
http://theurbanophile.blogspot.com/2009/01/building-suburbs-that-last-1-strategy.html

Suburban architecture often gets short shrift, but like the urban spaces we destroyed a generation ago, I wonder if we might regret some of the demolitions we’re doing? Here’s a take on that very thing regarding mid-century modern architecture:
http://theurbanophile.blogspot.com/2009/01/preserving-our-mid-century-heritage.html

Streetsblog is an inspiration, btw. Keep up the great work.