Source: Creagan

Assignment 3
Analyzing a Neighborhood (Option 1)
The Ohio State University
CRP 6430: Outlines of Urban Design
Spring Semester 2015
By: Brandon Creagan

The Location
The Arena district sits on a 75-acre site that is bounded by Vine and Goodale Street to the North, Spring Street to the South,
North High Street to the East and Neil Avenue to the West. However Huntington Park sits to the west of Neil Avenue and that
area is technically considered the Arena District now as well. The area also sits North of the downtown, West of the
Convention Center, South of the North Market. The Arena District is home to the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Columbus
Clippers as well as multiple restaurants and entertainment venues.

As stated in the previous paragraph, the Arena

District is in total 75 acres, that being said, there are
some different sources that say its as much as 100
acres. This can be explained by the fact that there are
some areas that claim to be a part of the Arena District,
but in reality they actually are not. Some sources say
Huntington Park is not considered in the district, but the
fact it that is a park of the district. The Buggyworks is a
residential building that claims to be in the Arena
District, but according to sources, is just outside of the
boundary. The Buggyworks and Huntington Park are
just two examples of how discrepancies lead to not
knowing the exact size of the district.
The character of the area is very unique in that
the area is defined by the way it was designed and
constructed. The primary construction method is brick
and it can be found in just about every building
structure and a major section of Nationwide Boulevard.
There is plenty of parking in the area and most of the
garages are hidden behind buildings that are used for
office space, retail space, and restaurant space.
http://digitalunion.osu.edu/r2/summer08/kdolan/Untitled.jpg

History
The Arena District sits on the southern part of the Olentangy Industrial Cluster. The Industrial Cluster housed the Columbus
Buggyworks, Union Fork and Hoe Company, Allen Motor Car Company, the City of Columbus Lighting Plant and Water Works, and
various other companies. It also was the former home of the Ohio Penitentiary from 1834-1984. Discussions regarding the fate of the
area would take place in 1996 and then councilman Michal Coleman would become a proponent of revitalizing the area. The Ohio
Penitentiary was torn down on March 26, 1997 to make way for the Arena District. This would become a controversial decision as the
same realm of the tear down of Union Station in Columbus. It did anger some citizens who thought the structure should be saved and
the city did think about converting it into something that could be used for the public good. No alternate use was ever thought of so the
building came down. Ground was broken on Nationwide Area on May 26, 1998 and it opened on September 9, 2000. The old Union
Station Arch would be placed in the district and it now serves at the entrance to McPherson Park. Ground broke on Huntington Park on
August 2, 2007 and it was opened on April 18th of 2009. 2013 would mark the beginning of the last phase in the Arena Districts
current construction schedule. The very center of Franklin County also lies in the Arena District and it is located just outside of the
Flats on Vine II building facing the LC Pavilion.

Source: Creagan

Source: Creagan

Source: Creagan

Open-Space
The area is dedicated to an Open Space and for an urban setting it does a good job at providing it along with ample green space. It
contains McPherson Park, Battelle Plaza, Nationwide Arena Plaza, and some other small parks. Huntington Park can also be
considered an open space because it has the ability to be used for other purposes when it is not used for Baseball games. Trees line
the street in almost every area and their main purpose is to add character to the area. The purpose of McPherson Park is to give the
residence of the area a place to go to relax and enjoy the fresh environment. In the winter of this past year, there was an ice rink
build on top of the park to aid in the NHL All-Star Weekend. The two plazas give up much space to contain the flow of people that
are coming to and from the area. They especially serve an important purpose during Columbus Blue Jacket games and events at
Nationwide Arena. All of the open space in the district is adequately used during special events. During this past winter, the 2015
NHL All-Star game took place in the district and the whole space was used for events. The streets were closed down for races,
there was even a snow slide built on Nationwide Blvd.

Architecture
The architecture in the Arena District is brick, brick, and more
brick. On paper it sounds like a little too much brick, but the
designers of the buildings did a good job at creating buildings
that flow and blend in with the settings around it. Most of the
buildings have a stone layer that goes along the bottom of
each building to help separate the brick on the buildings from
the brick on the sidewalks and street. Not every building is
made of the same color or style of brick. Some buildings have
red brick, some brown brick, others a light red, or a dark red.
In essence no two buildings are necessarily the same.
However, the parking garages are allowed to be made of
concrete but they can be covered in a brick faade so they
continue to blend in with the buildings around the district. The
builders have also mixed a brick and glass design in some of
the buildings to help add to the uniqueness of the district. The
designs of the buildings do a great job at defining the area and
it helps to enhance the character of the area. Some of the
sidewalks and street are already paved in brick so the
buildings are fitting in with the vision, look, and feel of what
the designers had in mind for the area. The buildings in the
Arena District are tall enough that they shield the view of the
downtown skyline from people who are walking on ground
level. This helps to create a unique feel for the area in that it
does not make visitors or residence feel that they are in a
major metropolitan area. It feels distant from the city in a way.
The district does however, provide breathtaking views of the
city skyline on the upper levels of some buildings for
residence who still want to feel connected to the city. The
buildings provide space for all forms of venues like
restaurants bars, offices, homes, and entertainment.

Source: Creagan

Source: Creagan

Streets
The picture above shows what Nationwide Blvd is like heading into the Arena District and it shows that the road is wide offering
enough room for cars and bikes. The picture below shows Nationwide Blvd going to Huntington Park. This section of the road is
important because it is completely paved with brick and it fits in with the architectural style of the buildings surrounding it. The streets
especially Nationwide Boulevard are a great example of Jacobs eight characteristics. Nationwide Blvd is completely paved in brick
and the sidewalks are paved in brick as well. Because Nationwide Blvd is paved in the same material as the buildings and sidewalks it
creates a very unique character for the area that is easily recognizable. The sidewalks have ample places to walk and there is plenty of
room to walk in both directions. In my experience, it is physically comfortable to walk on. It creates visual interest because even
though the street, sidewalks, and buildings are paved in brick there is good contrast so it does not all run together. It is well maintained
and it is very well designed and constructed. It does provide transparency at the street level. The streets are big enough that they can be
used for various running races.

Source: Creagan

The Human Factor

Universal Design
The Arena District does a decent job at making itself accessible
to older people and people with disabilities. All of the
crosswalks have the bumpy surface like the picture to the top
left. This surface is referred to as tactile paving and it is
installed to let visually impaired or blind pedestrians know
when they are about to enter the road. Since this surface is
installed at crosswalks it is a good universal design for the area.

Source: Creagan

All of the buildings are easily accessible to older people and

individuals with handicaps. This is evident by the fact that the
doors on buildings have the automatic door button to assist
people who are unable to open doors. All entrances are at the
ground level to give access to people in wheel chairs and people
who are unable to walk up steps. If an entrance is not on the
ground level then a ramp is provided. The only concern for
accessibility is that the sidewalks are made of brick and if the
bricks become loose or worn they can become an instant
tripping hazard.
Physiological Needs
The district does provide for needs like health and comfort. As
far as health the district is kept very clean. Also Neil Avenue is
attached to the district and if you take Neil Ave you can drive
straight to the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
As far as comfort, the district provides many comforts in the
form of living, entertainment sporting events, and the ability to
bike. The picture to the bottom left shows one of the districts
many bike storing areas. There are also one CoGo bike share
stations on Nationwide Blvd and one next to North Front Street
by Nationwide Arena.

Source: Creagan

Implementation Tools
The current zoning for the district is mixed use, as there are residential,
commercial, retail, office, space, parking garages, and sports stadiums all
in the area. There are certain guidelines when constructing new buildings
in that all buildings must be made of brick or contain a brick facade. From
the looks of it though the parking garages are exempt from this rule
because they are made of concrete. The district was funded through one
major development company who shape the whole look of the Arena
District. Some buildings were constructed using private funds and some
were constructed using public funds. Nationwide Arena is now a publicly
owned venue. According to a Columbus Dispatch report from March 30,
2012 the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority owns
Nationwide Arena. However, operational duties of the arena are handled
by Columbus Area Management (CAM) a company formed by The Ohio
State University, the Columbus Bluejackets, the FCCFA and Nationwide
Insurance.
Source: Creagan

Type of Urban Design

Total Urban Design
One development firm bought up all of the land in the Area
District. This firm set in motion steps to insure that the
district had a distinct look and character. They were the ones
that decided that the district would be encased in brick. They
had a vision for what was going to go into the district and
they created a construction plan for what was going to be put
into the district. The initial area was planned so Columbus
could attract a professional Hockey Team and a strict
construction schedule was set up. The last bit of
development was complete in 2014 and there are no current
plans to build anything else at this time.
Source: Creagan

Success of Tools
The tools have been successful in creating an area with a
unique character. Sometime it can be a bad thing to have one
person or company own and control an area. In this case the
Arena District can be looked at as a very successful example
of what can happen when you give someone all of the
control. If the district was controlled my multiple entities we
would most likely not see the architectural style that we see
today. The district would most likely look like the rest of the
city. What makes this area stand out is the uniqueness of its
designs. It is not part of the concrete landscape that is the
City of Columbus. It feels like a completely different place
because of the construction materials it is made out of. The
district was designed to take people away from the city and
make them feel like they were in a completely different
place.
Source: Creagan

The reason the tools are successful is because one entity gets
to decide how everything will look. As mentioned in the first
paragraph the landscape and feel of the Arena District would
be much different if more than one entity own and operated it.
If more than one did control the district we may see some
concrete buildings, some brick buildings, some steel buildings,
etc. The district would not have the uniqueness to it that it has
today. The brick adds a certain beauty to the area especially
when you combine that with all of the green trees that are
planted on the sidewalks. Currently, as it stands the district has
been fully developed and there is no more room. The Arena
District could annex parts of other areas to give itself more
room to expand and grow its vision.

Source: Creagan

Improvements
The Arena District can become very packed when events are going on. There can become problems with pedestrians and
cars. It would be nice if the Nationwide Area could build underground tunnels that feed to the parking garages that are
close by. This would keep most of the pedestrians off the street and would allow traffic to flow more smoothly after major
events.
Walkways that go under the street from one side to the next could also allow for pedestrians to stay off of the streets if
tunnels are not possible.
The brick paved streets should be extended to most if not all of the streets in the district. Most of Nationwide Boulevard is
paved with bricks in the district and it adds a lot of character to the area. If the streets were more uniform it would give the
area even more of a distinct character. (This could be expensive though)
Open up some of the lesser-used streets and turning them into pedestrian walking streets would give even more space for
pedestrians to walk and could open up a few more entertainment opportunities.

Source: Creagan