Density, density, and more housing density, is what Columbus needs, and if against it, you are an awful NIMBY (Not In My Backyard).
So says Mayor Ginther, City Council and the group Neighbors For More Neighbors because they claim Central Ohio is in the throes of a housing supply crisis and building more density will result in greater affordability.
Housing density could be described as building taller but also building smaller living spaces (so to maximize profits). And a simple eye-test proves Columbus has been building this type of density in certain neighborhoods. But just ask any Ohio State campus kid, off-campus housing has never been more expensive, and this goes for all Central Ohio.
“No, it isn’t happening and personally I doubt it ever will,” says former mayoral candidate and affordable housing advocate Joe Motil. “Name one of the top 15 most populated cities in the U.S. that is covered with high density apartments where there is affordable housing in any desirable neighborhood? You won’t find one.”
More housing stock would be available if, for example, private equity wasn’t hoarding single-family homes (around 7,000 in Columbus) and not even renting a significant percentage because they are worth more vacant, according to Evict Private Equity Columbus. Yet YIMBYs (Yes In My Backyard) want to blame the affordability crisis on everything but greed on the part of landlords, developers, private equity, and sold-out public officials.
“And of course the YIMBYS will claim its due to a lack of housing, construction cost, interest rates, and labor costs,” says Motil.
Kevin Logan, president of the Olde Sawmill Civic Association, did some footwork over the previous year searching for apartments and house vacancies in his community.
“I found a hundred vacancies on Hard Road, and another 40 houses for sale,” he said. “It’s not like there’s a housing shortage. What I found out is that some of these old crappy apartments are getting $1,750 for a two-bedroom. So, it’s going to be $2,000 for a brand new one-bedroom.”
And expensive one-bedrooms are coming to Olde Sawmill. “Zone In” – the zoning code overhaul promising taller buildings or more density – is in effect here, and Zone In’s Phase II is on the way and described as a “massive expansion” from Phase I, which only covered 5% of the city. Phase II covers 43 percent of the city’s parcels, affecting approximately 66,000 properties.
Mayor Ginther and City Council have said they want developers to build 200,000 additional housing units over the next ten years to meet the city’s growing population demand. Developers who will be incentivized with some of the nation’s most generous tax-free property abatements and Community Reinvestment Areas (CRAs).
“Zone In is allowing to create larger buildings, taller buildings in areas where that is simply not the norm,” says Logan who’s leading a “No 3-story Apartment Building” grassroots effort in Olde Sawmill.
“You go to Grandview you can find 3-story buildings all over,” he says. “Maybe that’s the norm in another municipality. But here, that’s not the norm. There’s simply not another 3-story building for miles and miles.”
There are those in Columbus who will go to any length to advance their agenda of high-density. If 200,000 more housing units are on the way, then what follows is what not to build. Because plenty of strange-looking over-priced density has already gone up over the last decade. Enough is enough.
Please let us know what you think is the weirdest housing density in our social media comments.
1. Jaeger Square of German Village
The Pizzuti Company didn’t fool a soul when they stated Jaeger Square honors “the character and history of a beloved neighborhood.”
Ask most German Village homeowners, and they hate it.
What also should be disliked is how the ultra-rich are pigeonholing our young people into renting tiny living spaces. The 261-unit Jaeger Square is renting 388-square feet studios with Murphy beds for $1,200-a-month.
A grocery store would move into the complex’s retail space, that was the hopeful word spreading through German Village. Inconveniently, the retail space has remained vacant for two years and is currently a construction site (pictured above).
2. Crossline of Weinland Park
Where’s Luke, Leia, Han and Obi One when you’re in need?! Because the Death Star has landed and parked itself on East 5th Avenue in the Weinland Park area.
The Columbus-based Marker Development describes Crossline as “inspired by the streetcar suburb history of its home neighborhood,” which we assume must be Weinland Park? If anyone can explain how this six-floor mixed-used giant with 180-units was inspired by “streetcars” please let us know.
Both Weinland Park and nearby Italian Village have been radically altered by housing density built at dizzying speeds, and that was probably the plan before residents could muster a grassroots effort to push back.
“I’ve lived in this area pretty much my entire life. I was kind of shocked to see the Weinland Park area transformed in such a fast time,” said Weinland Park community activist La’Won Sellers to the Free Press back in 2024. “It was like the developers got a green light for Minecraft and apartments and condos started popping up one after the other. And they all look the same.”
3. Austin Place of Far West Columbus
That isn’t Barton Springs, y’all. Those are two Columbus water towers in your backyard. And “Austin Place” is the most lol-named apartment complex in Central Ohio.
Columbus and Austin are much alike, but they should never be mistaken for each other. And Austin’s gigantic spring-fed public pool, Barton Springs, is a good example. Because that ice-cold spring was saved from high-end developers.
As for Grandview’s many quarried lakes, where limestone was dug out by Italian immigrants 200-years-ago who toiled for a $1 a day, they were hoarded by the ultra-rich and currently encircled by vacant office buildings.
4. Tempo Apartments at TruePointe in Hilliard
The brand-new Tempo Apartments, where your backyard is a parking ramp and your outdoor deck has enough room for a single lawn chair.
Tempo is a perfect example of why so many scoff at the housing density rising so fast throughout Central Ohio. If you can afford $1,500 a month for a single-bedroom, logic and empathy would suggest you deserve a backyard with grass and space for a garden, and to be able to share your patio with a family member or friend.
There is some new housing density we do like!
You read that right YIMBYs and Mayor Ginther. There is new housing density in Columbus we can be proud of and is pictured below. It’s “The Diehl” located in Bronzeville on Long Street, and a simple eye-test shows this housing density with its tower clock is aesthetic and a good fit for the neighborhood.
The developer, The Kelley Company, designed The Diehl to reflect the neighborhood’s history of jazz, juke joints, and old-school cool. If only all future local housing density could be crafted and built with such attention to detail.
Columbus historically has a poor reputation when it comes to aesthetics. Tearing down Union Station and other architectural gems has perpetuated this “bland” label.
If more density is on the way, and it is, build more Diehls and less Jaeger Squares.
