There is a special part of the downtown of Columbus—the Creative Campus—that promises to become one of the city’s next great places. In early 2015, Planning NEXT facilitated a collaborative planning process with Columbus State Community College, the City of Columbus, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) and other stakeholders, which resulted in an action agenda for the neighborhood in northeast downtown. The work centered on developing an understanding of this part of downtown Columbus that includes four higher education and other key institutions that benefit the Central Ohio region as a whole. This approach to collaborative institutional planning has been unconventional, yet productive.
Now, Planning NEXT is working with the College to implement the goals identified through the initial Creative Campus planning effort. Projects such as the construction of a new, state-of-the-art School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts by the College present an important opportunity to both to advance the College’s goals and to provide benefits to the community at large. Issues that are being tackled through the current planning process include planning for the building’s location and key features of the teaching and learning environment, as well as the development of a parking strategy.
