June 2, 2011
Council entertaining options on Lane Entertainment district seen as economically positive; members want details By CHRIS BOURNEA ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The creation of an entertainment district along Lane Avenue is one of the hotly debated topics that came up during a May 25 public meeting to discuss traffic and parking issues in the area. Upper Arlington City Council is expected to address the entertainment district issue at its June 13 meeting. Royboy LLC filed an application with the city May 13 requesting the creation of a Community Entertainment District
for a 39.2-acre area along Lane Avenue bordered by North Star Road on the east and Northwest Boulevard on the west. Royboy LLC is the owner of the property that inMatt Shad cludes Half Price Books and Pizza Hut at 1375 W. Lane Ave. and 1397 W. Lane Ave., respectively, said Matt Shad, deputy city manager for economic development. If the city approves the application, the
entertainment district would allow up to eight “D-5j” liquor permits, which allow the sale of beer, wine or liquor in the district. City council president Frank Ciotola forwarded a letter recommending the district’s approval to fellow council members. “It will add three new licenses (for) a total of eight licenses to that district, which is pretty much the Lane Avenue corridor,” Ciotola said. “That’s one of the vital corridors in the city. It will help promote economic development.”
Other council members said they are supportive of the entertainment district concept as an economic development tool, but want to evaluate the details of the current proposal before making a decision. “It offers an opportunity for economic development, which has been an emphasis for this council for the past three or four years,” said Mary Ann Krauss, council vice president. Wade Steen could not be reached for comment by deadline, and David DeCapua said he’s still evaluating the propos-
al and declined comment. Erik Yassenoff said he has long been a supporter of entertainment districts, but wants to learn the details of the Lane Avenue application. “You do strongly have to look at the issue in detail before you make a decision,” Yassenoff said. Debbie Johnson said the creation of an entertainment district could help the city take a holistic approach to development along Lane Avenue. See LANE, page A2
UAHS senior class set an exemplary tone, prinicipal says By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
(From left) Laura Hager explains the differences between incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs to Tami Kankia, Zoe Merchant and Madison Rose during the Hasting Middle School “Carnegie Science Day” on May 23.
Visit from Carnegie makes for ‘energetic’ science lesson By KATE HETRICK
body is going to be blowing ed “lots of exploding stuff.” “They filled a balloon with The Carnegie Science Center, hydrogen, and then put a hot based in Pittsburgh, brought its torch to it, and it exploded,” “Science on the Road” program Miller said. “That was very fun.” to Hastings on May 23. For many Other experiments involved students, the highlight of the day substances such as dry ice and was the “Captain Green’s Time magnesium, and demonstrations Machine” presentation. of energy sources like wind tur“They made stuff blow up,” bines. E.J. Miller said. Classmate Carly “We got to learn some sciAllocco echoed Miller, recall- ence things as well,” said Cyrus ing that the presentation includ- Moazampour, who was helping
ThisWeek Community Newspapers something up.’”
The sixth-graders at Hastings Middle School finally experienced their dream science class, courtesy of a hands-on “Energy Day” celebration. “Every day in science, the question is, ‘Are we going to blow something up?’” said science teacher Beth Joseph. “I told them, ‘This is the day. Some-
Miller make a solar oven out of a pizza delivery box. “It’s such a beautiful day to test solar stuff out,” Miller said. “It’s raining outside. This always happens.” Joseph assured the students that they would test their solar ovens in June, when the sun is closer to the Earth. She saw the “Captain Green’s See LESSON, page A8
The Upper Arlington High School class of 2011 will be remembered as a first-rate group of students — respectful, bright and conscientious, principal Kip Greenhill said. “The tone they set in this building I couldn’t be more pleased with,” he said. “When you come into this building, you see it. It’s like a college campus, very relaxed but very orderly, and the seniors set that tone.” The school’s 87th annual commencement will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 5, at Veterans Memorial, 300 W. Broad St. About 440 students will graduate at the two-hour ceremony. Doors open at 1 p.m. Perry Kleinhenz will deliver the cum laude address. Class officers also will speak. The high school band will perform during the ceremony. “We try to make it a celebration of the students’ success,” Greenhill said. The class had the highest number of National Merit semifinalists in central Ohio, accrued more than 20,000 hours of community service and received $60million in scholarship offers, Greenhill said. He said the group had an impressive commitment to aca-
A closer look The school’s 87th annual commencement will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 5, at Veterans Memorial, 300 W. Broad St. About 440 students will graduate at the two-hour ceremony. Doors open at 1 p.m.
demics and the arts. Three students represented the high school at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles. Each year, the faculty chooses the recipient Arthur McCullough award, given to the best student in the class. The faculty couldn’t choose just one student this year, however, and for the first time will give the award to four students, to be announced at commencement, Greenhill said. “I think it shows the depth of this class,” he said. The class also was gifted athletically, he said. The girls swim team won their seventh straight state championship in 2011. The boys and girls lacrosse teams are in contention for state championships. “It’s a renaissance class,” he said. gseman@thisweeknews.com www.ThisWeekNEWS.com
Retail spaces filling up at Kingsdale Shopping Center By ANDREW MILLER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
After years of sitting mostly vacant, the revitalization of Kingsdale has resulted in a full house. “Our retail space is now completely full, with only one 2,800-square-foot space left,” Continental Real Estate retail development broker Steve Siegel said.
“When we purchased (Kingsdale), every current tenant signed a new lease, and we’re really thrilled with everyone’s commitment.” Of the final retail storefronts to be built out, four new businesses will be opening at Kingsdale by the end of 2011. These include Coldwell Banker King Thompson (opening June 7), Nutter Hardware (anticipated opening in August), Urgent
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Care (anticipated opening in October) and Raymond James Financial Services (opening not yet announced), according to the Upper Arlington City Manager’s office. Siegel said that the city and Continental would like to add another full-service restaurant to the property, but there currently is no one committed to developing one.
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According to Continental representatives, the opening of another retail office space in building A, the newly constructed building on Tremont Road next door to the new Coldwell Banker King Thompson storefront, could represent up to 20 new professional employees in the city. With the retail space filled, and the realization of 20 new positions, deputy city manager for economic development Matt
emorial Day was not conceived to be the kickoff to summer activities or as a reason to schedule a three-day weekend. It was established to recognize the nation’s military veterans who died while fighting for their country. In keeping with efforts to recognize and honor the sacrifices and service of military veterans, ThisWeek Community Media is launching Honoring Heroes, a continuing series through which we will share the stories and remembrances from and about local men and women who are either on active duty or retired from service. As part of covering their beats, our reporters often hear about and write about veterans leaving for overseas or com-
Shad said the city could see an increase in annual income tax revenue of $50,000. “We’ve been in our current (Fishinger Road) building for over 20 years; this new location will give us a lot more visibility and there’s just a lot of excitement around the new Kingsdale,” Coldwell Banker King Thompson executive vice See CENTER, page A2
ing home at the end of a tour of duty. We’ve covered funeral services of those who have sacrificed their lives. We’ve written about soldiers who arrive at their homes or their children’s schools to unexpectedly surprise their delighted families. We know many more stories are out there, waiting to be told. We want to tell them. And we need your help. If you have a story idea about a friend, family member or colleague, let us know by emailing editorial@thisweeknews.com, with the subject line, “Honoring Heroes.” Honoring Heroes isn’t just a ThisWeek Community Media project: It’s about sharing history.
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