Special Section: Bexley

BEXLEY SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

A Columbus Monthly Suburban Section

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Welcome to Bexley Bexley is thriving, and we want you to be a part of it.

Over the years, Bexley has carved out a unique position as a close-knit, historic neighborhood full of walkable and bikeable streets, first-rate educational institutions, neighbors that are truly there for each other and a bustling Main Street corridor.

Our educational institutions extend beyond our nationally ranked public school system to include top-notch places of learning at Capital University, Columbus School for Girls and St. Charles Preparatory Academy. Earlier this decade, Bexley became the first city in the world to be certified in its entirety as an arboretum, and our emphasis on tree canopy, pedestrian experience and quality of architecture and streetscape is palpable.

Today’s Bexley is not resting on its laurels or satisfied with the status quo. We’re building on our classic strengths with a futureforward vision that is welcoming to people of all backgrounds, focused on environmental stewardship, and ushering in a new era of dining, shopping, entertainment and recreational opportunities that draw visitors from throughout the Central Ohio region.

Whatever you or your family look or sound like, or where you come from, you’re welcome in Bexley. One of our greatest and proudest legacies is having served as a place of refuge for the Central Ohio Jewish community early in our history. Today, we’re proud to have residents and visitors who represent an increasingly diverse back-

ground of races, religions, ages, nationalities and identities.

We’ve established ourselves as a statewide leader in environmental stewardship initiatives, including our curbside food waste recycling program, our emphasis on clean energy infrastructure and our work on reducing single-use plastics in our local environment. Bexley’s Zero Waste Plan was adopted in 2018 and creates a blueprint for an increasingly diminished waste disposal footprint. Our quest for continued sustainability is leading us to think bigger than we ever have before, with utilityscale renewable energy generation for our entire community under exploration.

And our Main Street corridor, which serves as the heart of our commercial and community centers, is home to an increasing number of fantastic restaurants, unique shopping opportunities and, of course, the newly renovated and historic Drexel Theatre.

But beyond all of these points of pride and self-accolades, we are quite simply a community of lifelong learners and good neighbors, eager to welcome you to our proverbial front porch. We hope you’ll join us soon!

Take good care,

A Columbus Monthly Suburban Section

PRESIDENT

Bradley M. Harmon PUBLISHER/GENERAL MANAGER

Ray Paprocki ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Rheta Gallagher

EDITORIAL SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR

Emma Frankart Henterly

COLUMBUS MONTHLY EDITOR

Dave Ghose

CONTRIBUTORS

Nancy Byron, Peter Tonguette, Rebecca Walters INTERN

Phil Heston

DESIGN & PRODUCTION PRODUCTION/ DESIGN DIRECTOR

Craig Rusnak

ART DIRECTOR

Alyse Pasternak

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR

Betsy Becker

DIGITAL EDITOR

Julanne Hohbach ASSISTANT DIGITAL EDITOR

Brittany Moseley

PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO EDITOR

Tim Johnson

ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR

Rob Hardin

ADVERTISING ADVERTISING MANAGER

Holly Gallucci

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Michelle Crossman, Tia Hardman, Kyle Nussbaum, Jackie Vosler

Ben Kessler, Mayor

SALES ASSISTANT

Samantha Belk

MARKETING MARKETING MANAGER

Lauren Reinhard

PHOTO: DERK'S WORKS PHOTOGRAPHY

INSIDE

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ALL IN THE FAMILY These features make Bexley a family-friendly community.

EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING OFFICES

12 16 22 26 LEADING THE CHARGE

Meet a few of the women who lead the city.

SMALL-TOWN VIBES Modern amenities don’t prevent Bexley from exuding charm.

BLENDING OLD AND NEW

Historic homes still can display new tricks.

62 E. Broad St. P.O. Box 1289 Columbus, OH 43216 614-888-4567

SCHOOL CHOICE

Three top-ranked schools and a university call Bexley home.

ON THE COVER: Students and community members celebrate reaching a Bexley Community Foundation fundraising goal for Jeffrey Mansion. | Photo by Daniel Stemen

Bexley: A Columbus Monthly Suburban Section is published by GateHouse Media, LLC. All contents of this magazine are copyrighted © 2019, all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited.

Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials.

BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

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LIFESTYLE

All in the Family Bexley’s connectivity fosters a tight-knit community that’s green in more ways than one.

The Main Event, a summer entertainment series

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BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

PHOTO: DERK’S WORKS PHOTOGRAPHY

By Rebecca Walters

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Living in Bexley is like being part of a really big extended family. Like a family, the 14,000 residents who live in Bexley have strong ties to one another and care deeply for their community.

Great schools, historic houses, a walkable downtown, a collective concern for the environment and plenty of activities and events connect the community and make Bexley such a highly desirable place to live and do business.

“I love Bexley because everything is convenient, and there’s a sense of community in everything we do,” says Drew Flora, a Bexley resident for the past 20 years. “There’s always one or two degrees of separation from other people. It seems like we know almost everyone, or know someone who knows someone.”

Steeped in tradition but forward-thinking, Bexley city officials lead by example when it comes to making the city great. The community is big on sustainability and maintaining its small-town vibe, which is complemented by a touch of urban charm thanks to Columbus’ proximity.

Going Green With curbside composting, electric vehicle charging stations, and bans on plastic bags and straws, environmental sustainability is a way of life for Bexley residents.

“Food-waste recycling is not for the faint of heart,” says Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler.

“Sustainability is in our DNA. It’s part of the culture of our community.” Kessler lives this practice in part through his choice for transportation: an electric Chevy Bolt.

Flora also drives an electric car, a Tesla Model S, which he bought in part because he commutes 60 miles to Dayton, where his business is located. Although he could have relocated his family, they chose to stay in Bexley. “We love where we are,” he says.

Renewable energy is at the forefront of sustainability efforts in the city. Bexley is at the ready to participate in a statewide Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) solar panel program when it launches later this year. The program offers low-cost, long-term financing for residents to invest in energyefficient upgrades for renewable projects. In June, Bexley City Council passed legislation to approve the concept.

Future green efforts include a pet waste collection/disposal program, expanding recycling efforts to include commercial and multiunit housing properties and developing a dog park along Alum Creek, says Troy

find here.

At Gramercy Books, we share our love of books and the arts through a broad range of programs. From hosting writers to monthly book discussions, there’s something for everyone. We’re proud of our community partnerships and the incredible authors, poets, and songwriters that have passionately shared their stories.

You’ll find an incredible experience at Gramercy Books, from our warm, knowledgeable staff and curated selection to engaging events featuring authors, poets, and songwriters. Stop by and browse, grab a coffee at Kittie’s, and discover something you didn’t even know you were looking for.

We’re proud to be a locally-owned, independent bookstore serving central Ohio. Open daily at 9am!

2424 E. Main St. / Bexley, OH 43209 / 614.867.5515 / gramercybooksbexley.com BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

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Playing cornhole at The Main Event

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BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

A ropes course at the Labor Day Block Party

PHOTOS: TOP, DERK’S WORKS PHOTOGRAPHY; BOTTOM, COURTESY CITY OF BEXLEY

Markham, service and environmental chair for Bexley City Council.

“Our community is probably unique in that we tend to be made up of people who really care about the environment and are open to ideas and programs,” he says.

Canopied streets are a distinguishing feature throughout Bexley, and the Tree & Public Gardens Commission sees to it that public gardens, urban forests and other plantings are protected.

“Tree-lined streets change how you relate to your environment,” Kessler says. “It’s both aesthetic and functional.”

Commission chair Susan Quintenz says that establishing and maintaining a consistent community feel is another undertaking of the commission, which created “gateways” to the city, “to create an identity and let people know they are entering Bexley.” The commission also researches and decides when and where new species should be introduced.

Bexley is so serious about its trees—it is home to 132 different species of plantings— that in 2013, it became the first municipality to be designated as an arboretum by the

“It’s not just about filling vessels with lots of content knowledge. It’s about helping students to take that content knowledge and do something important with it.

CSG girls learn from a very early age that what they do is more important than just what they know.”

- Jennifer Ciccarelli Head of School

Admission

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Columbus School for Girls

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Age 3 to Grade 12 • RSVP Today!

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Celebrating Differences, Embracing Commonalities

Morton Arboretum in Chicago, says Grant Archer, urban forestry supervisor for the city of Bexley.

One of the criteria for maintaining its designation as an arboretum requires an education component. In addition to labeling trees and offering self-guided tours, Bexley offers Maple Syrup Workshops in which participants learn how to identify maple trees and install buckets to collect sap, which later is boiled and bottled at the annual Jeffrey Woods Festival.

Bustling Businesses At the heart of Bexley is Main Street, which buzzes with energy. It’s where families go for ice cream and pizza, meet for play dates, run daily errands and take in a yoga or fitness class. Residents enjoy having the ability to park their car once and walk to a variety of destinations along the quaint strip. And many just walk or ride their bikes from home.

Business owners say that while they attract customers from throughout Central Ohio, they have a dedicated base of followers in Bexley, mostly because of convenience and connectedness.

Jennifer Roy, owner of Urban Emporium, says Main Street was the perfect place to open her shop that features local artisans. “I love it because it’s a small town in a big city,” she says. “The business community is very strong. We’re connected to each other as business owners and because we have kids.”

Allyson Morena, owner of Piccadilly, an indoor play café on Main Street, also enjoys the strong sense of community she feels doing business in Bexley. “It’s a good environment because there’s a strong focus on family, and it’s easily accessible,” she says.

“It’s an easy place to get involved, and it’s very welcoming.”

In addition to being the gathering place for families and friends, Main Street also is where many of Bexley’s annual festivals and community celebrations take place.

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The city also stands out physically. Driving down Main Street, one is immediately aware they have arrived in Bexley, with its tree-lined streets, manicured lawns and stately mansions.

While cohesiveness is something that makes for a strong community, Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler also recognizes that nothing grows within a vacuum.

What’s commonly referred to as the “Bexley bubble” describes a perceived separation or boundary that exists in Bexley and its surrounding communities. Whether this perception is accurate is what motivated Kessler to dive deeper into the subject of where his city stands on diversity and inclusiveness.

Youths participate in a Bexley Recreation & Parks program.

BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

To shed light on the issue, the city launched a Diversity & Inclusiveness Collaborative several years ago and has been conducting Implicit Bias Training sessions, as well as formal and informal public meetings, to poke holes in the invisible bubble.

“Everyone has biases. They aren’t necessarily good or bad, but it’s how we react and think to biases that could have an adverse or injurious impact on others,” says Steve Francis, president of Franchise D&I Solutions LLC, a consulting firm hired by the city to help gather information and engage the community.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Kessler says. The goals of the D&I Collaborative are to “honor, celebrate and be sensitive to differences and create a culture of unity with differentiations.”

Kessler says he wants to ensure Bexley’s outlook embodies a community-centric mentality that is open and welcoming to all—not that of a country club that promotes exclusivity.

As the initiative continues, the city plans to develop a timeline to track progress and accountability, Francis says.

PHOTOS: TOP, COURTESY CITY OF BEXLEY ; BOTTOM, DERK’S WORKS PHOTOGRAPHY

Maple syrup at the Jeffrey Woods Festival

Residents of Bexley share similar values when it comes to raising families, holding education and the environment in high regard, and being connected to one another. Bexley also is one of the wealthiest cities in Central Ohio and, although steadily diversifying, is predominantly white; many of its residents are of the Jewish faith.

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Piccadilly play cafĂŠ

Community events range from a summer series, The Main Event, that features monthly movies, music, food and activities, to the Labor Day Block Party that involves a large cookout, food trucks, a ropes course, music, a movie, a talent show and more.

PHOTO: COURTESY CITY OF BEXLEY

Pick Your Passion Manika and Jason Williams landed in Bexley about seven years ago. They didn’t have to go far from their former community of Berwick, just south of Bexley. “I’ve always liked Bexley,� says Manika, who often passed through the city as she jogged toward Downtown Columbus. “It reminds me of older neighborhoods in Cincinnati, where I grew up.�

The Williamses went for a bike ride on their first anniversary and found themselves taking part in Bexley’s annual Independence Day festivities. At that point, they started playing around with the idea of moving there.

They bought a three-story, 1920s brick house in central Bexley. Since then, the Williamses both have taken on active roles in the community. Jason sits on the Recreation and Parks board, coaches rec league middle

Live, Learn, Work, & Play our funds

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more info: www.bexleycommunityfoundation.org BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

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school lacrosse and participated in a six-month training session with the Bexley Police. Manika is active on the Minority Parents Alliance and has volunteered with the Diversity & Inclusion Collaborative, among others. (See more on the city’s inclusivity efforts in “Celebrating Differences, Embracing Commonalities,” Page 8.)

As the Williamses have seen, getting involved in Bexley is easy. “You can serve on a committee, participate in a program, take a class, volunteer or simply show up for one of the city’s annual festivals,” says Michael Price, director of Bexley’s Recreation and Parks Department.

“Whatever level residents decide to commit to, there is something for everyone to enjoy, from preschoolers to seniors,” Price says.

Sports, dance, day trips and luncheons are just a handful of the programs offered through his department.

When it comes to programming and activities, “the vast majority are open to residents and non-residents alike,” Price says. “And events are always wide open to the public, no matter where they live.”

Independence Day festivities

Working on Wellness “The mental health of our children has really been on my heart and on my mind for a number of years,” she says. After more than 30 years in Ohio’s education system, she had been noticing a shift in students’ experiences with anxiety and other mental health issues. “I felt like we need to have a conversation about this,” she says.

So, Pietsch Miller asked for help, inviting 30 Bexley organizations to participate in the discussion. She reached out to the Bexley Public Library and was surprised to discover that Nationwide Children’s Hospital had already contacted them about the same topic. Those groups have joined with the city of Bexley, the Bexley Area Chamber of Commerce, Capital University and Columbus School for Girls to launch Bexley Be Well: A Community Conversation About Wellness.

The program kicked off in early September with a film screening and panel discussion, followed by a monthlong community reading of “What Made

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Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen” and an October visit from the book’s author, Kate Fagan. Funding from the Bexley Education Foundation provided a copy of the book to every staff member of Bexley City Schools, including support staff such as custodians and bus drivers.

The Bexley Community Foundation also provides funding for the initiative.

health services for several years, Twymon says, but the Bexley Be Well initiative is remarkable in its scope.

Anxiety is of particular concern in schools, thanks to a combination of increased mental health awareness and a rise in pressure on teens and young adults, says Kamilah Twymon, a clinical coordinator with Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s behavioral health school-based program and community partnership. “There’s a different expectation around achievement for students today that creates some pressure,” she says. “But I also do think that there’s a new space for awareness … [and] that awareness in itself will cause people to think a little bit more.”

Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler agrees. “Raising awareness of mental health issues and providing key resources for improvement is a vital community need,” he says.

While the program stemmed from Bexley City Schools, Bexley Be Well partners now are in the midst of creating resource lists for students, adults and seniors, too.

Nationwide Children’s and area schools have partnered to provide behavioral

BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

“I think it’s pretty notable that an entire community is thinking about how they wrap their arms around students or folks who are experiencing anxiety,” she says. “It sends a really clear message of support for those folks who may be experiencing some anxiety, or any other diagnoses.”

“Each generation faces a uniquely different set of circumstances, making it hard to plan just a few blanket events with a goal of helping everyone,” Kessler says.

“It must start smaller than that, and that is where we are right now. … We are eager to see how this program evolves.”

—Emma Frankart Henterly

PHOTO: DERK'S WORKS PHOTOGRAPHY

Dr. Kimberly Pietsch Miller, superintendent of Bexley City Schools, was concerned.

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Elaine Pelz

CASE STUDY

Leading the Charge A look at some of the women who make Bexley a great place to live, learn, work and play

By Emma Frankart Henterly

Last year, a massive influx of female Congresswomen led many to dub 2018 “the year of the woman.” But in Bexley, having women in leadership roles is nothing new. Though Ben Kessler has served as mayor since 2012, a number of female leaders in the public and private sectors show that there’s no glass ceiling under Bexley’s solar-paneled rooftops. Read on for a look at seven of the women who are helping lead Bexley to success.

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BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

A Bexley resident of more than 20 years, Elaine Pelz had a varied career before taking the executive director role at the city’s chamber of commerce two years ago, with positions in the nonprofit, marketing, entrepreneurial and the arts sectors, to name a few. It’s that breadth of experience, she says, that helps her in her job now.

“I’ve always had a passion for connecting people,” Pelz says. “Being here at the chamber, I get to do that all the time.”

Pelz credits the residents of Bexley with supporting her leadership position in the business community. It’s no single individual, she adds, but rather the supportive nature of the community as a whole. “It’s a plethora of people and ideas and encouragement and belief in each other,” she says.

That spirit is especially reflected in one of the chamber’s key networking programs: Bexley Women in Business.

“When I came to this position, that was one of the areas that I felt that we were not tapping into enough, in terms of women who are leaders and women who are innovators,” Pelz says.

At the meetings, which happen several times a year, women share their stories of personal success. “People find so many similarities and so much strength and support in hearing each other’s stories,” Pelz says, adding that those same stories also are shared with male and female students in a partnership program with Bexley City Schools. “It is an opportunity to pass it forward to the next generation,” she explains. “I just think that’s part of what this community’s all about.”

PHOTOS: LEFT, BRAD FEINKNOPF; RIGHT, COURTESY CITY OF BEXLEY

Executive director, Bexley Area Chamber of Commerce

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Jennifer Ciccarelli

Hallie Raskin

Head of school, Columbus School for Girls

Executive director, Bexley Community Foundation

As the head of an all-girls school, Jennifer Ciccarelli is no stranger to the concept of fostering leadership skills in young women.

“I think that part of my role is to help other women,” she says. “I know that I’m always modeling for girls and young women, and for the women on my leadership team.” She credits a series of strong female mentors in her life with inspiring her to counter the societal perception of female competitiveness.

“There’s this reputation that women don’t support each other … they will cut each other down,” she explains. “In my 25 years as a leader, that has not been my experience.

I’ve had incredible women mentors and sponsors and supporters who saw things in me and encouraged me to develop my leadership qualities.”

The city of Bexley, Ciccarelli notes, was especially supportive of the dual roles that she and many women face: those of career professional and mother. In previous job searches, she had faced appalling questions about how she’d juggle a career and raising a young daughter. “I was stunned!” she says.

“And a little offended, because I was imagining that they probably hadn’t asked the men in the search the same question.”

When she interviewed for current position at Columbus School for Girls, however, she found no such quandary. “One of the first things that people said was, it would be so wonderful to have a head of school whose daughter is also in the school, and they embraced me as a leader who was a mother,” Ciccarelli recalls, citing Bexley’s family-friendly community as both fostering and being indicative of that attitude.

Deborah Kutasy

PHOTOS: COURTESY CITY OF BEXLEY

President, Bexley Area Chamber of Commerce, and owner, Touch Therapy Massage When Deborah Kutasy started Touch Therapy Massage in 2012, her first two locations were on the west and east sides of Columbus. “I would drive through Bexley … and I just felt this sense of community and a sense of belonging,” she says. “There was just something about that down-home, earthy feeling of Bexley.”

After deciding to move a location to Bexley in 2014, she was invited to join the Bexley Area Chamber of Commerce, which helped her plan a grand opening.

“They really, really blew me out of the water with the way they promoted that event and the way they supported that event,” Kutasy says. Mayor Ben Kessler was slated to appear at the open house, and much to Kutasy’s surprise, he followed through on that promise.

“The reason that I love Bexley so much is because as a business owner, it is accessible.

The mayor is accessible,” she says. “If you need to talk to someone, they have an opendoor policy.” This attitude contrasts with city staff she’s encountered through some of her

“I was always taught that giving back and being a part of the community in which you live is an important way to live your life,” Hallie Raskin says. A Dayton native who moved to Chicago for college, Raskin and her husband moved to Bexley—where Raskin’s mother grew up and where she still has family—in 2014.

Shortly after, Raskin gave birth to her first child and then applied for her current position with the Bexley Community Foundation. The role was a perfect fit for Raskin, who has always enjoyed working in the nonprofit sector. Bexley’s community vibe, she says, helped give her confidence to take on the role.

“There are so many families in Bexley that, when I started, it wasn’t a shock that a new mom would be able to balance [that role] with leading an organization,” she says. It’s not uncommon for her children—she now has two—to accompany her as the BCF’s executive director.

“They’re able to be there [with me at community events] playing, and I’m able to have my Bexley Community Foundation hat on, talking to people and spreading the word about the work we’re doing.”

Raskin’s work means she often is collaborating with other strong female leaders in the community, including Dr. Elizabeth Paul, president of Capital University; Pamela Glasgow of the Bexley Education Foundation; and Elaine Pelz of the city’s chamber of commerce.

“As a woman, to be able to come to work and have the day-to-day interaction with other women in these leadership roles … it’s a really nice feeling,” she says. “I’m lucky to be included in that list.”

business’s other locations, she notes.

That grand opening, she says, was the beginning of her involvement with the chamber; she joined as a board member in 2016 and now serves as its president.

“In Bexley … it’s like you are intentionally set up for success, because you know where your resources are, you know who your resources are, and they’re interested in your success,” Kutasy says. “It’s just that whole concept of accessibility of key people, key leaders that I think makes Bexley very warm and inviting and very supportive of us as females in business.”

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Pamela Glasgow Executive director, Bexley Education Foundation

President, City Council Though she and her husband have lived in Bexley for nearly 25 years, Lori Ann Feibel thinks of herself as a “newbie” to the city they call home, when compared to those who have been there for their entire lives.

She ran for City Council in 2013, thanks in part to encouragement from peers in her volunteer network and her husband.

“I love my community,” she says. “It’s so wonderful and such a fabulous place; I wanted to be a part of keeping it that way.” She was re-elected in 2017 and now leads the organization.

Describing herself as a “stay-at-homemom who is never at home,” Feibel lets her dual roles guide each other. “I never take my ‘mom’ hat off while I’m making decisions about our city, because I think that our city is very focused on the family, whether you’re an empty nester or just welcoming itty bitty ones into your life,” she says. “I feel like Bexley really embraces that whole family environment and the warmth that families get from our wonderful, loving community.”

For Feibel, her status as a Bexley leader is inseparable from her home life.

“It is setting an example to my daughters that you can do anything,” she says.

“That kind of modeling for our younger generation to see—it becomes the norm, not at all the exception. I think that the more women that are in leadership positions, the more girls are going to say, ‘Yeah, of course I’m going to step up.

Of course my chair belongs at the table.’

And they’re not going to ask to put their chair at the table; they’re going to put their chair at the table.”

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not only in their community but beyond, and that maybe fosters them or encourages them to take on leadership roles.”

For her own experience, Glasgow appreciates the necessity of her position as a role model. “Being able to be in contact with so many young people,” is key, she says. “For other young women to see me in this role, hopefully [it will] inspire them to go on to nonprofit leadership roles. That, to me, is the most important thing about being a role model and a mentor.”

Dr. Kimberly Pietsch Miller Superintendent, Bexley City Schools Now in her third year as superintendent of Bexley City Schools, Dr. Kimberly Pietsch Miller is no stranger to leading others in an educational setting. After more than three decades in the system, rising from English teacher to assistant principal and chief academic officer, among other roles, before coming to Bexley, Pietsch Miller has honed a focus on aligning teams to a common goal.

“I have a very strong sense of the importance of common vision,” she says. “In every role that I’ve taken, part of why I’ve gotten the job is my ability to get people aligned and focused.”

That skill set has extended outside classroom walls with the launch of Bexley Be Well, a mental health awareness program that Pietsch Miller worked with city leaders and others to develop. (Learn more about this initiative in “Working on Wellness,” Page 10.)

Having a tight-knit, collaborative community is a benefit in many ways, she says, and it helps create and support strong leaders.

BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

“None of us are where we are, doing what we do, because we do it alone. We’re all part of a network of people that support us and care about us and help us,” Pietsch Miller says. “I don’t often think of myself as a ‘female leader.’ I just think of myself as a leader.”

PHOTOS: COURTESY CITY OF BEXLEY

Lori Ann Feibel

Pamela Glasgow and her family moved to Bexley 17 years ago for the schools, so it’s not surprising that the nonprofit sector professional has ended up leading the Bexley Education Foundation. Now that her children have gone on to college and adult life, however, she has no temptation to leave the city.

“We’re lucky to have the kind of services the city provides,” she says. “It’s a nice place to live, for people of all ages. … I have to challenge myself to leave Bexley occasionally for something I might need.”

Glasgow is just the second executive director of BEF, having taken over for after its first executive director, Charlene Morgan, retired in 2011. “I certainly admired, and still admire, the efforts that she did to really set the stage for the work of the foundation,” she says.

When asked why she thinks Bexley has such a strong pool of female leaders, Glasgow points to the community itself.

“Most of our community is fairly welleducated and socially involved, with lots of women who are professionals,” she says. “I think they really care about what happens,

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BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

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About 20 years ago, the city of Bexley did some serious soul-searching.

By the mid-1990s, Main Street—once a vibrant corridor of commercial and retail activity—had begun to lose a bit of its luster. “Main Street used to be kind of quiet and boring,� says Larry Haas of Bexley Optical Boutique, a mainstay of the area since 1983. “It never changed for a long time, before I opened here, and then for probably the next 20 years after.�

Around that time, though, opportunity seemed to knock when a McDonald’s restaurant sprang up in place of the derelict Bexley Theater. Yet there was community pushback when the fast-food chain wanted to add a drive-thru window. “There was a whole conversation about whether or not there was going to be a drive-thru,� says Ben Kessler, the city’s mayor and director of development. “There was a charter issue in the ’90s where residents said, ‘No, we can’t ever have drive-thrus on Main Street.’ �

The restaurant eventually closed, sans drive-thru, but in the intensely argued debate, a future vision for Main Street started to take shape. “It was a moment where the community collectively decided that Main Street wasn’t going to become just your standard sort of drive-thru retail corridor,� Kessler says.

In the decades that followed, city leaders invested in the redevelopment of Main Street. While preserving such institutions as the Drexel Theatre and the Italian restaurant Giuseppe’s Ritrovo, the city has drawn a bounty of new businesses to Main Street and the immediate area, including Cherbourg Bakery, Giant Eagle Market District Express and a brick-and-mortar bookstore. “It’s incredible that there is this diversity, this variety,� says Gramercy Books owner Linda Kass. “There’s not a sameness.

There’s something for everyone, and there’s something different every day.�

The present-day Main Street is in some ways a mirror image of its historical predecessor. During the 1920s, the area was a hotbed of commerce, home to groceries, a drugstore, a butcher shop and a candy shop. “It was a true commercial community corridor,� Kessler says. But with suburban sprawl—and access, via Interstate 270, to nearby shopping malls—the need for such services within the city diminished. “There wasn’t a use for that small-scale neighborhood commercial [corridor],�

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Yet, as the debate over drive-thru restaurants demonstrated, citizens cared about re-energizing Main Street in a way that reflected the city’s small-town character.

The early 2000s saw the adoption of Main Street Design Guidelines calling for the establishment of traditional, mixed-use urban development.

“We’ve been pushing that for almost 20 years now as the form for Main Street,” Kessler says, adding that a live/work/play vibe has been spurred by tax abatements for residential units that sit above commercial spaces.

“We’ve encouraged new housing units that are above the commercial, which has created bedrooms on Main Street, a little bit more activity and the stuff you see in other

neighborhoods [such as the] Short North and Grandview,” he says.

“When we moved in, the storefronts were all hodgepodge-y—they weren’t consistent,” says Vesna Mangano, who co-founded Giuseppe’s in 1996 and has witnessed the evolution of the corridor’s aesthetic.

“They changed the glass, they changed the doors, they changed the façades,” Mangano says. “It looks modern and updated.”

Major improvements include the 2006 development of Bexley Gateway, which offers condominium units near such hotspots as Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Moshi Sushi Bar, and the 2016 conversion of the former City Hall site to a Giant Eagle Market District Express.

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BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

PHOTOS: TOP, COURTESY CITY OF BEXLEY; BOTTOM, DISPATCH FILE/ TOM DODGE

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Drexel Theatre Although Bexley now is home to an array of new businesses and shops, the community has sought to preserve the amenities that make it unique—and that starts with the Drexel Theatre, the three-screen cinema whose marquee has illuminated Main Street since 1937.

Yet, by 2009, the Drexel found itself struggling as multiplexes, rather than independent art houses, gained a foothold. Rather than allow the theater to fold, residents drew up plans to establish Friends of the Drexel, which ultimately acquired the assets of the theater. “We had a series of residents come together, gather momentum and say, ‘this is worth saving,’ ” says Mayor Ben Kessler.

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The organization—now a nonprofit— turned to CAPA to help run the theater on a day-to-day basis.

Since then, CAPA and Friends of the Drexel have joined forces to raise about $2 million to substantially renovate the theater, giving it a new concession area, bathrooms and digital projection system. The funds, like the will to save the Drexel in the first place, were local in origin. “That money came from folks in Bexley that cared about that theater and wanted to make sure it was around for the next generation,” says CAPA president and CEO Chad Whittington.

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“Here are all these different uses that were all kind of outsourced to the [I-270] outerbelt that we’ve tried to encourage to come and be in the community,” Kessler says.

The abundance of activity has been a boon to local businesses, which rely on foot traffic to draw in potential customers.

“There’s a lot of walking on Main Street,” says Kass, who opened Gramercy Books in 2016. “There are just so many people walking, when weather is OK … in the neighborhood and coming to Main Street. I see that so much more today.”

The city continues to make the area more walkable, recently adding even more trees to Main Street medians that were added in 2013.

“What that said was, this is a pedestrian-

PHOTOS: TOP, LAUREN K. DAVIS; BOTTOM, TIM JOHNSON

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Equally advantageous is the proximity of the Capital University campus, which is located across the street from many shops and restaurants. Not only is the school the site of free outdoor events, including a movie series, but merchants tap the student body as potential consumers and employees.

“That’s really a very complementary relationship, because there are better employment opportunities for Capital [students]; there are better businesses for Bexley,” Kessler says.

As Bexley continues to blossom, Kessler forecasts redevelopment on the east end of Main Street, whose shallower lots have traditionally made redevelopment more difficult than on the west end.

And sometimes the simplest, most practical decisions make the biggest difference.

Haas points to a Chamber of Commerce effort to re-mark parking spaces along Main Street as a game-changer. “They clearly marked, painted the lines on the streets in the curb lane, so that people could park all up and down Main Street,” Haas says. “That has made a huge difference in itself.”

And, thanks to a city grant, Bexley invited property owners to install flower boxes—adding the perfect finishing touch to a transformed Main Street. “The first taker on that is at Drexel and Main above Giuseppe’s,” Kessler says. “It is just remarkable what a change that makes.”

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Bexley has a wide range of housing stock, including historic mansions.

HOUSING

Blending Old and New Bexley’s housing stock combines preservation and history with modernization and sustainability.

Confined within 2.5 square miles and situated just east of Downtown Columbus, Bexley may be landlocked, but that doesn’t mean it’s not flourishing.

From starter homes to stately mansions, there’s something for everyone—young couples, growing families and empty nesters alike. But because of limited inventory and high desirability, houses don’t stay on the market long.

Generations of families have grown up here. And although the children go away to college or move to other cities to pursue careers, many of them return to Bexley when they start families of their own. Similarly, families new to the Central Ohio area are drawn to Bexley.

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There’s a “feeling of connectedness” that attracts residents to Bexley, and that feeling of belonging keeps them there, says Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler.

Amy Lee and her husband, Jun, moved to Bexley from Chicago nearly seven years ago and had three children in less than four years. They chose the area for its schools and tight-knit community.

“I’ve met some of my dearest friends at our annual block party,” says Lee, who lives on South Columbia Avenue. “We rely on each other, and it was easy to acclimate ourselves to the community.”

For years, both Lee and her husband had demanding careers. After the kids were born, Lee decided to open a yoga studio,

BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

Bexley Yoga & Barre along the Main Street corridor, and now she walks or bikes to work as often as she can. “People are always out and about, and the tree-lined streets have a calming effect,” Lee says.

Andrew Rosenthal grew up in Bexley, moved away for a while and then returned about 15 years ago. He initially bought a house in South Bexley, an area known for its front porches, as it was a short walk from his mother’s house.

Rosenthal says that as an architect, he’s always appreciated the thoughtful variety of architectural design in Bexley. He also likes that the city has what he calls an “urban feel” to it.

Bexley is small enough that you can walk or bike to get where you are going, but it’s

PHOTO: COURTESY CITY OF BEXLEY

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PHOTO: COURTESY CITY OF BEXLEY

also always reinventing itself, says Rosenthal, who designed Bexley City Hall. One example of the city changing to accommodate its residents is a mixed-use commercial and residential development along Main Street. But for Bexley city officials and the community at large, blending preservation and history with modernization and sustainability go hand in hand, Kessler says.

As residents renovate and update their grand mansions and modest homes, city building and zoning administrators, as well as historic preservation oversight committee members, are keeping tabs on construction to make sure projects bode well for the community and that architectural style and design is maintained, says Kathy Rose, building and zoning director for the city.

“It used to be that you could do almost anything,” Rose says. But since 2002, any resident or company wanting to make exterior changes must get approval from the Bexley Architectural Review Board to make sure the proper aesthetics are maintained.

If deemed necessary, a person or entity could completely demolish a structure and rebuild something new in its place. “But you have to make your case,” Rose adds.

Rose says the city’s Historic Preservation Committee is in the midst of researching pockets of Bexley and plans to come up with identifiers that are illustrative of certain architectural styles, such as front porches, slated roofs and tree-lined streets, all of which are signature characteristics of Bexley.

“We want to give names to certain sections, as they are all unique in their own way,” Rose says. “It’s such a beautiful community.

In my mind, the architects must have had some sort of competition going on back then, as the houses are all so beautiful.”

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Solar panels on City Hall’s roof

As a past member of Bexley’s Architectural Review Board, Rosenthal describes the program as healthy and not overly cumbersome.

“It respects the history of Bexley while promoting modernization,” he explains.

Over the years, Rosenthal has made a number of interior renovations to his mid1920s, three-bedroom house. Many of them involved “backdating,” or undoing changes previous owners had made. For example, he took out floor-to-ceiling mirrors and re-installed a fireplace mantle he found in the attic.

“We also got rid of the wall-to-wall white carpeting and updated the house to give it cleaner lines, so it was more cohesive,” Rosenthal says.

Kessler has owned three houses in the city, all of which have required some renovations and TLC, since moving to Bexley in 2004. The first was a starter house in central Bexley that “needed a lot of work,” he says.

“Personally, for me, I love old homes and bringing new life into them.”

Another way Bexley is blending preservation with sustainability is through a solar panel partnership program with Toledo called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE).

The program offers a low-cost, long-term financing mechanism for residents to invest in energy-efficient upgrades, such as solar panels and other renewable projects, says Thomas Winston, president and CEO for the

Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, which will oversee transactions between homeowners and contractors.

Instead of paying costs out of pocket, homeowners can finance the improvements as part of their property tax assessments. The upgrade is transferable when the house is sold.

In Ohio, PACE financing involves a publicprivate partnership among a municipality, a property owner, a lender and an energy special improvement district. Port Authority officials have contracted with Renovate America, a PACE lender based in California, which will issue loans to homeowners and pay contractors, Winston explains.

The PACE program will be up and running in the fourth quarter of this year, Winston says, having already been approved by council members in June. “All of the regulatory guidelines are in place,” Kessler says.

The solar panel program is just one example of how Bexley embraces sustainability while preserving its past. Always forwardthinking, city officials continually strive to find balance between modernization and conservation while maintaining the quality of life that residents have come to love and expect.

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EDUCATION

School Choice A trio of top-ranked schools and a university call Bexley home.

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BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

PHOTO: BEN SIMON STUDIO/COURTESY COLUMBUS SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

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For a suburb with just 4,000 households, Bexley offers a tremendous density of topnotch educational options.

Bexley City Schools is home to the No. 1 public high school in the Columbus Metropolitan Area, according to U.S. News and World Report. Columbus School for Girls, which enrolls 3-year-olds through 12th-graders, is consistently lauded for its progressive programming. And St. Charles Preparatory School is an all-male Catholic high school that boasts a 99 percent college acceptance rate.

“Having such strong schools here really ups the game for the whole community,” says Jennifer Ciccarelli, head of school at CSG. “It pushes us to be more thoughtful about what we’re doing and to be more articulate and clear about what makes us different.”

PHOTO: BEN SIMON STUDIO/COURTESY COLUMBUS SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

Giving Girls a Voice CSG has been educating young females for more than 100 years. The school features a student-to-teacher ratio of 8:1, a crossgrade mentoring program and a school-wide emphasis on mind and body wellness.

“We teach our girls how to develop resilience, manage unhealthy stress, make healthy food choices, get enough sleep, be responsible with social media and navigate friendships,” Ciccarelli says.

Learning opportunities are similarly wellrounded, with some programs at the school’s 100-acre Cynthia’s Woods nature preserve in Gahanna and a focus on STEM—science, technology, engineering and math.

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BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

“We have a wonderful, rich environment that fosters the mindset that girls can do computer science, math and engineering,” Ciccarelli says. “This is a place where girls know that their voices matter.”

In the Upper School, girls can choose from 20 honors and Advanced Placement courses, as well as interdisciplinary senior seminars such as bioethics and playwriting, and off-campus internships, research or service trips.

Last year, CSG launched a nonprofit called Her Educational Revolution, or H.E.R. Academy, focused on training more females in computer programming and data science.

“All of our students are taking computer science in some form now, from age 3 to 18,” Ciccarelli says. “The goal is to share this program with lots of other schools.”

Preparing Boys to be Men St. Charles is in its 96th year of preparing young men for both college and a spiritual life of service.

“We’re trying to build men of faith,” says principal Jim Lower. “We’re trying to build men who understand the importance of serving others and, as part of that journey, develop the value of hard work.”

The school’s curriculum is tailored to achieve these goals, requiring specific classes each year, starting with religion in grade

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9 and adding honors, Advanced Placement and college-level courses as students progress through their senior year.

“Our boys come together as a class to have a real brotherhood here,” Lower says.

“The curriculum is part of that, but it’s also the all-male environment. ... They can feel free to express themselves, to be the man God created them to be.”

The 15 varsity sports and nearly 20 student groups and clubs available at St. Charles also build upon that foundation.

“We view extracurriculars as an extension of the classroom,” Lower says. “There are lessons they can learn, whether it’s through athletics or the chess club or robotics, about how to get along in a team setting.”

Advancing Public Knowledge Not to be outdone by its private school counterparts, Bexley City Schools has been consistently recognized during its 102 years for being an excellent—or Excellent with Distinction, by Ohio Department of Education standards—public school system. It has only 2,500 students districtwide, but that’s part of its advantage.

“What makes Bexley special is that we are small and able to provide very personalized services to our students, parents and community,” says superintendent Kimberly Pietsch Miller.

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All three elementary schools teach Spanish and offer news broadcasting and theater among their extracurriculars. Middle school students get “flex time” at the end of each day to pursue specific interests or get personalized instruction, and eighth graders do a class-wide community service project.

Bexley High School offers 25 Advanced Placement and 10 honors courses, as well as 23 varsity sports and 34 student clubs and organizations.

“We are educating a whole student, so we must have programming that is balanced in order to engage, equip and empower each student to meet their goals,” Pietsch Miller says.

That includes addressing not just academic needs, but the social, emotional and mental health of students. In September, Bexley City Schools, along with several Central Ohio partners including CSG and neighboring Capital University, launched Bexley Be Well, an initiative to educate and spark community discussion about mental health issues. (Read more about it on Page 10.)

It’s one of many ways Bexley’s area schools interact with one another.

“We appreciate CSG and St. Charles and consider both educational partners,” Pietsch Miller says. They both are outstanding schools [that] offer different educations than Bexley City Schools.”

“I’m a big believer in finding the right school environment for your child,” Ciccarelli adds. Having so many options to choose from in Bexley makes the whole community, as well as each educational institution, stronger. “It helps us all be at the top of our game,” she says.

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Bexley High School football

Intellectual Capital Capital University has been an institution along Bexley’s Main Street for more than 140 years. Located near the Bexley Public Library and across from the iconic Drexel Theatre, Capital has grown along with the neighborhood.

“Capital and Bexley have always shared a deep value of education and strong community, which is why those things thrive here,” says Nichole Johnson, assistant vice president of integrated marketing communications at Capital.

Offering 60 majors and more than 50 minors for undergraduates, plus

BEXLEY: A COLUMBUS MONTHLY SUBURBAN SECTION NOVEMBER 2019

graduate degrees and 17 varsity-level sports, Capital is home to roughly 3,500 students—one-quarter of Bexley’s total population. This annual influx of students brings more than intellectual capital and an enlivened cultural life to the city; it brings youthful job seekers, economy-stimulating visitors and plenty of community-minded individuals.

“Our students are interns, volunteers and tutors,” Johnson says. “And many of our faculty, staff and alumni live in Bexley and contribute to the neighborhood culture that makes it so special.”

PHOTOS: TOP LEFT AND RIGHT, COURTESY BEXLEY CITY SCHOOLS; BOTTOM, DISPATCH FILE/BROOKE LAVALLEY

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Each year, hundreds of new students join Capital University by entering Memorial Gateway on Main Street in Bexley. They become part of a proud partnership between our Capital Family and our Bexley neighbors, sharing a beautiful campus and welcoming residential community within sight of Columbus’s vibrant downtown and all the urban amenities of Ohio’s largest city. Whether you live around the corner or across the state, come experience what a Capital education really means – inspired learning, sharpened critical-thinking, lifelong connections and purposeful opportunities that make a difference.

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