June 23, 2011
German Village Connections
Survey results encourage organizers By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers Many German Village residents say they would support, both financially and through volunteer activities, an aging-in-place program in the neighborhood, according to results of a recent survey. As of the June 15 deadline, local officials collected 165 surveys seeking input on German Village Connections, which would help complete routine tasks
for senior citizens looking to stay in their houses as they age. A majority of respondents, 123, said they would be interested in the concept and services proposed by the organization. Another 25 said they would need more information and 16 said no. “I’m pretty encouraged, basically,” by the results, said Ed Elberfeld, a member of the German Village Society’s long-range planning committee, which began discussing the initiative last year. Some respondents didn’t answer each
question, while others gave multiple responses to questions, which explains why some categories don’t total 165, Elberfeld said. He said 105 respondents said they would volunteer or use the services offered by the program, while 25 said they would not. Also, 100 said they would pay dues to belong to the membership organization, while 37 said they would not. A fee for the services has not been established. Ages of those who completed the sur-
vey ranged from early 20s to 95. Other questions were asked in the survey, such as whether residents would be interested in a one-on-one meeting to discuss the initiative and if they would be willing to attend meetings about the program. The long-range planning committee sent out the questionnaires to all 2,100 German Village households May 24. The survey was also posted online at germanvillage.com. Elberfeld said 123 responses were received through the
mail and 42 were received online. The online survey will remain on germanvillage.com “to make sure everyone had a chance to participate” and so the committee can develop additional leads and contacts for the program, he said. Just how many seniors live in the village is difficult to determine, but the committee believes enough of an aging population is present to warrant the exSee SURVEY RESULTS, page A2
OSU grads students to assess residentialretail mix By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Photos by Chris Parker/ThisWeek
(Above) People enjoy “The Scarlet Pimpernel” while reclining in lawn chairs and on blankets at Schiller Park on June 16. The Actors’ Theatre of Columbus has scheduled a special matinee performance of the play Sunday, June 26, in conjunction with the 52nd annual Haus und Garten Tour. Admission is free. (Below) The caretaker’s cottage in Schiller Park is one of the stops on the Haus und Garten Tour.
Society ready for Haus und Garten Tour By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers Matt Harper’s condo is a cozy 1,600 square feet, but he feels it packs a visual punch. “It’s a mix of contemporary and traditional. It’s just a very clean look,” said Harper, who has lived at 241 E. Beck St. for 18 months. Harper’s condo is one of 13 stops on the 52nd annual Haus und Garten Tour, slated for 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 26. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the tour. They can be purchased at germanvillage.com or the Meeting Haus, 588 S. Third St. Participants must produce their tickets at each stop and can visit the properties in any order. This year’s theme is “Celebrating the FUN (Friends und Neighbors) of German Village.” See HAUS UND GARTEN TOUR, page A2
German Village officials are looking to shed some light on the community’s residential and retail mix to see whether it’s viable and worth preserving or improving. They’ve enlisted the help of a band of graduate students studying city and regional planning at The Ohio State University, who will begin taking a critical look at the residential and business climates this fall. The issue was discussed June 16 by members of the long-range planning committee, which is part of the German Village Society. Roxyanne Burrus, an adjunct professor at Ohio State, told committee members that the students will study demographics, visit stores and address secondary issues such as parking, while also looking at other historic neighborhoods throughout the country for comparisons to German Village. A survey already is being circulated to businesses that are new to the area and those that have left German Village to determine why they chose the community or why they relocated elsewhere. Aside from some presentation material, the study will not cost anything, Burrus said. The students should have the study wrapped up by the first of next year, she said. Some long-range planning committee members expressed concern about boutique and independent shops being replaced with national chains. There are some controls in place to protect the neighborhood from unwanted businesses. Because German Village is a historic neighborhood, any changes to the exteriors of buildings — including signs — must go through the German Village Commission, an architectural review board. Most of the entire 220-acre neighborhood is zoned residential, so all businesses that don’t have city council variances are technically nonconforming, meaning a variance could be needed based on the impact of the proposal, said Shannon Pine, management analyst with the city’s See GRAD STUDENTS, page A2
Saloon specializing in ‘craft beer’ to open in Brewery District By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers It seems like a natural fit: a beer-oriented saloon moving to the Brewery District. A local developer will open the first Midwest location of World of Beer, a Tampa, Fla.-based company that specializes in suds — and lots of them. Mark Pottschmidt, a developer with Stanbery Development, will team up with
Darren Greene from Polaris Grill on the World of Beer franchise, which will take more than 3,900 square feet of space in the historic Worly Building, 503 S. Front St. It should be open by the end of September. The place will offer more than 50 beers on tap from more than 40 countries across the globe, plus 500 beers by the bottle. All employees are required to attend a two-week beer school to get educated about the various styles.
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“It’s a very exciting prospect if you like beer,” Pottschmidt said. There will be a small selection of wine but no spirituous liquors. Another feature is no Bud Light or Miller Lite. World of Beer also will not have a kitchen. Instead, the business will have a relationship with the kitchen at Shadowbox Live, which is moving to the Worly Building in a few months, and other restaurants in the area. “To be able to have that many beers,
to be able to concentrate on that variety, I think it would be difficult to do food in addition to that,” Greene said. “I think us keeping it as simple as possible and concentrate on beer is going to be key for us.” Bill Schottenstein, a partner of Arshot Investment Corp., which owns the property, said that Shadowbox and World of Beer are a great fit for the building and neighborhood. “This will bring vitality to the area
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that’s been missing for the past six or seven years,” he said. “There’s a great synergy between the two operations. What it does is it helps create a new core of activity and entertainment space in the area.” Pottschmidt said World of Beer is a tenant at his company’s Promenade at Coconut Creek development in Florida. He and Greene shopped around locations but liked the current location because of See SALOON, page A6
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