The Good, Bad, Ugly and Transcendent of Urban Redevelopment
While attending the American Institute of Architects national convention in Miami beach, we ran into a familiar face from Columbus, Ohio – where our eyes were first opened to the dangers of sprawl and the not always successful attempts to fight it.
Robert D. Loversidge, FAIA -- President and CEO of the Schooley Caldwell Associates architecture firm in Columbus told us the old Lazarus department store building had been reborn in its second century of use.
When we arrived in Columbus in the mid-1980s, Lazarus was the local department store and had been for decades. Though the vast majority of its business had moved to the suburban malls, it kept a presence on Statehouse Square with a huge, multilevel store that encompassed several structures and nearly 1 million square feet.
The not as sexy as the modern suburban and exurban stores, the old Lazarus was shabby but steeped in the tradition of the giant downtown dry goods store that had a half dozen restaurants, gourmet food, a bargain basement, electronics, furniture, fashion – you name it.
When we worked at the newspaper on the opposite side of Lazarus, we loved to spend lunches shopping and dining in the fading grand dame. Life was good.
Then came the well-intended but bad idea of “saving” Lazars and the rest of the core downtown from sprawled suburban retailing by…plopping a hideously internalized suburban shopping mall onto several acres immediately south of Combos’ Statehouse square.
The mall, with upscale shops and anchor department stores never heard of in the state capital, would connect to Lazarus by sky bridge.
The badly-designed suburban mall in an urban setting spiraled downward from a splashy opening with fancy shops into a decade-plus of: closed upscale tenants, an abandoned department store space, failure to capture shoppers after 5 p.m. crime including a grisly shooting and other failures.
City Center, 1.2 million of square feet on three levels, was demolished in less than two decades. The downtown Lazarus, serving customers since 1909, also died.
But then something transcendent happened.
Rather than demolishing a landmark building that stood for a century, wise people decided to gut the interior, correct sins (covered historic windows, loss of architecture details) of the past and make one of the nation’s largest green buildings out of the old Lazarus.
Schooley Caldwell teamed with Elkus Manfredi (schematic design), Turner
(construction management), Georgetown (developer) and the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (the nonprofit CDDC owner of the building/site after private investors donated it) to create a LEED-certified GOLD project.
Where everything from winter coats to bathing suits and barbecue grills used to be sold, state of Ohio agencies such as the EPA, Department of Insurance and Health Human Services now reside in clean, green offices.
The Lazarus Building houses 2,600 downtown workers and has earned praise from the US EPA for:
• Reducing, reusing, and recycling materials during renovation and construction.
• Using recycled-content products and materials in construction.
• Producing cost savings and environmental benefits.
• Raising awareness of sustainability in central Ohio by earning environmental. awards and recognition.
• Spearheading Local community revitalization.
The Columbus Chamber of Commerce supported the project by moving its offices to the renovated structure that also features ground floor retail and space for art displays. Our longtime friend and mentor Ty Marsh, president and CEO of the Chamber, is quite pleased with the Lazarus Building’s success story.
We quote from the Chamber website:
“Once a thriving department store and Columbus landmark, Lazarus has been renovated into a premier "green" office space. Located in the heart of downtown, the Lazarus Building is once again a prominent destination due to its innovative method of redevelopment. The method included recycling more than 75 percent of the materials removed from the facility and the inclusion of a rooftop living garden which keeps the building cool. The Lazarus Building is the most significant "green" building in the country and is certified Gold through the LEED Program. The Lazarus Building provides space for 2,600 jobs in Downtown Columbus.”
For more information, visit
http://www.columbus.org/about-the-chamber/lazarus-building.php
http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/rrr/imr/pdfs/lazarus.pdf
http://www.sca-ae.com/portfolio/project_detail.asp?ID=36&service=civil%20/%20public#
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