Bridge Street gets its name from the lone bridge that has connected Dublin with areas east of the Scioto River for well over a century. Dublin’s stone bridge, however, is not original. It is the 3rd iteration over the lifespan of the crossing, replacing an 1879 iron version that replaced the original wooden covered bridge. The iron bridge crossed the river just to the north of the current bridge.
The bridge was constructed between 1935-1936. It was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era infrastructure building and jobs program. The project employed about 300 workers.
Since its construction, the bridge has been repaired and altered several times, with the original roadway itself now much wider than it once was.
Construction of the bridge in 1935.
An aerial photo of the old iron bridge taken around 1934.
The new bridge around 1937.
The bridge in the present.
Much has changed between the old images and the present one. Long gone are the fields and quieter life of 1930s Dublin.
For a long time, Columbus has had a reputation for having a relatively easy commute, at least in terms of driving. Its abundant highway and road system allowed commuters to travel to work quickly, with most commutes 20 minutes or less. However, as the city has grown and traffic has increased, the local commute may not be as quick as it once was. Story after story has shown that Columbus’ commute is steadily getting worse.
This post seeks to answer both how people are getting to work, how fast they get to work, and how commuters in Columbus differ from those in other cities. For this comparison, I used cities from metro areas most similar to Columbus’ size- 1.5-2.5 million- as well as major Midwest and Ohio cities.
First, let’s look at just how people get to work by the % of workers in 2019, the latest year available.
Out of the 31 cities looked out, Columbus is the 10th most car-dependent city. It is also the 3rd most car-dependent in Ohio after Akron and Toledo.
The heavy use of cars in Columbus did not translate to more people carpooling.
With only the COTA bus system available, the portion of the population that uses public transit is also in the bottom half. This despite the city seeing strong bus ridership growth over the last several years.
Columbus sat right in the middle of cities with the number of walking commuters. Several parts of the city lack sufficient walking infrastructure. For example, large parts of Linden and the South Side were built without sidewalks of any kind. Crosswalks and other safety features are also lacking in many areas.
Columbus is again in the middle of the pack on biking commutes, and again infrastructure is the likely reason. There is only a single section of one bike lane that is protected anywhere in the city. Creating more bike lanes, let alone protected ones, remains a low priority for the city. Instead, they have relied on “Shared Use” type signage, along with painting sharrows.
Columbus was in the top half of at-home workers. These numbers were all prior to the pandemic, so it’s likely that there will be significant increases in long-term or permanent home workers in post-2019 numbers.
Other types of commuting include everything from taxis to commercial airline flights.
Columbus was in the bottom half of cities for the average commute time. Like almost everywhere else, that time has been increasing, however. Columbus saw the 11th biggest commute time increase and had the 2nd largest in Ohio. With its far larger population growth recently and predicted, that commute time is only going to get worse.
It’s pretty clear that Columbus has significant car dependency. With increasing commute times, it is crucial to plan for how people will get to work in the future. That is why it’s so important that new development is built to be walkable and dense while the average commute is still relatively short. This will promote walking, biking and new transit forms, all of which is better for a more vibrant, healthier city. It will also perhaps keep the number of cars on the road from growing as much. To assist in this process, the city must invest in more pedestrian and bike-friendly infrastructure, while also writing building codes that promote better planning in development.
To be fair, Columbus has made some progress. In 2010, the % of the population that drove alone was 80.76%, 1.38 points above where it was in 2019. Furthermore, the city has promoted more bus usage with its CPASS program. That said, the culture changes could’ve been much better had more policy and infrastructure been in place years ago like many other cities have had. Columbus has a lot of work to do.
The popular monthly series continues with the local housing market update March 2021 report. Let’s drill down into the results.
Note: LSD= Local School District, CSD= City School District. In both cases, school district boundaries differ from city boundaries.
Top 15 Most Expensive Locations By Median Sales Price in March 2021 1. New Albany: $652,000 2. New Albany Plain LSD: $523,500 3. Powell: $519,000 4. Upper Arlington CSD: $476,600 5. German Village: $475,550 6. Grandview Heights: $474,000 7. Dublin: $462,000 8. Olentangy LSD: $443,685 9. Buckeye Valley LSD: $420,000 10. Dublin CSD: $419,000 11. Bexley: $413,000 12. Short North: $399,900 13. Granville LSD: $388,500 14. Big Walnut LSD: $384,900 15. Worthington: $358,000
New Albany continued to dominate the top of the market in terms of median sales price, and it wasn’t even close.
Top 15 Least Expensive Locations by Median Sales Price in March 2021 1. Whitehall: $140,100 2. Newark CSD: $146,000 3. Lancaster CSD: $160,500 4. Hamilton LSD: $166,000 5. Groveport Madison LSD: $185,000 6. Jefferson LSD: $185,000 7. Reynoldsburg CSD: $205,250 8. Columbus CSD: $209,718 9. Circleville CSD: $210,000 10. Columbus: $217,000 11. Obetz: $227,420 12. South-Western CSD: $230,000 13. Johnstown-Monroe LSD: $230,000 14. London CSD: $251,000 15. Teays Valley LSD: $253,092
Whitehall remains the area’s biggest bargain. This inner suburb hasn’t always had the best reputation, but the city has been making efforts to improve both its commercial corridors and residential options. Columbus is relatively cheap compared to most of the metro, yet has by far the largest variety of options and neighborhood types to choose from.
Overall Market Median Sales Price in March 2021: $242,550 The overall market is defined by Columbus Metro Area counties.
Top 15 Locations with the Highest Median Sales Price % Growth Between March 2020 and March 2021 1. London CSD: +52.2% 2. Circleville CSD: +44.3% 3. New Albany Plain LSD: +32.5% 4. German Village: +29.4% 5. Obetz: +26.4% 6. Gahanna Jefferson CSD: +26.0% 7. Grandview Heights: +25.4% 8. Powell: +23.9% 9. Upper Arlington CSD: +23.8% 10. Lancaster CSD: +23.7% 11. Jonathan Alder LSD: +23.6% 12. Grove City: +22.0% 13. Gahanna: +21.9% 14. Teays Valley: +21.5% 15. Pickerington LSD: +20.8% 16. Pickerington: +20.8%
Top 15 Locations with the Lowest Median Sales Price % Growth Between March 2020 and March 2021 1. Johnstown Monroe LSD: -25.0% 2. Downtown Columbus: -14.5% 3. Granville LSD: -13.2% 4. Big Walnut LSD: -10.5% 5. Short North: -10.0% 6. Bexley: -6.1% 7. Minerva Park: -5.4% 8. Worthington: -5.0% 9. Hamilton LSD: -3.8% 10. Hilliard: +0.8% 11. New Albany: +1.7% 12. Newark CSD: +4.3% 13. Dublin CSD: +4.6% 14. Hilliard CSD: +5.5% 15. Dublin: +7.5%
Urban areas and some inner suburbs had either the biggest price declines or smallest increases in March vs. March 2020 as the fallout continued from Covid and protest-related activities. These declines may be seen by potential buyers as a positive from the high prices that otherwise continue, however.
Overall Market Median Sales Price % Change March 2021 vs. March 2020: +16.3%
Top 10 Locations with the Most New Listings in March 2021 1. Columbus: 1,156 2. Columbus CSD: 811 3. South-Western CSD: 187 4. Olentangy LSD: 161 5. Hilliard CSD: 138 6. Westerville CSD: 125 7. Dublin CSD: 125 8. Gahanna Jefferson CSD: 78 9. Dublin: 77 10. Upper Arlington CSD: 76
To no surprise, Columbus remains strongly at the top. There were about 300 more new listings in Columbus in March than in February as warmer weather prompted more sellers to put their homes on the market.
Top 10 Locations with the Fewest New Listings in March 2021 1. Valleyview: 0 2. Lithopolis: 2 3. Minerva Park: 2 4. Jefferson LSD: 8 5. Jonathan Alder: LSD: 11 6. Sunbury: 12 7. Grandview Heights: 12 8. Obetz: 12 9. Whitehall: 12 10. German Village: 13
Total New Listings in the Columbus Metro in March 2021: 2,797 Overall Metro New Listings % Change March 2021 vs March 2020: +3.3% The small increase overall was pushed by big increases smaller counties like Perry, Pickaway and Union.
Top 10 Fastest-Selling Locations by # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale in March 2021 1. Canal Winchester CSD: 3 2. Johnstown-Monroe LSD: 4 3. Minerva Park: 6 4. Hilliard: 7 5. Jefferson LSD: 7 6. Gahanna: 8 7. Groveport Madison LSD: 8 8. Whitehall: 9 9. London CSD: 10 10. Jonathan Alder LSD: 11 11. Marysville CSD: 11 12. South-Western CSD: 11
Top 10 Slowest-Selling Locations by # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale in March 2021 1. Lithopolis: 59 2. Powell: 55 3. Downtown Columbus: 54 4. Short North: 52 5. Big Walnut LSD: 49 6. Lancaster CSD: 39 7. Olentangy LSD: 38 8. Dublin: 37 9. Grandview Heights: 36 10. Buckeye Valley LSD: 34
Top 10 Locations with the Greatest % Decline of # of Days on the Market Before Sale March 2021 vs March 2020 1. Johnstown-Monroe LSD: -92.7% 2. Canal Winchester CSD: -92.5% 3. Minerva Park: -90.2% 4. Jefferson LSD: -89.9% 5. Sunbury: -85.0% 6. Jonathan Alder LSD: -83.8% 7. New Albany: -81.9% 8. New Albany Plain LSD: -75.5% 9. Marysville CSD: -71.8% 10. Whitehall: -71.0%
Top 10 Locations with the Lowest % Decline of # of Days on the Market Before Sale March 2021 vs March 2020 1. Worthington CSD: +50.0% 2. Worthington: +38.5% 3. Powell: +12.2% 4. Lancaster CSD: +2.6% 5. Hilliard CSD: -4.3% 6. Obetz: -5.3% 7. Short North: -10.3% 8. Newark CSD: -14.3% 9. Downtown Columbus: -23.9% 10. Pataskala: -26.1%
% Change for the # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale Across the Metro Overall: -24.5%
The market remained hot in March, with faster sales and higher prices than in the previous. Inventory did inch up some as spring arrived, but not nearly enough to counter overall demand. Urban areas are still a bit off their peaks from pre-Covid and protests, but seem to have recovered slightly from some previous months.
The previous housing market report and the Columbus Realtors site offers additional information on the Columbus market.
The former Washington Avenue United Methodist Church in 2019.
Columbus historic church demolition is a tricky subject, but has happened far more times over the years than people might believe. The Washington Avenue United Methodist Church at 359 East Markison Avenue has been part of the community since its dedication in 1923. While neither the oldest church in the city, nor the most elaborate, it has its own charms that would be lost to history should it fall to the wrecking ball.
It stopped functioning as a church at the beginning of 2015, perhaps part of the national decline in church attendance. Because of that relatively recent closure, the building remains in relatively good condition.
Churches used to just be torn down after their congregation abandoned them, but in recent years, they have found new life. They have become unique restaurants or retail shops, but the most popular conversion has been residential. Whether one of faith or not, churches offer a kind of architecture not found in any other building type.
Beyond adaptive reuse, however, is the issue of historic preservation. As mentioned, many such buildings have ended up rotting away before they are eventually demolished, and that scenario has played out many times in Columbus. This phenomenon is unfortunately not just part of our past. It continues to happen even now. Recently, a Franklinton church’s demolition was approved for new housing. Unlike the Washington Avenue building, this church had seen long-term abandonment and neglect by its owners. It’s poor overall condition from that neglect was then used to justify its demolition. It survived the 1913 flood when many surrounding buildings didn’t, but it won’t survive the Columbus building boom or intentional neglect.
Sadly, it looks like the same fate is in store for the Washington Avenue United Methodist Church. A company called Bexley Manning 569 Holdings has proposed demolishing all but the church’s steeple tower in order to construct 17 townhomes. Columbus is in the midst of one of the largest housing crunches in its history, so the city desperately needs more homes. Sacrificing yet another beautiful old building still seems wrong, though. Columbus has already lost so much of its architectural history to the wrecking ball.
The original site plan for the Markison project.
The project is still in initial approval phases, so it’s possible the demolition will receive some pushback. The fact that the steeple tower is being preserved is actually a change from the original design. Perhaps more of the church may be saved in subsequent project updates. That said, the location is outside of established historic zones and lacks formal protection. Therefore, it seems likely that the WAUMC is facing its last days.
Columbus is the 2nd largest city in the United States without any form of passenger rail. It hasn’t had passenger rail since the last train pulled out of Union Station in 1977. Some might argue that rail is an outdated form of transit, and therefore unnecessary anyway. Others argue that not having a multi-modal transit system holds the city back economically and developmentally.
However one views rail, Amtrak’s latest national route plan, called Connect US is still arguably mediocre. In fact, one could say that the new Amtrak route plan underserves Columbus completely.
The route plan.
As shown in the above map, Columbus would only have direct connections to Cincinnati and Cleveland. To go anywhere else, passengers from Columbus would first have to travel to those cities and then make transfers. While a direct connection to Cleveland and Cincinnati is important, this plan would present more of a challenge to potential travelers who want direct connections outside of the state. Columbus is currently the largest city in Ohio and will soon be the largest metro area. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States and has added more people the past 10 years than any other Midwest city. On top of all that, it is the capital of the 7th most-populated state.
Amtrak’s plan attempts to largely use existing rail lines, but in many places the routes would be brand new. Columbus doesn’t have existing passenger rail routes, so it may be more expensive to build them there. However, it seems to be a wasted opportunity to not make Columbus more of the state’s hub by having direct connections to cities like Chicago, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Incidentally, the proposed Hyperloop project would be a Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh route that would eventually connect all the way to New York. Most people view Hyperloop as a gimmick more than a real proposal, so more traditional rail is still taken more seriously.
It is in all our best interests to want the best possible infrastructure. Amtrak’s plan treats Columbus as a 2nd or 3rd-rate city. That’s unfortunate, and works against all the momentum the city has had in recent decades. The current Amtrak plan would provide less economic benefit and options to Ohio’s fastest-growing city and capital. The city deserves so much better than being an afterthought.
