Tag: Grandview Heights

Graview Heights & Marble Cliff, OH- Desirable Streetcar Suburbs located just Northwest of Downtown Columbus

Grandview is one of Columbus’ more attractive inner ring suburbs located just 2-3 to the northwest of downtown. I include all of Grandview in this evaluation except the random block between Star and Farview Avenue between 3rd and 5th Ave. This a simply included with in my evaluation of the Columbus neighborhood of Fifth by Northwest. Marble Cliff is also included in this evaluation as it is a very small independent community that acts as an appendage to Grandview.

Grandview Heights was developed in the early 20th as a classic streetcar suburb and contains quality early 20th century housing stock, leafy and sometimes curvy streets, mix of SF and smaller MF development, and a nice walkable urban district along Grandview Avenue. The recent Grandview Yards development has given more density and important destination restaurants and bars in a previously underutilized industrial area.

Marble Cliff was one of the first suburbs of Columbus settled as a community in 1890 and incorporated as the “Hamlet of Marble Cliff” in 1901. It took its name from the Marble Cliff Quarry Co. (still in use today). Marble Cliff detached all land but its present area and the area that separated became Grandview Heights in 1906. Marble Clif was first called  “Arlington” which led its new neighbor to the north to name itself Upper Arlington. Further adding to its association with Grandview Heights most of the village’s public services are provided by contract with Grandview Heights. Marble Cliff’s population has hovered between 600-700 since 1960 now has hosts housing from pretty much every decade of the 1900s. The Village has a pretty pouch and exclusive vibe but is still tied into a decent urban grid with decent sidewalk and ADA curb infrastructure.

Given the communities close proximity to Dwtn Columbus and the continued growth and development pressures of the Columbus Metro, these communities need to continue to urbanize and allow for more housing. This is especially true along the main arterial through the communities (5th Avenue).

Click here to view my Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff Albums on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Quality urban commercial district along Grandview Avenue filled with walkable restaurants, bars, coffee houses, and local retailers.
* very in-tact and well kept early 20th century architecture (mix of wood frame and brick). 
* Major mix use development is being built from stretch, called Grandview Yards, is replacing a previously underutilized industrial area. Includes apartments, condos, entertainment businesses, office space, and parks.
* Quality park space throughout Grandview. 
* 2-3 miles from downtown and decent public transportation access.
* Many important amenities (i.e. grocery stories, larger retailers) within or adjacent to Grandview, but not always within walking distance. 

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Density is low for a quality urban area. Street life in many residential streets is more typical of suburban areas,
* Sales price is rising to the point that middle class families can’t buy in Grandview. Still many affordable rental options.
* The commercial districts on 5th Avenue and Olentangy as relatively auto centric; 5th Avenue shows signs of improvement with an urban overlay district requiring new construction to be at the street and allowing for multi-family- mixed use construction. 

Grandview Heights- West Palm Beach’s best Urban Neighborhood

In this Grandview Heights+  evaluation I also included the small but connected neighborhoods of Flamingo Parks, Sunshine Park, and Pineapple Park. Each of these neighborhoods individually are very small. This includes the area between Belvedere Rd, Dixie Highway, and Okeechobee Blvd. and the river.

Grandview Heights is one of the City’s oldest neighborhoods built between 1910 to 1925. The neighborhood has one of the City’s best collection of early craftsman-style bungalows, as well as some modest, Mediterranean revival-style homes. After several decades of decline, Grandview Heights has been restored to a stable somewhat walkable mixed-use neighborhood composed of  mostly single family homes, modern townhomes, and some apartments. Grandview Height’s also hosts the City’s largest urban park, Howard Park. There is also a good amount of historic homes in the other neighborhoods apart from this evaluation.

Grandview Heights + also has great access to Dwtn, decent public transit access, pretty good cultural amenities, decent retail amenities, and is overall a very safe district. But there are many urban areas where it can improve including more density and vibrancy, better bike infrastructure, missing retail amenities, and significant auto centric stretches in its biz districts, esp. along Belvedere. Dixie Hwy is a mixed bag. This can easily be rectified with a strong push for quality urban mixed-use infill along Belvedere and Dixie Hwy and more housing. 

Click here to view Grandview Hghts Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Pretty good ADA and sidewalk infrastructure but the biz district, while having sidewalks, are very auto dominated.
* Very good access to Dwtn being only about 1.5 SW of it.
* Howard Park is a large multi-faceted park on the neighborhood’s western edge. There is also a large cemetery here.
* Decent number of diverse restaurants and cafes along Belvedere and Dixie Highway. Also a good number of art galleries, the Norton Museum of Art & a couple other smaller museums. Also decent access to the many cultural amenities just north in Dwtn.
* Decent retail amenities including a supermarket, several grocerias,  include a decent amount of boutiques, a couple home good stores, a bike shop, several gyms, a post office, and a Cleveland Clinic hospital is located at the border with Dwtn. unfortunately much of this retail is along rather autocentric roads. Some very good retail amenities just north in the new City Place Development.
* Some very nice historic homes here. Not many interesting historic commercial bldgs.
* Overall a very safe neighborhood.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Pretty low density.
* Public transit is ok, but pretty poor for an inner city neighborhood.
* Bike infrastructure is limited to one dedicated bike station.
* A very good public high school just north of Grandview Heights but only a couple other small private schools with the neighborhood.
* For Sale housing is generally pretty expensive but some are moderately priced. 1-bed condos and small houses sell btwn 235K-500K. 2-beds 300K-900k, 3 & 4 beds generally btwn 350K-1M, but some sell in the millions.
* Rentals are pretty limited. Sell anywhere btwn 1.5K-4K, 2-beds lease for 3K-4K, and some 3-beds lease for even more.
* Not a lot of affordable hsg here. That’s mostly north of Dwtn.
* No drug stores, only a couple banks, few dessert joints, and no public library here.
* Much of the infill is unattractive auto centric bldgs especially along Belvedere. Some nicer mixed-use in-fill adjacent to Dwtn. Dixie Hwy is a mixed bag.
* Not a ton of pedestrian activity.