Posted on February 14, 2011 by Melanie Houston

In 2010, Discovery Special Improvement District (SID) staff members Cleve Ricksecker and Melanie Houston began a neighborhood visioning project in the Discovery District. The project was initiated as a way to designate approximately $200,000 to $300,000 in funds that were set aside for improvements to the public realm. Just as it sounds, the idea for this project was to develop a vision for what could be in the Discovery neighborhood. Although you can't do much with $300 thousand alone, the idea was that the funds would serve as seed money to make Discovery District as distinctive as other great neighborhoods in Columbus such as the Short North or German Village.

From June through October of 2010, Executive Director Cleve Ricksecker and Communications and Special Projects Coordinator Melanie Houston interviewed more than 60 people representing 31 property owners in the Discovery District. Representatives were chosen from educational institutions, cultural amenities, large employers, the Discovery SID and Discovery District Development Corporation (DDDC) boards, and churches throughout the district. We asked each interviewee about the strengths and weaknesses of the district, improvements he or she would like to see occur, and long term visions for the Discovery neighborhood.

Through these interviews we learned that property owners-- ranging from CEOs to neighborhood residents-- believe there is great potential for the district. Stay tuned for upcoming blogs regarding specific findings from the neighborhood visioning interviews...