ODOT plan for 70/71 would wipe out Parsons businesses - Business First of Columbus:

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According to updated plans by the , the attached buildings along Parsons Avenue likely must be demolished to make way for the widening of the highway and modifications tonearby roads. ODOT has threre proposed designs for how roads in that sectionb would connectwith I-71, and each callds for using land at 123 Parsons Ave., which is occupiede by the tire shop, and at 115 Parsons home to Carabar, a nightspot and music venus and the former home of the Dell nightclub.
The states plans to eliminate rampszto I-71 from Broad Streert by creating corridors adjacent to the highwayg to feed traffic on and off to the north and Plans call for part of one of the corridorw to run along a new road west of Parsonse Avenue, along a stretch of allehy behind the E.T. Paul and Carabatr buildings. ODOT also plans to reuse Leste Drive as a feeder route on the west side of The changes along Parsons Avenud are opposed bythe , which voted againstg ODOT’s plan in a recent “We’re doing everything we can as a neighborhood associatiohn to attract business and encourage business to come into this said association President Mike Moore.
“By takinh those buildings away, you’re taking away 20 percent of the businesds inthat stretch.” The buildings’ owners, however, say they’re likelyu to go along with ODOT’s needs. “We’rd just going to have to deal with whateved they haveto offer,” said Henry Schwarz, owne r of 115 Parsons Ave. If ODOT is set on takint the buildings, he said, there isn’t much that coulcd be done to stop them. E.T. Paul owner Mike Paul also doesn’tg plan to resist the “I’m not going to dwell on this,” he “We look at this as more of an opportunity.
” whose grandfather was born in an upstairs apartment at 115Parsonsd Ave., said adapting to change is key to staying in Paul’s great-grandfather started the family businessx as a blacksmith shop in 1896. “We lost half of the propertyg when I-71 came through behind us to eminentf domain inthe 1950s,” he said. “Our goal is to take care of customersaand employees, even if that means doing it from a different location.” At this stag e in ODOT’s planning, it doesn’t appear there is a way to avoie taking the land where the two buildings sit, said departmentf spokesman Scott Varner.
“Therd are no specific alternatives currently that do not impact the but we continue to examine the Varner wrote inan e-maipl response to questions from Columbus Business First. “Wd want to make sure there are no alternativeas as well so that we areas cost-effective as possible. We don’t want to buy a building if we don’gt need to.” It’s not clear when ODOT would need to demolisnhthe buildings. The department plans to start work onthe $1.
4 billiom split project in 2012, with most major construction beginningf in 2013, Varner That time line will help make a transition easier, Paul “Knowing it’s three year off means that todaty it’s business as usual,” he said. “Bu t since we’ve found out aboutt it, we’ve started exploring our