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"As a first-time homebuyer, I was nervous about the entire process. Step by step, Joe made it easy and fun. His expertise in the Columbus real estate market is a tremendous asset. He is highly recommended!" - Nicolette Horan, March 08
"I wanted to say thank you again, so much, for all your hard work. I know that you really put a lot of time into this transaction and I really, really appreciate it. I'm so happy I got the house and it all worked out and I just wanted to say thanks again, you did a great job and i really appreciate it. I will put that on the survey when they send it to me.
If there is ever anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to give me a call. I will refer every single person I know to you. I'm going to go get my dog and we're going to sit on the floor of our new house and have a glass of champaign. Thanks a lot Joe" -- Michael Mamp, Feb 08
More Destruction on the Near East Side - Is it Progress?
January 10th, 2008 categories: Olde Towne East
The Camel Bell Inn on East Main Street came down this week as did the rowhouse on the lot of the old Kroger/Salvation Army that once caused so much flipping fuss.
I don’t know the history of the Camel Bell building. I’ve always liked the building but the obvious irony here is that the sign, for as long as I can remember, on the front of the building always read “New Rehabbed Commercial Space Coming Soon”. The residents put on an emergency town hall meeting and invited all of city hall. The City Development Director showed up along with some others.
If you drive slowly down Main street, you’ll notice that seemingly every building from I-71 to the Nelson Road tracks is either for sale or for lease. I don’t like historic and beautiful buildings succumbing to the wrecking ball all over greater Olde Towne East. It wouldn’t happen in the Short North and it wouldn’t happen in German Village. I do like helping people buy buildings in Columbus.
The Camel Bell wasn’t on the market but darn near everything else is. No one likes demolition but no one is coming forward to buy these properties and reposition East Main Street (or Long or Mt Vernon) into a viable commercial meets residential super-street either. Preservation minded people in these neighborhoods don’t have that kind of supferfulous cash. Shiny new social service agencies have gone up down the street and a grocery store almost came and one may yet come. It’s a similar chicken and egg problem that downtown advocates are going through except that residents are already there—just not always the spiffy kind of residents with disposable income.
If we tear it down, will they come? What is the solution here? We need density, we need more residents and we need more residents with money that can be spread out around the neighborhood. We need more residents to buy boarded up buildings and to open businesses in the boarded up storefronts and to rehab what needs rehabbed and to build on what is build-able.