MAK Production Blog 6
New Village Place is an affordable housing site at 130 Piscitelli Place in Columbus, Ohio. This building, in our opinion, is in a great location. There are nearby schools, religious centers, and parks. Its architectural style and red brick exterior matches nicely with the surrounding buildings. This building fits in well with the neighborhood and the nearby apartment complexes near to it. There are some single family homes in the area, but we observe that a large percentage of the population lives in multifamily buildings or apartment complexes. The landscape of the building is well kept and appealing with many flowers, bushes, and trees. Within the area, there are various spaces for recreation and family services- like parks and religious centers. There is a Kroger within walking distance (0.8 miles away). With past experience of the area, it would be safe to walk during the day while there is light, but traveling on that sidewalk alone at night may want to be avoided in order to stay safe; however, there is always plenty of lighting on High Street, and if the walk couldn’t be avoided past dark, it would likely be safe. We gathered that there is no nearby parking lot for the facility, but there is enough within walking distance that not owning a vehicle would not lower the quality of life for residents. There are also public transportation stops near the house that are likely helpful to people without vehicles. The aesthetics and location of the building are nice and do not seem to stand out in any way.
Crime may be an issue near the area due to North High Street being the next block over from the residence. North High Street can be full of life, but also it is dangerous to walk alone and is not as well kept as many would like. High Street is the main corridor to basic necessities for people in this residence, so this could be an issue for New Village Place. At 500 feet from the residence, there were roughly 7 accounts of crime. There were 118 accounts of crime within 1000 feet of the residence. There were 163 accounts for .25 of a mile, and 191 accounts for .5 mile distance from the house. The density is highest on North High Street, probably due to the high pedestrian and car traffic. Burglaries and thefts were most common. Prices for nearby homes is relatively constant within 500 and 1000 feet, so we have assessed that affordable housing does not necessarily impact the costs of other homes. As you get further from the property to the West, properties seem to lose value due to being so close to High street and towards the East, homes go up in value. The schools available are Weinland Park Elementary School, Dominion Middle School, and Whetstone High School. The GreatSchools Rating for local schools are relatively low.
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1531 Perry Street Columbus, OH- Creative Living Center
The Creative Living Center is located at 1531 Perry Street in Columbus, Ohio. It is an affordable house complex with mostly one-bedroom apartments. One of the team members, Kari, lives just a few houses down from this complex and feels that it is a great neighborhood to live in with rich culture and ties to its history. This building, though, is not a great fit into the neighborhood of single-family historic homes. The Creative Living Center is single story and built in a square shape with a grass plaza in the inside of the building complex. It is located directly across from the Ohio State Medical Campus and Hospital. It is in a great location, however, it doesn’t fit all too well with the other buildings and homes in the area. The building has an attractive grass plaza but the mix of a brick and vinyl looks cheap on this building. The fencing outside of the building looks old and run down as well. Fixing this fence would make the housing complex more inviting and modern. Without prior information on what the building was, it only stuck out as a run down building; now knowing what it is, it is understandable why it is not well-kept. The street next to the building is brick and the surroundings of the building are aligned with the rest of the historical district. Parking is available on the premises, along with opportunities to street park. With the hospital across the street, the streets and sidewalks are typically well-lit and well-kept. The nearby buildings are mostly just residential, other than the hospital. King Avenue is a road nearby with food and retail, and a little further down in North High Street. Access to the closest grocery store would be taking that path to Kroger on the corner of King Avenue and North High Street. It is a fifteen minute walk or three minute drive to the grocery store, and from experience, the walk is relatively pleasant and safe.
Crime is low in the area. Only 1 crime was reported within the last 6 months within 500 feet of the residence. Within 1000 feet, there are 7 reported incidents. In a quarter mile distance, there were 14 incidences and in a half mile there were 169 incidences of crime. Most crimes are burglary from motor vehicle and theft. Crime is not concentrated around the property. There are more dense crime areas near the hospital and down the street towards King Avenue. The price of houses in this area is very constant. Due to being near the university and the hospital, the prices of homes are high and get lower as there gets to be more distance from the school and hospital. The affordable housing complex makes no difference in the prices or values of nearby homes. The schools serving this home have relatively low GreatSchools Ratings, especially for elementary school children. This may be because there may not be a large number of school-aged children in the area.
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Overall, the two affordable housing complexes we studied were in relatively safe and high populated areas. The buildings may not have blended in great with those around it; however, neither of the buildings were too worn down or unpleasing. The greatest concern for these two affordable housing complexes would be the quality of schools in the area. This does not give equal opportunity to other children or families. If we were to change what we didn’t like about the housing complexes, we would modernize the building and advocate for better public schooling in the area.