SLOTH SQUAD
Our proposal is to make the historic trolley barn site into a cafe and reception space which combines the historic character of the buildings with modern amenities. The gray space would be a parking lot accessible from Kelton Avenue. This is separated from the banquet space by a flower garden in order to block the view of the cars from the space for aesthetic reasons. This garden would also be an environment in which to take pictures, and would contain pathways and fountains and other photographic elements. The green space is a playground and kid zone, located near the cafe. It would be able to be used by the patrons of the cafe, but also by the children in the surrounding neighborhood during open hours. The banquet hall would be able to be rented out for wedding receptions and other similar events, but would also serve as a community center for the surrounding residential area.
This would be an economically beneficial addition to the area, especially since property values would positively reflect the redefinition of the plot into a safer, more aesthetically pleasing property. There might be some resentment in the surrounding residential area in that the area would most likely see more traffic, perhaps causing some safety concerns for the nearby parks. The addition of a community center would allow for groups of residents to interact and exchange ideas and ideologies more freely and in a more proper setting. This could allow for the creation of children’s educational groups and community theatre productions and the establishment of a neighborhood association, if there is not one already.
The pictures below represent what this facility would be able to be used for with the example of a wedding at the Scioto Audubon Metro Park. This area along the Scioto River used to be a brownfield like the old trolley barn. It had toxic sludge and was a burden for the taxpayers of Columbus. After years of revamping the park, the city has created a scenic destination for bird watchers, joggers and people that wish to appreciate nature and the land Columbus has to offer.
CombOver Inc.
The ways in which people will interact with this space should make them feel more integrated into the community because it emphasizes public spaces and local consumerism. It is pedestrian-oriented with plenty of greenspace. The space as a whole should revitalize the surrounding area and allow for meaningful interactions among the community.
Our plan is based on the revitalization of the east most and west most buildings on the old trolley barn site. The long, skinny building at the east side of the lot will be converted into a crafts and goods market where local residents can sell their products to the community. The west most building on the site will be converted into a produce market, where the local farmers can bring in their food to sell. A parking lot will be placed along Oak Street, in between the two buildings. This allows easy access due to the fact that Oak Street is a two-way road. The parking lot will also allow the sellers to have easy access to the buildings for carrying their goods. A pavilion will be built using recycled materials from the deteriorating buildings in the middle of the site. One one side of the building will be a large community garden. On the other side of the pavilion will be green space with pathways inspired by the Oval at the Ohio State University campus.
This plan would benefit the community by bringing local produce and businesses in, both supporting these people and providing a local culture for the community. This would encourage community involvement. It will also allow easy access to fresh food.
We believe the residents will receive this plan well because of the benefits it has to offer for the community, as well as improving the curb appeal of the area. It will offer a sense of community to the people and give them access to local goods and resources.
Plan B Solutions:
Trolley Barn Site Map
Key:
Outlined Red=Farmer’s market
Outlined blue=Small local history museum
Outlined yellow=Parking lot
Outlined green= Flea market
Outlined orange=Community amphitheater
Solid red rectangle=Bike/pedestrian entrance
Solid yellow rectangle=Vehicle entrance
The rest of the space would be a community garden.
We want the site of the old trolley barn to become a revitalized community gathering space for the neighborhood. We would tear down a few of the crumbling buildings in the middle of the site, and use that space for a community garden. Here, people could plant, maintain and harvest various crops. The garden would also serve as a place where people can be educated about gardening and local food. We have planned a farmer’s market in the building on the southwest edge of the site. This would complement the community garden very nicely. Some of the crops from the garden could go here, and the market could also be a way to encourage people to begin their own gardens at home, eat local and nutritious food, and support their local economy. It is possible that the community garden and the farmers market could partner with the Franklin Park Conservatory, since the sites are so near each other and seek to accomplish many of the same goals.
There is a small factory building in the bottom center of the site. Unlike most of the buildings in the site center, it is in fairly good condition. This building would be transformed into a small local history museum. This museum would allow community members to learn more about the history of the site, their neighborhood, and the rest of Columbus.
At the east edge of the site, their are four single floor buildings that share walls. Since these buildings are physically touching each other, it would be rather simple to connect them and transform them into a single large building. This would be done, and the building would be used as a flea market where community members could socialize, shop, and sell their unneeded goods to their friends and neighbors.
One of the most attractive features of the site will be in the upper west corner. A community amphitheater would be built there. At this amphitheater, community members could stage plays, musical performances, or even community meetings. It would be a gathering place and entertainment center that the whole community could enjoy.
To access the site, there would be two entrances. An entrance exclusively for cyclists and pedestrians would be located on Kelton Avenue. Kelton Avenue is a one-way street, so we didn’t want to complicate traffic by placing a vehicle entrance there. Kelton Avenue does however have bike lane. This was what inspired us to create an exclusive pedestrian entrance. This entrance should make the site more pedestrian friendly and will hopefully encourage community members to walk or bike to the site rather than driving. The second entrance will be a vehicle entrance located on Oak street. We felt that this was the better location for a vehicle entrance as it was not a one-way and it had a pre-existing vehicle entrance already there from when the site was an industrial facility. Adjacent to the vehicle entrance and the flea market, there would be a small parking lot in order to prevent the sides of the street from being cluttered with parked cars.
We believe that this site will help to provide a fun gathering place for community members where they can interact with each other and foster a sense of community that is unfortunately lacking in far too many neighborhoods today.
Collegiate Rebel Penguins
The Markets at the Old Trolley Depot
This idea focuses on revitalizing the old trolley depot and turning it into a farmer’s market with a garden, trolley-styled diner, and multi-use building that could be used for educational purposes. Using this space in this way helps to ease several problems, including eliminating a food desert, turning the lot into something appealing instead of an eyesore, and it repurposes a part of Columbus’ history without being a drain on the community.
I would hope it would help to bring a sense of community to the neighborhood as well as conveniently providing locally grown fresh food. The greenhouse, diner and multi-use building could be used year round. The parking lot is large enough to be able to host small outdoor events such as much music, arts or craft events.
The large trolley barn could be used to house a stall-style farmer’s market with a fresh seasonal deli on one side that could also be rented out to local food truck vendors. The buildings on the east side of the lot can be turned into offices and greenhouses (the area without the roof). The gardening equipment would also be housed here. The diner would share a building with the visitor center which would display the history behind the lot. The multi-use building could be used for many things such as educational classes demonstrating how to grow your own garden, painting, pottery, etc. Theoretically, with heating, the trolley barn could also house craft shows, art, etc. The diner’s structure would have a trolley built into the face of it, aged to a similar year to the depot, with historical memorabilia and a trolley theme throughout to give a sense of nostalgia and community pride. The space between the offices and the diner could be turned into a trolley themed playground, giving kids in the area a place to play as well as learn a little history about trolleys.
Repurposing the buildings in this way is efficient and keeps the old nature of the area. It brings the community together because everyone likes food, and it promotes community health by providing healthy food, education, and outdoor play. All these things make it a fun, family friendly area.
The City Seekers
Above is a sketch of what The City Seekers would do if we had the opportunity to redevelop the Old Trolley Barn. The overarching idea for the space is to create a community center for residents of the area. We labeled several of the spaces with letters, in order to further elaborate on our plans for those specific spaces:
- Area A – In building A, we decided to put a gym. It made the most sense to designate this space as gym space because it was the largest building, and had the highest ceilings. Our intention with putting a gym in the community center was to have a large space a variety of activities could be held in. The residents could use it as a gym, and start a recreational basketball league for kids or teens, or utilize it for after-school programs. It could also be used as a retreat space, or used for speakers to come in and utilize. On the southern-side roof of the building we placed a long string of windows. This will provide natural light to the space, and make the building slightly more energy-efficient.
- Area B – The building labeled B is currently deteriorated beyond use, but we are planning on tearing it down and replacing it with something new. This building will be our designated music center. The area in which the Trolley Barn lies is part of the Columbus City Schools district. Much like many districts in the area, Columbus City has recently been forced to make cuts due to budget restraints, and programs like the arts are in jeopardy. Our intentions for putting a music center here is to provide the children in the area, as well as the adults, with the opportunity to still take advantage of music and art programs and foster creativity among those in the area. We plan on having several sound-proof rooms in the building that can be used for lessons, recording, or practicing. In addition to this, we plan to put a green roof on this building. The roof will act as a cooling insulator in the summer, which will help conserve energy and reduces costs of air conditioning. Additionally, it will help with Columbus’s storm water sewer overflow initiative, and greatly lengthen the life of the roof.
- Areas C-F – This building will contain 4 separate multipurpose rooms. Our intention with these rooms was to provide smaller areas for a variety of activities to be held. They can be used for activities such as student tutoring, off-campus college courses, food security programs, cooking classes, federal assistance programs, driving classes, or art classes. We plan on putting tile floors in at least one of the rooms in order to support food and art programs.
- Parking Lot – We decided to put a parking lot in a location that was relatively close to all the buildings, since a variety of people will be using all of them. We placed paths from the parking lot to the buildings, as well as paths that connected all the building to each other, for ease of travel. We also have the access point to our parking lot off of Oak St. since it has two lanes, as opposed to Kelton Ave., which is only a one-way street.
- Outdoor Amenities – To the left of building B, we decided to put additional outdoor recreational facilities for the residents of the area to utilize. The surrounding area is very close to Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and has smaller parks close to it as well. Although these areas provide extensive green space, they lack amenities. In the picture we have tennis courts and a sand volleyball courts placed there for the people to enjoy.
We believe that the residents of the area will be very receptive to our ideas, and respect the work we are doing to redevelop the run-down space. Our ideas will provide the residents with amenities they did not previously have, and it works to improve the area. The space is based on the needs of the community, and gives both children and adults living close by things to do, as well resources they may need. Additionally, our ideas work to help conserve energy, and be cost efficient. Overall, we think this is the best solution for the Old Trolley Barn.
The Lucky 7
Our idea for redeveloping the site of the Old Trolley Barn is driven entirely by the needs of the community. While some information was given in advance about surrounding amenities in the neighbourhood, some research using the US Census American Factfinder helped reveal what life is like in this part of town. According to some rough estimates using most-recently available data, 1 in 3 families here are below the poverty line, and the unemployment rate is somewhere between 20-30%. While this alone spurred some ideas, such as a community health center, many of these ideas already exist in the area.
However, upon seeing that between 10-15% of the neighborhood is over the age of 60, and that senior living is only met by two small facilities nearby, our group decided that the Old Trolley Barn could become the sight of an affordable (potentially publicly-assisted) nursing home and outpatient senior care clinic. The building marked C on our map would likely be demolished, but A could become part of the ground floor of a facility that would encompass itself, B, and C. D would be turned into parking, while E could be restored and remodeled into the outpatient clinic. While maintaining the character of the site would be ideal, in a neighborhood such as this the pressing needs of its inhabitants should take precedent over saving a few crumbling buildings.
The site is well-suited for such a use. It is not on any noisy roadways, is right next to a bus stop, and is in a location with several churches and community centers very close by. Having the botanical gardens almost adjacent to this place would provide a terrific opportunity for group outings. The community would have a safe place with attending medical staff for its elderly to live, and it is possible that the parents and grandparents of some of the neighbourhood’s residents might end up living here, making for easy visits and allowing the elderly to still have a presence in the lives of their family.
The Ushers
The Usher’s proposed use for the Old Trolley Barn would be to make it a multi-use community center. It would be used as a way of building up of the community but also incorporating the history or the Trolley Barn and the neighborhood itself. The largest building would be used as the main venue, where anything from wedding receptions and after school programs, to farmers markets and local artists’ galleries could take place. This would be an opportunity for the community to come together and wind down from life’s stresses.
Specific ideas we had in mind for this land would be community events such as gatherings on the weekends where local musicians and bands as well as local food trucks, chefs, and food catering companies could showcase their talent. The space could host farmers markets outside during the summer, and even inside during the colder months if desired. These events could also work in the space in the parks across the street from the site. This would be a great opportunity to incorporate local, fresh, healthy food into the diets of people there who might not have close access to such foods, but also great for local gardeners and farmers. The building would also have an industrial kitchen so chefs could come in and cater for events, but it could also serve for cooking classes, either for kids after school or just anyone who is wanting to learn some new recipes.
During the winter months when there wouldn’t be as much outdoor activity, the building could serve as a gallery space for local artists, including any work the kids in the after school programs wanted to display. The space wouldn’t be used during the off time of 2-5 during weekdays, so the venue would be a great spot for after school programs for students to take place. These programs could range from cooking to arts and crafts as already mentioned, or anything else the kids, parents, or teachers want to see a need for.
The Old Trolley Barn would be renovated to keep as much of its original charm and style as possible. Inside, there would be plaques and pictures that expand upon the history of the building, site, and neighborhood as a way of staying true to its roots. The open space could be used for parking for inside event and for food trucks and farmer stands for the farmer’s market. The additional, smaller buildings to the east could be used as the large kitchen, or as a small coffee shop. Also to the north of the main building, a staging area could be set up where the local artists could perform and movies could be screened.
Our vision for this site is one that really integrates and builds upon the local community and the people that live in the surrounding neighborhood. We took into consideration how everything would affect them and feel the function and use of this site should be given back to the community and serve it. We feel that if our idea is put into action, the neighborhood would greatly benefit from the use of and even just the presence of this site.