Plans presented for conceptual review Thursday evening at the University Area Review Board meeting included a building that would require the current location of Cazuela’s Grill and a house to be torn down.
The plans for the development, The View on Pavey Square, were presented by BBCO Architects. Celmark Development Group and Solove Real Estate are also involved in the project. The plans call for multiple mixed-use buildings, with retail on the ground floors and luxury housing on the upper floors, intended for Ohio State students.
Celmark and Solove also teamed up for The View on High apartment building, which started leasing high-end apartments last year.
The plans have not yet been approved as steps must be taken before plans can be approved by the University Area Review Board, including securing variances for the block’s historic homes.
Several attendees of the meeting said the initial plans in February from the developers stated none of the historic homes in the block of North High Street between West Northwood and West Oakland avenues would be demolished.
The plans put forward for review on Thursday evening showed two of the buildings being torn down — the current Cazuela’s Grill building and the red farmhouse directly behind the restaurant — and replaced by part of the development. The rest of the development would be built behind the historic homes, leaving them intact.
Members of the board suggested the development be considered for something other than student housing after several of those in attendance voiced concerns about too many “for rent” signs still up in the University District.
Frank Petruziello, a member of the University Area Review Board, told The Lantern determining how much housing is in the area was not within the purview of the board.
The concept review comes after the University Area Review Board approved another high-end apartment building in April, and as OSU is set to start requiring second-year students to live on campus, starting in August, lowering demand for student housing.
The building approved in April, to be developed by Edwards Communities, is also a high-end apartment building, set to be built on the block on High Street in between East 16th and East 17th avenues.
Construction is set to start as early as this summer, with the building to be open by fall 2018, Ryan Szymanski, president of Edwards, told The Lantern earlier this month.
Rents for other high-end apartments in the University District, such as Norwich Flats — also an Edwards development — lease from $865 to $1290 per month, per person, according to its website. The View on High leases apartments from $950 to $1800 per month, a leasing agent said.
The average rent per person, per month in the University District was just under $500 according to the 2015-2016 Undergraduate Student Government Housing Guide.
Celmark Development Group did not return multiple requests for comment.
Cazuela’s Grill did not respond to a phone call seeking comment Monday.
