COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop’s message to local residents was one of hope and encouragement as city residents enter a second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to adjust daily life to its challenges.
After nearly a year of working to help the city respond proactively to pandemic challenges, Leinhoop said he is still looking forward with a sense of hope.
“I didn’t understand then the challenges 2020 would bring,” he said in his 2021 State of the City address. “But Columbus has a significant legacy and significant assets, and both leave me excited about our future.”
Lienhoop’s annual State of the City address was filmed ahead of time and streamed on the city’s website. While this speech is typically a public event that showcases entertainment and local food and includes a second speaker, the mayor said it seemed best to go virtual due to COVID-19.
“Folks, it is an exciting time, with exciting opportunities,” he said. “2020 will always be remembered for the coronavirus. It has had a detrimental effect on our health, and it has slowed all of us. We sometimes lament that we seem to be walking through two feet of COVID mud. But this virus has shown us a side of Columbus that was always there, but out of sight.”
He commended community stakeholders for coming together to “assess the challenge and partner together on our community’s response.”
Lienhoop also noted that the COVID-19 Community Task Force’s first meeting was in February 2020, which was before other communities began focusing on the pandemic and its impact. In addition, he praised city government officials for finding ways to work safely and continue providing services amid the pandemic.
The overpass
Even setting aside the virus, Lienhoop described 2020 as a busy year where the city saw progress on several projects and updates on several others. One was the State Road 46 railroad overpass.
“To date, the roadway is complete and we are less than 1 percent over the original engineer’s estimate,” Lienhoop said.
The project was celebrated in the fall with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The overpass was jointly funded by the Indiana Department of Transportation, the city of Columbus, Bartholomew County, Cummins Inc. and the Louisville & Indiana and CSX railroads.
Lienhoop noted the importance of collaboration in making the project possible and called the overpass an “exciting pathway into and out of our downtown.”
“This has added immeasurable safety to our travel,” he said. “We’ve eliminated the possibility of car and train collisions and improved overall traffic flow.”
He said that the project’s next phase is landscaping, which begins in the spring.
Downtown development
Last year saw the city make strides forward in fulfilling its Envision Columbus plan, thanks to hard work from the Columbus Redevelopment Commission, Lienhoop said.
“Exceptional communities don’t happen by coincidence,” Lienhoop said. “They happen because we plan for them.”
Some of the major priorities of the plan’s vision for downtown are a hotel/conference center, an urban grocer and additional downtown housing, he said.
Lienhoop noted that a mixed-use development, including an apartment complex and a grocer, is planned for property east of the Bartholomew County Jail, at the corner of Second and Lafayette streets. The developer on the project is Flaherty & Collins.
“We are in the final stages of completing a development agreement for this project, and we expect it will be signed by the end of March, to be followed by a year-long design process, with construction to begin in early 2022,” Lienhoop said.
He also noted that the city has made progress in providing Bartholomew County with a new court services center. The city has purchased property south of the jail at 555 First St. and has begun demolition of the building on the site, Lienhoop said. Electricity has been disconnected and some landscaping removed, and the work will “start in earnest in about two weeks.”
The new court services center will be on the 555 First St. location. The current court services building is located at the corner of Third and Franklin Streets and is the home of the county’s probation department.
“After probation moves to the new site, we will raze the old site and ready that block for the hotel/conference center,” Lienhoop said.
Tearing down the current court services building will empty an entire county-owned block for the city’s new hotel and conference center between Second, Franklin, Third and Lafayette streets. The city receives that property as part of a land swap. In exchange, construction of the new court services building will mostly be handled by the city.
However, while plans for the new court services center are moving forward, Sprague Hotel Developers has put the hotel/conference center project on hold for the time being, due to the impacts of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry.
“The hotel/conference center is a key component of our downtown strategy and we are disappointed that we don’t have more to report,” Lienhoop said. “The developers and the hotel brand they intend to partner with remain excited about the opportunity, and we remain convinced its day will come, but their lenders are waiting for the pandemic to subside.”
The riverfront
The riverfront project is moving forward, albeit slowly, Lienhoop said.
The city has received a conditional permit from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and is working to coordinate that permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. There will likely be more to report this summer, he said.
The riverfront and other similar projects will play an important role in drawing people to Columbus amid changes brought on by the pandemic — some of which, he said, will be permanent. Now that remote work is more common, some individuals will no longer feel as strong a need to live in the same area where their employers are located, he said.
“It will no longer be a given that we can rely on large employers to bring a steady stream of new people to town,” Lienhoop said. “Individuals will increasingly make their own choices about where they live, and they will make that choice based on the quality of life they expect to enjoy. Successful communities will be those that are vibrant, interesting and fun. We believe that the riverfront project is a step in that direction.”
Other projects
Other projects of note include the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress’s transitional housing operations; the FairOaks Mall project; utilities infrastructure improvements; the Columbus INvigorate loan program; a partnership with the Columbus Visitors Center “to activate downtown and Ethnic Expo”; improvements on Taylor Road, Westenedge Drive and California Street; Otter Creek Golf Course; and the 2020 implementation of the Curb-It app for assistance with disposing of unusual items.
In regards to FairOaks Mall, Lienhoop said that the city plans to move forward with at least the “indoor complex” portion of the project in 2021. In late 2019, the city and Columbus Regional Health partnered to buy the mall.
“Our plan, now as then, is to construct on the site an indoor athletic facility and reconfigure the mail to eventually replace Donner Center,” he said.
In summer or fall of 2021, the city will implement the “Recollect” app, which will remind residents of dates for trash and recycling pick up, as well as provide guidance on snow removal and street closures.
Lienhoop also highlighted local projects and achievements that are moving forward outside of city government. These included Ivy Tech’s new building, the Community Education Coalition receiving national recognition and funding, a Lilly Endowment Grant that will “fund Exhibit Columbus for years,” talk of a new Makerspace at the airport, and effective recruitment done by the Greater Columbus Indiana Economic Development Corp.
‘Common Ground’
Moving forward, Lienhoop said that 2021 marks a big anniversary for Columbus and Bartholomew County, the bicentennial.
“What started in 1821 as an agricultural and transportation hub — the first railroads in Indiana came through Columbus — has grown into a community with a reputation for excellence in manufacturing, engineering, education, healthcare, architecture and design,” Lienhoop said.
The theme of the bicentennial is “Common Ground,” which speaks to both the physical area residents call home and “the intangible ability we have exhibited by working together these past 200 years.”
A steering committee has been formed for the year-long celebration, with Jim Henderson, Sherry Stark and first lady Pam Lienhoop as honorary chairs.
In addition, Lienhoop said that the city is planning a “legacy project” to commemorate the bicentennial. He said the project is called the 1821 Trail. It will be a new section of the People Trail that will connect to the riverfront, run behind Columbus City Hall city hall over to Lafayette Street and meet up with the existing trail on the south side of the planned mixed use development.
More information on the bicentennial is available at columbusarea200.com.
Looking forward
While the city has “some exciting opportunities before us,” the pandemic isn’t over yet, Lienhoop said. While vaccinations have begun, it will take several months before the community is “sufficiently inoculated.”
“In the meantime, do us a favor,” he said. “Wear your mask, follow the physical distance guidelines and be smart about crowds. I know masking is not fun, but remember the old adage, ‘This too shall pass.’ Be a good neighbor, extend grace to those who need your help and be generous to the local organizations that take care of others.”
Despite the hardships of the past year, Lienhoop emphasized how Columbus’s focus on collaboration brought successes in 2020 and “paid off during this pandemic.”
“Yes, 2020 has been a challenge,” he concluded. “But I am very optimistic about what Columbus can accomplish in the next few years. I hope you are, too.”
