Southern Orchards

Southern Orchards is bounded by East Livingston Avenue to the north, East Whittier Street to the south, Linwood Avenue to the east, and Parsons Avenue to the west. The area includes 7 primary road corridors as identified through the 1993 Columbus Thoroughfare Plan –Livingston Avenue, Whittier Street, Parsons Avenue, Ohio Avenue, Champion Avenue, Lockbourne Road and Fairwood Avenue. Interstate 70 also follows the northern border of the planning area before it turns south between the Norfolk Southern Railway and Alum Creek.[8]

The Livingston Avenue and Parsons Avenue corridors consist of predominantly commercial, office, and multifamily development. A majority of the neighborhood remains single-family residential units.

Vacant housing

New housing

Home vacancy is a major problem within the area; in 2012, over 369 of the homes in the neighborhood were vacant, indicating over a 20% vacancy rate. Much work has gone into revitalizing the area and building new homes due to the efforts of the mayor and his team, Nationwide Children's Hospital, and several other donors.[9] In 2012, the Urban Infrastructure Recovery Fund Program included the Southern Orchards Civic Association for the Proposed Project List. Total funding of $270,000 was used to improve Martin Park with walkways, benches, trees, fencing and playground equipment and to construct curb ramps on Whittier Street between Wilson Avenue and Wager Street. Multifamily zoning is located along Whittier Street and Livingston Avenue.

Parsons Avenue and portions of Livingston Avenue have the Urban Commercial Overlay (UCO) zoning designation. The UCO does not address land use; it focuses on protecting the unique architectural and aesthetic characteristics of older urban commercial corridors and encourages pedestrian-oriented development featuring retail display windows, reduced building setbacks, rear parking lots, and other pedestrian-oriented site design elements.[10] Parsons Avenue is in the Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization (NCR) district. The program’s goal is to stimulate business development along designated NCR areas. The NCR program offers technical assistance, loans and matching grants, capital improvements and planning services in conjunction with the established business association in six commercial areas surrounding downtown.[11] CVS Pharmacy, Aetna Building Maintenance, E-Jay's Drive Thru, Revol Wireless, Mezmerize, Crazy Chicken, Papa John’s, and Nexcel/FoodMart are some businesses located in the neighborhood.[12] Grocery stores in the Southern Orchards include Little's IGA (supermarkets).[13] In 1999, the Free Store on Parsons Avenue opened, which accepts donations and distributes clothes and household items to the area’s poor. By the end of this year, 150,000 people will have walked through its doors since it opened.[14] Community Development for All People is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was incorporated as a nonprofit community-development corporation in 2003. The city then designated it as the community housing-development organization for the area so it could receive federal funding.[15]

The Southern Gateway Initiative began as a private investment by local neighborhood champions to revitalize the near south side area with new housing, health and wellness facilities, and upgraded neighborhood infrastructure. Over $5.7 million in private dollars was raised towards the initiative and the City of Columbus invested $18 million more dollars to rehabilitate homes and upgrade even more infrastructure.[18]

The Southside Home Ownership Program oversaw the renovation of 14 houses in the Southern Orchards area. The renovated homes were vacant and sold as owned homes. Eligible buyers had an income below 80% of the median area income. Grants were used to subsidize the homes and provide down payment assistance.[19]

Church and Community Development for all People (CD4AP) teamed up with Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2008 to form the Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Families (HNHF) Realty Collaborative, with the intent to rehabilitate, repair, and build homes within a 38 block area to the immediate south and east of the hospital’s main campus. The goal of Healthy Homes is to continue making improvements on homes throughout the community over a 5-year period.[20]

Boundaries:

• North: I-70
• East: Alum Creek
• South: E. Livingston/ E. Whittier Street
• West: Lehman St./Kennedy Dr.[21]

Commission Meetings take place on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 pm at the St. John's Learning Center located at 640 S. Ohio Ave.[22]

Livingston Park, located north of Southern Orchards, is the oldest piece of park property in the City of Columbus and is listed on the list of Nationally Registered Historic Landmarks.[14] Plant Pride on Parsons', beautification efforts began in 2010.[15] Plant Pride on Parsons is a community greening partnership developed to assist revitalization of the historic Parsons commercial corridor by abating litter and graffiti and creating a botanical gallery of hand-painted flowering containers and nature-scape murals.[16]

Nationwide Children's Hospital

Nationwide Children’s Hospital is the fourth largest children's hospital in the country serving over 37 counties in Ohio. The hospital has more than 1,100 medical staff members and 9,200 employees with the continued mission of providing medical care to children regardless of their ability to pay. Nationwide Children's completed an $800 million expansion project, which includes a new $480 million main hospital and a performance space for patient activities. The new hospital, which opened in 2012, has all private rooms and a new emergency department. Surrounding neighborhood investment by the hospital includes: 3 to $5 million to buy and renovate up to 50 houses in the area, the establishment of significant green spaces on the hospital campus, and Nationwide Children’s Hospital's Research 3 building.[23]

The Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio (RMHC), located in the Southern Orchards, has been serving families of sick children for more than 30 years, providing housing, food, and peace of mind to its visitors. The current building is the second location for the house which is now located on the south side of Livingston Avenue facing Children's Hospital. The current location opened in 2008 with 80 bedrooms and has since expanded by 57 more rooms in 2014 and is one of the largest Ronald McDonald Houses in the nation.[24]

Livingston Avenue Elementary School is located in the area [25] serving Kindergarten through 5th grade. In 2012, because of declining enrollment, nearby Heyl Elementary School was closed.[26] [27]

Family Missionary Baptist Church

The Family Missionary Baptist Church and Guiding Light Christian Center are central community centers. They provide faith, recreation, and youth services.

Construction of Theodore Roosevelt Junior High School began in 1913 and it was demolished February 11, 1987. The building was a public school that sat at 1046 Struder Ave and served the Near South and Driving Park neighborhoods.[28]

Garden 6

Kossuth Street Garden covers the entire lot 641 E. Kossuth Street, located in the Southern Orchards neighborhood just east of German Village. Founder and director Michael Doody has been serving the community since 2007.[29]

Kobacker Park, located at 570 Kossuth Street, is a .34 acre neighborhood, open-lot park. .[30]

Roosevelt Park, located at 1046 Studer Ave., is a 2.91 acre neighborhood park that includes picnic tables, looping walking path and play equipment for children.[31]

Martin Park, located at 950 Wagner St., is a mowed open lot park.[32]

Columbus Metropolitan Library branches near the area include the Driving Park Branch, which is located in the northeastern portion of the planning area at Kelton and Livington Avenues, and the Parsons Avenue Branch, located just southwest of the planning area at the corner of Stewart and Parsons Avenues.[33]