Short North Development: Woods Co

Strength in the Short North retail and apartment markets is spurring a plan to dramatically expand the building that houses the Northstar Cafe.

Developer Mark Wood is moving forward on a $4.5 million project to add three floors to 937-951 N. High St., the building his Wood Cos. bought in 2002.

“When we bought the property, we knew we wanted to expand it,” Wood said. “Originally, (the expansion) was only going to be residential. It’s really a wonderful mixed-use (project) to maximize the site development.”

Wood plans to add 10,000 square feet of office space and two apartments on a second floor and 22 apartments on the third and fourth floors.

When Wood Cos. renovated the building for street-level retail eight years ago, it had the former medical lab strengthened with additional structural steel in preparation for eventually adding floors.

“(That) is allowing us to do a higher-end product because we already have a significant investment in the building,” Wood said during an interview at the Northstar Cafe, one of the site’s five retail operations.

Resilient market

Wood said his firm has built or bought about 100 apartments over the nearly 30 years as it has invested in Short North commercial properties. Just a handful of those rentals are vacant.

“The residential market has been so strong for us,” Wood said. “We know there’s a market because we deal with it every day.”

Joe Armeni, another Short North housing developer and investor, said Wood Cos. has chosen an opportune time to build considering low apartment vacancies and solid rent levels. Armeni, owner of Re/Max City Center Realtors, said just three of the 350 residential units that his brokerage leases and manages are empty.

“The market is extremely strong now,” he said, crediting in part the weak economy and the sluggish single-family housing market for much of the strength of apartments. “We’ve been able to get steady rent increases the last two years.”

Armeni noted the strength in the North High commercial corridor between downtown and the Ohio State University campus.

“Overall, the Short North has been stable,” he said. “If you drive up High Street, there are not many vacant storefronts.”

Wood acknowledged the Short North commercial market has shown resilience despite the poor economy. For example, he cited a continuing influx of home decor retailers and the relocation of bicycle merchant Paradise Garage to a neighboring High Street building to accommodate the growth it experienced.

“I think the Short North,” he said, “is one of the few places you’re seeing new development.”

Defining storefronts

Lower construction costs also encouraged Wood Cos. to move forward, he said, as well as the ability to finance the deal.

Construction should get under way by late November with completion set for next fall.

The project will mean a temporary relocation of the Jazz Arts Group offices to Wood Cos. space across High Street. Other tenants include the Zpizza gourmet pizzeria and the Kiaca gallery of African art. Those businesses, as well as the Northstar Cafe, are scheduled to remain open during the construction.

“If we hadn’t done that forward planning,” Wood said of the first renovation, “it would have been difficult for the businesses to stay open.”

Once the three-story addition is complete, Jazz Arts Group and Wood’s firm will move their offices to the building’s second floor.

Wood said the architectural design by Schooley Caldwell Associates Inc. features a 2,500-square-foot patio for office and apartment tenants on a first-floor roof toward the back of the complex.

The expansion also will include converting a portion of the property off Second Avenue into a 24-slot parking garage for residents and office tenants.

The High Street facade, he said, will feature different styles of bricks to create the appearance of three separate buildings.

“We really see the project as an opportunity to define the storefronts,” Wood said. “Our approach is about building a neighborhood.”