The Creekside Story: The Path toward Redevelopment
After receiving the Nature Works grant to help clean up the Big Walnut Creek, the City revealed very ambitious
redevelopment plans that received strong opposition from the citizens. Early Creekside designs would have taken
a large amount of Olde Gahanna real estate - involving excessive business relocation and historic character destruction.
City planners realized that a community-wide effort would be necessary if a creek redevelopment project would succeed without
community opposition. Twelve public forums were initiated and convened by the City and structured in such a way that truly
opened the door for cooperation and consensus building, resulting in what is now Creekside. Olde Gahanna businesses and
residents became very interested participants in this process. For the first time since its suburban boom, the City
began to engage in true neighborhood planning. The beauty of the Creekside Park project is that it's more appropriate,
smaller scale has created a more efficient, economic redevelopment tool to encourage diverse, private reinvestment
in the whole area. This is a testament to the importance of citizen interaction with elected and administrative leaders.
In the late 1990s, the City used the Creekside Phase One experience as a springboard for more long-range neighborhood planning efforts.
The Olde Gahanna Community Partnership (OGCP) was formed to foster better communication between Olde Gahanna businesses and
residents and to provide the neighborhood more open communication with the City. The OGCP has become very involved in the
annual planning of the annual three-day Creekside Blues and Jazz Fest, a regional festival held throughout Creekside and
Olde Gahanna. Today, the City's Development Department works extensively with OGCP on a host of Olde Gahanna issues.
The City has moved away from simple project planning towards comprehensive neighborhood planning.
A notable 1998 neighborhood planning success was the rezoning of the Olde Gahanna zoning district.
Previously zoned entirely for mixed-use, citizen participation in the rezoning process revealed to City
leaders that a greater degree of neighborhood security was desired. Many owners of single-family homes in
the neighborhood's northeast area explained that single-family zoning in their section would ensure that the
neighborhood would remain a strong residential attraction. This allows Olde Gahanna mixed-use development to focus
on Mill, High, Town, and Granville Streets and creates a buffer to the single-family neighborhoods on the periphery of the district.
In 2002, the City completed a revision of its code to encourage and embody the vision of the Creekside area
by adopting the Olde Gahanna Design Guidelines. These innovative architectural and development rules encourage
an eclectic mix of quality, pedestrian focused design. In the Creekside redevelopment area, the guidelines
require that buildings have active facades on all sides and contextually relate to the Big Walnut Creek.
Learn More
Click Here to continue the Creekside story.
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The Creekside Story…
Background
Information
Timeline
Overview
Creekside Park
Planning for Redevelopment
Olde Gahanna's Revitalization
West Gahanna Gateway
For more information on Creekside, please contact the Department of Planning Development
(Last Updated in March 2008)
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Planning & Development
200 South Hamilton
Gahanna, OH 43230
(614) 342-4015
(614) 342-4116 Fax
Hours of Operation
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM M-F
Contact Development
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