Mike Wolanin | The Republic An exterior view of Joe Willy’s Burger Bar in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
The Columbus City Council has given the initial green light to a request by a Bloomington-based developer to rezone four downtown properties to allow for more dense development.
The council voted 8-1 Tuesday evening to pass an ordinance on first reading that would allow about two acres at 1008 Washington St., 1020 Washington St., 1034 Washington St. and 921 Jackson St. to be rezoned from “Commercial: Neighborhood” to “Commercial: Downtown.”
However, the rezoning request has not yet received final approval, as ordinances must be passed on two separate readings to be fully approved.
The rezoning request was submitted by Rubicon Investment Group, which is comprised of a family of real estate and construction companies. Rubicon is also the owner and developer of the St. Barts Apartments in Columbus.
The “Commercial: Downtown” zoning classification would allow for more dense development than “Commercial: Neighborhood.” A representative with Rubicon told The Republic previously that “the expectation is to pursue residential with commercial, possibly restaurant, light office” on the properties.
City officials have said that the details of any development plans for the project are subject to review and approval by the plan commission.
Rubicon has submitted two separate site development plans, said City/County Planning Director Jeff Bergman. One is for a mixed-use project at 1008 and 1020 Washington, while the other is for a restaurant at 1034 Washington.
The initial concept plan for the mixed-use development includes a ground floor with nearly 50,000 square feet dedicated to parking, as well as 2,000 square feet for office/commercial space. The four levels above that would be residential, with an estimated total of 120 units.
The planning department has requested additional details about the site development plans and is currently waiting on Rubicon to fulfill those requests, Bergman said. Neither project has been scheduled for a plan commission hearing, and it currently unclear when either or both projects will come before the commission.
“It really depends on Rubicon, and their timeline for following up on those additional planning department comments, submitting revisions, providing additional information,” Bergman said. “That will really dictate when either or both site plan requests get scheduled for a plan commission hearing.”
The Columbus Plan Commission reviewed the rezoning request on Dec. 13 and forwarded it to the city council with a favorable recommendation, with nine commission members voting in favor and one abstaining.
The city council vote came after several members of the public expressed concerns about the rezoning request and what the projects’ potential impact would be on the area.
Some of the concerns included what increased activity will impact the area and the already-busy intersection at 11th and Washington streets, as well as impacts on downtown parking and green spaces.
Another member of the public questioned who would want to live in an apartment near a fire station and funeral home, while another urged the council members to hold off on making any decisions until they are more fully informed about on the projects’ potential implications.
Councilman Jerone Wood voted against the request after voicing concern about the impact the development could have on parking downtown.
Councilman Tom Dell, who voted in favor of the request, has said that bringing more people downtown will benefit the area.
“Nobody likes change, and I know a lot of the people within some of those areas don’t like change, but this is a new development in an area that is now not producing anything besides maybe parking cars on it and a house that people have looked at but nobody has the capital in order to fix it up,” he said.
A planning department staff report states the buildings on the Washington Street properties are all vacant, and the county’s GIS system shows that there are no structures on the Jackson Street address. However, the land has a rich history that is connected to one of Columbus’ first families.
“Around the turn of the 20th century there were five homes between Ninth and Eleventh Streets belonging to members of the Crump Family,” Bartholomew County historian Tami Stone Iorio told The Republic. “Only two of the five homes remain standing. The Lucas home between 9th and 10th was torn down in the 1950s; the home at 1102 Washington was torn down in 1965, and the original F.T. Crump home at 1016 Washington (now 1020) was demolished in 1973.”
Businessman Francis T., or F.T., Crump, lived from 1837 to 1917. He was the son of F.J. Crump, one of the county’s first citizens, and the brother of John Crump, who opened the Crump Theatre.
The home at 1034 Washington St. was designed by Charles Sparrell and constructed in the 1890s, said Iorio. It was built by F.T. Crump for his daughter, Hattie, and her husband, Arthur Overstreet.
The structure is known as the “Overstreet Home” because First National Bank president Francis Overstreet, son of Hattie and Arthur, lived there for much of the 20th century.
“Insurance office (Hawes-Phelan and Miller-Hawes-Phelan) occupied the house from 1988 to 2000,” said Iorio. “By 2002, Cindy’s Framing was using the space for custom framing and in 2005, the business was expanded to include a floral shop until Cindy Wilhelmi sold the business in 2009.”
John Wilhelmi and Joe Carman opened Joe Willy’s Burger Bar at 1034 Washington St. in August of 2012, after spending over a year turning the house into a restaurant.
In late 2021, the business closed for the season, and a for sale sign was posted on the property some time later.
The Columbus Capital Foundation, which also owns the Crump Theatre, bought 1034 Washington St. from Wilhelmi in October. At the time, board president Hutch Schumaker said that the foundation intended to hold the former eatery until “the right developer came along with the right idea that we think benefits all of downtown.”
At the time, he said it was not going to be reopened as a restaurant due to a lack of sufficient on-site parking. He also said that the building was in “extreme disrepair.”
According to Iorio, the house at 1008 Washington St. was also built at the end of the 19th century by F.T. Crump for one of his children — specifically, for his daughter Minnie and her husband, Joseph Weller.
“Minnie and Joseph Weller’s daughter Kathryne Price also lived in the home with her husband Oscar and their family,” Iorio said. “Their son Robert Price lived in the home with his wife Catherine until late in the 20th century.”
The building was converted into multiple apartments in the mid-to-late 20th century, she said. County records show that it was sold to Old National Bank in 2013 and Sprague Rentals in 2019.
According to Tricia Gilson with the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives, both 1034 and 1008 Washington Street were listed as “outstanding” examples of the Queen Anne residential style in the 1980 Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory for Bartholomew County.
“The Outstanding rating indicated that the property is ‘recommended as potential nominations to the National Register of Historic Places,’” Gilson said. “In the 2012 inventory, the Overstreet House has no ranking. The 1008 house has dropped to Notable which indicates that with further research the property might be eligible for a National Register listing.”
The Queen Anne style of architecture was popular in the United States from 1880 to 1910 and was characterized by “playful use of different building materials,” according to the National Park Service.
As for 1020 Washington St., the property was the site of the first Crump home built in the early 1860s by F.T. Crump, Iorio said. Dr. Cecil Harrod bought the home in 1927 and used it both as a residence and as a home for his medical offices.
The American Legion moved into the building in 1953. It was later demolished in 1973 by the Benzol Cleaning Company, which had used it as a laundromat.
The property is now home to a vacant bank building, owned by Sprague Rentals.
The property at 921 Jackson St. also belonged to F.T. Crump in the late 1800s, Iorio said.
County records indicate that the property later belonged to the Price family and was sold to Old National Bank in 2013.
The Republic reported in December of 2018 that the city approved a condemnation and demolition order for a vacant home owned by Old National Bank at the site. It was torn down in early 2019, and county records show that the property was sold to Sprague Rentals in November of that same year.
