Thursday January 9, 2014 year: 134 No. 4
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thelantern the student voice of The Ohio State University
Defense soars on OSU court
6A
Queen rocks Columbus
Fire at Cazuela’s Grill sparks concern
1B
Advising a one-stop shop
2A
Shoe store reaches its Finish Line at Gateway Liz Young Campus editor young.1693@osu.edu
Ritika Shah / Asst. photo editor
Firefighters at the scene of a small fire at Cazuela’s Grill.
Michele Theodore Copy chief theodore.13@osu.edu Margarita-lovers might have to wait a few days to get their fix at Cazuela’s Grill. The Mexican restaurant, located at 2247 N. High St., had a small fire that caused smoke damage to the outside of the building Wednesday, creating a hole in the exterior of the structure, 3rd Battalion Chief Rick Artrip with the Columbus Division of Fire said. “We had a little bit of a fire,” he told The Lantern. “It’s not a big deal, (there wasn’t) much smoke.” The resulting smoke damaged wood on the exterior of the building, but Artrip said not much was damaged inside, although there was smoke on the inside of the building as well.
Ritika Shah / Asst. photo editor
Emergency vehicles outside the scene of a small fire at Cazuela’s Grill, located at 2247 N. High St., Jan. 8. The restaurant was closed at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported, Artrip said. Fire crews were at the restaurant shortly before 5 p.m. and High Street was blocked by fire equipment and fire crews at the scene. “We think there were plumbers … heating frozen pipes,” Artrip said. Artrip said he believes the equipment the plumbers were using to reheat and repair the pipes started the fire. Raul Sotez, an employee at Cazuela’s, said he lives near the restaurant and was told by someone else that fire trucks were gathered outside so he went to watch. “I’m not going to work so I’m sad,” he said. “We’ve gotta fix the hole.” Maggie Lynch, a second-year in French who has eaten at Cazuela’s in the past, watched the fire crews from across the
street at Kafe Kerouac, located at 2250 N. High St. “I was walking down here and saw High Street was blocked off,” she said. “We saw some smoke coming out of this upper right window (at Cazuela’s).” She also said she watched the fire Division of Fire use a hose and make holes for the smoke to escape. Brent Niese, a second-year in mechanical engineering, said he lives near the restaurant and saw the police cars so he went to the area to see what was happening. “I’d be devastated (if the restaurant closed),” he said. “I love Cazuela’s.” Immediate attempts to contact the restaurant’s manager Wednesday evening were unsuccessful.
Another South Campus Gateway store is taking its leave this weekend, a move that surprised its landlord. Finish Line, an athletic shoe and apparel retail store that opened in 2005 when the Gateway opened, will close permanently Saturday, Dianna Boyce, senior director of corporate communications for Finish Line, said. “The closing of the Finish Line store at (1624) N. High Street is a part of our normal course of business as we open and close stores based on results and demand in the market,” Boyce said in a Wednesday email. A manager at the Finish Line Gateway location referred The Lantern to the corporate office for comment. Amanda Hoffsis, president of Campus Partners for Community Urban Redevelopment, said Finish Line’s decision to leave came as somewhat of a surprise. “They first notified us that they were planning to close this past October, but soon after, we came to a mutual decision that (they would stay) until a new tenant was found,” Hoffsis said Tuesday. “They just notified us this week they would be closing this week with no plans to reopen.” Campus Partners is a private nonprofit corporation that works on community planning in the OSU campus area alongside OSU and the city of Columbus. South Campus Gateway LLC is a subtenant of Campus Partners. Hoffsis said the store’s closing “is in compliance with (its) lease terms” because the store had the right to terminate its lease in October, but she said she had no details on when or why it was closing besides that it will be this weekend. She said the Gateway wanted Finish Line to stay open until a new tenant was found to make it clear the space “wasn’t a long term dark store, it was just a change of tenancy.” “We have some contracts pending and we thought it would make a cleaner transition,” Hoffsis said. “Obviously we like having (stores) operating in all of these locations.” Some Ohio State students said they don’t mind that Finish Line is leaving. “I shopped at Finish Line in the past, just not that one, but I’ve gone in there a couple of times to look around. It’s a good store,” said Nathan Cotton, a second-year in neuroscience. “I haven’t bought a pair of shoes in the store since I’ve been here (though) … I think almost
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Gee still deserves New apartments to offer High St. view Buckeye support Commentary:
karlie Frank Lantern reporter frank.359@osu.edu
Jacob Hollar Lantern reporter hollar.38@osu.edu When former Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee began his career in university leadership in 1981, the “Late Show with David Letterman” didn’t exist. More than 30 years later, however, in an homage to Letterman’s regular top 10 lists, Gee listed the top 10 reasons he is glad to be serving as the temporary president at West Virginia University in a video posted on the WVU website Wednesday. The video, in which Gee shares his glee at returning to WVU, might seem like salt in a sentimental wound, but to paraphrase Celine Dion, our hearts will go on, fellow Buckeyes. After all, he’s not gone for good. And though they had him first, we had him longer — twice. While our beloved bow tie aficionado might be missed, he still deserves our support during his time as WVU’s president. He is still our president emeritus, you see. His time at WVU is his time on leave from OSU. Simply put, Gee is on vacation. If he wants to wear blue and gold bow ties and gorge on pepperoni rolls with his grandchildren, more power to him. It’s your vacation, Gee. Go wild. Have fun. Listen to “Country Roads” to your heart’s content. Just promise your next video is of you trying out that fancy WVU zip line. Oh, and come home safe. We miss you.
Thursday January 9, 2014
A roughly $20 million building project will give some Columbus residents balconies overlooking High Street in about a year. A new retail and student apartment complex under construction as part of a project on North High Street is set to open January 2015. The complex, named “The View On High,” is set to be located between East Woodruff and 18th avenues. The building is set to offer 46 one to five bedroom luxury units with a range of amenities including fully furnished rooms, high-speed Internet, a 24/7 fitness facility and street level and underground parking, according to the View On High’s website. No prices have been set for the apartments yet, said Tom Heilman, owner of Hometeam Properties Management, the management company of the building. Heilman said there is a possibility of a discounted price for the first year’s leasers. “Price could start as low as four bedrooms for $800 each (bedroom), and as high as a single for $1,000. It could be lower for the first year because of supply and demand issues,” Heilman said. Heilman said Hometeam will be flexible with leasing options for the first batch of students because the apartments are opening halfway through the normal leasing year. “We are going to work with students individually. You can just sign a six month lease (for the View On High) or we can put you in something else for the first six months (until moving into The View On High in January),” Heilman said. Mike Balakrishnan, founder and president of Celmark Development Group, developing partner on the project alongside Solove Real Estate, said construction so far is on schedule. “We started on the parking garage in the ground and everything is on track right now,” Balakrishnan said. Heilman said Hometeam will use an apartment complex on W. Fifth and Holly avenues scheduled to open in May to house students for the first six months if they choose to sign a 12 month lease with the View On High. Heilman said Hometeam will help these students move their belongings to the View On High when it opens. Heilman said he’s confident the timing of its opening will not hinder interest in the new
Shelby Lum / Photo editor
The View on High is being built between East Woodruff and 18th avenues. It is set to open in January 2015. apartments, a project totaling close to $20 million. Heilman said he foresees residents coming from undergraduate upperclassmen, faculty and graduate students at Ohio State. “When you’re dealing with 20,000 to 30,000 people, there’s enough people with similar interests and there’s a lot of people who come in second semester and need a place to stay … All the people that come in and see all the good stuff taken, now they have an option,” Heilman said. Some students, however, are unsure if the included amenities would be worth the extra money. Second-year in political science Josh Freedman said he would have to compare the exact cost of the apartments to living in the dorms to make a decision. “If it costs more than living on campus where you already get all that stuff then it wouldn’t be worth it to me,” Freedman said. Lindsay Gorby, a second-year in health information management and systems, said the location is prime, but she has other reservations.
“The location is so close but I would rather live in a house … and all that (the included amenities) would be awesome but I would be worried about the cost,” Gorby said. Jimmy Barouxis, owner of Buckeye Donuts, which is located next door to the work site, said construction has put a small damper on business, specifically because some parking spots have been fenced off since construction began. “We lost about a dozen parking spaces … Our delivery guys have a harder time getting in and out, and now there’s no handicap spot,” Barouxis said. “Then about a week later, we raised our voices a little and they (the city government) gave us some meters in the front. I think the developers pushed for them.” While he said the construction is “annoying,” Barouxis said he’s excited for the finished product, which he thinks will be successful. “They’re going to do great, it’s prime
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