Come Love Us
How the city of Columbus has grown into a dynamic hub for art, commerce & technology
This article also appears in the Oct 2017 issue of Hyperlink, a new magazine focused on the intersection of media, technology, commerce, and culture. Hyperlink is published by Winning Edits. To purchase the Oct 2017 issue, go to hyperlinkmag.com.
By Andy Hutter
The city of Columbus, Ohio, is like that friend from high school who was always teased. You know, the one who others not-so-subtly ignored, who got picked last for everything.
Except that kid had a secret. She was quietly the coolest, most humble, yet impressive, kid in school. And ever so slowly, others started to recognize her amazing traits. The things that once made her an outcast now made her unique and special. People started rooting for her. They started chanting her name and encouraging her. So now she stands up taller. She smiles more, talks more, and even brags a little bit. The quiet, nerdy freshman grew into a proud, self-confident, nerdy senior. Because being nerdy is cool.
Columbus has undergone an amazing transformation over the past fifteen years. You could say that it has grown into its own nerdy-coolness. To really get a sense for the energy emerging, you might have to turn over a few rocks. For those outside Columbus (and even those within who aren’t paying attention), it is easy to get gleefully distracted by neighborhoods like The Short North, the once-neglected north side of the downtown core that saw organic revitalization through low-rent art studios and galleries, and now seems to be featured regularly in magazine travel sections as the most vibrant part of town. And you have to look past places like the nationally recognized German Village, one of the largest, privately-funded historic districts in the United States. There are things happening all over the city, in all levels of the community, business, and government that demand praise.
“Columbus is truly the ultimate opportunity city due to the collaboration, collective knowledge and overall tenacity of its people,” says Steve Michalovich, Digital Planning Consultant for Nationwide Insurance, one of the largest employers in the city and a critical partner to Columbus’ renaissance. “Our limitless potential spans the arts, culture, and doing business, fueling the city’s overall rapid momentum toward becoming the world class American city.” The synergy Michalovich describes is high, and it’s often tiring just to keep up with it all.
As with many cities, you get to know Columbus by getting to know the people. You talk to them; you listen to their stories, relish their victories, and cheer for their success. I’ve come to know Columbus well through a variety of channels: as a first-year employee in the city’s largest cancer research fundraising brand, Pelotonia; as an active volunteer with the nation’s second largest zoo, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium; and, most significantly, as a mayor-appointed member for six years of the Create Columbus Commission, a commission tasked with bringing young professional representation and priorities to the fore.
Though these things provided great access for learning what’s what and who’s who in the city, I’ve come to learn that it is really the people in each of these experiences (and many others) that contribute to my view of and attitude toward Columbus. The people are open, refreshingly authentic, and kind. In short, they’re Midwestern. Whether spending an hour over a cappuccino at Mission Coffee in the Short North, or taking an evening walk through the rolling streets of Clintonville, one of Columbus’ oldest neighborhoods, you’re bound to be greeted with a smile and a wave. But that description could work for just about any city in the country.
So, what’s putting Columbus on the map lately?
Columbus continues to gain the attention of national and international thought leaders, researchers, and investors who see the city as uniquely positioned for the coming revolution of technology and labor. Consider that Columbus recently competed against seventy-seven cities nationwide to win the Smart City Challenge in 2016, which comes with $40 million from the US Department of Transportation and $10 million from Vulcan, Inc. to drive growth in the economy, provide better access to jobs and ladders of opportunity, become a world-class logistics leader, and foster sustainability. Or that Facebook recently announced a $750 million data center project in a Columbus suburb, to be powered exclusively via renewable energy. Or that Amazon has built nearly 2 million square feet of fulfillment center in the region over the last two years.
Why all the attention? Perhaps Fortune 500 companies are recognizing that Columbus is home to the eighth-highest concentration of millennials in the country, or that the region is a ten-hour drive from 45 percent of the country’s population. Maybe it’s the fifty-six university and college campuses, or the multiple headquarters of Fortune 1000 companies. Whatever the reason for the attention, the people of Columbus are working hard to make the most of it.
At the local government level, Columbus is progressive on public policy and well ahead of the curve on social justice issues. The city proudly declared it would maintain the principles of a “sanctuary city” when faced with funding cuts from the federal level. It is also making huge investments into the long-neglected neighborhoods adjacent to the central business district. Franklinton, the original Columbus settlement, is in the midst of a development renaissance, with hundreds of millions of dollars committed to redeveloping the peninsula. The city also invested a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project to turn the Cleveland Avenue corridor that runs through the heart of the Linden neighborhood into an exemplar of future-focused public transit.
“Local government is growing and evolving through our city’s public–private partnerships,” says Priyam Chokshi, Director of Community and Legislative Strategies for the City of Columbus. “It’s the Columbus Way. We are an inclusive, smart, and open city that intentionally seeks community input and measures our impact.”
When it comes to culture, Columbus is a hidden gem for the arts. The Wexner Center for the Arts brings in sixty live shows and 175 films each year, many of which you can’t see anywhere else in the country outside of New York City and Los Angeles. The Columbus Museum of Art, which opened in 1878, recently completed a $37 million renovation, opening up space for 400 more of the museum’s 13,500 works. The city has a thriving live music culture, with options available nearly any night of the week, bolstered and fueled by one of the country’s last remaining truly independent radio stations, CD102.5. In the reinvigorated Franklinton, cheap warehouse space has found new life in the form of artist studios, epicentered at 400 W. Rich. Their neighbor one block to the north is home to the world’s largest makerspace, the Columbus Idea Foundry, of which I am a proud member.
As we know, a city cannot function on art and music alone, and Columbus’ business environment is thriving. “It is extremely empowering to see all the great options and the acceptance of many industries and types of businesses in Columbus,” says Jessica Coffey, Director of Strategy Planning/Execution at Cardinal Health, one of the largest Fortune 500 companies in the world and headquartered in the Columbus suburb of Dublin. “With so many great companies, there are also many who embody corporate citizenship and contribute to our arts scene, philanthropic groups, and more. This relationship makes Columbus even stronger and more dynamic.”
The city is home to the international headquarters of five Fortune 500 companies, and fourteen Fortune 1000 companies. And, unlike many of our Rust Belt brethren, Columbus is young enough to have avoided the economic devastation left in the wake of the industrial collapse of the ’70s and ’80s. Instead, the city’s economy is largely a service economy — which positions itself well for the coming revolution of the shared labor market, the financial services sector, and healthcare. Columbus is home to some of the best healthcare and research institutions in the country, including the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, recently ranked as “exceptional” by the National Cancer Institute — the most prestigious recognition available.
Outside of the service and healthcare space, the venture investment world is waking up to the assets available in the region. The Midwest has the highest concentration of prestigious engineering programs, and Columbus’ central location and low cost of living make it an attractive choice for venture capitalists (VCs) who see tremendous value to be had in early-stage investment. Drive Capital, headquartered in Columbus, has nearly $600 million under management, and is quickly becoming a rival to the coastal VCs. Columbus also recently saw its single largest acquisition of a Columbus-born company in CoverMyMeds’ $1.3 billion purchase by McKesson Corporation.
So what does this all mean? Is the city going to be another hopeful town in flyover country that gets left behind? The signs are increasingly good that Columbus is set to thrive for decades to come. I’m proud, as are many of my peers, that I don’t feel the need to flee to another city for a “cooler lifestyle” or “better job opportunity.” Sure, we may miss not having the ocean or mountains nearby, but with the cost of living in Columbus, we can also afford to travel to whichever ocean we want.
But perhaps the best thing about Columbus is that if you’re willing to work hard, and you’re willing to ask the right people the right questions, you have direct control over your station in life. In a city with so much optimism and momentum, it’s no surprise that so many people come to love us.
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