Mr. Bleinberger served as Project Manager for a multi-disciplinary team that crafted a revitalization strategy and implementation plan for a stretch of High Street, an important corridor bordering the campus of Ohio State University. At the time (early 2000s), this stretch of High St. was characterized by a string of college bars, experiencing high vacancy rates for available retail and restaurant space. In addition, the historically single-family neighborhoods that backed High St. had become de facto multi-family apartments, boarding houses, and other transient housing that had hosted an unwelcome concentration of undesirable activity.
The goal was to retain the student and faculty support businesses, while improving the built environment and providing additional opportunities for residential, retail, and University functions. The result, achieved over time, was a model of mixed-use development, forward-thinking urban design, fruitful public / private partnerships, and a community vision for a better, safer, more economically vital campus support area.
The Ohio State University is bordered on one side by High Street, a major transportation and economic corridor, that had deteriorated over many decades. The result of the redevelopment strategy and its implementation was a reimagined High St. that offers a mix of residential, retail, entertainment, office, and University related spaces and services that have served to re-knit this area of the Ohio State community.