Here are parts two and three of ThisWeek’s series on growth in Columbus’s southeast suburbs, the 33 corridor. From part three:

In the next 25 years or less, the population of the greater Canal Winchester and greater Pickerington areas could nearly double, along with the number of jobs.

According to projections prepared by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the Ohio Department of Development, the number of residents in Canal Winchester, Pickerington and Violet Township will grow from the 2005 combined total of 48,590 to 77,992 by 2030. Estimates show the number of households increasing from 17,048 to 30,255 over that same period.

The articles talk about the region’s growing pains, but as interviewee notes, “pangs of growth are better than those of decline”.

“(An) issue that was of concern to over 80 percent of the interviewees is the lack of local cooperation within the county; especially between the cities of Lancaster, Canal Winchester, Pickerington, and Fairfield County,” according to [a study by RDG, a Dublin-based economic development planning company]….

Also, the study reports interviewees feeling “a lack of clarity and focus regarding economic development initiatives,” and a “general uncertainty of how Fairfield County fits into the Greater Columbus region and how it can position itself to benefit from the emerging ‘new economy.’”

I had a post about the first in the series here.

There are some good posts around today about changes in a few Columbus neighborhoods. First, in the Dispatch, a story about the Brewery District calming down after the heady 90’s:

The Brewery District is growing up.

A decade ago, the tiny neighborhood south of I-70, between the Scioto River and German Village, was the homecoming queen of the young singles scene.

But the spotlight has moved elsewhere, and residents say they’re happy to have a quieter neighborhood of familiar, friendly faces. Now, people take their dogs to bars and softball games, and poker nights have replaced ladies’ nights.

A once-hot condominium market has cooled to the point that homes remain unsold for more than six months.

The downtown market is similarly not red-hot, according to Columbus realtor blogger Joe Peffer (via Columbus Underground):

Downtown Condos aren’t flying off the shelf like much of the mainstream media seem to have portrayed, but they are slowly selling. What’s currently active on the market? About 141 properties representing just over 50 Million in list price, not even counting the FSB builders like North Bank.

I’m always surprised at the perception of who is buying downtown vs. the reality. It’s not all young professionals like many assume. There are far more empty nesters than most people think. Much of that is a result of the high costs of buying downtown. Affordable means something different to everyone but, for the most part, the youngsters are finding the affordable too small. Maybe they aren’t buying the whole, “Downtown is my back yard” mentality.

Moving out to the ‘burbs, ThisWeek has an outstanding story on the history of Canal Winchester and Pickerington:

Back then, in 1958, little differentiated the community from the homesteaders who settled in the northwest corner of Fairfield County a century and a half earlier, according to Gary Taylor, president of the Violet Township Historical Society.

As modern residents denote neighborhoods by the name of the subdivision, Taylor said in his youth, he could walk along the dirt roads and point out each farm by the name of the family.

It’s the first of three parts. I’ll be sure to check up on the next installments.