Blostein Overly Architects Proposes Ghosthaus Pocket Park at 195 S. Washington Ave.

On Sept. 30, 2026, Bart Overly of Blostein/Overly Architects submitted an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness proposing to demolish a deteriorated residential building at 195 S. Washington Ave. and replace it with an adaptive site reuse pocket park titled "Ghosthaus."

The corner parcel sits adjacent to an asphalt surface parking lot in Downtown Columbus. In application materials, the applicant stated that the house has deteriorated beyond the point of economically or commercially viable renovation and that the neighboring parking lot has encroached upon the parcel. Rather than carrying out a conventional teardown, the firm proposed what it terms a "Remolition," aiming to reconfigure the memory of the site and unfold the walls onto the building footprint to create a public garden.

According to site plans, the proposed garden composition consists of 50 percent reclaimed material, 45 percent landscape material, and 5 percent construction elements. Conceptual drawings show salvaged wall bricks reused as pavers alongside low-maintenance plantings, dark river rock tracing the original foundation footprint, and a low concrete windowseat wall marking the street corner. The applicant also plans to reclaim the paved area lost to the adjoining parking lot.

The filing frames the teardown as the removal of a historic structure in poor condition and of non-contributing use. However, Columbus historic preservation standards typically require applicants to establish substantial structural or economic justification before the city's historic review commission authorizes demolitions. The application materials also leave several open questions, including formal agreements with the adjacent parking lot owner regarding the encroached land and arrangements for long-term maintenance of the garden. The application is currently in progress awaiting staff review and historic commission consideration.

On Sept. 30, 2026, Bart Overly of Blostein/Overly Architects submitted an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness proposing to demolish a deteriorated residential building at 195 S. Washington Ave. and replace it with an adaptive site reuse pocket park titled "Ghosthaus."

The corner parcel sits adjacent to an asphalt surface parking lot in Downtown Columbus. In application materials, the applicant stated that the house has deteriorated beyond the point of economically or commercially viable renovation and that the neighboring parking lot has encroached upon the parcel. Rather than carrying out a conventional teardown, the firm proposed what it terms a "Remolition," aiming to reconfigure the memory of the site and unfold the walls onto the building footprint to create a public garden.

According to site plans, the proposed garden composition consists of 50 percent reclaimed material, 45 percent landscape material, and 5 percent construction elements. Conceptual drawings show salvaged wall bricks reused as pavers alongside low-maintenance plantings, dark river rock tracing the original foundation footprint, and a low concrete windowseat wall marking the street corner. The applicant also plans to reclaim the paved area lost to the adjoining parking lot.

The filing frames the teardown as the removal of a historic structure in poor condition and of non-contributing use. However, Columbus historic preservation standards typically require applicants to establish substantial structural or economic justification before the city's historic review commission authorizes demolitions. The application materials also leave several open questions, including formal agreements with the adjacent parking lot owner regarding the encroached land and arrangements for long-term maintenance of the garden. The application is currently in progress awaiting staff review and historic commission consideration.