Student project: Can Woodcliff go from 'eerie plot of land' to bright spot in Whitehall?

Tiffany McVay
·2 min read

Tiffany McVay is a student at Briggs High School. This piece was written for Columbus Journalists in Training, a program sponsored by the Columbus Dispatch and Society of Professional Journalists Central Ohio Pro-Chapter for Columbus City Schools students. Tiffany was a member of team W. Hayes.

What once was a neighborhood “full of life” is now an eerie plot of land.

Constructed in 1953, the Woodcliff neighborhood in Whitehall seemed a charming community with little crime.

Problems mostly flew under the radar until 2007.

That was the year Woodcliff had its first health complaint over a swimming pool being used as a dump for trash. The years followed with more complaints that went untreated like the sewers being backed up, a house being used as a dump and some gang activity.

More: Whitehall razes last of Woodcliff condos, ending 16-year legal fight

Woodcliff condominiums in Whitehall during demolition.
Woodcliff condominiums in Whitehall during demolition.

Most of the people reached by Columbus Journalists in Training did not reply or simply said that they did not want to answer questions.

Stephanie Silvernail was the exception.

Silvernail hung out in Woodcliff a bit when she was a teenager. She said when she lived there that the rent was always cheap, and everyone was nice.

169 Woodcliff Dr shown abandoned in 2023.
169 Woodcliff Dr shown abandoned in 2023.

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Silvernail recalled drug problems in the area and was asked about the sewer problem and mold.

“I didn't know the sewer was backed up, but I knew for sure there was something wrong with them. At some point a new sewer line was in but it still smelled really bad,” she said. “(The mold is) not a surprise."

The Woodcliff condominiums in Whitehall shown after demolition began on the 154 buildings located on the property.
The Woodcliff condominiums in Whitehall shown after demolition began on the 154 buildings located on the property.

Currently, half the houses are gone, and some the houses have been burned down.

Brighter future for Woodcliff?

An artist's rendition of a proposed Woodcliff condominiums replacement development project that would include a $300-million development that could eventually include 1,000 residences, 75,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, and 250,000 square feet of office space, all connected to the 80-acre Whitehall Community Park.
An artist's rendition of a proposed Woodcliff condominiums replacement development project that would include a $300-million development that could eventually include 1,000 residences, 75,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, and 250,000 square feet of office space, all connected to the 80-acre Whitehall Community Park.

A brighter future may be on the horizon for the neighborhood.

Whitehall began razing the last of the Woodcliff condominiums in February. It purchased the property in 2019 for $10.3 million.

The city hopes a $300-million development replaces Woodcliff's 154 buildings containing 317 condos.

City Administrator Zach Woodruff said the plan is to transform the neighborhood into 1,000 residential units with a mix of homes for sale and rent.

An opening date is planned for 2025.

Tiffany McVay is a student at Briggs High School. This piece was written for Columbus Journalists in Training, a program sponsored by the Columbus Dispatch and Society of Professional Journalists Central Ohio Pro-Chapter for Columbus City Schools students. Tiffany was a member of team W. Hayes.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Student project: The future and past history of Woodcliff in Whitehall?