Why We Moved to Grandview Heights: A Walkable Neighborhood, Restaurants on Grandview Avenue

When Carol and Bruce Savage were first married, they lived on Northwest Boulevard in Grandview Heights. The Columbus natives left Central Ohio for a few brief stints in Cincinnati and Urbana before returning to the area, settling in Upper Arlington to raise their family. But in December 2020, after nearly 30 years and six houses—including their most recent home in German Village—they’ve returned to the suburb they loved as newlyweds.

“I like the diversity of people. … There’s a lot of walkability, a lot of restaurants on Grandview Avenue, the shops that I go to. We have just always loved Grandview because it’s really charming and pretty,” says Carol, 61.

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Grandview Heights, or just “Grandview” per the locals, is a 1.3-square-mile island surrounded on three sides by the city of Columbus; it also shares a ribbon of border with Upper Arlington. Despite its diminutive nature, Grandview continues to grow—not outward, but upward in the case of developments such as Grandview Yard.

The Savages decided to move to Grandview, Carol explains, because of family. They moved to German Village from Upper Arlington 11 years ago and loved their time in one of the area’s most historic neighborhoods. “It was an idyllic 11 years, I would say,” she adds. But once each of their three children, who also live in the area, started having children of their own, she realized that their home wasn’t as conducive to entertaining as they’d like and their hard-scaped backyard posed a lot of hazards for wobbly toddlers.

A real estate agent friend turned her on to a fixer-upper in Grandview that had been on the market for a few years, a rarity in the highly competitive Grandview real estate market, “and that was it,” Carol says.

When not engaged in home renovations, the couple entertains and spends time with family. (Two of their children now live in Upper Arlington.) They are also avid cyclists and take advantage of the bike trails accessible in their neighborhood. “It’s kind of an oasis over here,” she says. “It’s just a nice, quiet little suburb.”

10-year population growth: 24 percent

Average home price: $470,975

1-year property value increase: 13 percent

5-year property value increase: 40 percent

Sources: Zillow, U.S. Census Bureau

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This story is from the December 2021 issue of Columbus Monthly.