Haus und Garten tour participants prove kids can be part of urban neighborhood
Next Sunday's German Village Haus und Garten Tour will showcase some different decor: plastic kitchens, tiny furniture and stuffed animals.
The furnishings belong to two young families whose homes will be on the tour, illustrating that the neighborhood isn't strictly for rich empty nesters, gay couples and pre-kid professionals.
"We love living down here," said Tracie Stamm, whose home will be one of 12 properties on the annual tour.
"We can walk to the park, to dinner, to the coffee shop," she added. "We love walking to Columbus Commons (park) for events and to the fountain by the river. There's tons for families to do."
Stamm and her husband, Brad, bought a home in the neighborhood in 2008. After living there briefly, they moved out of state for Brad's education and rented the home out. In 2011, they moved back to Columbus and into the home.
Both had lived in downtowns before - in San Jose, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - and loved the convenience and energy of the urban environment.
>> Photos: Homes on the German Village House und Garten Tour
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Three years ago, the couple had a daughter, Avery, and Tracie is due with a second child.
Despite the children, they have no intentions of giving up their lifestyle and home in the village, even though they both work in the northern suburbs: Brad at Quantum Health near Worthington and Tracie at JPMorgan Chase's Polaris office.
"Brad would have to carry me out of here in a box," quipped Tracie, 34.
The Stamms had fully renovated their 1903 brick Italianate-style home before leaving town, and they have made steady changes since, in part to accommodate their growing family.
The biggest came on the third floor, which they finished off into a bedroom, an office and a playroom, bringing the home to about 2,800 square feet.
The home might lack the big basement playroom common in new suburban homes, but the third-floor space has its youthful perks, most noticeably a cloth swing that Brad, 35, hung from one of the exposed rafters for Avery.
Brad's current home-improvement project - running a line from his basement brewery to a built-in beer tap in the kitchen counter - speaks to a desire to maintain a lifestyle that isn't thoroughly subservient to children.
The Stamms and the other young parents whose home is on the tour, Sevy and Kyle Kraner, continue to pursue activities, such as eating out, that often fall by the wayside when the cradle rocks. The're eager to have their children experience the diversity and bustle of urban living.
The Kraners bought their home in 2009. Both Sevy, 33, and Kyle, 32, had grown up in Dublin but were determined to live near Downtown after moving back to central Ohio from New York City six years ago.
"We wanted a place that was walkable and urban, and we fell in love with German Village," said Kyle, who works for the Schottenstein Property Group on the East Side.
The couple bought a 1,950-square-foot, two-story brick home that had been remodeled. Within a few years, they had two daughters: Leighton, now 3; and Luciana, 17 months.
Last year, they added a first-floor foyer and a bedroom above, bringing the total size to 2,318 square feet. The foyer doubles as a play area, and a chalkboard covers a former second-floor window that was enclosed during the expansion.
But, like the Stamms, the Kraners' remodeling isn't just for the kids. They added a walk-in master closet and a wet bar in the dining area.
The couples love their homes but are well aware of the elephant in the village for parents of young children: schools.
"That's the biggest challenge," said Sevy Kraner, who works for JobsOhio.
"It's a question we get all the time, primarily from our parents," Tracie Stamm said.
Parents reluctant to send their children to Columbus City Schools tend to head to the suburbs as the kids near school age.
"It seems like there's a lot of strollers in the neighborhood, but at age 5, you see an exodus to Bexley and Upper Arlington," Kyle Kraner said.
The Kraners and the Stamms hope to avoid that. Both families are considering several options, including Columbus City Schools, now that Stewart Elementary, in the middle of the village, has been renovated and converted back into a neighborhood school. (The school will also be on the tour.)
To encourage young families to stay in German Village and nearby neighborhoods and to support the public schools, several residents formed Southside Stay in 2012.
"Stewart is a great school already, so we thought, 'Let's just be a support for Stewart,' " said Ken Flower, a Merion Village resident who chairs the organization's board. "A lot of families just dismiss it because it's Columbus public, so a lot of what we do is just dispelling misperceptions."
Flower - the parent of three young children, the oldest of whom attends Stewart - thinks attracting and retaining families with young children will strengthen German Village and the surrounding areas.
"I think diverse neighborhoods are strong neighborhoods," he said. "Diversity isn't just ethnicity. It's socioeconomic; it's age. All of those things make for stronger neighborhoods."
Schools aren't the only issue with raising children in the village, where yards tend to be tiny if they exist at all.
"The obvious downside is you can't have them go outside and play in back," said Kyle Kraner, overlooking his rear "yard," which is a patio about 15 by 25 feet. "But I like having to go to the park."
The Kraners also head to the 'burbs for amenities not readily available in the village. They travel to Bexley, for example, for dance classes, soccer clubs and the swimming pool.
Still, the virtue of not having a yard is not spending your weekends maintaining it.
"I can't imagine spending my Saturdays mowing the yard," Kyle Kraner said.
"Moving from New York City and having this much outdoor space is fantastic," he said. "My parents say, 'You have no yard.' I say, 'Are you kidding? Look at all this!' "
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If you go
The German Village Haus und Garten Tour, featuring 12 properties, will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 28.
Tickets can be purchased in advance for $18 at Giant Eagles stores, or $20 online. On the day of the tour, tickets can be purchased for $25 at Giant Eagles stores ot at the German Village Meeting Haus, 588 S. Third St.
Visit www.germanvillagetour.com for a list of all the properties on the tour.
@JimWeiker