Downtown development watchers have been eyeing the northwest corner of High and Rich streets since at least November of 2012. That’s when Lifestyles Communities first brought a proposal to the Downtown Commission for a seven-story apartment building at the intersection.
That development was later updated and approved at eight stories, and a second proposal for a “twin” building on the southwest corner of the intersection was then brought to the commission and approved. Since that time, a series of delays has translated to very little progress on either building.
That appears to be changing. The northern building now reaches four floors and boasts a completed elevator shaft and stairwells. Site work is ongoing across the street, preparing the foundation for the second building.
Columbus Underground recently got a close-up look at this progress, thanks to a hard hat tour led by Halie Sorg of OCP Contractors.
OCP is the contractor responsible for building up from the one-story concrete base of the building, often referred to as the podium. They do this by first placing pre-fabricated, 10 by 20-foot panels along the exterior walls, then constructing the internal walls using metal stud framing.
OCP currently has about 10 workers on the project — they started their portion in late July and hope to top out the building by early December, depending on the weather. Other contractors will come in after them to finish up the exterior and build out the interior.
During our tour an 80-foot-long piece of rebar was being lowered into the ground on the southern site. A construction manager for Lifestyles Communities explained that it will help form one of four caissons meant to anchor and support the building, and that the northern featured a similar system.
Check back soon for more updates on this and other RiverSouth neighborhood developments.
For more information, visit lifestylecommunities.com/communities/lc-riversouth-high-st/.
All photos by Brent Warren.
