ADVERTISEMENT

    Project Update: Poindexter Village Site

    Even though the Poindexter Village redevelopment has been in the news recently, the scale of the development and the progress made so far might still come as a surprise to anyone who doesn’t regularly pass by the 16-acre site on the Near East Side.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Since the project was awarded a $30 million federal grant through the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative in 2014, phase one of the development — the Poindexter Place senior apartments — has been completed, while phase two — 87 multifamily units — has been rapidly rising out of the ground. The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) has also been working diligently to secure the remaining funding necessary to complete the multiphase project.

    A milestone on that front was reached when CMHA was awarded affordable housing tax credits in June, meaning that funding is now officially in place for all phases of the development — a total of 449 units of mixed-income housing.

    That puts the project ahead of any of the other Choice Neighborhood awardees, said Robert Bitzenhofer, Assistant Vice President for Planning and Development at CMHA.

    “We’re on track to have our Choice Neighborhood housing complete before any other grantee in the country, and we’re pretty proud of that,” said Bitzenhofer. “We committed to do it, and went out and got funding wrapped up quicker than any other project.”

    poindexter-2

    Future phases will include more small multifamily buildings — townhomes and three-story corner apartment buildings — stretching north toward Mt Vernon Avenue and east to Hughes Street, across from OSU Hospital East. A plan for the former Carl Brown IGA site on Mt Vernon has not been finalized.

    Bitzenhofer said that CMHA is committed to other projects in the neighborhood, including comprehensive updates to the nearby Sawyer Manor and Trevitt Heights public housing developments.

    The organization also plans to redevelop the former Columbus Early Learning Center, located at 162 North Ohio Avenue on the southern edge of the Poindexter site. Some type of residential use is likely for the 100-year-old building, which was the first African-American nursery school in Columbus.

    “We’re investing in the neighborhood,” said Bitzenhofer. “There’s really a lot going on… we’re excited about the possibilities of what’s to come in the next few years.”

    Photos by Walker Evans.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    The Confluence Cast: COTA Bus Transfer

    The city’s transit system is going through a transformation. At least that’s the intention. On the occasion of an impending transfer of power and a sales tax issue on the ballot this fall to bulk up services, Columbus Underground reporter Brent Warren sat down with both the outgoing and incoming CEOs of the Central Ohio Transit Authority (or COTA) to discuss the shift in leadership, the transportation projects set to be on the ballot this fall, and what’s next for the former Greyhound station in Downtown.

    11th Annual Urban Living Tour Returns on Sunday, May 5th

    Looking for a new place to live? Want to see what living in the city could be like? The Urban Living Tour is a self-guided open house of apartments, condos, and homes in the Columbus area. You'll see an assortment of new builds, remodels, apartment communities, parks, and all the amenities that go with city living!

    CCAD Wants to Uncover Historic Building, Fill in Parking Lot

    The Columbus College of Art & Design has submitted...

    Intel Gets More Federal Funding for Ohio Production Plants

    Nearly $20 billion in federal grants and loans is on its way to Intel to support work on semiconductor fabs in Ohio and around the country. The funding is part of the CHIPS Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. Ohio’s New Albany-area Intel facility currently under construction stands to benefit substantially.
    Brent Warren
    Brent Warrenhttps://columbusunderground.com/author/brent-warren
    Brent Warren is a staff reporter for Columbus Underground covering urban development, transportation, city planning, neighborhoods, and other related topics. He grew up in Grandview Heights, lives in the University District and studied City and Regional Planning at OSU.
    ADVERTISEMENT