New plans to renovate a six-story building located at the Downtown intersection of Fourth Street and Long Street have emerged this week, courtesy of local developer Connect Realty. Former plans to demolish and replace the building have been scrapped, and new plans call for a renovation into approximately 40 apartment units with ground-floor retail, and a new parking structure planned to replace the parking lot to the north of the building.
“We’ve been working on a contract with the City of Columbus for months and got it finalized last week,” stated Brad DeHays, Founder of Connect Realty, adding that some details were still rough at this point in time and more information would be emerging soon.
The project includes a smaller two-story building at 182 E. Long St., but DeHays said that there are currently no plans for that part of the project. The more immediate focus is on providing more parking.
“There is a private need for parking, and the city has a need for parking there too,” explained DeHays. “We plan to open a ‘helix’ parking garage along Fourth Street, sometime prior to 2020.”
Currently, the six-story building has a metal facade on the exterior, which DeHays said will soon some down so that they can survey the condition of the original concrete and brick structure to determine a best course of action for restoration. His company is currently completing the renovation of an older parking garage structure just a block away.
For more information, visit www.connect-ohio.com.