A parking lot on the northern edge of the Arena District is now slated to be redeveloped with a four-story office building, a 150-unit apartment building and a 600-space parking garage.
Although Nationwide Really Investors (NRI) declared the Arena District “complete” when the Parks Edge condominium buildings were first proposed in 2015, the developer has continued to pursue opportunities to expand the neighborhood beyond the original 75 acres of land that it controlled when Nationwide Area opened in 2000.
The latest addition will be built on the east side of Neil Avenue, between Spruce and Vine streets.
Carli Lanfersiek, Marketing Director for NRI, said that the office building will be the first of the three structures to be built and will contain a total of 130,000 square feet of space. Chipotle has signed on as the anchor tenant, likely filling the top three floors of the building.
An incentive package for the project got its first reading before Columbus City Council on Monday night. Under the deal, Chipotle would commit to expanding its corporate employment Downtown – adding 274 new full-time positions – in exchange for a 50 percent reduction in city income tax for the new employees. Also under consideration by council is a $20 million public infrastructure improvement package for the project.
Lanfersiek said the apartment building and parking garage would be adjacent to the proposed office building, although the developer is not yet sharing site plans or preliminary designs for any of the buildings, so the exact alignment is not known.
Located due west of the North Market – where recently-updated plans call for a major mixed-use development – the project represents the latest in a string of new and proposed developments that could bring over 1,000 new hotel rooms and over 300,000 square feet of office space to the area.
Ownership of the site was recently transferred from HP Land Development Ltd – a company controlled by Hamilton Parker owner Adam Lewin, along with other family members – to new entity called NWD HP LLC. Lanfersiek said that the Lewin family will be partners in the new development, along with Capitol Square Ltd, the Dispatch Printing Company-owned entity that has worked with NRI on many of its developments.
The project will need to be presented to the Downtown Commission for approval before moving forward, expect more details at that time.