Architecture and design firm DesignGroup has announced the groundbreaking of a state-of-the-art development to house Columbus State Community College’s School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts.
The $33 million project is set to be complete in 2019 and will be named after Columbus native and restaurant developer Cameron Mitchell, who has given $2.5 million in support of the project.
Located at 250 Cleveland Ave., the Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts building will double the school’s enrollment capacity to more than 1,500 students and feature seven new kitchens, a full service teaching restaurant, bar, bakery and café, and a 100-seat culinary theater. Students will also get to make use of a beverage and mixology lab, food production gardens, and outdoor classrooms.
“Through our mission-driven approach to design, we worked closely with the college to develop a signature facility for a nationally recognized culinary program that is uniquely suited to both its location on Columbus State’s campus and the college’s mission, vision and core values,” said DesignGroup’s principal and lead designer Michael Bongiorno.
The development is through a public-private partnership that includes funding from the state of Ohio ($10 million), Columbus State ($13 million), and the remaining from private philanthropy as a part of Columbus State’s ongoing $10 fundraising campaign. The city of Columbus will also provide infrastructure support along Cleveland Ave.
“This project will be catalytic in many ways,” said David Harrison, president of Columbus State. “It allows us to lift our nationally recognized Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts programs from the basement of Eibling Hall to a state-of-the-art facility, with plans to double enrollment, create deeper engagement with employers and launch a full community education program.”
The building will align with the opening of a new campus green named Mt. Vernon Park as a welcome to the Columbus State campus.
For more information about Columbus State, visit www.cscc.edu.