Fifth Avenue has long functioned as a connector street, shuttling drivers back and forth between I-71 and High Street, and Grandview beyond that to the west. But recent transformative development combined with many new projects in the pipeline mean that this dividing line between the Italian Village and Weinland Park neighborhoods will become more of a destination in the next several years.
Our “Fast Forward” series takes a closure look at areas in Columbus that are experiencing rapid transformation, to give our readers an idea of the collective growth that will be taking place over the next several years as individual development projects reach completion.
In this installment, we’re taking a look at the one-and-a-half mile stretch of Fifth Avenue located between the Olentangy River to the west and the CSX railroad tracks to the east.
Over 3,100 New Residents Will Call This Area Home
Some new residents have already moved into new buildings like The Aubrey and The Beeker, while many more are still on their way. All in all, over 3,100 new residents will be added to these neighborhoods through these 11 development projects visualized in the map above. That means more neighbors, more customers for retail businesses and services in the University District and Short North neighborhoods.
The largest contributors to the new residential population include the 400 apartment units and 195-unit Senior Living building added at Founders Park, the 315 units coming soon to the Fourth & Fifth Development, another 315 units at The Lusso development and 275 at the recently announced Godman site redevelopment. Another 180-units are under construction at The Crossline, a six-story building at 266-300 East Fifth Avenue. And the southern end of the Grant Park development that fronts Fifth Avenue will add another 108 apartment units to that linear development running north to 11th Avenue.
Of course, these numbers don’t include the multitude of single-family housing redevelopments and new builds taking place within both the Italian Village and Weinland Park neighborhoods.
Over 40,000 Square Feet of Retail & Restaurant
A significant portion of the ground floor square footage in many of these 11 developments includes some form of retail and/or restaurant space available for rent.
The Beeker Building has already been completed and its 4,000 square feet includes Zaftig Brewing Co. and DiCarlos Pizza. Another 7,000 square feet of retail space is slated for the Founders Park development and the Fourth & Fifth site will include a whopping 15,000 square feet of retail space. The Makley Place mixed-use apartment development includes 8,000 square feet of retail space fronting Fifth Avenue.
Hotels, Parking Garages, Parks & More
Each of the development sites along Fifth Avenue includes some individual amenities beyond just housing and retail.
The newly announced development on the former Godman Guild site includes a 265-space parking garage. The Founders Park development features a five-story Hyatt House hotel, a 472-space parking garage, and a newly landscaped six-acre park along the Olentangy riverfront trail. The smaller development on the old Beer Barn site will have a 58-space parking garage.