In 2017, we featured East Franklinton and the Scioto Peninsula in our “Fast Forward” series, and a lot has changed since then. The vision for the Scioto Peninsula master plan has been completely redesigned and ground has broken, while newer projects have been announced.
In this update to our “Fast Forward” series, we take a look at what else the near future holds for these urban neighborhoods.
Gravity 2.0
Construction broke ground earlier this year on the massive Gravity 2.0 project, located directly across Broad Street from the now-completed Gravity development. The second phase includes over 350 residential units, thousands of square feet of new retail and office space located inside a 12-story tower, two new five-story buildings and a new parking garage with nearly 900 spaces. The development is centered around a pedestrian plaza that will contain some greenspace and art installations as well.
River & Rich – Phase 2
The now-completed first phase of River & Rich contains 230 apartment units in addition to new retail along Rich Street, and the next phase announced in 2019 would see an additional 304 apartment units in the form of a taller 12-story building. This addition will also include 48,000 square feet of office space and a nearly 400-space parking garage.
Meanwhile, River & Rich developer CASTO has presented plans to renovate some existing buildings on the east side of the site, connecting the new construction with the older properties.
The Peninsula
Since 2017, Indianapolis-based Buckingham Companies was dropped as The Scioto Peninsula master site developer, and the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC) assumed the role of master planner. A new plan was unveiled in late 2019 for the first six-acre phase of development, which is now under construction.
Phase one includes an eight-story hotel building, an 11-story residential building and an eight-story office building. Collectively, this phase will bring to the area 240,000 square feet of office space, 550 residential units, 180 hotel rooms 45,000 square feet of retail space and up to 1,400 parking garage spaces.
567-575 W. Broad St.
A new 13-story proposal was announced this week for the southwest intersection of Gift Street and Broad Street that would see the replacement of some single-story buildings with 80 new residential units atop 2,700 square feet of ground-floor retail.
New Affordable Housing
Earlier in 2020, three affordable housing developments were announced as moving forward in Franklinton, one of which is located in the East Franklinton area east State Route 315. That development, known as McDowell Place at 79-83 McDowell St., would bring 50 units of low-income housing to the area in the form of a new four-story building.
More Yet to Come
In our 2017 Fast Forward article about East Franklinton and The Scioto Peninsula, we wrote about the yet-to-be unveiled plans that Nationwide Realty Investors may have for some of the land they’ve acquired, including and surrounding the old Byers Chevrolet property on West Broad Street. To date, there’s been no concrete plans unveiled as NRI has continued building out the last of the Arena District and moving toward completion of Grandview Yard. With those two large projects nearly complete, we may soon be hearing more about what the future holds for NRI in Franklinton.
CLICK HERE to read more installments in our “Fast Forward” series.