The former International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) site at 23 W. Second Ave. appears to be on the market again. The 1.5-acre piece of land was purchased by Kaufman Development in 2016 and has since been the subject of dozens of meetings of the Victorian Village Commission.
A listing website is touting the site as “an incredibly rare development opportunity in the nationally recognized Short North Arts District of Columbus.”
The national marketing effort follows the developer’s announcement last July that its plans for the site were on hold. The latest iteration of the project – which called for a mix of office, retail and residential uses – had failed to gain the support of the commission.
“We are simply considering all options,” said CEO Brett Kaufman. “We are currently considering options to sell, but at the same time considering multiple paths for development.”
The new marking materials state that the site “has already been conceptually approved for a 115-foot, 205,000 SF development with an additional 97,000 SF of structured parking,” a reference to the plan that was approved by the commission in the spring of 2017.
The Kaufman team later returned to the commission with a series of design changes, but those were viewed less favorably and never gained approval.
The version that was approved called for the tallest part of the development to be nine stories.
