It’s no secret that the rental market is hot right now in Columbus with new apartments under construction in virtually every neighborhood. The Brewery District is no exception, as this area will be gaining some significant infill with the ongoing build out of the second half of Liberty Place Apartments.
Originally, this apartment community was planned to be completed as a whole, but was divided into two phases after the Ohio Department of Transportation announced plans for renovating the nearby interstates. The highway project was thought to have potentially required the use of some of the developer’s land, but the development has been cleared to move forward.
“We originally purchased the property in 2001 and held off with the second phase, thinking that ODOT would come to a decision quickly,” explained Mark Barron, Civil Engineer at Winther Communities, the Houston-based parent company of Liberty Place Apartments. “We finally started ground work two months ago, laying the foundation system for the new parking garage.”
The first phase of Liberty Place Apartments contains 135 units, and phase two will add 207 more to the mix, bringing the community’s total up to 342. A centralized parking garage will provide residents with dedicated parking spaces while four story buildings housing the apartment units will face outward.
The Brewery District has seen a bit of a nightlife rebirth over the past year, with the opening of Shadowbox Live, World of Beer and Double Happiness, though Barron says that the new nightlife amenities weren’t a deciding factor for moving forward with phase two.
“We just finished up a residential project in Philadelphia, so the timing to come back to Columbus to finish this project was more an internal decision within our company,” he explained. “But I was here when phase one broke ground in 2005 and there wasn’t a lot going on, so it’s great to see the nightlife return.”
Liberty Place is marketed as luxury apartments, featuring amenities that include a fitness center, a pool, a business center, and luxury home finishes for individual units. Phase one units are currently advertised between $995 and $1995 for one, two or three bedroom units, but pricing has not been set for phase two units.
“I can’t speak to the pricing, but the units of phase two should be pretty similar to phase one, with the addition of some efficiency and studio units,” said Barron.
The second phase of Liberty Place Apartments is expected to have its first tenants moving in by March of 2013.
More information can be found online at www.thelibertyplaceapartments.com.