Yesterday afternoon, OSU president Gordon Gee and Mayor Michael Coleman jointly announced a new partnership in relation to the previously announced 17-story OSU Medical Center expansion. The City of Columbus will provide OSU with an income-tax rebate that OSU would then be required to reinvest in neighborhood revitalization efforts surrounding OSU’s University Hospital East located on the Near East Side. Gee announced that OSU is dedicated to spending $10 million over the next ten years to improve housing stock and the quality of life surrounding the East Hospital.
“As University Hospital East improves, so will the neighborhood it calls home,” Mayor Coleman said in a press release. “I appreciate all the great people at Ohio State and the OSU Medical Center for working with us on this historic partnership for jobs and neighborhood revitalization.”
The 17-story $1 billion hospital expansion at OSU’s main campus will bring roughly 6,000 new jobs to Central Ohio, and the City of Columbus is projecting to see $77 million in income tax revenue over the next 15 years from the project.
“This initiative builds on many longstanding collaborations among the university, the City of Columbus and community leaders,” said President Gee in a press release. “Recognizing that our fates are thoroughly tied, we are marshalling our collective resources and pressing forward as partners in common purpose and common calling to advance Columbus’ future.”