A new plan to redevelop the northeast corner of High Street and Lane Avenue will be presented to the University Impact District Review Board next week.
Landmark Properties, a Georgia-based developer that specializes in student housing, is proposing a six-story building on the site that would hold 143 apartments over first floor retail and a 344-space parking garage.
The development would require the demolition of five existing buildings – a one-story CVS pharmacy, two matching brick apartment buildings that face each other across a central courtyard, and two residential buildings on Norwich Avenue.
The pharmacy on the corner was built in 2001, but the other buildings all date to the early 1900s. A two-story building at the corner of Norwich and High is not included within the footprint of the proposed development.
This is not the first time that an out-of-town developer has eyed this particular stretch of High Street. A 2018 proposal from Chicago-based CA Ventures called for a six-story, 154-unit development that would have also required the demolition of five buildings, although that proposal did not include the CVS parcel.
The city’s Planning Division, in a staff report, offers support for the redevelopment of the CVS but not for replacing the older buildings, citing language in the University District Plan that calls for significant historic buildings to be rehabilitated and incorporated into new development when possible.
The older buildings that would need to be demolished, according to the report, “are excellent examples of early-twentieth century mixed-use design and one of the few historic blocks that remain intact on High Street.”
The proposal is scheduled for a conceptual review, meaning no vote will be taken at the October 28 meeting.
For more information on the University Impact District Review Board, see www.columbus.gov.