Work is scheduled to begin this summer on the demolition of eight buildings on the east side of High Street between 16th and 17th avenues. A 448-bed apartment building with underground parking and 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail will soon start rising on the site, with a goal of being open by the start of fall semester, 2018.
The new building, which is being developed by Edwards Communities, will be the first major piece to be completed of the larger 15th and High redevelopment. As it is being built, significant infrastructure and streetscape improvements will also be undertaken – a new sewer line will be installed under High Street that will help to prevent the flooding during storms that has plagued the area for decades, 16th Avenue will be reconnected to High Street, and 16th, 17th, and Pearl will each be redesigned and upgraded with a focus on pedestrian-friendly amenities.
Design work is also currently underway for similar improvements south of 16th, with OSU-affiliated Campus Partners working alongside the City of Columbus to finalize those plans. The most significant of those improvements will be a new public plaza at the corner of 15th and High, the cornerstone of Campus Partners’ plan.
That plaza — which will be made possible by the re-alignment of 15th Avenue so that it meets High Street at a right angle – represents the culmination of years of effort from the city, OSU, Campus Partners and the surrounding neighborhood to create a quality public space at the primary entrance to the campus.
And while the new Edwards development is primarily residential, zoning text developed by Campus Partners (and approved last year by neighborhood groups and the city) ensures that the remaining parcels to be developed in the overall 15th and High footprint will not be dominated by student housing — a hotel is planned to look out over the new plaza, retail will likely line both sides of Pearl Alley, and up to 300,000 square feet of office space could fill in spaces stretching south to 14th Avenue.
Another planning project that will have a large impact on the immediate area is OSU’s Arts District Master Plan, which calls for reconfiguring Mershon Auditorium and the Wexner Center. A substantial addition would provide a High Street presence for programming such as the Wexner Center Store and the Film/Video Theater. That plan was approved by the OSU Board of Trustees in April, although there is currently no funding lined up to implement its recommendations.
Additional details on the new plans are expected to be made available later today.
Update (4:00PM 6/17) — For additional details on the update, CLICK HERE.
CLICK HERE to read our indepth interview about the 15th and High plan
CLICK HERE for photos of all buildings that could be impacted by the 15th and High plan