On Thursday, officials with the City of Columbus unveiled a plan that would further provide investment dollars to the Linden neighborhood, an area specifically targeted for redevelopment by Mayor Andrew Ginther during his first year in office. The plan allows for a 10-year 100 percent tax abatement for the owners of Easton Town Center to develop new residential properties while a $4.25 million investment in Linden is made in its place.
“I have charged our Department of Development with finding ways to revitalize our vulnerable neighborhoods,” stated Ginther in a release on Thursday. “This agreement allows for the continued development of Easton, one of the city’s largest job centers, while providing necessary funds for the revitalization of Linden.”
A master plan for how the investment will be made in Linden is still being developed, but the Easton side of the proposal is said to create 500 new permanent non-retail jobs.
“We are meeting two objectives: strengthening the Easton office complex by incorporating more residential, and bringing new investors into one of the neighborhoods we are focusing on,” stated Steve Schoeny, Development Director with the City of Columbus. “As living preferences evolve, not having sufficient housing options at Easton is a weakness when we work to attract and retain businesses. For Linden, this is a step in our fund raising to implement a strategic plan that we will kick off next month.”
The Linden neighborhood is also slated to serve as the pilot area for the “Smart Columbus” transportation program, which will begin to take shape later this year.
“We should have most things in the ground by late 2017 and 2018,” said Aparna Dial, Smart Columbus Program Manager, during an interview with Columbus Underground last fall. “The whole idea is to finish deployment by mid-2019, and then maintain and test for 2020.”