An Aldi grocery store could be headed to the Fifth by Northwest neighborhood.
The new store would be located at the southwest corner of West Fifth Avenue and Edgehill Road, the current site of several buildings owned by Goodwill Columbus that contain the organization’s headquarters, an art gallery and other operations.
Plans call for the 20,000-square-foot Aldi to be built close to the street, with a parking lot behind it. Directly to the south of the parking lot, a five-story, 250-unit apartment building is planned. Parking for the apartments would be provided in an attached, 250-space parking garage.
The proposed development, from Elford Development, got a boost last night from the Columbus Development Commission, which voted to approve a rezoning for the residential portion of the site.
Elford and Goodwill Columbus had previously announced plans to develop the 5.4-acre site together – it was to hold a new Goodwill store and office space, in addition to apartments.
Those plans changed, though, according to consultant David Perry, who was representing Elford at the commission meeting.
“Different business decisions were made by Goodwill and they are not planning on building a new store or office there at this time, so the project changed,” he said, adding that the Fifth by Northwest Area Commission voted in support of the project earlier this week.
In order for the project to move forward, City Council will need to sign off on the rezoning for the apartments, in addition to a separate Council Variance that has been filed for the Aldi store.
For more information on the Development Commission, see www.columbus.gov.