Jeff Baur spent years shepherding complicated mixed-use developments in central city neighborhoods through what could be very lengthy approval processes. First with Borror Properties, then later with Connect Realty, Baur was involved in getting projects like The Castle and 303 South Front Street off the ground.
Now, Baur has started a new company that will focus on building housing in farther-flung locations. His partners in the endeavor – called JBM Development – are former Columbus Blue Jacket Brandon Dubinsky, and Dubinsky’s childhood friend from Alaska, Moises Gutierrez, who brings experience in the construction industry to the partnership.
The first project for the trio is a 288-unit apartment complex at the southeast corner of Lockbourne and Rathmell Roads in Obetz. Work is scheduled to start this summer on the development, which will feature a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units.
Future development sites will likely be even farther outside I-270, stretching into Pickaway, Licking and Madison counties.
“We want to be in markets where they want us,” said Baur. “Obetz has been incredible to work with; we’re in city council meetings and the council members are telling us, ‘oh my gosh we’re so excited that you’re going to bring housing to this area.'”
It’s been a different type of experience for Baur, who jokingly compared it to “my days at the Victorian Village Commission, where people were just beating us up.”
The new Obetz apartments will be located about five miles from Rickenbacker International Airport.
“It fits into our overall philosophy of what we want to do,” he explained. “There’s literally less than 200 to 300 apartments in the whole [Rickenbacker] submarket…all the employment and all the warehouses, there’s nowhere for those folks to live, they’re driving to Grove City, they’re driving to Canal Winchester, to New Albany, to Reynoldsburg.”
The Obetz project is also is adjacent to a large piece of land that the city of Obetz controls and is looking to develop into a mixed-use town center. Pulte Homes is also moving forward with plans to build 250 single family homes nearby, and other home builders have expressed interest in the project.
From Hockey to Housing
Dubinsky’s initial introduction to the real estate industry came early in his playing days, when he invested in his friend Gutierrez’s construction firm. Later in his career, advisors would bring other investment opportunities to him, and he enjoyed the process of learning about the different projects.
“I was always interested in real estate; there’s something about investing in something you can kind of touch and feel and see,” he said. “I read a lot of books – I had a lot of downtime when I was playing – and I really enjoyed it.
“At end of my career, I had a wrist injury that finished my career, but I was still under contract with the Jackets…so I had a couple years, honestly, to figure out what I wanted to do.”
He met Baur during a two-year stint working for Brad DeHays and his team at Connect Realty, during which Dubinsky participated in all aspects of the development process.
“It keeps that competitive spirit, the ups and downs of real estate, from start to finish,” he said, explaining how the field appealed to him as a former professional athlete. “It’s constantly a strategic battle, and at the same time, you build a team and you build some camaraderie with the guys you’re working with, so you can kind of have fun with it.”
As he learned about the development business and worked to establish his second career, Dubinsky and his family were also busy putting down roots in the area (they now live in Dublin, but Dubinsky and his wife first settled in the Arena District after the 2012 trade with the New York Rangers that brought them here).
“When I first got traded here I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be coming to Columbus,” Dubinsky admitted. “We had only played here three or four times, and being from Alaska and only playing in Portland and then in New York, I didn’t know anything about Columbus.”
But that changed relatively quickly, as Dubinsky and his wife got to know the area and began to make more connections with people – both within the hockey world and outside of it.
“Columbus just offered so much and we’ve built so many relationships here, and obviously the amount of growth and excitement in the last ten years has just been amazing to see,” he said. “We love it, and we want to continue to enjoy that…we’re here for the long haul now.”
