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    New Proposal from NRI Tops Busy Downtown Commission Agenda

    At its February 28 meeting, the Downtown Commission is scheduled to weigh in on four different development proposals containing a total of 442 residential units.

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    Three of the projects have either been previously announced or heard by the board before, but one is new – a plan from Nationwide Realty Investors (NRI) to build a 124-unit, five-story apartment complex in the Arena District.

    The proposed building would be located at the northwest corner of Vine Street and Kilbourne Street, the last remaining empty land on that block after NRI built a four-story office building (now home to Chipotle’s headquarters), and a 600-space parking garage there.

    The office building and garage were approved in 2019 and built in 2020 and 2021.

    Plans submitted for the new apartment building show a brick ‘E’-shaped building with greenspace and a pool in front, screened from Vine Street by a decorative brick wall and wrought iron fence.

    Also on the agenda for this month’s commission meeting:

    • A $15 million plan to overhaul the Scioto Mile Fountain (click here for more details and renderings).
    • A proposal to redevelop the United Way of Central Ohio’s headquarters at 360 S. Third St. First announced in September, the plan will now get its first review by the board. The submitted plan calls for an 11-story building with 130 apartments that will be rented at a sliding scale of affordability. The first two floors would also contain office and community space, and a 210-space parking garage would be attached to east side of building. Included in the submitted materials is a document that explains another possibility – that the CME Federal Credit Union building next door could eventually be redeveloped as well, bringing the overall unit total to 200 and the amount of “community-commercial” space to 40,000 square feet.
    • A revised plan for affordable housing at 340 E. Fulton St. The commission had approved a four-story development on the site in early 2022, but the new plan adds a story and removes the planned commercial space on the first floor. Overall the proposal now calls for a five-story building with 68 apartments and 58 parking spaces.
    • A proposal to build a five-story, 120-unit building at 266 E. Main St. The development, which was first proposed in late 2021, would be built on land that is mostly occupied by the parking lot of the 11-story Jaycee Arms building, which has held affordable senior housing since the early 1970s and would remain intact (continuing to serve that population) under the plan.

    All four development proposals being heard by the board this month were submitted for conceptual review, meaning they’ll be discussed but not voted on.

    For more information on the Downtown Commission, see columbus.gov.

    A view of the Kilbourne Street side of the NRI proposal – rendering by the Columbus Architectural Studio.

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    Brent Warren
    Brent Warrenhttps://columbusunderground.com/author/brent-warren
    Brent Warren is a staff reporter for Columbus Underground covering urban development, transportation, city planning, neighborhoods, and other related topics. He grew up in Grandview Heights, lives in the University District and studied City and Regional Planning at OSU.
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