An Eye Toward the Future

A steering committee has been formed to lead the planning process for an area in New Albany slated for growth. The 62 Interchange Focus Area Plan will target a 573-acre piece of land around the intersection of U.S. 62 and State Route 161 and will solicit input from residents, business owners and community leaders. The area is a mix of residential, business and undeveloped land directly north of State Route 161. The planning effort began in February and is set to finish by the end of the year. The city has hired MKSK to oversee the planning process.?

Middle-market construction projects saw a decline for both 2022 and 2023. Though mega projects such as Intel, data centers and large healthcare projects are keeping firms active, more than half of the region’s top commercial construction companies reported a decline in projects in the middle market range. Leaders from some of those firms attribute the decline to higher costs, including material, labor and interest rates. Despite the decline, construction firms are still optimistic about the Central Ohio market. “Even though things are a little bit slow right now, it’s still a pretty thriving market in Central Ohio,” said Josh Corna of Continental Building Co.

Another tenant has announced its departure from the KeyBank Building in downtown Columbus. Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing announced it signed a lease at the Grange Insurance Building at 671 S. High Street in the Brewery District. The agency will occupy about 15,000 square feet and will move its employees in early 2025. The team of Matt Gregory, Andy Dutcher and Philip Bird of NAI Ohio Equities negotiated the lease on behalf of Grange. The KeyBank building was recently placed under receivership after the lender sought repayment from the building’s ownership. KeyBank and the Ohio Auditor’s Office recently announced that they will move as well.

The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) trustees unanimously approved ballot language which will place a sales tax increase on the November ballot. The 0.75% increase includes 0.5% dedicated to supporting the LinkUS transit initiative and 0.25% that replaces a temporary sales tax set to expire in 2026. If approved, the measure would generate about $6 billion in new revenue to support LinkUS. The initiative will create dedicated bus lanes, traffic signal prioritization and control, increased bus capacity and off-board fare collection to speed up boarding, as well as funding for sidewalks, greenways and bike paths. The initiative will appear on ballots in Franklin, Delaware, Fairfield, Union and Licking counties.

Nationwide Children’s has started constructing a new 14-floor acute care tower. The $1.27 billion project is part of the hospital’s larger $3.3 billion strategic plan announced three years ago. The new tower will serve the hospital’s sickest patients and add as many as 432 beds to the 551 on campus. At least three floors will be unfinished “shell space” when it opens. The 850,000-square-foot tower will allow the hospital to expand its services, including intensive care for newborns and children and treatment for cancer and blood diseases, as well as add operating rooms and expand the emergency department. The project makes way for growing patient volumes from Central Ohio and across the state, nation and world, said Nationwide Children’s Hospital CEO, Tim Robinson.