Could this new Bibb City development transform Second Avenue? Take an inside look.

Along the Second Avenue corridor, local investors are spearheading a revitalization in Bibb City that they say has the potential to be as transformative as the growth of downtown Columbus over the past decade.

W.C. Bradley Real Estate is getting ready to lease and manage coworking and loft space in two renovated historic buildings at 3707 Second Avenue, owned by Justin and Katie Krieg.

The Bibb City Offices and Lofts are the latest in a string of developments to bring life back to the former textile mill neighborhood.

Across Second Avenue is MercyMed, a faith-based charitable clinic that serves the uninsured and underserved in the Columbus area. The clinic opened its space there in December 2016.

Just north of MercyMed is another pair of remodeled buildings Krieg owns. They’re leased by Fiddleheads and the Bare Roots Cafe. The cafe is an offshoot of the restaurant Bare Roots on 12th Street downtown. The business is evolving into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that, with the help of partner organizations, will grow, cook and distribute healthy meals to the food insecure in the Mill District.

The Mill District is made up of four historic neighborhoods, including Bibb City, City Village, North Highland and Anderson Village.

Mill District proponents are championing the transition of each neighborhood into a mixed-use community: a place where people of any income or demographic can live, work and play harmoniously.

The lofts and offices on Second Avenue will be a big part of that transition, according to Laura Moseley, property manager with W.C. Bradley Real Estate.

“We do have other apartments around us but this is a brand new use for this street and it’s going to be neat,” she said, standing inside one of the six new lofts. “I’m actually shocked, the phone is ringing and people are excited.”

A peek inside the lofts and office space

Moseley and Leah Braxton, an associate broker with W.C. Bradley Real Estate, gave the Ledger-Enquirer a look inside the new buildings, which will start leasing space August 1.

One is a single story 1960s building that formerly housed The Game Outlet Store.

On the inside, a conference room, reception area and office face Second Avenue, with large windows that brighten the space and light fixtures that Justin Krieg built with materials reclaimed from other historic buildings.

Eleven private offices are tucked away farther back. The coworking spaces cost between $400 and $700 a month to rent, with a one-year lease requirement.

Braxton said the space is intended to be flexible: a company could lease multiple offices or a single person could lease just one. With 24/7 access, the space is ideal for entrepreneurs who need a quiet place to work at odd hours of the day.

Renters will supply their own office equipment and supplies, and may share a break room. A 2,800 square foot warehouse is for rent behind the buildings.

In the second building, six lofts occupy space that once was Skinner’s Furniture Store. The sign has been restored to the front of the two-story 1930s era structure.

Krieg was able to salvage the original wood floors in many of the lofts, and the space overlooking Second Avenue has the original tin ceilings and original windows.

W.C. Bradley sold Krieg the building, unsure whether the windows could be salvaged.

“There were big pieces of wood over these (front) windows, we had no idea what condition they were,” Braxton said. “There was an outside facade that had been put over it, big wood on the inside and (the owner) couldn’t get it off until after he bought it”

Features of the lofts include secured entry, on-site parking, a pet-friendly complex and water, all included in the rent.

Available to rent are three two-bedroom units and three one-bedroom units, ranging in price from $800 a month to $1,500 a month, Moseley said.

Bringing growth to a ‘critical corridor’

Braxton and Moseley said they hope those who lease the new mixed-use space will love living in the Bibb, and be storytellers to the community about how great the neighborhood is.

“Our goal for this whole Mill District is to empower the people that live here…. It starts from Manchester Expressway over to Veterans Parkway, all the way down to 15th Street right before you go over the bridge to TSYS, and to the river; that is the Mill District,” Braxton said. “We’re doing a lot of things to try to bring this community up.”

Braxton said Second Avenue is a “critical corridor” between Uptown and north Columbus, and is the road a lot of people use coming into the city from Atlanta.

It’s also a corridor the city hasn’t paid much attention to in the past 20 years, she said.

She equated the excitement over the Bibb City Lofts and Offices to what happened when W.C. Bradley started leasing the Eagle and Phenix apartments and condos downtown.

“It was so exciting. And what happened with all of downtown when we put that in place... that’s when it just started going,” she said. “We’re very hopeful we’ll see that here in the Mill District.”

Moseley agreed.

“It was a win-win down there, our apartment side (at Eagle and Phenix) has been full for five years,” she said. “We want that growth to come upstream a little bit. I’m thrilled for the owner, hopefully he’ll benefit from this and plus he’s doing something great for the community.”

Justin Krieg was not available for further comment.

This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 9:34 AM.