The former Blue Cross Blue Shield site gets its first new tenant, more to come
Construction continues at the site of a vacant Columbus office space, and the first phase of the redevelopment is tentatively planned to open within the next few months.
The former Blue Cross Blue Shield center at 2357 Warm Springs Rd., will become a climate-controlled self-storage facility with office space, plus canopies in the rear of the property for vehicles and boats. It’s a 147,000-square-foot, four-story, 62-year-old building on 11 acres.
The first phase of the project, according to developer Brent Buck, is expected to open in June. The proposal has been approved by Columbus Council, Buck told the Ledger-Enquirer.
“The first phase will be about 42,000 square feet of self-storage, and it will be about 20,000 square feet of office space,” Buck said. “The second phase will open in September, and then Phase 3 will be in 2022 — when we will bring on additional office space and storage. It’s going to be a combination of things, but that’s the timeline right now.”
The second phase will consist of another 25,000 square feet of self-storage and likely another 20,000 square feet of office space.
The boat and RV storage will consist of around 50 outdoor covered spaces.
Midtown Office & Storage Solutions is a limited liability company in Columbus, formed Sept. 29, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website. Buck is the registered agent.
Buck specializes in redeveloping vacant properties. His previous projects include the RiverMill Event Centre and Heritage Tower. His plan for the former Blue Cross building calls for office space in the front of the first floor and on the entire fourth floor, the Ledger-Enquirer previously reported.
“It’s about 165,000 square feet of building, so you have to bite off small segments of that at one time,” Buck said.
Some offices will be furnished, Buck said, and on-site amenities will include high-speed internet and a fitness center. Short-term office space also will be made available, for those in town for “a month or six weeks,” Buck said.
The fourth floor of the building already has been leased by one tenant, Buck said, though he wouldn’t disclose the name. The floor is “being redone for them,” he said.
Fencing on the property was completed Thursday, Buck said, and window installation is ongoing. When completed, Buck said, the building will have larger windows to filter in more natural lighting.
Security gates also will be installed, so individuals “won’t be able to just walk in,” according to Buck.
Buck would not disclose the pricing for storage, boat and RV areas, but he said the property will “be competitive in the marketplace.”
The history of the property
The building has been vacant since Blue Cross moved its Columbus operation to Muscogee Technology Park five years ago. The health insurance company opened the Warm Springs Road facility in 1958.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced in 2018 a $62.4 million plan to build a primary care and mental health clinic on the midtown property. That plan changed two years later as the VA decided to construct the 70,000-square-foot facility in north Columbus, at the intersection of Mobley Road and River Road.
In the past eight years, the amount of annual taxes the former Blue Cross property generated ranged from a low of $56,993.13 in 2020 to a high of $156,569.55 in 2012, according to Muscogee County records.
The parking lot across the street at 2332 Warm Springs Road has generated a low of $3,984.37 in 2016 and a high of $4,134.10 in 2017 during the same period.
“It’s very close to Columbus State, so I think it’ll lend itself very well to students who need to store things during summer months and things of that type,” Buck said.
