When is that business opening? What we know about 4 big developments around Columbus
Columbus’ transformation is happening fast, with major developments underway from downtown to the north Columbus suburbs.
From retail shopping centers that feature national grocery chains to a renovations of historic buildings into retail and dining hubs, here’s a quick update on where four large projects stand heading into 2022.
Highside Market
Highside Market, 201 13th St., is on track for a summer 2022 opening, according to Chris Woodruff, president of real estate development firm The Cotton Companies, which is overseeing the project.
The development’s first tenant, Cleaver & Cork, is an upscale butcher and artisan market that will offer charcuterie, exotic meats, seafood and more.
“We have two tenants with signed leases, and a few others under letter of intent, which accounts for about 30% of the project,” Woodruff said. “We’re in communication with operators locally, regionally and nationally, with everything from retail, to food, to food-and-beverage, to office.”
Highside Market will offer dining, retail, office and event spaces.
Dubbed a “love letter to Columbus,” the project sits at the crossroads of 13th Street and Second Avenue. The historic structures on the site will be readapted, embracing the original architecture, and connected by a new building and an outdoor park for entertainment and community events.
Highside Market’s flagship structure, the 211 Building, was built in 1939 and operated as an auto dealership in Columbus for 55 years.
Midcity Yards
Construction at Midcity Yards, 1429 6th Ave., is moving “extremely fast,” Woodruff said, with progress being made each day both inside and outside of the building that formerly housed Uneeda Glass.
Webb Construction is the company working on the structure.
“We have breached the rear of the building with openings and built an accompanying wood deck with awning-covered space, which will be the entrance to the Midcity Yards building,” Woodruff said, “as well as the entrance to the new Moe’s Original BBQ space.”
Woodruff said that the building’s history as a glass shaping and storage warehouse provided a blank canvas.
“Right now, we’re working on the shell and envelope of the building, and also the necessary utility infrastructure,” Woodruff said. “We will move into the decor portion of the project within the next month.”
The development’s first phase, Fetch Park, opened in September. It features a full-service Airstream bar with coffee, beer, wine and spirits, and a green space covered in turf that features cooling stations, shaded seating and more.
Other businesses in the area include The Lofts at Swift Mill, OmegaFi, Chattabrewchee and Stumpy’s Hatchet House.
Midland Commons
Midland Commons, the sprawling development on Flat Rock Road that will bring a new Publix to town, could see life soon, according to developer Michael Wright.
“We’re optimistic moving into the new year,” Wright told the Ledger-Enquirer. “We’re progressing full steam ahead.”
Wright said the lifestyle center is being developed. It’ll feature retail, service retail, restaurants and loft apartments, the L-E previously reported in February.
The majority of Midland Commons will be built out over the next year to two years. Developers estimate it’ll be about 10 years until the project has no more space left to build on, Wright said.
Wright said labor shortage issues have served as a roadblock for some of the national chains that plan to move into Midland Commons. Construction, he said, has stayed open and operated through the pandemic.
The property at 7801 Flat Rock Road, is expected to be a mix of commercial businesses to include big-box anchor stores, midsize retail, restaurants and possible residential offerings such as loft apartments and an assisted-living facility.
Downtown Hampton Inn
The Hampton Inn on the corner of Broadway and 12th Street is expected to be completed by fall 2022, according to Newt Aaron of Aaron & Clements, Inc., the owners’ representative for the development.
The hotel’s wood frame is nearly complete. The wood skin is finished, all windows have been placed and installation has started on the exterior finishing materials, he said.
Construction of the rough-in, which consists of mechanical, electrical and plumbing lines within the walls and above the ceilings, is underway inside the building.
Construction resumed this year after a yearlong, COVID-induced hiatus.
The hotel was announced in June 2016. Original plans called for the hotel to be a mix of new construction and renovation of buildings at 1201 Broadway, 1205 Broadway and 1205 Front Ave., which formerly housed Aaron’s Rents and Phenix Finance.
