7 ideas for Carmike building

Let’s just call it what it is — a possible opportunity for continued downtown redevelopment.

Earlier this month, AMC Entertainment Holdings announced plans to purchase Columbus-based Carmike Cinemas. If that $1.1 billion deal goes through later this year, it will in all likelihood leave Carmike’s downtown headquarters at 1301 First Avenue vacant.

And that already has many of those who are involved in downtown redevelopment thinking about the possibilities for a 85,781-square-foot building that has its own parking deck.

Call it what it is: prime real estate, covering 1.65 acres on 13^th Street between Broadway and First Avenue. Its assessed value, according to city tax records, is $4.325 million.

When you come into Columbus over the 13^th Street bridge, it is one of the first things you see. So we put the question to a handful of folks vested and invested in downtown about what could happen if the building is put up for sale.

Let the discussion begin. Here are there answers:

Recruiting tool

Mat Swift, president and chief operating office, W.C. Bradley Co., Real Estate Division:

“It is an incredible opportunity for the Chamber of Commerce and Uptown to use as a recruiting tool for Columbus. It is ready-made Class A office space that you could market to Southeast companies to come down here. I hate that we are losing Carmike, but it could be the speculative office building that we have never had in our economic recruiting efforts. It could literally be something that attracts a Fortune 500 company to put a satellite office here.”

Boutique hotel?

Elizabeth Barker, executive director, Historic Columbus Foundation:

“Historically, the site of the Carmike building has served our community through a variety of uses, including smaller retail stores with apartments above and the Waverly Hotel. This vacancy provides uptown with a great space to become new corporate offices or a boutique hotel. From my perspective, the biggest opportunity is now having the potential to activate the corner of Broadway and 13^th Street once again with perhaps a structure over the existing parking deck.

Apartments?

John Teeples, downtown developer and business owner:

“I think we are lacking critical mass in downtown Columbus. In my mind, an office doesn’t help there as much as having people live down here would. We need something that would add to people living down here. Apartments? Maybe a hotel that would add to the tourism? It’s an opportunity for sure.”

An office and more

Reynolds Bickerstaff, associate broker, partner, Waddell Realty:

“I see a couple of things. Obviously, it’s a great office building because it already is. But to really know what to do with it, you have to see how it is laid out around the elevators. Maybe you could do something that puts two tenants per floor. I think you could see it reused as a hotel. What about an office restaurant on that top floor incorporating the terrace? That would be a really cool spot.”

‘Trump it’

Buddy Nelms, downtown property and business owner:

“I just want to go in and look around. To me, it seems like the knee-jerk reaction is a hotel. You could put a world-class, proud-of-what-we-have hotel there. You know what I am talking about: ‘Trump it.’”

Mixed-use

Richard Bishop, president, Uptown Columbus Inc.:

“It could definitely be a hotel. Or it could be mixed-use residential and corporate office. It would be a good corporate headquarters for somebody. With that parking deck, it could be any number of uses that would benefit uptown. It is a great location.”

Keep the parking

Will Barnes, principal architect, barnes | gibson | partners:

“It has a double level of parking in close proximity to an emerging end of Broadway, so it would make sense to try to maintain that and maybe make it available for public use in the future — at night? I'd really like to see the ground level of the building become something more public eventually — more ‘transparent’ from the street — although it might be a bit of a leap across 13^th street to expect foot traffic until something is developed on the vacant parcel adjacent to Country's BBQ and stronger connections with the river are achieved.”

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 4:24 PM with the headline "7 ideas for Carmike building."