Residences likely west of Arena District
Nationwide Realty plans would nix new Crew stadium
By Marla Matzer Rose
Nationwide Realty Investors is planning to expand to the west of the Arena District now that the $1 billion-plus development is almost completed, based on the original master plan for the area.
New development, however, is likely to take on a slightly different look, with a greater emphasis on residential buildings and offices that are less-densely packed than the core Arena District.
The first evidence of this is the $10 million office building that Nationwide unveiled to the Downtown Commission this week, which will be built at 425 Nationwide Blvd., west of Neil Avenue.
“As we move west of Neil, I think you’ll see densities diminish,” said Brian Ellis, president of Nationwide Realty Investors. “There are nearly 2 million square feet of office space in the master-planned Arena District, all with (garage rather than surface) parking.
“I don’t think this (west of Neil) area can sustain that density at this time. I think it will be predominantly residential.”
On Tuesday, Nationwide closed on the purchase of 25 acres it agreed to acquire from Penn National Gaming as part of a deal tied to Penn agreeing to move its planned Columbus casino to the West Side. The purchase could put an end to the much-discussed idea in recent years of putting a new stadium for the Columbus Crew soccer team on that site.
“Our plans for that area are residential. Anything else is speculation,” said Tina Guegold, vice president of marketing for Nationwide Realty Investors.
All told, Nationwide owns about 35 acres just west of the Arena District, including 3.6 acres of land next to the Buggyworks condo project and Huntington Park. Nationwide acquired that land from Buggyworks developer Kyle Katz in June. The 75-acre Arena District, built on the site of the former Ohio Penitentiary over the past dozen years, originally had Neil Avenue as its western boundary, although some related development — such as the LC Pavilion — has occurred outside of that.
Nationwide hopes to complete its office building at 425 Nationwide Blvd. by October 2012. It will be set back farther from the street and have more landscaping than most buildings in the Arena District. The time frame for further development in the area is less clear, with Ellis simply saying that he expects the area to fill out during the next decade.
Nationwide recently completed its nearby Flats on Vine apartments, which are almost fully leased.
In a different matter, the Downtown Commission has approved temporary banners to rebrand the Hyatt on Capitol Square as a Sheraton. The signs are set to go up by the end of this month and come down by Oct. 1, when permanent signs should be installed.
The property’s new owner, Florida-based Driftwood Hospitality, has not yet announced details of its planned renovation of the 27-year-old, 400-room property.
mrose@dispatch.com
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