Apartment tower with grocery store approved for Peninsula's next phase
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Longtime plans to build a 14-story residential tower with a grocery store as part of The Peninsula are inching toward construction.
The city's Downtown Commission approved the proposal on May 20, which calls for the mixed-use tower to be built on a vacant property to the west of COSI at the southwest corner of West Broad and Belle streets in Franklinton. The tower will feature a ground-floor grocery store topped with a three-story parking garage and 10 levels of apartments and amenity space.
"The added grocer at the base I think is important for the city, so we see this project as a great opportunity to solidify The Peninsula as a destination by creating more living opportunities, along with the parking to support it," said Daniel Ayars, commercial market leader for NBBJ, the project's architect. Watch a previous NBC4 report on The Peninsula in the video player above.
Once completed, the building's parking garage will hold 463 parking spaces, while the residential floors will be home to 249 apartments. As for the grocer, Amy Taylor, president of Downtown Columbus Inc., told the commission they are waiting on a signed lease before announcing the grocery brand that will operate the store.
The effort to build a tower with a grocer marks the long-awaited second phase of The Peninsula. The development's initial phase kicked off construction in 2020 and included a high-end apartment complex, an office building and The Junto, a boutique hotel with an active lobby and new dining options, including a rooftop bar looking into Downtown.
Original plans for the Peninsula called for an entertainment venue, initially proposed as a new locations for Pins Mechanical, to open at the site, but those plans fell through. Daimler, one of the construction firms leading the development, previously told NBC4 it is continuing to search for an entertainment partner to take up the vacant lot between The Junto and a 1,400-space parking structure.
Last year, the city also approved a new seven-story apartment building for The Peninsula, which would bring another 100 apartments to the area. Construction has been sluggish to begin, but the city and developers said they're moving ahead with the project.