Last month we covered a groundbreaking for The Guild development in the Weinland Park neighborhood. This month we feature a Weinland project on the other end of the development spectrum. Just a few blocks from The Guild construction site, the first phase of the new 4th & 5th project by Thrive Companies is completed and open to residential occupancy.
The ambitious project brings new life to a 3.5-acre space that had been unused for more than 20 years. The site, a former industrial plant, was a contaminated brownfield that required extensive remediation. Thrive Companies purchased the abandoned plant after it received a Clean Ohio grant in 2011. Construction began in 2021, and completion of all phases is set for March 2025.
Aptly named for its location at the north east corner of 4th Street and 5th Avenue just north of downtown Columbus, it is a great example of a developer and a city coming together to bring a variety of desired assets to a neighborhood: premium apartments, retail space, and abundant parking for both tenants and the public alike.
Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority, City of Columbus, and Thrive entered into a TIF Cooperative Agreement with the Finance Authority to finance public parking and infrastructure portions of the project. Construction of public infrastructure and parking spaces were funded by a $6.3 million tax-exempt conduit bond issuance by the Finance Authority plus over $800,000 of existing Weinland Park TIF District funds. Bonds will be repaid from assigned service payments from Weinland Park the TIF District fund. Annual debt service will range from $220,000 to 250,000 per year.
Adding Parking Where It’s Needed
Weinland Park is an increasingly popular destination for living and entertainment, and like the nearby Short North, parking can be a challenge. “This is the heart of Weinland Park,” says Thrive Companies Principal and CFO Joel Lilly. “Budd Dairy Food Hall and Seventh Sun Brewing are just a block or two away. Parking can be constrained, and that can be intimidating for patrons.” Of the 556 spaces being built for 311 apartment units at 4th & 5th, 189 will be available as public spaces. “We felt if we could build the garage with a public component, it would provide not only parking for retail that we have planned at the site, but also adjacent retail.”
The garage may provide even more public spaces until the rental units are fully occupied. The 189 public spaces are committed to be available for 30 years.
“Providing public parking in this area is going to help all those businesses,” says Mark Lundine, Economic Development Administrator for the City of Columbus. “We were delighted to participate and provide value to the entire neighborhood.” Lundine says the city assisted with everything from accessing state environmental grants to facilitating neighborhood discussions and prioritization of public investments in the area. “Our expectation is that it’s truly public and helps support lots of businesses in the area.”
When completed, 4th & 5th will include 2,000 sq. ft. of inline retail space and a 3,500 sq. ft. restaurant corner anchor space. “We would love to have a retail tenant now, but we know we’ll need to be closer to full residential occupancy,” says Lilly. The first building to open will offer 62 units, and the rest will be part of the garage that’s currently under construction. A bridge will connect the two structures. Amenities will include a 4,400 sq. ft. fitness center and rooftop pool with 4,000 sq.ft. of entertainment space.
Partnering to Manage Site Renewal
Projects like these required coordination with many parties, including the City of Columbus, the Ohio EPA, and the original site owners. “It took quite a bit of effort working with original site owner to build apartments on the site,” says Lilly. “Because they were technically the ones responsible for the contamination, they also had liability.” The Ohio EPA helped provide a covenant not to sue, which helped protect the prior owner and encourage their remediation of the site. The Ohio EPA has certified the site is suitable for its intended use.
“The Finance Authority has been a key partner in issuing bonds to fund infrastructure improvements using the TIF revenue,” says Daniels. “Without TIF and bond like these, no one would ever be able to develop Brownfields. “It just wouldn’t be affordable. It takes the incremental taxes from the area and puts them in a special fund the city can use for infrastructure. It’s hard to overstate how much this helped in coming up with the funding for the garage.”
Thrive has seen other success with ambitious mixed-use brownfield projects, including Quarry Trails and the new Grandview Crossing. In total, Thrive has overseen 17 brownfield developments, with more coming an apartment project to be built on a former junkyard on McKinley Ave. The State of Ohio continues to invest in similar developments – with more to come. Last month the state announced its fourth round of Brownfield Remediation Funding. These grants help clean up contaminated sites that are abandoned or underused. Since 2021, the state has distributed $450 million for 374 projects in nearly every county in the state.
According to Lilly, along with the state brownfield grants, the Finance Authority has been a key partner in this and other projects. “We’ve had a very good, long-term relationship with the Finance Authority,” says Lilly. “They’ve always been supportive of things we need to make a project successful. And we’ve done that through either bond financing, where they’ve helped us through their Central Ohio Regional Bond Fund, conduit bonds, or the capital lease program that allowed us a better financing structure and reduced sales tax on construction costs.”
As it nears completion, Lundine believes the project is a win on many levels. “The site was extremely compromised with environmental limitations, so it’s great to see it put into productive use,” he says. “It’s such a prominent corner. We’re proud to see it enhance this neighborhood.”