Strip center sold; senior living planned

An aging strip center on a well-traveled strip of Route 315, just north of Interstate 270, will get a long-planned face-lift after the purchase of the Olentangy Valley Centre by Continental Real Estate Companies.

Columbus-based Continental paid $5 million for the center, with plans to tear down an office building on the south end of the property, making room for a 100-bed senior-living center. The latter will be done in partnership with Indianapolis-based Traditions Management.

The Hills Market, Rusty Bucket and other tenants will remain in the strip center as it’s refaced and updated. Another office building at the north end of the property also is likely to eventually be torn down so retail can be added, according to Frank Kass, founding partner of Continental.

Kass said the land available for the senior-living facility, which will have both independent- and assistedliving options, was the main attraction for his company in buying the approximately 10-acre property that sits on what has become a busy travel artery between Delaware County and Columbus.

The site of the office building to be torn down for the senior-living operation was approved by Franklin County for a zoning change to housing nine years ago, under a previous owner.

The facility will be one of eight Continental currently is developing with Traditions, including locations in Granville and Lexington, Kentucky.

The 1970s-era center, located in Sharon Township directly across Route 315 from the Worthington Hills housing development, has long been anchored by The Hills Market, a local grocer, and a Rusty Bucket restaurant. Two owners over the past dozen years have proposed updates to the center which ultimately have not happened. Consequently, the property hasn’t received a major update in years. The two office buildings are largely empty.

The location and demographics of the center are attractive, though, according to Kass. He said it’s been “nothing but my phone ringing” since Continental moved to acquire the company earlier this month. He said the retail at the center is “fairly stable,” with just a few vacancies at this time.