Historic Capitol Square buildings to be offices

Two long-vacant historic buildings on Capitol Square are set to be renovated into offices after a plan to turn them into a boutique hotel failed to materialize.

New owner Michael A. Tomko bought 16 and 20 E. Broad St. in May for $4.8 million, according to the Franklin County auditor’s website.

The four-story Hayden building, which opened in 1869, is the oldest building on Capitol Square. The 12-story building to its west, which it will be connected to, was designed by architect Frank Packard and opened in 1901; at one point, it housed the offices of the National Football League.

Plans to turn the property into a boutique hotel failed to get off the ground. In 2010, Midas Hospitality had a deal to buy the buildings from affiliates of Columbus investor Jay Schottenstein and turn them into a 117-room Hotel Indigo —an InterContinental Hotels brand — with the aid of $4.6 million in historic tax credits. Several years later, Mississippibased Dawn Properties said it planned to turn the buildings into The Hayden Columbus, Curio Collection by Hilton.

Tomko said he’s convinced that the property’s best use is a return to office space. He said that also will be much faster and less costly to do.

He projects that office tenants could begin moving into the space within a year; he has turned over leasing to the Columbus firm Colliers International.

Leasing agent Daniel Dunsmoor of Colliers thinks there is an appetite among employers, particularly creative and tech firms, for such authentically historic space. He said the owners of office towers in the area have undertaken renovations to appeal to firms looking to attract millennial workers, but he said those buildings can’t replicate the kind of touches that these two buildings have.

The owners are talking to the operators of several garages within a few minutes’ walk about providing parking for tenants, Dunsmoor said. Downtown landlords have often cited a parking shortage as a major problem in leasing Downtown space, but Dunsmoor said he thinks the location and amenities of these buildings will outweigh that factor.

Tomko, at 27, is at the target age of the employee segment many employers are seeking when looking for Downtown office space. A native of Clintonville who worked in the New York City area after graduating from law school, Tomko said he decided to move back to Columbus to focus on urban development because of the opportunity he saw Downtown.

Tomko recently bought and renovated a historic office building at 145 E. Rich St., a block from Columbus Commons park.