Pair of five-story buildings to replace Grant- Oak Apartments
The Columbus Metropolitan Library on Thursday agreed to sell a 70-yearold Downtown apartment complex to a company for redevelopment.
Under the terms of the deal, the Pizzuti Companies will pay $1.26 million for the GrantOak Apartments, on the corner of Grant Avenue and Oak Street immediately north of the main library.
Pizzuti plans to replace the complex’s seven four-story buildings, built in the mid1940s, with two five-story buildings housing 120 apartments on top of first-floor retail and underground parking.
The plan calls for the two new buildings to be separated by a road that will lead directly into the library’s parking garage, easing the difficult turn that now exists.
“This is a key site in the Discovery District and will further cement the area as one of our city’s vibrant, walkable neighborhoods,” said Pizzuti President Joel Pizzuti.
This is the second project in the area announced by Pizzuti. Last week, the company and Capital University announced that a six-story apartment building will be erected on a parking lot owned by Capital across Oak Street from GrantOak Apartments.
The two projects will front Oak Street, providing a walkable stretch of residences and retail.
“We want them to complement each other,” Pizzuti said. “We’re trying to create a new narrative on Oak Street. The idea when we’re done with both projects is to frame Oak Street with a walkable neighborhood feel.”
The library bought the 130unit Grant-Oak Apartment complex in 1992 for future expansion. In 2016, the library determined that any expansion would occur to the east, on land purchased in 2013, instead of on the apartment site.
The library notified tenants in May 2016 of the possible sale and gave them an option to continue renting month-to-month. Pizzuti said the apartments, which rent for about $500 a month, were too dated to renovate.
Library spokesman Ben Zenitsky estimated that about 100 tenants now live in the complex, many of them students.
Construction is expected to begin this year.