Another plan forms for old stadium site

The owners of the longdormant Cooper Stadium site on the West Side are putting together another redevelopment plan, this time with offices, commercial space, apartments and “creative work spaces,” but no auto racetrack or automotive research center.

The site plan that Arshot Development Corp. submitted to the city is vague. But it does show 500 apartments proposed at the southern edge of the 47-acre

site, and developers have discussed incorporating what remains of the Cooper Stadium grandstand at 1155 W. Mound St. into an office project, said Tony Celebrezze, a spokesman for the Columbus Department of Building and Zoning Services.

Restaurants could be built on the lots along West Mound Street, Celebrezze said.

Arshot representatives did not return a call Tuesday from The Dispatch. They did meet July 10 with Stefanie Coe, who leads the Southwest Area Commission.

Coe said she was told that the apartments would not be low-income housing and that there could be free-standing offices, bars, restaurants, a dog park, and community space while developing a “creative sort of modern vibe.”

She said Arshot’s Bill Schottenstein told her that he doesn’t expect financing to be an issue.

Celebrezze said that

SPARC Holding, a company related to Arshot, submitted rezoning materials late Tuesday afternoon. Neither Development Director Steve Schoeny nor the Columbus City Council had details on the proposal, although Schoeny said he was aware of it.

Schoeny said he has had discussions with the owner about the site’s condition. The property deteriorated to the point where city code enforcement officers citedarshot this yearfor trash and high weeds and grass. Arshot also fenced in the remaining grandstand structure to thwart trespassers.

On Tuesday, Heather Truesdell, the city’s code enforcement administrator, wrote in an email that although progress has been made in securing and cleaning up the site, issues remain. Those include cleaning up trash and debris in the southeast section of theparking lot, boarding and securing all metal doors and windows under the grandstand, and removing graffiti.

Neighborhood leaders and residents have been frustrated that nothing became of the

stadium site, which has deteriorated sincethe Columbus Clippers played their last game there in 2008 before moving to Huntington Park. Most of Cooper Stadium was demolished except for a section down the third-base line.

An area commission hearing on the rezoning application has been scheduled for 7 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the New Horizon United Methodist Church, 1665 Harrisburg Pike.

Arshot bought the property from Franklin County for $3.4 million in 2012.

The council approved a 10-year, 75% tax abatement that year for a $40 million project that included an 8,500-seat racetrack and an adjacent automotive research center. But that never happened.

“I want to see the developer work with the city to make this work,” Coe said.

Judy Box, a former chairwoman of the Franklinton Area Commission, saidshe is hoping for the best.

“Everything’s booming everywhere in Columbus. Why not there?” she said.