Two firms could come to Riverside Drive in UA
A timeline has not been determined, but the certified public accounting firm Oles + Associates LLC and The Sherrington Group, a financial planning firm, are considering a move from 1328 Dublin Road, Columbus, to 2175 Riverside Drive, Upper Arlington, as part of a 9,200-square-foot redevelopment.
The project, which received unanimous support from the Upper Arlington Board of Zoning and Planning on Sept. 15, would involve the demolition of a 2,832-square-foot office building at 2155 Riverside Drive.
Once that building is razed, representatives of Oles + Associates said they plan to construct an approximately 5,900-square-foot addition onto the existing 3,300-square-foot building at 2175 Riverside Drive.
“Right now, we’re bringing 25 jobs to the city,” Brian Oles, a partner at Oles + Associates told BZAP members Sept. 15. “The plan is for growth within the financial planning firm, as well as the CPA firm. We would like to grow and bring more jobs, obviously, as we mature in the space.”
Although plans for the project have been approved, Oles + Associates principal Joel Oles said he’d defer comment on the project until the sale of the property at 2175 Riverside Drive is complete.
“The project has not yet been consummated,” he said. “Technically, we don’t own the property. This was a good first step. It’s not the final step for us owning the property.”
Should Oles + Associates finalize its purchase of the property, the two firms plan to move into a space vacated by the law firm Cooper Elliott, which relo
cated to 305 W. Nationwide Blvd. in downtown Columbus in 2020, according to Upper Arlington Community Development Division officials.
“We are excited for the applicant to bring their firms to Upper Arlington and will continue to work with them on (building) permits,” said Justin Milam, senior planner for the city.
Alyssa Kelly, a planning officer for the city, said the property to be redeveloped is 1.18 acres and is within the city’s U.S. 33 Planned Mixed Use District.
“The proposed elevations show a one-story addition onto the existing building at 2175 Riverside Drive, matching the design in terms of style and materials,” Kelly said.
The proposed project site is at the southwest corner of Riverside Drive and Trabue Road.
Although pedestrian access to the property currently is “very limited,” Kelly said, Franklin County has plans to install a five-foot wide sidewalk on the south side of Trabue Road in 2024 as part of the new Quarry Trails Metro Park being developed to the west.
“The proposed sidewalk is located along the Trabue Road curb, which creates an uncomfortable and potentially unsafe condition,” Kelly stated in a Sept 15 staff report to the BZAP. “For this reason, the applicant has agreed to dedicate a public walk easement to the city to allow for a five-foot wide treelawn area and five-foot sidewalk along Trabue Road.
“With this dedication, the county or city would bear the cost of sidewalk construction, in lieu of the applicant.
There are also plans to install an eightfoot wide shared-use path along Riverside Drive and the north side of Trabue Road, further extending this network and increasing pedestrian access and safety in the area.”
Kelly said the city’s Community Development Division supports the project because it will bring two professional-services firms to a vacant building in the U.S. 33 Planned Mixed Use District and would “improve the aesthetics of a gateway into the city.”
“It also brings additional accounting and finance jobs to Upper Arlington, which is an economic-development goal,” she said. “An addition of a sidewalk and consolidation of curb cuts would be major improvements for access in the area, especially with the new Metro Park opening soon.” nellis@thisweeknews.com @Thisweeknate