30-story apartment tower ready to begin
Phase will cost $211 million and add a 7-story office building
Developers plan to start work on the second phase of The Peninsula development in Franklinton next year, around the same time the first phase will start to open.
The second phase, costing an estimated $211 million, will add a 30-story apartment tower and a seven-story office building to the buildings now underway in the development, immediately west of COSI Columbus.
Both will be built on top of a four-story, 950space, parking garage, raising their total heights to 34 and 11 stories.
The residential tower, which will include 400 apartments, is one of several new high-rises proposed or underway in Columbus – including the
Hilton Hotel on North High Street – after a 30-year hiatus of new buildings of that height in Columbus.
The apartments will be built by Flaherty & Collins, the Indianapolis firm currently working on two buildings containing 330 apartments at The Peninsula.
Like the other two apartment buildings, 20% of the apartments in the new building will be reserved for those making no more than the city’s median income, which is $46,960 for individuals and $67,050 for families of four.
The proposed new office building, 245,000 square feet, is in addition to a 233,000-square-foot office underway at The Peninsula, both of them built by the Columbus developer Daimler. Despite an office market weakened by COVID, the first office building has secured two large tenants, Burgess & Niple engineering firm and the Deloitte accounting and consulting firm.
“This second phase on The Peninsula creates the prospect of exponential growth and transformation by raising Columbus’ profile both physically and metaphorically,” said Daimler CEO Robert White Jr. in a news release announcing the development.
Daimler and Flaherty & Collins hope to start construction on the second phase of The Peninsula next year, around the same time the first buildings in the first phase are completed.
The first office building and two parking garages under construction are expected to be finished by June 1, followed by the first apartment building later in the summer.
The second apartment building is expected to be finished by the end of the year, followed next year by a 200-room hotel built by the Columbus firm Rockbridge.
The Columbus Downtown Development Corp.. which is overseeing the development, said in a news release that a $21 million tax break from the state’s new Transformational Mixed-use Development Program is “key to moving this project forward.”
The project benefits from several other public incentives as well. The city assembled the property and has sold the parcels to developers. Rockbridge and Daimler each paid $1.39 million for their parcels while Flaherty & Collins paid $3.1 million.
The Downtown Development Corp. and the city of Columbus estimate they will spend $63 million on the infrastructure, about half of it on the first two parking garages, which contain 1,400 spaces.
Like other Downtown developments, the buildings are eligible for 15-year, 100% tax breaks on improvements to
the properties. The Peninsula is also in a
federal Opportunity Zone, which allows investors to save on federal capital gains taxes. Investors also receive an immediate 10% state tax credit for Opportunity Zone projects.
Work began in September 2020 on the 26-acre Peninsula development after years of planning and challenges. Ultimately, the project is expected to include up to 2 million square feet of offices, 1,800 residences, 200,000 square feet of retail space and 400 hotel rooms.
“The Peninsula is the premier neighborhood in Downtown Columbus, and as trusted development partners, we look forward to seeing Daimler and Flaherty & Collins fulfill their inspiring vision for this signature parcel facing our Downtown skyline,” Greg Davies, CEO of the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation and Capitol South, said in a news release. jweiker@dispatch.com @Jimweiker