ARENA-AREA CONDOS PLANNED
February 19th, 2004
Mike Pramik, The Columbus Dispatch
8-story buildings to hold 98 upscale units
Anchored by Nationwide Arena, the Arena District has become a popular place to visit. Its developers say they think it might be just as good a place to live.
Nationwide Realty investors, the real-estate arm of Nationwide, announced plans yesterday to build two eight-story condominium buildings southwest of the arena at a cost of $28 million.
The 252-unit Arena Crossing apartment complex is scheduled to open this summer in the same area.
The 98 condo units will range in size from 1,000 to 2,300 square feet, and they won’t come cheap. The asking prices will range from$249,000 to more than $500,000, said Brian Ellis, president and chief operating officer of Nationwide Realty.
The units will be located amid office buildings near McFerson commons, a 3-acre grassy slice of land between Spring Street and Nationwide Boulevard.
“We’ve had people inquire about the condos on a regular basis,” Ellis said. “We expect other residential development around the Arena District as the market continues to mature.”
Nationwide Realty might build 200 more condos south of the site, Ellis said. It will take the first project to the Downtown Commission for design approval on March 8 and plans to open the first units in May 2005.