Construction photos: Chipotle office, condos and more continue their rise in the Arena District

Article originally published in Columbus Business First by Tristan Navera | October 14, 2020

Twenty years ago this month, the Columbus Blue Jackets played their first game in Nationwide Arena.

At the time, the arena was mostly surrounded by rusty industrial buildings and empty space. What was then Flytown was largely overlooked real estate. But what has risen since then – and what keeps rising – has changed the paradigm for the whole city.

Developer Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. at first envisioned the Arena District as a limited development. But it’s since invested $1.2 billion across 100 acres, including 1.5 million square feet of commercial space. And it’s not done yet.

A billion dollars of construction along the northern arc of downtown Columbus is poised to transform the urban core.

Nationwide Realty President and COO Brian Ellis said construction has proceeded normally on the most prominent portions of the project. For instance, the third building in the Parks Edge condominium development is rising on John H. McConnell Boulevard. The 10-story, 50-unit tower is timely as all but two of the units in the tower next to it are spoken for. “For the most part all of our for-sale product has done really well,” Ellis said. “Even coming out of the chute we’re seeing strong interest in the units built there. The declining interest rates have helped motivate our buyers.”

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