In Grandview Heights, located just outside of Downtown Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Realty Investors’ Grandview Yard development iswell on its way to realizing the vision set forth by its developer when it broke ground on the $650 million project back in early 2009.
Recent openings at Grandview Yard include a 92,000-square-foot Giant Eagle Market District, an 18,000-square-foot Hofbrauhaus restaurant and German bier hall, a 10,000-square-foot medical retail building anchored by Ohio Urgent Health Care, a Panera Bread, a GetGo Gas Station and Wright Patterson Credit Union. But perhaps the most exciting Grandview Yard news was announced in late 2014: a 500,000-square-foot Nationwide corporate campus that will support more than 3,000 Nationwide associates.
The new Nationwide campus will include three, four-story interconnected office buildings with adjacent parking structures. The first 320,000 square foot building is currently under construction and will open in 2016. A 160,000-square-foot second building will follow in 2017, and the third building will open in 2019.
“The new campus is reflective of Nationwide’s ongoing commitment to, and investment in, the heart of Central Ohio,” said Brian J. Ellis, president of Nationwide Realty Investors. “This is a great community, and this project represents a tremendous opportunity for Nationwide and its associates, Grandview Heights and Grandview Yard.”
When completed, Grandview Yard will include more than 1.2 million square feet of commercial space—a total that encompasses a diverse mix of retail, dining, office and entertainment components—as well as approximately 1,300 urban residences (a mix of for-sale and for-lease units). The project’s first two phases of residential are open and fully leased: the Apartments at the Yard include four buildings with 274 total residential units. Other components of the project that are already open include a 90,000-square-foot three-story office building, a 500- space two-level parking deck, a 126-key Hyatt Place Columbus/ OSU Hotel, and a 42,000-squarefoot LA Fitness.
Currently under development is a 2.5-acre park, a new 166-unit residential building, and two new hospitality assets: a 4-story, 135-room Courtyard Marriott, and The Grand Event Center, an adjacent 13,000-square-foot conference center complete with multiple meeting rooms, an outdoor courtyard, a full-service kitchen and catering, and a ballroom capable of seating more than 300 people.
With more than $158 million devoted exclusively to infrastructure improvements and upgrades, Nationwide Realty Investors has literally put Grandview Yard on the map. To put that investment in context: over 1.2 miles of streets and sidewalks have been completed so far—with an additional 3.4 miles currently under construction. That strong infrastructure investment is part of the company’s long-term commitment to the site and the surrounding community. In combination with Nationwide Realty Investors’ $1 billion Arena District in Downtown Columbus, more than $1.65 billion has been invested between the two projects, which are located less than a mile apart.
The City’s long-term commitment to infrastructure improvements allowed Nationwide Realty Investors to move forward quickly with Grandview Yard, according to Ellis. “They embraced our vision early in the process,” he said. “Demand is high for vibrant, mixed-use urban developments in Columbus, and with the City’s support, we are able to deliver highly these coordinated mixed-use commercial environments that drive sustainable growth and investment.”
