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Campus Partner News
May 1, 2002

Campus Partners Begins Demolition
University Gateway Center to Be Development's Cornerstone

COLUMBUS — Ohio State University President William E. Kirwan, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman, City Council Member Richard W. Sensenbrenner and student government president Eddie Pauline released a wrecking ball today (5/1) to begin demolition along two blocks of North High Street to make way for construction of the University Gateway Center.

The Gateway Center, which will be built on 7.4 acres in the area of 11th Avenue and High Street adjacent to Ohio State's Columbus campus, will be a dynamic blend of entertainment, retail, office space, rental housing and parking to serve one of the nation's largest collegiate markets. The total investment in the project is likely to be more than $100 million.

"The Gateway Project is one of the nation's largest and most exciting urban redevelopment projects. It represents the university's and the city's commitment to revitalizing the University District," Kirwan said.

King Wrecking Company Inc. of Cincinnati is conducting the demolition, scheduled to be completed in mid-July.

Campus Partners, the non-profit redevelopment corporation established by Ohio State, proposed the Gateway project to better serve the market of students and other residents. The Gateway Center is one of the largest mixed-use, urban redevelopment projects ever attempted in central Ohio and represents one of the largest projects in the city's federally designated Empowerment Zone.

The Gateway project will total approximately 450,000 square feet of leaseable space for housing, retail and office uses and will include a 1,200-space parking garage. An estimated 450 to 700 new jobs will be created adjacent to the Weinland Park neighborhood, which has a high rate of unemployment.

Kirwan, who will leave the university June 30 to become chancellor of the University of Maryland System, said he is proud that a more visible aspect of the project is finally under way. "With this demolition today, people can start to visualize how Gateway will transform the university and neighborhood around it."