30-01-2025
Ohio awards $33 million tax credit for Capitol Square revival
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A Downtown project tasked with transforming Capitol Square into a vibrant mixed-use district was awarded a substantial tax credit from the state of Ohio this week.
Edwards Companies was allotted a $33 million tax credit on Monday for the 'Capitol Square Renaissance' project from the Transformational Mixed-Use Development Program, which also announced tax credits for eight other Ohio projects. The Renaissance project is redeveloping or replacing underutilized buildings and surface parking lots between Downtown's Broad and Third streets. Watch a previous NBC4 report on the Renaissance project in the video player above.
'As our state grows, it's more important than ever that we are creating communities where current and future Ohioans can live up to their fullest potential,' said Gov. Mike DeWine in a release. 'By prioritizing developments that transform neighborhoods, we're making Ohio a place where people will want to be — now and in the future.'
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Costing about $573 million, the Renaissance project will feature more than 1,000 new Downtown residences, nine restaurants, structured parking and nearly 200,000 square feet of office space. The project will replace a concrete-heavy, car-centric environment with improved streetscapes, green spaces and three new publicly accessible parks.
One of the development's buildings already underwent several modernization efforts and the second is under construction, with Edwards set to forge ahead with the others now that they've been awarded the tax credit. The company is aiming to complete construction on the entire Renaissance project by June 2030, creating 2,634 construction jobs and 1,954 permanent jobs.
The first building is the Preston Centre, the former PNC Tower at 155 E. Broad St., which is already owned by Edwards and has been redeveloped for mixed-use. The Preston Centre is 'the cornerstone of the project,' and is home to Cameron Mitchell's new steakhouse, Butcher & Rose, that opened on the ground floor last summer.
As part of the Preston Centre's revitalization, Edwards is redeveloping an elevated walkway connected to the building that will lead to an open-air space named 'Preston Park.' The park is meant to be reminiscent of the Highline in New York and will be open to the public with plants native to Ohio, public art and programming for live music and other events.
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Preston Park will connect to the second building in the development, The Gilbert at 195 E. Broad St. The new 15-story building is already under construction and will be home to residential units and a more than 2,600-square-foot retail space for a café.
A third building will be constructed on a one-acre parking lot at 33 S. Fourth St. and stand 11 stories high. Also accessible through the park and featuring residential units, the building will provide opportunities for retail, small businesses and include a dog park. The fourth building is described as 'the mirror image' of the third, and would sit directly across from it on Fourth Street.
The development's final building will extend along South Third Street and climb 10 stories high. Another public park named 'Capitol Park' will be built between this building and an existing building as 34 S. Third St. Those visiting Capitol Park would enter 'thru the historic façade of the vacant and dilapidated bank building that currently sits on a portion of the site.'
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