17-03-2025
Downtown officials back Columbus State plan for new health sciences building
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus State Community College is readying to break ground on a new 80,000-square-foot academic building.
Columbus' Downtown Commission approved on Feb. 25 the college's collaboration with OhioHealth to construct a new healthcare education building at the southwest corner of Cleveland Avenue and East Spring Street, currently home to a parking lot. The three-story building will be named the 'OhioHealth Center of Health Sciences' and is set to break ground this fall. Watch a previous NBC4 report on the center in the video player above.
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'This is an important step forward in meeting our commitment to rapidly scale up home-grown healthcare talent,' Martin Maliwesky, Columbus State's senior vice president of academic affairs, said. 'This building represents another investment of Franklin County bond proceeds to provide the in-demand skills critical to the ongoing prosperity of our region.'
Columbus State said it is using bond proceeds approved by Franklin County residents to fund construction of the $66.5 million academic building bearing OhioHealth's name.
The center will provide upgraded labs, simulation spaces, classrooms and other student success amenities, as Columbus State works with the region's healthcare providers to double the talent pipeline over 10 years. The college announced the project in June 2023 and expects it to open by the start of the 2027-2028 academic year.
The new building is one part of the college's $120 million OhioHealth partnership, which aims to increase the number of professionals in five key fields: nursing, surgical technology, medical imaging, respiratory therapy and sterile processing. OhioHealth touted a $25 million endowment it created to support instructional and administrative needs as college healthcare programs grow.
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After the Center for Health Sciences is completed, Columbus State plans to renovate an existing building, Union Hall, to update further dedicated healthcare education spaces. The college also announced last fall it will invest more than $50 million in other new classroom improvements, including a $35 million Franklin Hall renovation that will yield new classrooms and specialized labs.
Columbus State's new center was one of several construction projects reviewed by the Downtown Commission during the February meeting. Members voted to table Bluestone Brothers Development's request for approval to bulldoze several single-story buildings on the southeast corner of East Rich and South Fourth streets. After demolition, Bluestone Brothers plans to construct a 24-story, 504,000-square-foot tower called 'The Estrella.'
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