Columbus Downtown 2030 Plan

The Columbus Downtown 2030 Plan is available for review.
The consulting team of Sasaki, SB Friedman, and Storyboard, supported by the City of Columbus, has assembled their recommendations for enhancing our downtown into a comprehensive Columbus Downtown 2030 Plan.

Building upon the great work accomplished through Envision Columbus, the goal for this new plan is to provide a framework for Downtown Columbus that remains focused, site-specific and time-bound. Through community engagement, stakeholder feedback and market research, Sasaki and their team have provided a plan for strategic downtown development, programming, infrastructure and activation that we are excited to begin implementing.

Study and Findings

Through several phases of community listening, stakeholder engagement and public input, the research team identified a series of strategic objectives for the downtown, including making the downtown district a vibrant residential neighborhood, enhancing and expanding access to Mill Race Park, and diversifying downtown offerings. From the research, three primary development objectives were identified:

• Expand & enhance 4th Street entertainment district;
• Activate historic Washington Street through strategic infill, redevelopment and public realm programming;
• and create an Avenue of the Architects along the 5th street corridor that provides residential housing opportunities alongside further commercial and public realm development.

With these goals in mind, the plan outlines specific development concepts for a number of priority sites that have been identified as opportunities for near-term development. Alongside catalytic development, the plan also identifies policy initiatives, partnership opportunities, and supportive programming that will further enliven the downtown and make it a regional destination for residents and visitors alike.

Implementation and Next Steps

The City of Columbus has identified community members and stakeholders from various backgrounds, expertise and roles to support the implementation of these recommendations. Led by a steering committee, each working group will focus on one specific area of the implementation plan: real estate & economic development, public realm & infrastructure, and programming & activation.

The Real Estate and Economic Development team will focus on new uses for properties downtown. The Public Realm and Infrastructure team will focus on upgrades and enhancements to the public realm. The Programming and Activation team will focus on increasing foot traffic downtown by creating more activities and destinations that give people things to do.

The implementation teams will meet monthly to prioritize recommendations, identify funding sources, timelines and partners for projects over the short, medium, and long-term. They will collaborate with Columbus City Administration and City Council over the course of the next year to ensure a successful, collaborative community-wide effort to bring the vision of Columbus Downtown 2030 to life.