Proposed 25-story overlooking Lower.com Field could include residences, hotel, apartments

A Columbus developer is proposing a 25-story office, hotel and residential tower on West Nationwide Boulevard, overlooking Lower.com Field soccer stadium.

The developer, affiliated with Arshot Investment Corp. of Columbus, submitted plans for the tower to the city in anticipation of the Aug. 26 Downtown Commission meeting. The proposal expands and updates plans Arshot submitted in the fall.

The contemporary design, by the prominent architectural firm Gensler, shows:

• a restaurant and coffee shop on the ground floor, along with separate entrances for the hotel, office, event space and residential uses

• five levels of parking

• a 6th-floor amenity deck with another restaurant, a pool, a fitness center and indoor and outdoor event space under what appears to be a retractable roof

• a seven-story tower rising on top of the west end of the six-story building that would include four floors of hotel space and three floors of offices

• a 19-story tower rising on the east end of the six-story building (for a total of 25 stories) that would include about 270 residences and a rooftop terrace

The tower would be built on a 1.6-acre site on the southwest corner of West Nationwide Boulevard and Hocking Street across from the main entrance into Lower.com Field. The site is owned by an Arshot affiliate.

Arshot has a long track record in Columbus, including developing the Fifth Third Center on the corner of South High and State streets. Its most recent proposals, for a development called Millennial Tower on West Rich Street, and for a mixed-use development on the former Cooper Stadium site on West Mound Street, have not moved forward.

Company representatives could not be reached for comment on its new plan.

If it were to move forward, the plan would further develop the area around Lower.com Field.

Immediately west of the soccer stadium, a five-story office building and parking garage are up, and work is underway on the first of two proposed apartment buildings in the development called Astor Park .

In addition, the Municipal Light and Power Plant  across Nationwide Boulevard from the stadium has been redeveloped, and Nationwide Realty Investors officials have suggested that the company may develop two sites on West Spring Street near the stadium.

Real estate and Development Reporter Jim Weiker can be reached at  jweiker@dispatch.com and at 614-284-3697. Follow him @JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Will downtown Columbus add a 25-story tower near Lower.com Field?