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Originally Posted by edale
Does this proposal appear to be actually happening? I sure hope so. Columbus could definitely use some more height in its downtown. There seems to actually be a fair amount of new development downtown, but it's all somewhat weirdly lowrise. For a city growing like Columbus is, I'd love to see some more skyscraper construction. Come on Midwest Austin! lol
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Columbus still has a lot of open land from urban renewal. Also, suburban growth is still strong because commute times remain low. Columbus's highways are laid out extremely well and traffic remains a non-issue because of it. The suburbs also have robust jobs markets. There isn't a single one that is a bedroom community. All these things make land cheap. Therefore, it's not economical to go tall.
However, the governor just signed a bill where developers and insurance companies can receive up to $40 million in tax credits for "transformative" mixed-use projects. They must be at least 15 floors to receive the credits. I believe a couple developments were waiting for that bill to be passed to move forward; though they didn't say that publicly.
Harmony Tower and Millennial Tower could probably use the help. I'm sure Market Tower will take it, although that was happening anyway. The Hilton expansion is already on the third floor above High. You also have a potential tower at the former Dispatch property across from the Capitol. With Ohio State's massive new hospital tower under construction already you could have six towers of 100m+ under construction at one time.
You then have the second phase of The Peninsula that should garner some height, and Nationwide's parcel on Spring near the new Crew Stadium that is ripe for a tower, too.