COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Columbus is moving forward with revitalizing the North Market.

At its meeting Monday night, Columbus City Council approved via a 4-3 vote six pieces of legislation that will, among other steps, pay out more than $30 million on the project, with payments being made to the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority over three years.

It has taken the city more than four years to get to this point, and while an agreement has been made, members said there are still more conversations to come.

Columbus City Councilmember Nick Bankstrom, who chairs council’s economic development committee, played an integral role in getting the development agreement to this point.

“Simply put, that quality of life we fight for and other capital improvement don’t get done if we don’t do economic development,” he said.

For months, archaeologists have turned over soil in the former surface lot attached to the North Market, excavating centuries-old bones, making way for an addition to the city skyline. 

The mixed-use facility — dubbed the North Market Merchant Building — will tower 32 stories and feature hotel rooms, apartments, and a garage and parking spaces, according to city documents. It will also grow out North Market’s footprint with a public atrium and a patio. The project is being funded by a mix of city, county and state funding, from grants to tax credits.  

The agreement will spend the money over the next three years, with $10.5 million toward the atrium and patio and $8.4 million toward parking. Additionally, funds were approved to remove and retire the human remains found in the market’s former parking lot, which is set to serve as the ground floor of the new building.

Another aspect of the project approved by council is a grant agreement worth $950,000 to assist current North Market vendors affected by construction, and an additional $1 million for surrounding street design work. The city will also reimburse private utility providers, like AEP and AT&T, that will have to relocate their infrastructure underground. 

However, the project is not without controversy.

“Unfortunately, the economic development agreement before us tonight falls short of where it needs to be to ensure this public investment has extraordinary positive impact on workers and taxpayers of Columbus,” Columbus City Councilmember Rob Dorans said.

Others said they wouldn’t be here without the North Market.

“We went from barely holding on to opening up about four locations in the Columbus area,” North Market vendor Mohamed Hassan said. “It helps grow local small businesses like Hoyo’s Kitchen and ultimately it helps families help themselves.”

Bankston said he’s committed to ensuring the project benefits all of Columbus.

“This is not at the expense of our neighborhood, but it is in the addition of the future of our city,” he said.

The funding will move the project along to hopefully be completed sometime in 2025.