Part 2 of NBC4’s look at Franklinton and the role it will play in Columbus’ future. To read part 1, click here.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — It’s not a commonly known name throughout the Columbus area, but the development known as The Peninsula, located just west of the Scioto River downtown, represents a massive strategic investment from the city. 

“The Peninsula is probably one of the most discussed, studied and talked about pieces of land in all of downtown Columbus,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said. “A place where people want to be and where everybody belongs is a critical part to the vision for The Peninsula.” 

Construction for The Peninsula began in 2020, serving as the latest realization of the “work, live, and play” housing and living strategy growing more popular in American urban areas. That development consisted of three main components—a high-end apartment complex, a boutique hotel, and an office building. The city also assisted with the 1,400-space parking structure behind the buildings, pushing the total private/public investment north of $500 million. 

That development began at the center — as in, the Center of Science and Industry (COSI). COSI moved to that site next to the Scioto River in 1999 and for decades, it sat with a great view of Downtown but little else. 

“When I came here in 2017 to head up COSI, we had none of this development,” COSI President and CEO Dr. Frederic Bertley said. “It was just our building and then a parking lot, but today we have an incredible park that the city of Columbus runs called the Dawn Green Park. Underneath is our garage. All this development on The Peninsula and in Franklinton has really changed the future of COSI because there’s so many people, and especially adults that are not just working but living right outside of our front door.” 

Daimler was among the key construction firms hired for the project. Its 230,000-square-foot office building on the site began with no tenants. Today, the building is more than 80% leased, despite the rocky climate of the office space market.  

“Companies really wanted to locate in more vibrant areas, places that had walkable amenities, things that they could offer their employees,” The Daimler Group CEO Bob White Jr. said.

The centerpiece of the first phase construction was The Junto, the boutique hotel with an active lobby and new dining and bar options, including a rooftop bar looking into Downtown. 

“We’ve seen almost a 40% growth in guestroom nights, but really as well in our food and beverage experiences,” The Junto Managing Director Jason DeCamp said. “I think for food and beverage, that says a lot about the local community that people that are living here in Columbus that they’re looking at another neighborhood, another location to go to. Our goal was always to be the hub of this start of The Peninsula as it starts to grow and be that next great neighborhood that Columbus is known for.” 

Those three buildings plus the parking structure represent the first phase of the development, and now the second phase is starting to come together. New residential space is planned, as well as a chance to address one of downtown’s most significant needs: a grocery store.   

Daimler said it remains in negotiations with a major grocer to open a location on the site, along Broad Street. 

“A Downtown grocer along with a parking garage above the grocer, and then a multifamily tower project above that,” White Jr. said. “So, a pretty significant project on Broad Street that will really kind of anchor the corner of The Peninsula.”

The original plans for the Peninsula called for an entertainment venue (originally proposed as a Pins Mechanical) to open at the site, but those plans fell through. Daimler continues to search for an entertainment partner to take up a vacant lot between The Junto and the parking structure.   

Last year, the city approved a new seven-story apartment building on the site, which would bring another 100 apartments to the area. Construction has been sluggish to begin, but the city and developers said they’re moving ahead with phase two of the project. 

“We’re very bullish on the future of The Peninsula and of Franklinton,” Ginther said. “Obviously, we need to bring more people, more jobs. This activation that I talked about is going to be really important to get more folks in.”

Franklinton Board of Trade Director Trent Smith said The Peninsula is fueling growth further west into the bulk of Franklinton.  

“I think that we just have the opportunity as more things develop here and there’s more things to walk to that just becomes a much more seamless area and not so much a division between Peninsula and Franklinton,” he said.