Battelle to Seek Buyers for Land Owned in Harrison West

The land owned by Battelle in our neighborhood may look different in a few years. Battelle has informed the Harrison West Society that they plan to seek proposals for the development of their Harrison West property, which includes the parcels bounded by West 5th and West 3rd Avenues on the north and south and by Perry Street and the Olentangy River on the east and west as well as the parcels on the southeast corner of West 5th and Perry.

Battelle would like to allocate funds from the sale of the land, which is used mainly for parking, storage and an on-campus day care service but also includes a green space well loved by the community, to make improvements to their core campus that will enable them to continue to attract top talent from an increasingly competitive market.

The land is zoned C2 (Commercial 2) with a small portion on West 5th zoned for manufacturing. It is also zoned H35, which restricts building heights to 35 feet. Prior to Battelle’s purchase of the land, the area included homes and apartments along with neighborhood streets that extended to the Olentangy River.

The day-care business, currently run by a third party not owned by Battelle, has two years left on its lease and has not renewed beyond that time period.

Citing the vision set forth in the Harrison West plan, members of the Harrison West Society executive committee have recommended to city officials in the Departments of Development and Recreation and Parks that the parcels on the south end of the property at West 3rd and Perry be purchased and preserved as green space. Discussions about how to pay for the land have included a number of funding mechanisms including Gowdy Field money and one of the Humko TIFs. Additional revenue generated by development on the northern parcels would flow into the TIF and could help to fund the purchase as well, albeit retroactively.

We will share more information as it becomes available. Stay tuned to the website and upcoming meetings for further developments.

Columbus Business First summarized the developments in an article on July 17, 2015.

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