THE WEEKLY REVIEW | February 21, 2025

Keeping up with CRE trends is as easy as 1-2-3 with our weekly piece! The Weekly Review is a new blog series that will be released every Friday. The market is constantly growing and adapting to new ventures and ideas, and our goal is to provide up-to-date information into what is happening in both the Columbus and U.S. markets, as well as the commercial real estate industry as a whole. As stories evolve, the Weekly Review will continue to follow along and update our clients and community.

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1

Office - Amenity-Rich Spaces Predicted to Drive Office Demand in Coming Years

“Survive until 2025. That was the mantra many Central Ohio developers and office experts repeated again and again during Covid, hoping things would improve after the pandemic forced hundreds of thousands of workers to abandon their offices and work from home. Although the pandemic ended and the world returned to a new normal, the office market is still recovering while many companies grapple with whether to call their workers back into the office. Office construction is sitting at its lowest levels in about a decade, with experts blaming high interest rates, a lack of skilled workers and questions about future office demand. Some Columbus-area office experts say that keeping office construction activity low will help bring vacancy rates down, as the most desirable spaces are filled and prospective tenants will need to look at Class B and C properties. Others say that the region may find itself with an office deficit in a few short years.”

2

Development - Developer Seeks Ppproval to Demolish 4 Buildings for Downtown Columbus Tower Project

“The developer behind The Estrella project in downtown Columbus is seeking demolition approval for four buildings it wants to replace with a 24-story tower. Bluestone Brothers submitted a certificate of appropriateness request to the Downtown Commission for the project at 175-199 E. Rich St. Those structures, along with a vacated alley that runs through the site, would be demolished and replaced with a 504,000-square-foot building including residential, commercial and parking. The residential floors would have 277 units, including rooftop penthouses. Two commercial areas measuring 45,400 square feet would be located between a parking garage with 322 spaces.”

3

Residential - New M/I Homes Project to Bring Nearly 400 Housing Units to Powell

“A new residential project from Central Ohio's largest homebuilder is set to break ground. M/I Homes will start construction this spring on Clarkshaw Crossing in Powell. Located off Sawmill Parkway between Hyatts Road and Clark-Shaw Road, the community will include nearly 400 townhomes and single-family residences. Pricing for the two-story townhomes will start in the upper $300,000s, and single-family residences start in the $400,000s. Homes range from 1,500 square feet to 2,400 square feet, with two to four bedrooms, two to three bathrooms and two-car garages.”