The Columbus Redevelopment Commission has hired a Chicago-based consultant to guide city officials in a search for a developer for a proposed hotel and conference center that could include an urban grocery.
Hunden Strategic Partners, who has done work previously for the city in creating a market and financial feasibility analysis for the project, was hired Monday for an amount not to exceed $62,600.
The company, which specializes in hospitality industry projects, will help the city write a request for qualifications and a request for proposals for the project, and then guide city officials in finding and selecting a developer for the project, said Heather Pope, Columbus Redevelopment director.
The request for qualifications is a summary of a developer’s past work, a sort of resume of accomplishments, she explained to the commission members. The request for proposals is a detailed document that includes the scope, materials, design and plans for the project.
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Last November, Hunden recommended that Columbus could support a 140-room hotel with conference room space, and a 9,000-square foot ballroom, five meeting rooms and 380 parking spaces. The estimated cost of the development would be about $25 million.
The consultant also recommended that the hotel have a three-meal restaurant with a catering kitchen for event space, and an upscale food and beverage option.
Pope said city officials had decided to try to find a developer who might be willing to work in the urban grocery as part of the project, along with the conference center.
“The question is can we marry those two projects together,” she said. “It depends on what kinds of developers are out there.”
Hunden is familiar with many developers that the city might not have access to and will assist in marketing the project to companies that might be interested in the project, Pope said.
The process in finding a developer could take six to eight months, she said, and will involve working with the Envision Columbus committee put in place for the hotel/conference center project.
In a presentation last November, Hunden said a Bartholomew County-owned site and adjoining parking lot, 2.28 acres between Second and Third Street just north of the county jail, and the Columbus Post Office site, 2.34 acres at 450 Jackson St., are the recommended possible sites for the development.
Envision Columbus is a public-engagement process looking at downtown Columbus and the near-downtown area that involved an online survey, 12 focus group meetings and three public-input meetings to gather feedback to create a plan for growth.
The proposed improvements call for an urban grocer, the conference center/hotel with performance venue possibilities, townhomes, neighborhood reinvestment, park enhancements and greater street connectivity.
Hunden has been working with DAVID RUBIN Land Collective, the firm leading the Envision Columbus study, city officials said.
Pope said Hunden will provide updates to the commission as the work continues, including a formal presentation about recommendations for a developer.
