The FairOaks Community Development Corp. Board will meet to decide whether to approve a contract with a design firm chosen to help define the future of FairOaks Mall and Donner Center.
The board will meet at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the former J. Nicole Store at FairOaks Mall. The meeting is open to the public.
The design firm, MKSK, was selected April 30 by the eight-member board, which includes Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop and Columbus Regional Health CEO Jim Bickel, to lead the process of transforming FairOaks Mall into a community wellness and sports tourism complex, as well as exploring new potential uses for Donner Center.
MKSK is a collective of architects, urban designers and planners with studios in Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis and West Lafayette; Detroit, Michigan; Greenville, South Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; and Cincinnati, Ohio. MKSK was one of three firms that the FairOaks Community Development Corp. Design Committee invited for public, in-person interviews on April 17 and 18.
If the board approves the contract, which totals $212,200, the Columbus City Council will decide how to appropriate funds during its June 4 and June 18 meetings. Additionally, the Columbus Parks Board will hold a meeting at 2 p.m. Friday at Columbus City Hall to discuss funding for the project.
Overall, the city would be responsible for $166,367 of the $212,200 in fees for the contract, according to figures provided by Tom Brosey, a former Cummins Inc. executive the city hired as a consultant for the project. CRH would contribute the remaining $45,833.
Approximately 75 percent of the fees associated with the Fair Oaks Mall site, or $137,498, would be paid for by the city, with CRH putting up the remaining 25 percent, or $45,833. The fees for the Donner Center total $28,869. CRH would not be contributing funds, at least at this point, for fees related to Donner Center.
According to the contract, MKSK and its subcontractors, Perkins+Will, Greenstreet Ltd. and Moss Construction Cost Management, would “provide analyses, alternatives, recommendations and conceptual plans” for indoor and outdoors spaces at the FairOaks Mall site and Donner Center, as well as their connectivity with the surrounding area, including the People Trail, Hamilton Center, Lincoln Park, Columbus Regional Hospital, CSA-New Tech high school, among others. The design firm and its subcontractors would also look at potential for development, public infrastructure upgrades, improved parking and other “enhancements” in the mid-town area of Columbus.
Additionally, under the terms of the contract, the design firm and its subcontractors would engage with public and private stakeholders, including city and CRH officials, the FairOaks design team, as well as members of the public, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. students, Indiana University J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program students and other stakeholders.
On Dec. 14, the city finalized the purchase of the 35.36-acre mall property at 25th Street and Central Avenue for $5.9 million. The city put up approximately $4 million, or 75 percent of the property’s appraised value.
Columbus Regional Health contributed $1.3 million, or 25 percent of the appraised value. Additionally, the Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County committed to providing $450,000, which is the difference between the selling price and the appraised value.
The impetus behind the purchase is to transform FairOaks Mall into a community wellness and sports tourism complex.
The property could include an indoor recreation center and an air-supported dome facility for indoor softball, soccer, volleyball or other sports. Connectivity with Hamilton Community Center & Ice Arena, the Lincoln Park Softball Complex, the People Trail and Columbus Regional Hospital are being considered.
Also being considered are indoor soccer competition fields surrounded by a track, indoor softball fields, room for indoor hardwood court sports such as basketball and volleyball and also a space for fitness and indoor recreation. The city also hopes to to move its parks and recreation department offices from the aging Donner Center to the mall site as part of the project.
The potential uses for the property also go beyond sports. Wellness activities and classes, including nutrition and cooking classes have been discussed. Columbus Regional Health is partnering with the city and hopes to provide some programming on the mall site. Food and restaurant services could also be provided on the mall property.
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What: FairOaks Community Development Corp. Board meeting
When: 1:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: The former J. Nicole Store space at FairOaks Mall
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