Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop is set to deliver his annual State of the City address next month, focusing on city projects.
The speech will be at 6:30 p.m. March 3 at the FairOaks Mall, located at the corner of 25th Street and Central Avenue, and will feature updates on several ongoing city projects, including the FairOaks Mall, riverfront redevelopment and downtown hotel/conference center projects, Lienhoop said.
The mayor also said he plans to speak about Otter Creek Golf Course, which the city assumed full control over last month. The speech will be preceded by a reception at 6 p.m.
“We’ll provide an update on various city projects we’ve got underway,” Lienhoop said.
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Additionally, Columbus Regional Health President and CEO Jim Bickel has been invited to speak during the event and provide his vision for how he expects health care in the community to evolve and how CRH is preparing itself for the future, Lienhoop said.
“We asked him to come and give the community a little bit of insight into the hospital’s plans,” Lienhoop said. “Their real estate attracts a lot of attention, but they’ve got some other programs as well. …Like everything else, health care is evolving. How is it going to evolve in Columbus and how will the hospital health care system position itself for that? That’s what we’ve asked him to come talk about.”
Many of the projects that the mayor and Bickel will talk about during the address are expected to significantly shape the future of the city.
The city has partnered with the hospital on the FairOaks Mall project, which seeks to transform the mall into a community wellness, recreation and sports center, and determine new potential uses for the Donner Center and connectivity with the surrounding areas.
The proposed riverfront redevelopment project is expected to include the removal of the lowhead dam in the East Fork White River downtown, allow access for safety personnel, provide maintenance and repair of the river banks, add connections to the People Trail system, and add an in-water recreation area, among other items, according to a summary of the project on the city’s website.
A proposed downtown hotel/conference center downtown could include a 140-room hotel with about 4,000- to 5,000-square-feet of conference room space and a 9,000-square-foot ballroom.
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What: State of the City with Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop
When: 6:30 p.m. March 3, a reception begins at 6 p.m.
Where: FairOaks Mall, corner of 25th Street and Central Avenue
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