Columbus City Council has given its approval for the Redevelopment Commission to purchase property for the construction of a new court services building.
On Dec. 21, the Columbus Redevelopment Commission approved an agreement to purchase property at 555 First St. in Columbus from Tony Moravec for $555,000. Because the purchase exceeded $500,000, it required approval from the city council. City council approved the purchase at their Jan. 5 meeting.
“The acquisition of this property is key to the redevelopment commission continuing to work on the Envision Columbus plan and the redevelopment of our downtown,” said redevelopment director Heather Pope.
Commission attorney Stan Gamso said at the commission’s Dec. 21 meeting that this is an “as is sale,” and the city will pay all closing costs on the property and any additional costs that might come up as a result of the sale.
The purchase agreement also gives Moravec the option to purchase two parcels of riverfront property for $300,000, he said. The commission has the titles to these parcels.
City councilwoman Elaine Hilber said that this purchase is “a really big step in an even bigger project.”
“This is really going to change Columbus in a really big way, and I think it’s the right direction for the future of our community,” she said.
Current plans call for the current court services building, located in the former Elks Club at 507 Third St., to be torn down. That would empty an entire county-owned block for the city’s new hotel and conference center between Second, Franklin, Third and Lafayette streets.
The city receives that property as part of a land swap. In exchange, construction of the new court services building will mostly be handled by the city.
In July, Pope said that Sprague Hotel Developers have put the hotel conference center project on hold until the hospitality industry recovers from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
