Columbus will have soil borings done at the proposed site for a new athletic fieldhouse which is to be part of the transformation of FairOaks Mall in to a health, wellness and recreation center.
The Columbus Board of Works has approved a contract with Patriot Engineering and Environmental, Inc for a geotechnical engineering investigation. City Director of Finance, Operations and Risk Jamie Brinegar said that the company has provided a quote of $14,500 for the work.
Geotechnical testing is needed at the proposed site of the fieldhouse. The city’s contract with Patriot includes three soil borings — one of 100 feet and two of 50 feet each. This will “give us an idea of the solid structure around that area to make sure it can support the facility,” Brinegar said.
“The proposed (NexusPark) project includes the construction of a sports facility located at the existing facility. The proposed structure will be a 70 feet tall building of slab-on-grade construction. The new building will be built over the top of the existing structure,” according to Patriot’s evaluation.
The fieldhouse is just one part of a bigger plan to reinvent FairOaks Mall.
Columbus Regional Health and the city of Columbus partnered in 2018 to purchase the mall facility and property at a 25% to 75% split, with the city retaining majority ownership for parks and recreation and sports tourism development. The Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation provided the difference between the selling price and the appraised value.
The purchase was driven by the idea of turning the mall into a community wellness, recreation and sports center, while also determining new potential uses for the Donner Center and connectivity with surrounding areas.
The mall project, newly-named NexusPark, was largely put on hold amid the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but planning and work have resumed.
NexusPark has been described as a “multi-use health, wellness and recreation campus.”
The city stated in a release that the NexusPark campus will include:
An indoor sports fieldhouse
Columbus Parks administrative, activity and community spaces
Retail
Restaurants
CRH medical and wellness offices
The overall project will include changes to Donner Center and Donner Park. However, the initial phases do not include renovations to Donner Center, as work at the FairOaks Mall site needs to be completed prior to those renovations.
