Mike Wolanin | The Republic Workers remove part of the FairOaks Mall sign on the building facing 25th Street in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022.
Local officials are taking a step towards cementing FairOaks Mall’s new identity as NexusPark.
Work has begun on removing FairOaks signage from the mall. Mary Ferdon, the city’s executive director of administration and community development, said that removal began Wednesday and would likely be completed quickly.
Green Sign Company did the external sign removals, while the internal signage was removed by parks and NexusPark facilities staff.
“This is just so that we start getting the community to think that this is NexusPark, and it’s hard to do with FairOaks all over the outside of the building and on the property,” Ferdon said at the FairOaks Community Development Corp. Board’s Jan. 12 meeting.
“…As we move forward, we know that we need to get the NexusPark branding up on the property.”
Tom Brosey, a consultant for the city on the project, said that officials wanted to have the mall signage taken down before Jan. 27, the planned launch date for both a project website and the reveal of the NexusPark logo. The scope of work discussed with Green Sign also included removal of the two Carson’s signs.
“At least in this quote, we’re assuming that the disposal of the signage … can be handled either by the ongoing construction team or by the city of Columbus,” he added.
However, not all of the signs will be thrown away.
“We will keep some of the signage for historical purposes,” Ferdon said Thursday.
NexusPark is a joint venture between the city of Columbus and CRH to transform FairOaks Mall into a health, wellness and recreation center.
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 NexusPark campus is expected to include, among other things, an indoor sports fieldhouse, Columbus Parks administrative and recreational spaces and CRH facilities.
