Brian Payne
City officials have approved a funding increase for Columbus Municipal Airport’s efforts to prepare some of its property for future industrial or commercial tenants.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission voted Monday to approve a resolution increasing Milestone Contractors’ contract on this project by $45,000 for additional utility extensions, with the funds coming from the airport’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. With this increase, the total not-to-exceed amount on the contract is now $1.195 million.
Columbus City Council voted in November to authorize the commission to grant $1.15 million in TIF funds to the airport for the extension of Grissom Street. The extension is part of the airport’s plans for an “airplex commerce center.” As stated in the approved resolution, this project includes “the creation of shovel ready commercial/industrial parcels for future rental opportunities.”
Airport Director Brian Payne said at a previous city meeting that the $1.15 million would be used to extend Grissom Street near the Columbus Police Department firing range east to a new road that will be called Suverkrup Drive, which will run south and intersect with Poshard Drive.
The grant will also be used to add water and sewer utilities for parcels and add new infrastructure nearby, such as a crosswalk across from Poshard Drive connecting Suverkrup Drive to Deerbrook Drive and a side path on the Columbus People Trail down Poshard Drive to Middle Road.
The scope of the project has now been expanded to include “boring all utilities under the road and extending the sanitary sewer line.”
“There was some discussions when the project was bid about boring a water and sewer line under Poshard and not open cutting,” City Engineer Andrew Beckort explained. “And looking into that, that’s the path we’d like to go. The redevelopment commission spent almost $300,000 in 2015 to repair Poshard, repave. It still looks really good now, so we don’t want to cut into that and ruin that investment.”
He added that they also want to add another 300 feet of water line to an area of the project that was previously thought to have an existing line but does not.
Payne told the commission that the airport has already leased one parcel along the new road and are in negotiations regarding two additional parcels.
“Had we not have invested money into this road, water and sewer infrastructure, we would not be able to entertain any of these,” he said.
The new road, Suverkrup Drive, is named for the late Frank “Bud” Suverkrup, who died on Jan. 23, and was a member of the Columbus Board of Aviation Commissioners from 1976 to 1991. The naming decision was announced prior to his death.
