Mike Wolanin | The Republic Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop delivers the annual State of the City address at The Commons in Columbus, Ind., Monday, March 6, 2023.
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop and other city leaders identified two major challenges early in his administration — the increasing number of people suffering from substance use disorders and an increase in railroad traffic through the city.
Now, as Lienhoop approaches retirement, he says that there are once again two things on his mind.
“Their names are Ben and Evey,” he said. “They live out west, in San Francisco, and they don’t know it yet, but they will soon be receiving heavy doses of Grandma and Grandpa.”
Lienhoop delivered the 2023 State of the City address Monday evening at The Commons — his last time to do so, as he announced in November that he would not seek a third term. He used his final State of the City address to discuss past achievements, ongoing projects and plans for the future.
The event also featured a presentation of colors from the Columbus Police and Fire Guard and a performance by the choir of The Sanctuary church, with the latter also leading attendees in a passionate rendition of “God Bless America” as the night drew to a close.
The occasion marked the first time that the State of the City has been held in person since early 2020, with the 2021 and 2022 addresses delivered in a prerecorded video format amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lienhoop, who was glad to be back in person, commended community leaders for their collaboration in responding to the health crisis.
“Frankly, there was no better example of The Columbus Way,” he said. “We became an example to others of how a community can come together to face challenges. And, while we still contend with COVID and its variants, our community response in 2020, 2021 and early 2022 was a bright spot amid a dismal time.”
This collaboration was one of several community and city achievements that Lienhoop highlighted in his speech, as he looked back over his time in office. He also discussed the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, the railroad overpass project, public safety work, the Envision Columbus plan and Columbus winning the 2022 Community of the Year award from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
In discussing current projects, Lienhoop passed the mic to Columbus Director of Administration and Community Development Mary Ferdon for an overview and update on NexusPark.
The project is a joint effort between the city of Columbus and Columbus Regional Health to transform the former FairOaks Mall into a health, wellness and recreation center. The campus is expected to include a fieldhouse, parks department and community spaces, restaurant and retail areas and CRH facilities. Outdoor community park and gathering spaces are planned, and Dunham’s is expected to remain on-site under its current lease.
Ferdon reported that the estimated completion date for the Circle K Fieldhouse is later this year, and the city expects the parks and community space to “begin coming on line early in 2024.” She also noted that work began last year on a design for the exterior campus, including a 2.5 acre park and one mile of walking trails. Project leaders hope to begin phasing this portion of the project later on in 2023.
Various entities have invested roughly $100 million into NexusPark, according to Ferdon. This includes more than $50 million from CRH, almost $40 million from the city and the Columbus Redevelopment Commission (with more to come), $1 million from the American Rescue Plan, $6 million from the state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, and $4.3 million in private donations.
Ferdon called the project a labor of love by city, parks and hospital staff, as well as countless volunteers and contractors.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” she said. “We’ve developed a unique health and wellness vision, embraced the adaptive reuse of a community space, found great partners, encouraged economic development and are creating an inviting space where all of the community is welcome. We believe NexusPark will serve those who live and work here — and improve lives — for generations to come.”
Another ongoing project highlighted at the State of the City was The Taylor, a downtown development that will include 200 apartments and an urban grocer. Flaherty & Collins Properties is the developer on this project, and the company’s construction arm is the general contractor.
According to estimates from Flaherty & Collins, the project will cost $41 million. The city has agreed to invest $11.8 million into the development under the project agreement, according to Bruce Donaldson with the Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg.
City officials have said in the past that the development’s property tax dollars will reimburse the city for its contribution. The Columbus Redevelopment Commission also committed to selling property for the development at minimal cost to the developer.
Lienhoop said The Taylor is expected to open in late 2023.
He also discussed the city’s work with Meridiam Infrastructure North American Corp. The company has agreed to create a fiber network that officials say will reach at least 85% of Columbus and is also creating networks in Bartholomew County, Bloomington and Shelbyville.
Lienhoop noted that the project was a collaborative effort between the various communities, which worked together to attract a private investor that none of them could have attracted individually.
In July, Columbus City Council approved a tax abatement for Hoosier Networks — a fiber network utility provider established by Meridiam — that will save the company 95% on personal property taxes every year for 20 years on $28 million in new equipment for the fiber-to-premise project. The city will also use some of Columbus’ American Rescue Plan funds to help cover the cost of connection for low-income residents.
“They’re digging holes and laying fiber optic cable throughout town and are on their way to your neighborhood soon,” said Lienhoop. “As of today, Hoosier Fiber Networks and its construction partners have laid 58,600 feet of fiber conduit, and they’ve passed 841 homes in our city. They’re almost finished with what we call the ‘big block area’, generally Second Street up to 25th, Washington Street over to Central. When complete, we will see internet with 1 gig capacity up and 1 gig down throughout town. We will be among the most wired communities in the nation.”
It was announced in September that GigabitNow would serve as the initial internet service provider for the fiber to home network. The city hopes for customers to be able to begin signing up for service by mid-May, said Lienhoop.
He also mentioned some potential future projects that are on city officials’ minds, including environmental work, facility needs for Animal Care Services and housing development.
“Environmental Resilience: Project 46,” as he referred to it in his speech, is a work in progress, Lienhoop told The Republic. He said that city officials have had some discussions with Bloomington and Brown County and are hoping to create a program where the three communities can collaborate on “economically feasible” projects that can lessen carbon footprint and improve the environment in their respective areas.
Lienhoop said that the potential project is in very early stages, with city officials hoping to work on it some later this year.
In regards to Animal Care Services, the shelter experienced some flooding in late December, with pipes bursting due to frigid temperatures.
“We’ve sort of come to the realization that we need to do something significant with respect to that facility,” said Lienhoop. “It is not doing a very good job of what it was designed to do, which was to house dogs, cats and other animals. And it’s not the kind of work environment that we want for our employees, so we’ll begin to study what kind of a solution we should have and hopefully have something to report back to the community later on this summer.”
When asked about housing, he said the city has some ideas and open pieces of ground that they’re trying to find a developer.
“But it’s always a little speculative to try to say what we might want to do with other people’s land, so I’m hesitant to say much,” he said.
He added that a new automatic assistance agreement between the city’s fire department and that of Columbus Township will be helpful in proving good response times as development continues in the Lowell Road area.
Other plans for the future include continued economic diversification, downtown activation and the ongoing riverfront project, with Lienhoop joking that the latter “continues to be the slowest project in the state.”
As he brought his speech to a close, the mayor thanked his wife and others who supported him during his initial campaign and time in office.
“Thanks to all of you once again for your affinity for Columbus and your willingness to get involved,” he said. “Columbus is blessed with an outstanding city council, hardworking, diligent, employees, and board and commission members and other volunteers who take their civic roles to heart. I am glad that I played my part.”
