Image from the Bartholomew County GIS system with the 18 acres at 327 Water Street the redevelopment commission now owns outlined in light blue.
City officials accepted the conveyance of about 18 acres of land previously owned by Columbus City Utilities.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission during their meeting last week unanimously voted to take on the property at 327 Water Street, which used to be home to CCU’s wastewater treatment plant.
It’s located just beyond some trees behind city hall and comes as redevelopment just enlisted three firms— Sasaki, SB Friedman and Storyboard— to put together a new downtown strategic plan for the city, with an emphasis on properties that are city-owned.
Mary Stroh, city legal counsel, said the 18-acres are adjacent to other properties owned by the redevelopment commission and that it will “provide additional desirable area for future development with the current proposed projects that are out there.”
Some of those aforementioned properties include 15 Brown Street and just over an acre at 46 E and Water Street, which redevelopment acquired in 2022, and a 1-acre property at the corner of Water and Lafayette streets, purchased by the commission in 2023.
There is no price tag associated with the transfer, Stroh added.
According to Columbus Redevelopment Commission President Al Roszczyk, about 12 acres of the property are developable.
