A new report shows housing construction and occupancy downtown is growing. Mike Foley reports.
The report by the Capital Crossroads and Discovery special improvement districts shows apartment construction and interest in living downtown is growing. The number of people living downtown has grown from nearly 35 hundred in the year 2000 to more than 81 hundred this year. The report projects more than 10 thousand people will be living in the downtown area by the year 2019. In 2016, 221 new apartment units opened downtown, an additional 13 hundred are under construction and more than 700 have been proposed. An estimated 97 percent of downtown's apartments are occupied. The report does not address Columbus' problem of affordable housing creation. Most of the downtown units are not affordable for the majority of Columbus residents. 12 percent of office space dowtown is vacant. One building is in receivership, another has been converted into residential and hotel space, and there are plans to convert a third downtown office building. The report was presented at this week's Columbus Metropolitan Club forum.
