Columbus City Council adopts Cottonwood Heights redevelopment plan aiming to add workforce housing

Columbus City Council on March 17 adopted resolution R25-41 approving the Cottonwood Heights redevelopment plan for property southwest of East Sixth Avenue and East 30 Eighth Street, moving the project from plan stage toward detailed design and future permitting.

Tom Jackson, representing the Cottonwood Heights development team, told the council the project is intended to provide “highly needed homes for rural workforce housing.” He outlined an early concept that would include more than 75 single-family homes, about 38 townhomes, roughly 58 row houses and up to 400 apartment “doors,” plus as much as 500,000 square feet of commercial space that could house fast food, convenience uses and potentially an urgent care or medical clinic and child care.

The plan was presented at a public hearing; Jackson said the team will provide architectural drawings later in the process as designs are finalized. He told council members the development team had received interest from possible apartment and commercial operators and that the land plan leaves room for a mix of residential types and commercial services.

Council members asked for clarifications about access and the interface with nearby Lost Creek Parkway. One council member asked whether a frontage road would be built on the Lost Creek side; city staff and the applicant said the plan shows homeowners’ backyards adjacent to that corridor and that the design calls for a berm with landscaping, not a frontage road. Jackson said an internal Avenue D would serve as a primary access and that a roundabout is planned at a major intersection; he also acknowledged a possible school site near the project’s northern edge.

Jackson said the developer removed a previously shown “Street 4” from the plan at the city’s recommendation and will supply the council and staff with architectural elevations and more detailed drawings as they are completed. The planning commission had recommended approval.

A councilmember moved to adopt resolution R25-41; after a second, the council approved the measure by voice vote. No roll-call tally was given in the meeting transcript.

The decision allows the redevelopment plan to proceed to the next steps in the city’s review and permitting process; the council and staff will review the final layout, access points and design details as they are submitted by the applicant.

Several details given by the applicant remain conceptual and will be refined in subsequent submittals, including exact unit counts, final commercial tenants and any traffic improvements required with future permits.