Planning commission approves Gahanna Logistics Center development plan and variances

The Gahanna Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a development plan and related variances for the Gahanna Logistics Center, a proposed one‑story, 141,000‑square‑foot warehouse and office building on Tech Center Drive.

Planning staff told the commission the site is 10 acres split across two county parcel prefixes in two different townships, which prevents the parcels from being combined for zoning and created several unavoidable variance requests. Staff recommended approval, saying the proposal is consistent with nearby warehouse projects within the Central Park overlay.

The project would build a 141,000‑square‑foot building with about 7,500 square feet of office and roughly 133,000 square feet of warehouse, 118 car parking spaces, five semi‑trailer parking spaces and 25 loading docks. The building height is shown at about 38 feet; the IM (Innovation and Manufacturing) zoning allows up to 65 feet. The applicant’s site plan places loading docks and truck parking toward the rear of the site to limit visibility from neighboring properties and a city‑owned conservation area.

Planning staff presented five central‑park overlay variances requested to reduce parking setbacks, alter drive width for truck maneuvering, modify required front‑facing building materials, waive a parapet requirement to screen rooftop equipment and reduce required foundation plantings. Staff described four of the five as commonly requested and granted, and said one variance (setback/parcel combination) is effectively unavoidable because the two lots are in different taxing jurisdictions.

Aaron Underhill, land‑use counsel for Volosius Industrial Gahanna LP, said the project is speculative and estimated an investment of about $19,000,000. He and team members described site constraints — steep rear slopes down to a creek, shallow bedrock in places, public utility easements in the rear and an existing public trail along the east side — that pushed the building and improvements toward the road and drove several of the variance requests.

Ryan O’Leary of KBC Development said the building is designed for flexibility: it can accommodate a single large user or be divided into multiple smaller spaces (down to roughly 40,000 square feet). He told the commission the Columbus industrial market shows demand in that size range and that the developer expects production and light distribution tenants rather than high‑truck‑count third‑party logistics operators.

Commissioners asked about truck stacking and the number of overflow trailer parking spaces. The applicant said civil engineering constrained where trailer parking and detention could be placed — a deep public sanitary sewer and the need to preserve trees and topography limited options — and that the five overflow trailer stalls were the most viable solution on the site, while the 25 docks provide flexibility for future tenants.

Commissioners also discussed a planned retaining wall along the west side to address steep grades; the general contractor described a cast‑in‑place concrete wall that will vary in height across the site, rising as much as about 10–16 feet in the deepest area. The applicant confirmed the existing multiuse trail in a public easement along the site’s east side will remain and that the project will provide a 10‑foot landscaping buffer between the trail and the parking curb.

The commission voted to approve the development plan (DP-0003-2025) on a roll call vote in favor, with a motion by Commissioner Mako and a second by Commissioner Siriano. The companion variance application (V-0015-2025) also passed on a roll call vote after a motion by Commissioner Mako and a second by Commissioner Siriano.

What happens next: the approvals permit the applicant to move to engineering and construction permitting; specific tenant fit‑outs, additional signage or drive‑throughs (not part of this application) would require separate reviews if proposed.