Downtown Columbus is getting a grocery store, and it’s one that should make grabbing actual groceries a whole lot easier for people who live, work, and go to school in the area.
ALDI will build a new 20,000-square-foot grocery store at the northwest corner of Cleveland Avenue and Spring Street, right next to Columbus State Community College’s downtown campus. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2027, with the store opening in 2028.
The project is being developed through Columbus State Community Partners, the college’s real estate affiliate.
It will bring a national grocery retailer to downtown for the first time in decades, according to Columbus State.
The store will sit on about 1.7 acres of largely vacant college-owned property. ALDI will build and own the grocery store, while Columbus State Community Partners will prepare the site, including infrastructure improvements and the demolition of several vacant buildings.
And while a new grocery store is useful for pretty much everyone, Columbus State says the project is particularly important for its students.
Food insecurity is one of the non-academic challenges that can make it harder for students to stay in school, and having a full-service grocery store within walking distance of campus could make a meaningful difference for students who are already juggling classes, jobs, families, and everything else life has decided to throw at them.
“Having a national grocer right next to our downtown campus will expand food options for Columbus State students while strengthening the broader community,” Columbus State President David T. Harrison said.
The project is also part of a larger push to redevelop the area around Columbus State and Cleveland Avenue, which the college is calling the “Opportunity Corridor.”
That redevelopment includes a planned Columbus State YMCA, a new downtown fitness and wellness center being developed with the YMCA of Central Ohio. The center is expected to open in fall 2028 and will include free drop-in childcare for Columbus State students while they attend classes.
There’s also Opportunity Pointe, a 166-unit mixed-income apartment complex from Woda Cooper Companies that will be built next to campus. The development is expected to open by the end of 2027 and will reserve 20 apartments exclusively for Columbus State students.
The grocery store is getting some public investment, too. Franklin County has committed $900,000 toward predevelopment, utility, and infrastructure work, while the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation will contribute another $100,000 toward demolishing the existing structures.
The new ALDI will also put fresh groceries within walking distance of downtown homes, classrooms, and public transit, potentially making it useful well beyond the Columbus State campus.
For a downtown that has gone a surprisingly long time without a traditional grocery store, the arrival of ALDI could be one of those relatively ordinary developments that ends up making everyday life considerably easier.
