Ohio State’s law school will be leaving campus and heading downtown. The university and the City of Columbus announced Monday that the Moritz College of Law will move into the Huntington National Bank Building at 17 S. High St., across the street from the Statehouse, with an opening planned for fall 2029.
The 13-story building at Broad and High opened in 1926 and was Huntington’s headquarters for decades. Downtown Columbus Inc., the nonprofit development group, will own the building and lead the renovation. Ohio State will rent it under a 30-year lease with an option to buy later.
What the building becomes
WOSU reports the ground-floor banking lobby, with its original counters and teller cages, will be turned into an event space and common area. The upper floors will be gutted and rebuilt for classrooms, the law library and faculty offices. The building has about 200,000 square feet, and Ohio State said other colleges and administrative offices will use parts of it as needed.
Huntington still runs a branch on the ground floor. The bank said the branch will move next door to its headquarters at Huntington Center by summer 2027, before construction starts. Huntington sold the building in 2024, one of three downtown properties it put on the market that year.
What it costs, and what happens to Drinko Hall
Monday’s announcement did not include a price for the renovation or the lease. The law school stays in Drinko Hall on campus until the move, and Ohio State President Ravi Bellamkonda told reporters the university is still working out what to do with that building afterward.
Why downtown
A main benefit to moving downtown is proximity. The Ohio Supreme Court, Columbus City Hall and most of the city’s large law firms sit within a few blocks of the building. “Being within walking distance to courts, policymakers, law firms and public-interest organizations dramatically expands opportunities for externships, clerkships, clinical experiences and meaningful mentorship,” said Kent Barnett, dean of the college.
The idea came out of a trip that city and Downtown Columbus Inc. leaders took to Phoenix, where Arizona State University put its law school downtown. Moritz will be the second law school in downtown Columbus. Capital University’s law school is already on East Broad Street.
