A new tower is officially on its way to downtown Columbus, and it is another major piece falling into place for the long-planned Capitol Square Renaissance.
This week, the Downtown Commission approved plans for a 12-story mixed-use apartment building along South Fourth Street, right next to the Preston Centre. The project is being developed by Edwards Companies and will rise on what is currently a surface parking lot, continuing the transformation of this stretch of downtown into a denser, more walkable district.
The building will include 218 apartment units spread across nine residential floors, with ground-floor commercial space and two levels of structured parking. In total, the project includes 225 parking spaces. Planned amenities lean into modern downtown living, with a rooftop patio, a third-floor courtyard, and even a dog park built into the design.
Renderings shared earlier this year show a tower that visually connects the Preston Centre to future phases of the Capitol Square Renaissance. The goal is to stitch together multiple blocks south of Broad Street into one cohesive neighborhood rather than a collection of disconnected projects.
When the tower was first proposed over the summer, developers described it as a key connector within the broader $600 million Capitol Square Renaissance. That multi-phase redevelopment spans roughly 10 acres and ultimately calls for more than 1,000 residential units, nine restaurants, close to 200,000 square feet of office space, structured parking, and new public green space near the Ohio Statehouse.
Several pieces of that vision are already in place.
The Preston Centre, a conversion of the former PNC Tower, now houses apartments and dining options like Butcher & Rose. Nearby, the Pembroke building on East Broad Street opened earlier this year with 164 apartments. This newly approved Fourth Street tower is meant to bridge those completed projects with what comes next.
Future phases are expected to include a sister building across Fourth Street and another residential tower planned near the Statehouse that would incorporate a new public park known as Capitol Park.
While the Downtown Commission approval clears an important hurdle, Edwards Companies has not yet announced a construction timeline or completion date for the Fourth Street tower. Earlier projections for the overall Capitol Square Renaissance target a full build out by around 2030.
For now, the approval signals continued momentum for a part of downtown that is rapidly changing from parking lots and underused buildings into a neighborhood built for people to live, work, and spend time.
