COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State University has plans to develop the eastern edge of its Columbus campus into an arts district.
The university started the process last week to hire architects and designers to develop plans for what officials hope will be a new “front door” for campus.
“It’s tired right now,” said Keith Myers, OSU associate vice president of physical planning and real estate. “It’s time for a refresh. We’ve got pavement failures there. We’ve got issues with the maintenance of the walls. There are just things there that need addressing.”
Trees along the concrete plaza outside the Wexner Center for the Arts have died, been replanted, are dying again. The concrete dates to the last update in the 1980s.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that OSU has budgeted $400,000 for the planning. The estimated cost for the project is $200 million over a decade, according to documents.
A new vision for the plaza would turn it into the heart of a planned arts hub, with several new buildings and performance spaces, and a major pedestrian artery stretching from High Street at 15th Avenue west to the Oval. The university wants to make it easier for visitors to get to the area on foot or by bus.
Ohio State released documents on Friday seeking a design team for the project.
Amid a $33 million update of Sullivant Hall, which houses the dance and art-education departments and a cartoon library, in 2013 officials estimated that the arts hub could cost as much as $200 million, but Myers said the cost will likely be lower.
Around the plaza, Ohio State wants to build and renovate a cluster of buildings to house arts departments from across campus. Nearby buildings in the School of Music would get a major uplift. The Department of Theatre would move across campus to the new arts district.