Ultimately, Trolley Park is set to have 24 units. Rendering courtesy of Legacy Management Services.
Lane Avenue and North High Street aren’t the only spots seeing real estate development in the University District next year.
Come fall 2017, at the intersection of North Grant Avenue and 11th Avenue, a two-story, 24-unit apartment building will open its doors to both students and young professionals. The property will feature on-site parking behind the building, and might see a dog park built on the rest of the unused land.
Legacy Management Services, the developer of the project, purchased the wedged-shaped parcel in January of 2014, but it wasn’t until recently that the group decided to build apartments.
“It’s so close to I-71, so we thought about self storage — having blocks where contractors could store trailers or machinery just close to the freeway,” said Corey Chester, the accounting manager at LMS. “But then once Wagenbrenner started cleaning up 11th (Avenue) block, we ended up going with apartments.”
Since 2013, Wagenbrenner Company, with the help of $3 million in tax credit from the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program, has been renovating 24 once-abandoned-buildings on East 11th Avenue in Weinland Park, turning them into off-campus housing aimed at Ohio State students and young professionals.
“We’re noticing such a big trend of young professionals’ families moving to this area that this isn’t directly marketed to just students,” said Cassidie Rahall, LMS’ marketing manager. “This area is great because of its easy access downtown and its close proximity to campus.”
Important to note, however, is that this particular parcel sits immediately adjacent to an active train track, garnering the name Trolley Park from LMS.
“We’re not hiding from the fact that it is by the train tracks,” Rahall said. “We’ve done a lot of research through Lennox Flats — it’s on the train tracks — and honestly they’ve had zero issues. We’ve embraced it, and that’s why we’re calling it Trolley Park.”
Rahall said that LMS is still working on the different packages and floor plans for the two-story building, but said it would strike a middle ground between high-end and typical campus properties.
“We’ve always been a management company that tries to keep things affordable with what we’re offering,” Rahall said. “We’re not ever the super high end luxury, but we are nice for the campus community.”
If all goes to plan, Trolley Park will be open for rental starting fall 2017, in time for the new year at OSU.
