Developer says ‘prominent stakeholder’ cost it Scioto Peninsula project
By Rick Rouan, The Columbus Dispatch
The developer of a $500 million, mixed-use project on the Scioto Peninsula said it lost the project because of concerns from a “prominent stakeholder.”
Guy Worley, CEO of the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, said in June that the corporation was replacing the Buckingham Companies on the project on the Scioto Peninsula because a major corporate tenant had fallen through.
But in a letter in May, Buckingham CEO Brad Chambers wrote that Worley had “called to indicate that we ultimately would not be allowed to move forward with the plan due to concerns expressed by a prominent stakeholder.”
The identity of that stakeholder is unclear from written communications released this week in response to a public records request by The Dispatch. The letter was among hundreds of pages of redacted communications between Columbus officials and others involved in the development.
“I can’t represent who Brad was referring to in his letter. I can share that CDDC has a seasoned, experienced board of directors and I regularly rely on their counsel. I also seek advice from other public and private leaders throughout the community,” Worley said in a statement.
The development is a key piece of the city’s plan to revitalize the area west of Downtown. It would stretch north and south of Broad Street west of COSI and the new National Veteran’s Memorial and Museum.
Columbus and Franklin County both own property within the project area, with the CDDC leading the development effort. In December, CDDC announced that it had selected Indianapolis-based Buckingham Companies as its master developer.
The redactions by the city cloak the renderings and site plans for the Scioto Peninsula project and shield the identity of the tenant that is considering the development for its corporate headquarters.
For the full article visit: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180711/developer-says-prominent-stakeholder-cost-it-scioto-peninsula-project