What happened when Schottensteins offered Crew land

Twenty+ acres of vacant land sits northwest of Huntington Park but apparently isn’t fit for a massive mixed-use community, nor is it a fit for a new Crew Stadium.

Schottenstein Real Estate Group had big plans to build Grand Central, a 23-acre development of two residential towers, a conference center, two hotels, a grocery store, and a “main street” style retail and restaurant section. But after discovering the many flaws of the area—poor access, railroad tracks, traffic problems—they decided to ditch the project.

That’s when conversation spurred between the Schottensteins and the Crew. The Dispatch reports the Schottensteins offered to give the land to the Crew but the idea flopped because of the area’s inability to accommodate a soccer stadium as well as its aforementioned issues.

Here is the exchange between Schottenstein Real Estate president, Brian Schottenstein and president of Crew business operations Andy Loughnane:

Loughnane: …”I just wanted to circle back and let you know that last week I sent generic (but accurate) stadium dimensions to Don Hunter for him to overlay on yoru area district parcels. As a next step I’m curious how that lays out on your property. Pending his analysis we can regroup. Thx, Andy.

Schottenstein: “Per your email it didn’t look like it could fit on the property unfortunately.

Loughnane: Okay- thanks for the update. Appreciated the opportunity to discuss & explore.”…

Visit Columbus Business First for the complete exchange.

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