City Council Approves Plan to Quadruple Downtown Population

Columbus, Ohio — Columbus is booming, but city leaders say it’s not growing fast enough. On Monday, the Columbus City Council unanimously approved a resolution that would quadruple the population of downtown Columbus by 2040.

More than 10,000 people live in downtown Columbus today, and there will be 40,000 by 2040 if the city council is on track.

“We must build,” said Columbus City Council Speaker Shannon Hardin.

Hardin said the downtown area needs to become a “vibrant economic engine” after the pandemic. There are several ways he said this could be achieved.

This includes the conversion of aging office buildings to housing, approval of high-density housing, and a “15 minute downtown” where neighbors can easily walk to grocery stores, child care centers, etc. It is included.

“I don’t think it’s impossible. They can always do it. But I don’t think it will be easy.

Motoyama said 15 minutes is a “good” number when thinking of “15 minutes downtown.”

“It’s usually the maximum distance or length of time that people want to walk. said.

Motoyama has studied the vibrancy of communities within the state. He said Columbus and Franklin counties are already well positioned to increase their population.

Another element of planning is making sure you have affordable housing options.

Carlie Boos, executive director of the Affordable Housing Alliance, said: Central Ohio.

Another part of the city’s plan is to increase the city’s workforce to 120,000. Currently, about 90,000 people work downtown, according to the Columbus Downtown Development Authority.

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