Bringing a unique and exciting face-lift to the historic downtown area of Columbus, Ohio, the Broad & High Streets Mixed-Use Development is the center for an ever-changing 21st-century city. Comparable to structures found in Manhattan’s Times Square, the 50,000-square-foot development includes the “8 on the Square” luxury condominiums, street-level retail, office spaces, digital ticker tapes, billboards, a parking garage, and gardens atop a four-story building. With a breath-taking view, residents of the 1,400- to 2,800-square-foot condominiums have access to professional businesses, as well as state and local government facilities, such as the Ohio Statehouse. Additionally, at the crossroads of Broad & High streets, residents are at the median of the city’s best entertainment and events.

This complex project resulted in several challenges for SMBH during the design and construction phases of the development. One of the major issues was developing an area of downtown, while keeping its historic features intact. The site itself required the demolition of an existing building, while maintaining the structure of other attached buildings. Additionally, the basement of the building had to be constructed 15-feet deeper than the basements of the attached buildings. A one-story parking garage was constructed beneath the building. Structural steel framing and reinforced concrete columns were used to support the building. The adjacent 16-story 8 East Broad Building required the addition of stairs to meet code requirements. To achieve this, an addition that included the new stairs and balconies for the condominiums was added. The new structure had to be constructed above the four-story building while being separate from the structure below. This resulted in creative design of the framing to achieve the design intent of the building.