The Catholic Diocese of Columbus wants to demolish a five-story Downtown building it owns to expand a surface parking lot, a proposal that appears at odds with city goals to redevelop an "abundance" of such lots.
The Diocese recently filed plans to raze its building at 197 E. Gay St., across from Saint Joseph Cathedral, to expand and reconfigure an existing surface lot on the property. The proposal comes months after part of the building's brick facade collapsed, though it was later determined the building was safe to occupy, according to Department of Building and Zoning Services spokesperson Cynthia Rickman.
Built in 1908, the building includes a main five-story structure, a two-story structure and a one-story garage. It currently houses the Diocese
offices and Catholic Social Services, including the Our Lady of Guadalupe Center. Diocese spokesperson Jason Mays declined to provide more information about the proposal.
"We don’t have anything to add beyond the demolition permit request simply because there a number of unknown factors at this point," Mays said in an email.
The Diocese needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Downtown Commission, which is scheduled to consider the application at its Oct. 27 meeting, according to Department of Development spokesperson Christine Reedy.
City policy, however, generally discourages plans like the Diocese's.
"I am not supportive of buildings coming down in Downtown without a solid development plan for what replaces it," Columbus City Councilmember Nick Bankston, also chair of the Finance and Economic Development committee, said. "If there's a need for a building to come down and the short-term is to utilize it for parking but with the clear indication and pathway forward for redevelopment, that is something that I would be supportive of, but simply taking down buildings to expand surface lots is not."
The Downtown Commission has also historically avoided granting demolition permits for structures unless a replacement building is planned, with Reedy adding that the general intent of the city's Downtown Design Guidelines is to encourage the preservation of existing building stock.
"The guidelines state non-accessory parking lots are not an appropriate replacement use for razed buildings," she said in an email.
As of three years ago, more than a quarter of downtown Columbus was comprised of surface lots, according to a Parking Reform Network study. City officials, including Bankston, previously told The Dispatch that Downtown's surface parking lots are at times a wasted opportunity for housing or mixed-use development.
"[That] is what we should be doing," Bankston said, "not adding to the already abundance of surface parking lots we have."
Bankston acknowledged that an unsafe building could warrant an exception to his position. And the condition of the Diocese building might do just that.
The city's Department of Building and Zoning Services issued a violation notice Jan. 13 after a parapet wall collapsed and the building's west wall was deemed unsafe, Rickman said in an email.
Local engineering and planning firm Kabil Associates inspected the building that month and determined it was "safe from collapse/failure" and could remain occupied because the fallen brick facade was not part of its structural frame, Rickman added. The firm removed loose brick and installed temporary ties over concerns that more of the facade could pull away.
The building and its surrounding sidewalks and alley have remained "voluntarily" fenced off while its condition is regularly monitored, Rickman said. The city has conducted weekly visual inspections and observed no visible changes, and Kabil is working on an updated report on the building's condition.
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Diocese wants to raze Downtown building for parking, but city may balk
