Plan for Historic Site in Delaware Calls for 180 Apartments

A 159-year-old building in Delaware that was originally built to hold a wooden chair factory could see new life under a plan from a Columbus-based developer.

RiverWest Partners acquired the structure last year, and today announced a plan to renovate the building and construct several new buildings around it. All together, the development would hold 180 apartments and 5,000 square feet of commercial space, along with about 3,000 square feet of space dedicated to residential amenities.

The historic building sits on a three-acre lot at 1 Flax St., just across the Olentangy River from State Route 23 and downtown Delaware. The development site also includes several smaller parcels located between Flax Street and East Central Avenue. RiverWest said in a press release that the buildings on the site have been “vacant for more than a decade.”

The release also said that the developer planned to “advance conversations with the neighborhood, city, county, and atate stakeholders to continue improving the project’s plan over the course of the next several months,” and to hopefully start construction before the end of the year.

The development could be the second significant project for RiverWest in Delaware. Last year, the company announced a plan to renovate the former CSX Rail Depot at the southeast corner of East Central Avenue and Lake Street, just a few blocks to the east.

That project is still on track, according to Prinicipal Brian Suiter, despite not being awarded state historic tax credits last year.

Suiter said that they plan to resubmit the development in a different category this year, “which should improve our odds,” and that they are “currently negotiating a lease with a brewery/restaurant/wine bar concept that will take all three floors of the building.”