The FairOaks Community Development Corp. Board on Tuesday approved MKSK to help guide the city through the process of defining the future of FairOaks Mall and Donner Center.
The eight-member panel, which includes Mayor Jim Lienhoop and Columbus Regional Health CEO Jim Bickel, tapped the design firm to help the city test the feasibility of proposed ideas for the project.
MKSK will also conduct a market analysis of the property and engage with the community to help the city decide what kinds of facilities should be offered on the mall site and at Donner Center as part of the city’s efforts to turn the mall into a community wellness, recreation and sports tourism complex.
The FairOaks Community Development Corp. Design Committee is in talks with MKSK to iron out the details of a formal contract with the city, including the number of public focus group sessions, project schedule, scope of work, among other items, said Jeff Bergman, city/county planning director who serves on the design committee.
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The design committee expects to wrap up contract talks by May 15. Bergman and Tom Brosey, a former Cummins Inc. executive the city hired as a consultant for the project, are representing the design committee in the contract talks.
“Having a product at the end of this that is based on public input and helps the whole community have a shared vision of what this place becomes I think will be really exciting,” Bergman said.
MKSK is a collective of architects, urban designers and planners with studios in Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis and West Lafayette; Detroit, Michigan; Greenville, South Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; and Cincinnati, Ohio. MKSK was one of three firms that the design committee invited for public, in-person interviews on April 17 and 18.
If a formal agreement is reached with MKSK by May 15, the full design committee will consider the contract at its May 17 meeting, which will be held at 4 p.m. at the old J. Nicole Store space at Fair Oaks Mall.
During the meeting, the committee could decide to recommend the contract to the FairOaks Community Development Corp. Board, which would then have final say on the contract at its May 28 meeting. If the board approves the contract, the Columbus City Council will consider how to appropriate the funds to pay for the city’s portion of the costs as early as mid-June, said Mary Ferdon, executive director of administration and community development for the city of Columbus.
During their presentation to the design committee in April, officials from MKSK and Perkins+Will, an architecture and design firm that will partner with MKSK on the project, initially estimated that collecting public input and data to formulate a master plan and make recommendations to the city would cost around $194,700.
Approximately 40 percent of the fee, or $77,700, would go to MKSK, $70,700 would go to Perkins+Will, $19,500 would go to Moss and $26,800 for Greenstreet.
However, design committee members said the fees are initial estimates and could change as contract talks evolve.
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The FairOaks Community Development Corp. Design Committee is in talks with MKSK to iron out the details of a formal contract with the city, including the number of public focus group sessions, project schedule, scope of work, among other items, said Jeff Bergman, city/county planning director who serves on the design committee.
The design committee expects to wrap up contract talks by May 15. Bergman and Tom Brosey, a former Cummins Inc. executive the city hired as a consultant for the project, are representing the design committee in the contract talks.
If a formal agreement is reached with MKSK by May 15, the full design committee will consider the contract at its May 17 meeting, which will be held at 4 p.m. at the old J. Nicole Store space at Fair Oaks Mall.
During the meeting, the committee could decide to recommend the contract to the FairOaks Community Development Corp. Board, which would then have final say on the contract at its May 28 meeting, which will be held at 1:30 p.m. at FairOaks Mall.
If the board approves the contract, the Columbus City Council will consider how to appropriate the funds to pay for the city’s portion of the costs as early as mid-June, said Mary Ferdon, executive director of administration and community development for the city of Columbus.
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