Photo provided An artist’s rendition of the 25th Street entrance to NexusPark.
City officials have said they expect variety of ribbon-cutting ceremonies this year as different components of the NexusPark campus — including the Circle K Fieldhouse — are finished and begin to open to the public.
NexusPark, 2380 25th St., is a joint effort between the city of Columbus and Columbus Regional Hospital to transform the former FairOaks Mall into a health, wellness and recreation center. The campus will include parks department and community spaces, CRH facilities, restaurant and retail areas and a fieldhouse.
During his final days in office, former Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop said last week that he expects to see a “variety of ribbon-cuttings” this year, including for the Circle K Fieldhouse, CRH spaces and the parks department spaces, though the specific dates had not yet been set.
The 150,000-square-foot fieldhouse is intended to be “a sports and events venue that will host a multitude of different types of sporting and non-sporting events,” including local, regional and state sports tournaments, as well as potentially hosting trade shows, conferences, graduations and large-scale community events, officials said.
Lienhoop, who left office earlier this week, said the fieldhouse is expected to hold what he described as “ticketed events” in April.
“I anticipate a ribbon cutting for the fieldhouse,” Lienhoop said. “…I didn’t get out there over the holiday break, but I believe the turf is down. …The hard courts are in and installed. So, once that is ready, we’ll have a ribbon-cutting for that facility, and I believe that there are what I call ticketed events scheduled for April.”
In addition, Lienhoop said he anticipates some ribbon-cutting ceremonies for CRH practices in the former Carson’s space on the west side of the mall property. CRH already opened one practice on the campus, OB/GYN Associates, which officially opened its doors on Oct. 23.
Additional CRH practices and services are expected to open at NexusPark during roughly the first quarter of the year, The Republic reported previously.
Those include BCSC Clinic; Healthy Communities; and Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy; and WellConnect in January. In February, Doctors Park Family Medicine, Rau Family Medicine and VIMCare Clinic, Lab Services and Sancrest Family Medicine are expected to open.
In March, Audiology and Family & Internal Medicine are set to open its doors, as well as Neurology and Sleep Sciences and Columbus Pediatrics in April.
So far, CRH only has received an occupancy permit for OB/GYN Associates, according to Bartholomew County Code Enforcement. No other occupancy permits have been applied for at the NexusPark campus, county code enforcement officials said.
“At some point, Columbus Regional (Health) will have a ribbon-cutting for its facilities,” Lienhoop said. “I would anticipate a community tour, an opportunity for them to show off what they’ve built there. I think it will have a really significant effect on the delivery of health care in our community.”
Lienhoop also said he anticipates the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department to open its new administrative offices on the NexusPark campus sometime during the first quarter of 2024. The parks department portion of the facility is located where JC Penney space had previously been.
The ribbon-cuttings would cap off several years of planning and work to transform the transform the former FairOaks Mall into a health, wellness and recreation center.
In 2018, the city and CRH, along with the help of the Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation, finalized the purchase of the former FairOaks Mall site. The City of Columbus is the majority partner, with a 75% ownership of the property. CRH owns a 25% share of the property.
“I think it’s going to be a significant addition to the recreational activities or opportunities that we’ve got, but it will also be a significant economic driver as well,” Lienhoop said. “Any time that you get people together, people congregated in an area, you get some kind of economic activity. …CRH expects 1,000 patients a day at its clinic. We are told to expect anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people on a weekend to visit the fieldhouse and to participate in some of the recreational sporting activities that will happen there.”
