Industrial sites · Ohio
Trolley District
Opened 1882. Closed 1980. Redeveloped · Reinhabited in 2021.
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Site profile11 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
3+ other atlas sites within 10 km
This site: 7 within 10 km computed · all sites with thisCounty permitting 2,000+ apartment units a year
This site: 5,940 units, Franklin County census-bps · all sites with thisHistoric tax credits
This site: …ent district" (DRD) (downtown redevelopment district (DRD)) historic tax credits; divert 70% of the site's property taxes for 30 years Appro newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisTax abatement or incentive
This site: …ict" (DRD) (downtown redevelopment district (DRD)) historic tax credits; divert 70% of the site's property taxes for 30 years Appro newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisUnder 20 acres
This site: 3 acres newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisRedeveloped
This site: East Market, a public market and food hall, as well as two bars, restaurants, a brewery, and event space, with plans for neighboring apartments. record · all sites with thisReinhabited
This site: East Market, a public market and food hall, as well as two bars, restaurants, a brewery, and event space, with plans for neighboring apartments. record · all sites with thisEntertainment and sports
This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisHousing
This site: …nts, a brewery, and event space, with plans for neighboring apartments. Approved by the city. newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisMixed use
This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisRetail (continued)
This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Retrofit builtnewtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Redeveloped · ReinhabitedWikipedia |
| New uses | entertainment, housing, mixed, retailWikipedia |
| What is there now | East Market, a public market and food hall, as well as two bars, restaurants, a brewery, and event space, with plans for neighboring apartments.newtypes-extraction |
| Retrofit year | 2021newtypes-extraction |
| Redeveloper | Brad DeHays of Connect Realtynewtypes-extraction |
Planning
| Zoning change | The city classified the site as a "downtown redevelopment district" (DRD) (downtown redevelopment district (DRD))newtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| Public purchase or subsidy | historic tax credits; divert 70% of the site's property taxes for 30 yearsnewtypes-extraction |
| Entitlement year | 2019Wikipedia |
| Planning notes | Approved by the city.Wikipedia |
Deals and debt
| Date | Event | Price | Parties | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Sold | — | Brad DeHays of Connect Realty ← Minnie McGee | Wikipedia |
| 2003 | Sold | $231,000 closed | Minnie McGee | Wikipedia |
Site context
| Housing permits, Franklin County (OH), 2024 | 5,940 units in 5+ unit buildings, 169 in 2–4, 2,013 single-family; 2023: 5,113 in 5+Census BPS |
|---|---|
| Other atlas sites nearby | 7 within 10 km, 10 within 25 km: 195 E. Broad Street (3.2 km); Columbus Bus Station (3.4 km); City Center (3.6 km); Northland (3.7 km); Indianola Park Shopping Center (5.6 km)computed |
| Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023 | 3,600 establishments (-1%); 65,828 jobs (+2%)Census CBP |
| Housing market in the county | typical home value $292,001 (+0% 1 yr, +23% 5 yr); typical rent $1,511/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research |
| Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024) | 18,984 vehicles a day on E BROAD ST (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 550 trucks; 19 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS |
Summary, model-written
Trolley District (3 acres, Columbus, OH) was a trolley barn/repair shop (1882–1980). Redeveloped as mixed-use (entertainment, retail, housing) starting in 2021. Current uses: East Market (food hall), two bars, restaurants, brewery, event space. Housing plans pending. Site is a National Register historic district. Zoned as downtown redevelopment district (DRD) with 30-year property tax diversion. Historic tax credits secured (2018). City approved tax agreement (2019). Construction began 2020, first bars opened 2021. East Market opened 2022. No occupancy rates or financials in record. Unknown: Current housing occupancy, tenant mix beyond listed uses, exact timeline for apartment construction.
Why. Record confirms retrofit built (2021), uses listed, incentives documented, timeline verified. Missing: Current operational metrics, housing completion status.
Where it stands. Active mixed-use project with historic designation, tax incentives, and phased openings. Housing component not yet built.
For a planner
- Historic district status confirmed
- DRD zoning and tax incentives in place
- Phased openings documented (2021–2022)
For a developer
- Tax credits and DRD zoning secured
- Housing plans exist but not built
- Retail/entertainment tenants operational since 2021
What we do not know yet
- Housing component not yet constructed
- No current occupancy or revenue data
- No tenant names beyond East Market/bars/brewery
Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- Columbus Bus Station, Columbus, OH · Other · similar size (2.45 acres); same strategy: redevelop; also in OH
- City Center, Columbus, OH · Malls · same strategy: redevelop; also in OH; 4 km away
- Northland Mall, Columbus, OH · Malls · same strategy: redevelop; also in OH; 11 km away
- 195 E. Broad Street, Columbus, OH · Strip centers · same strategy: reinhabit; also in OH; 3 km away
Elsewhere on the web
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- retrofit already built
- already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans
- county grew 3.6% 2018–23
- housing in the record
Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.
History and original facts
| Opened | 1882newtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| Closed | 1980newtypes-extraction |
| Acres | 3.0newtypes-extraction |
| Original developer | Columbus Railway & Light Co.newtypes-extraction |
| County | Franklin County |
| Census division | 3 · East North Central |
| Notes | Draft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: A former public transit facility (trolley barn complex) in Columbus, Ohio, was redeveloped into a mixed-use complex with a food hall, bars, restaurants, a brewery, and planned apartments. |
Not yet recorded: GLA. Know it? Tell us.
Background
The Trolley District is a mixed-use complex in Columbus, Ohio. The three-acre (1.2 ha) site houses the East Market, a public market and food hall, as well as two bars, restaurants, a brewery, and event space, with plans for neighboring apartments. The property is located in the city's Franklin Park neighborhood and is a contributing part of the Columbus Near East Side District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site's buildings were built between 1882 and 1920 to serve public transit in Columbus, including horsecars, streetcars, and buses. It became vacant in the 1980s and gradually fell into disrepair.
Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.
Timeline
- 1882 Opened
- 1980 became vacant
- 1980 Closed
- 2007 first redevelopment project began
- 2014 new redevelopment project began
- 2018 received historic tax credits
- 2019 city approved tax agreement
- 2020 construction began
- 2021 first two bars opened
- 2021 Retrofit: redevelop, reinhabit
- 2022 East Market opened
- 2023 Columbus Brewing Company opened
- 2023 Local Cantina restaurant opened
Sources
- Trolley District · CC BY-SA 4.0
11 quoted sentences
The Trolley District
It became vacant in the 1980s and gradually fell into disrepair.
A redevelopment project began in 2007, though it failed to make progress.
Another redevelopment project began in 2014