Pins Mechanical, Rockbridge hotel no longer in Peninsula phase 2 plan

The entertainment company Pins Mechanical has pulled out of the Peninsula development in Franklinton, part of a broader downsizing of the project's second phase.

In addition to the lack of Pins, the second Peninsula phase will also not include offices and a hotel, as previously announced.

Instead, two apartment buildings, a grocery store and a parking garage will make up the next part of the 26-acre project, on the west side of the Scioto River next to COSI.

A spokesperson for Columbus-based Rise Brands, which operates Pins and 16-Bit Bar+Arcade, said the company is focusing on its core Downtown sites - the original Pins on North 4th Street and 16-Bit on South 4th Street. Earlier this year, Rise Brands bought the Pins' North 4th Street property for $3.4 million.

"We've decided we’re no longer a part of phase two of the Scioto development," said Erin Frum, vice president of marketing for Rise Brands. "We bought the Pins building on 4th Street, home of our original Pins, that’s really the more strategic and sustainable choice for our brand. ... We’re excited to stay and invest."

Frum also said the company hoped 16 Bit would remain as part of a major development on South 4th Street.

Plans for the Peninsula's second phase announced last year called for Pins to occupy 40,000 square feet in the first two floors of a hotel developed by the Columbus company Rockbridge, which developed the Junto hotel in the Peninsula's first phase.

Amy Taylor, president of Downtown Columbus Inc., which is overseeing the Peninsula development, said phase two will move ahead without the hotel.

"The developers’ plans have changed," she said. "We respect that decision and we’re developing full steam ahead to replan that lot. We know that lot is very important, it’s in a crucial location, and we want to take advantage of all the activity around it."

Rockbridge did not say why it backed off plans for a second hotel in the Peninsula, but the company remains committed to the overall development, according to a company statement.

"We worked on the project for two years and we continue to believe in the destination and in extending the energy The Junto brings to the neighborhood," according to the statement. "We will continue to work toward a vision to do just that."

Taylor said she still expects the site to include an entertainment component as part of a mixed-use building.

"We want to make sure we have a first-floor entertainment experience and vertical above it," she said.

Two other buildings planned for the Peninsula's second phase will move forward, though on a smaller scale than originally planned.

Work is expected to begin early next year on a seven-story building with 130 apartments developed by Indianapolis builder Flaherty & Collins.

The second building will be 15 stories, down from 24 stories announced last year and half the height of the original 30-story proposal. The latest version will include no offices, shrinking the project. An office building in the first phase remains about one-third empty, reflecting soft demand for offices in Columbus and beyond.

"With the existing offices at the Peninsula still being leased up, we wanted to focus on filling that up first," Taylor said. "There's a 21% vacancy rate Downtown and we would like to take advantage of offices already built."

Taylor said negotiations are in final stages with the grocery store operator in the development. She said she could not identify the operator, but said the 35,000-square-foot grocery would focus on neighborhood traffic, "with a lot of prepared foods, a wine bar, a lot of walk-in, pick-up service."

Despite a smaller phase two, Taylor said the Peninsula is moving forward, especially with a focus on residential.

"We’re basically doubling the residential population with phase two, and bringing the grocery store in," she said. "We believe phase two will just add more activity to what's already there."

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

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@JimWeiker