Columbus Discovery District Deal Turns Downtown Parking Lots Into 518 Apartments

A big stretch of downtown parking lots is set to become housing. Columbus City Council passed an ordinance on July 2 that lets the city sign an economic development agreement with Pizzuti MH LLC and Washington Oak Realty, LLC, an Encova Insurance company. The two firms plan a phased redevelopment of surface parking lots near Oak Street and Washington Avenue in the Discovery District.

The numbers, straight from the city ordinance: about 518 new homes, up to 15,000 square feet of retail space, and a total estimated investment of $96 million. The city calls it a "signature infill redevelopment project." Infill means building on empty or underused land inside the city, instead of building on open land at the edge of town. The news was first reported by Columbus Business First, with added detail from Columbus Underground.

What the city is putting in

The project is a public-private partnership. That means the city and the developers each take on part of the work. Under the agreement, the city plans to ask for up to $1.65 million in its 2026 capital budget. That money would pay the developers back for designing upgrades to Oak Street from 9th Street to Lester Drive, plus any needed water and sewer work. Money to build the street upgrades would come in the 2027 budget. The city also plans to design and build a 575-space public parking garage to serve the Discovery District.

Each of those steps still needs its own council vote. The ordinance itself spends no money yet.

Why this corner of downtown

The Discovery District sits on downtown's east side, in the blocks around Topiary Park and the Main Library. Encova's headquarters is at 471 E. Broad St., and the company's parking lots spread across the nearby blocks. Those flat lots sit on some of the most walkable land in the city. Turning them into homes puts people, not parked cars, next to the park, the library, and downtown jobs.

What it means for Columbus

Columbus has been pushing hard to add homes downtown. This project fits the pattern we covered this week: the North Market tower, the Arena District office-to-apartment conversion, and the city's larger housing push. The ordinance says the project advances city goals of adding housing and shrinking the number of downtown surface lots. About 518 more homes means more renters and buyers living in the core, and more customers for shops and restaurants in the Discovery District and greater downtown.

For investors, the signal is simple. The city is backing infill housing downtown with real infrastructure money. Land near these lots may get more valuable as the project moves. If you are weighing where to place money in Columbus real estate, our team tracks deals like this one — start at deploy capital.

What to watch next

The legislation does not yet say exactly where each building will go or how tall they will be. Pizzuti told Columbus Underground it could not share more details yet. Watch for the 2026 capital budget request, the garage design, and the first site plans to land at the Downtown Commission.

The takeaway: the Discovery District just moved up the list of downtown neighborhoods to watch. About 518 homes and $96 million are headed for parking lots near Topiary Park, and the first council votes on city funding come next.