COLUMBUS—This Ohio city was until recently one of the largest in the US without a full-service boutique hotel, but in partnership with Le Meridien, the Columbus-based Pizzuti Cos. just opened the 135-room Joseph. Most of the land for the mixed-use project was bought back in 2007, but the recession put the plans back on the shelf. The hotel's opening shows both the renewed strength of the city's economy and its diversity.
“There are a lot of forces drawing people to Columbus,” president and chief operating officer Joel S. Pizzuti tells GlobeSt.com. Aside from its role as a business center of the state, Columbus is also home to Ohio State University, the nation's largest, and the state capital. And in addition to the many academics and alumni that visit the downtown, “we're hopeful that the Fortune 1000 companies located in the Columbus area will steer their visitors and customers to the Joseph.”
“We're in the area where most of the energy is,” he adds. Located at 620 N. High St. in the Short North Arts District, the 10-story hotel is also near the OSU campus and the Arena District, which has become the hub of the city's nightlife. “I think this is opening people's eyes to the fact that this can be a 24-hour neighborhood.”
In addition to the boutique hotel, the development includes about 46,000-square-feet of office space and about 13,000-square-feet of retail. Anthropologie, a women's apparel and accessory store, anchors the retail portion of the development and opened last October, several months before the hotel. Furthermore, a 313-space parking garage that the city helped to finance with a neighborhood TIF sits adjacent to the office building.
“Our office space is 100% leased and we just finished the building,” Pizzuti says, an indication of how the vibrant Columbus economy has helped the project. The unemployment rate in the metro region was just 3.7% according to the most recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The numbers are quite compelling; there has been tremendous job growth in the past few years.”
One aspect that really sets the Joseph off from other boutique hotels is its “extensive focus on art,” he says. “Art is very important to my family, so we placed a premium on design.” The lobby boasts Italian marble floors, hand carved fluted columns and ceilings, and a marble staircase. The developers also commissioned 31 pieces of art from 15 different artists to decorate the rooms. Furthermore, the second floor of the lobby features an art gallery with pieces selected by Ron Pizzuti, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, with the Joseph in mind. Many works are from Ron and Ann Pizzuti's private collection.
The hotel's recent opening coincided with the NHL's All-Star game, held this year in Columbus, and along with the neighborhood's many bars and restaurants, “the hotel was well-occupied,” says Pizzuti. “It's exceeding expectations at this point.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
