Nationwide Realty Investors has started work on a new office building and two new apartment buildings on the largest remaining vacant parcel at Grandview Yard, Nationwide's 125-acre development north of Goodale Street and west of Rt. 315. When the two apartment buildings are completed, Grandview Yard will have almost 1,500 residences and more than 5,000 office workers.

Nationwide Realty Investors has started work on two apartment buildings and an office building on the largest remaining parcel at the Grandview Yard complex, the 125-acre development north of Goodale Boulevard and west of Rt. 315.

The new phase will add a three-story office building and a pair of four-story buildings containing a total of 218 apartments. They will rise on a vacant lot north of Burr Avenue between Rail and Yard streets.

"This is the biggest and most significant parcel left," Nationwide Realty President Brian Ellis said.

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Scheduled to be finished next year, the two new residential buildings, called Kipton North and Kipton South, will boost the total number of apartments in Grandview Yard to 1,250. Another 200 homes are for purchase.

"Our last apartments, Dorchester, leased really fast," said Ellis, adding that Grandview Yard apartments are 96% to 97% leased. "We want to keep apartments available throughout the development. Our challenge has been just keeping pace."

The apartments will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom units along with some three bedrooms, which are relatively uncommon in new developments.

The office building will include 88,000 square feet over three floors. Ellis said no tenants have been signed, but an existing Grandview Yard tenant might expand into the building.

Ellis also announced that an office building being finished at 950 Goodale in Grandview Yard has been fully leased. E.L. Robinson Engineering and VanTrust investment group will join the already announced anchor tenant, law firm Carlile Patchen & Murphy, in the 34,000-square-foot building.

About 5,200 workers are now employed in Grandview Yard — 4,000 of them Nationwide employees — generating half of Grandview Heights' total income tax, said Grandview Mayor Ray DeGraw.

"This (development) was really our only option to generate money for the long term," DeGraw said.

The announcement of three new buildings leaves four parcels still to be developed at Grandview Yard, along with property Nationwide is developing south of Goodale Boulevard that was added to the 125-acre development a year ago.

Nationwide must determine what to build on the south side of Goodale, but is now focused on the empty parcels on the north end of Grandview Yard, along Yard Street south of W. 3rd Avenue. Ellis said he expects a mix of residential and retail in the area.

In addition to the residences, Grandview Yard contains 1.2 million square feet of commercial space, including offices, two hotels, an event center and several restaurants. Ellis said Nationwide has invested $520 million in Grandview Yard so far and expects to invest about $800 million by the time the project is complete.

"We're starting to get closer to finishing, depending on how the residential market performs," he said. "I think we've got six or eight years left."

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker