An Indiana company has been chosen over three Columbus groups to develop the largest piece of vacant land in the heart of the city.

The Columbus Downtown Development Corp. selected Buckingham Companies of Indianapolis for the project, according to several people familiar with the plan.

Buckingham will be given responsibility to turn 21 acres west of COSI into a Main Street-style mix of shops, restaurants, offices and housing that would serve as a commercial anchor to the Scioto Peninsula. The CDDC's vision for the plan includes two 30-story residential towers.

Seven firms bid on the project, which the CDDC estimates will cost $500 million over the next decade.

Buckingham was chosen over three finalists, all of which included Columbus companies: a partnership of the Dublin firm Crawford Hoying and California company SunCal; a group formed by Kaufman Development and the Daimler Group, both of Columbus, and New York-based Georgetown Co.; and an alliance involving Columbus firms Casto, the Kelly Cos. and the Robert Weiler Co., along with Atlanta firm Carter.

The CDDC has cleared the land, which is owned by the city and county, and is building an underground parking garage topped by a park immediately west of COSI.

"We still going through our due diligence in the selection process and do not have an announcement to make," said Amy Taylor, the chief operating officer with CDDC.

Buckingham did not respond to requests for interviews.

The company is a major builder and developer of offices, hotels and apartments. The firm has tackled two large-scale mixed-use projects — the Aertson in Nashville and CityWay in downtown Indianapolis.

The CDDC has said it hopes to start building the first phase of the local project in the spring.

“This would be one of the biggest developments in the history of Columbus,” CDDC President Guy Worley said earlier this year.

David Dixon, head of urban design with the Boston-based planning firm Stantec, agreed that the project could have an enormous impact on the future of Columbus.

"What I thought was really brilliant about this proposal is that it offers an opportunity to bring the cool, creative, maker-arts energy of East Franklinton right to the doorstep of Downtown," said Dixon, who has consulted on local developments, including work in East Franklinton.

"If this is a vanilla project, it will succeed," he added. "But if it can really capture the energy of Franklinton, it will be a home run that will really change Columbus."

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