Several properties at the northeast corner of E. State and S. 3rd streets would be developed into residences, offices, restaurants, retail and parking under a plan proposed by Capitol Square Ltd. and Elford Development. The properties are the last large vacant space overlooking the Statehouse. Few details are available on the plan, which is expected to be revealed in more detail early next year.

The last large vacant property on Capitol Square would be developed into offices, residences, retail and a parking garage under an ambitious plan unveiled Friday by Capitol Square Ltd. and Elford Development.

The 3-acre development would encompass several properties near E. State and S. 3rd streets — a parking lot at the northeast corner of State and S. 3rd; a former bank building at 66 S. 3rd; a parking lot on S. 4th Street next to the YWCA; and a small parking lot at the northeast corner of State and S. Lazelle Street.

Capitol Square, the real-estate arm of The Dispatch Printing Company (the former owner of The Dispatch) has considered developing the property, which it owns, for years.

"We're excited to see a high-impact, mixed-use development of this critically important block become a reality," Chris Ruess, president and CEO of Capitol Square, said in a news release.

Elford Development President Mike Fitzpatrick said the plan still being developed and few details have been decided. He said the development is expected to include multifamily housing, offices, retail and restaurant space, along with a parking garage, probably on the site of the S. 4th Street parking lot.

"It will be a dense development, but we don't know exactly how tall or how many buildings," he said. "We're really in the preliminary planning stages."

Fitzpatrick said he did not know whether the former Unizan Financial Corp. building on S. 3rd Street, erected in 1955, would be razed or kept as part of the project.

Capitol Square and Elford have hired the Columbus architectural firm Moody Nolan to design the project.

Fitzpatrick said he hoped a plan for the property would be presented to the Downtown Development Commission in the first quarter of 2020. He did not know when construction would begin on the project, assuming it is approved.

"We’re excited to move forward," he said. "We want to go as fast as we can, but there are a lot of stakeholders."

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker