Nationwide Realty Investors officially unveiled their latest Arena District residential development today. A 12-story luxury condominium building known as Parks Edge will be constructed at the northeast corner of Spring Street and Neil Avenue in between North Bank Condos and McPherson Commons.

“We are pleased to be announcing the details and sharing our vision for Parks Edge today,” said NRI President and COO Brian Ellis. “Parks Edge will exceed the highest standards for Downtown condominiums, with spacious floor plans, outstanding amenities and some of the best skyline views in the city.”

The new building will include 69 for-sale residential units ranging in size from 1,500 to 3,200 square feet. Those include one and two bedroom flats as well as two and three bedroom townhomes, though early buyers will have options to customize floorplans and even combine units if something larger is desired.

Parks Edge will feature amenities that include a fitness center, a conference room, 24-hour concierge service, a guest suite, and social room that includes a terrace, fireplace, bar, and catering kitchen. Residents will also have access to a four-story attached parking garage structure that will be topped with a pool, hot tub, sun deck and outdoor kitchen.

The news that the 69 residential units will be for sale rather than for rent may be the most interesting part of today’s announcement. While several hundreds new apartments have been constructed Downtown in recent years, there have been no large-scale for-sale projects completed Downtown since NRI’s neighboring 20-story 100-unit North Bank Condos building was finished in 2007. The investment in a new for-sale project, combined with North Bank’s recent sale of its final unit, could be viewed as an indicator that the Downtown home buying market may be strengthening once again post-recession.

“The inventory of new for-sale units is getting low and not keeping up with demand in my opinion,” said Marc Conte, Deputy Director at the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District. “Ideally, we will start to see new for-sale units for the entire price spectrum. That could happen by converting apartments to condos but, given the 95 percent apartment occupancy rate, apartment buildings are likely cash-flowing very well.”

Prices for homes at Parks Edge have not yet been announced, but NRI said that prices are expected to start around $450,000, and could exceed $2 million for a heavily customized large unit.

Amy Schmittauer, President of the Downtown Residents Association, echoed Conte’s concerns as well as his enthusiasm about the project.

“We are thrilled to see such excitement and new plans in residential condo development Downtown,” she stated. “That said, what makes our neighborhood special is the accessibility that we have here. We hope to continue to see this growth in options — both renting and owning — but particularly in price point as well so we may maintain the opportunity for owners in the Millennial demographic who have a desire to choose Downtown Columbus, yet are being priced out.”

NRI is planning to begin construction once the project gains approval by the Downtown Commission, and is aiming for a Spring 2017 completion date. The site where the building will be located has room to accommodate two additional phases, though plans for those phases are not being announced at this point in time. Once all phases are built out, Parks Edge will complete the original footprint of the Arena District’s master plan for development, though NRI has expanded development westward, and will continue to grow into the 25 acre Jaeger Machine site located between the Buggyworks and the new 5.5 acre Borror mixed-use development along the Riverfront.

For more information, visit www.parksedgecondos.com.

Rendering provided by NRI, Architecture by HOK.