Lucky’s breaks ground at new mixed-use center in Columbus

Casto’s under-development urban mixed-use project in the Harrison West neighborhood of Columbus has broken ground what will be one of its most important tenants.

Construction has begun on the Lucky’s Market in Thurber Village, a full-scale renovation of a former shopping center in this downtown section near The Ohio State University campus. Casto’s planning dialogs with local community residents found that what they most wanted in the project was a supermarket, and the 21,000-sq.-ft. Lucky’s will grant their wish with a planned summer 2024 opening

Thurber Village will also have a 13,000-sq.-ft. CVS and a 225-apartment residential component.

“My family is in our fifth generation of ownership, we all live in Ohio and are made up of Buckeye alumni and former Columbus residents,” said Lucky’s VP Aaron Saltzman. “This store will be the latest addition to our growing family of locally owned and operated grocery stores in Ohio.”

The CVS building is nearing completion, with an anticipated opening later this summer. 

Casto executed an design for Thurber Village far different from the center that stood there before to blend it in with the historic neighborhood lined with restored Victorian Homes. The CVS, which held an in-line position was moved to a hard corner with a drive-thru that is internal to the site, blocking the sight of car lines from the views of passersby.

The Columbus-based Casto, which owns and operates 26 million sq. ft. of commercial real estate in the Midwest and Southeast, is also hiding the parking lot from view by ringing it with landscaping.

“We knew at the outset of the project that the logistics and timeline of the retail buildings had some challenges, and the collaborative effort between the Casto and the Elford construction teams on the CVS and Lucky’s Market buildings has been exceptional in keeping things on track,” said Eric Leibowitz, Casto’s VP of development and leasing.