Another big building is headed for Ohio State's West Campus. The university held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the Timashev Technology Tower, an eight-story, 103,000-square-foot building with a curved facade near the corner of Lane Avenue and Kenny Road, Columbus Underground reported.
The estimated completion date is September 2028.
Where it's going
The tower will sit between the Pelotonia Research Center at 2255 Kenny Road and the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center, which sits at the corner of Lane and Kenny. It marks the latest phase of the 350-acre district on West Campus that was known for a time as Carmenton and is now called the Innovation District, Columbus Underground reports.
The university and the OSU-affiliated Science and Technology Campus Corporation, known as SciTech, have said in the past that housing and retail will eventually be built in the district.
Who's paying
Ratmir Timashev, an Ohio State graduate and software entrepreneur, and his wife, Angela, donated $110 million to the university in 2023. Part of that gift, made through the Timashev Family Foundation, will go toward building the tower and supporting the educational programming of the Center for Software Innovation, one of the building's tenants.
"We want to create something special for our students so that they are prepared for this fast-changing world of AI and innovation and life sciences. This is how I give back to them," Timashev said in a press release.
What's inside
According to Ohio State's announcement, the tower will give the Center for Software Innovation a dedicated home for startups coming out of BuildX, a university program that helps student founders through every stage of starting a company, along with other ventures from central Ohio and across the state. The building will offer flexible co-working space, dedicated offices and chances to connect with other technology companies.
"It's going to be a beautiful building … both the outside and the inside are going to be very special," Ohio State President Ravi Bellamkonda said. "It will be a mix of startups, large companies, the Center for Software Innovation, students, researchers and employees intermingling."
Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel and JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef also spoke at the ceremony. Nauseef said the tower will give startups and established companies "a place to grow alongside one of the nation's leading medical and research universities."
A district taking shape
The Innovation District already includes the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center and the Pelotonia Research Center, where startups such as Koloma, an Ohio State-founded clean-energy firm, along with Ohio Life Sciences and Pelotonia, have set up headquarters, according to the university. Ohio State also says the district is drawing technology partners, including a new partnership with Google aimed at AI-enabled research.
Neither the university nor Columbus Underground named the general contractor or architect in their reports, and Columbus Underground did not list a construction cost.
Why it matters for contractors
An eight-story, 103,000-square-foot technology building is a major commercial job for central Ohio's trades. Construction running from now until a planned September 2028 completion means close to two years of steady work for concrete, steel, curtain wall and glazing, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and interior finish contractors. A curved facade adds complexity that specialty envelope contractors will notice.
Buildings that house startups, offices and research groups also tend to call for flexible floor plans, heavy power and data infrastructure and frequent tenant fit-out work after the shell is done. That can mean a second wave of interior jobs as tenants move in.
The bigger story is the Innovation District itself. At 350 acres, with plans that have included housing and retail, the West Campus district is set to keep generating projects for years. Each new building brings site work, utilities and roadwork with it. Contractors who want a piece of future phases should get to know the university's facilities and construction teams and watch for bid opportunities as the district fills in.