A Giant Eagle Market District is coming to the Peninsula development in Franklinton, just across the river from Downtown.
The Market District — a more upscale grocery brand by Giant Eagle — will occupy the ground floor of a mixed-use building planned for the corner of West Broad and Belle streets, according to an announcement released by Downtown Columbus Inc. and Giant Eagle on Sept. 23. The store’s offerings will include fresh groceries, ready-to-eat meals and beer and wine.
The store will be 20,000-square-feet, half of what was previously announced. That’s smaller than the 30,000-square foot Giant Eagle Market District Express in Bexley. The building it will be housed in is still undergoing design tweaks and could be fewer than 15-stories as previously announced but will be at least 10-stories, according to Madison Cole, a spokesperson for Downtown Columbus Inc.
Plans for the second phase of the $250 million Peninsula development have been repeatedly scaled back. The building was originally supposed to be one of multiple buildings in phase two and 30-stories, before plans for an entertainment center and hotel were dropped and this proposed building shrunk to 24 stories and then 15 stories.
Still, this building should include more than 200 apartments and an attached parking garage with free parking for grocery shoppers, according to the announcement. Construction on the new building is expected to begin in 2026 but Cole could not confirm a timeline for completion given ongoing design tweaks.
Alex Fischer, board chairman of Downtown Columbus Inc., said he expects construction to begin in spring 2026 and take about two years.
Downtown Columbus Inc., a private nonprofit development corporation, owns the 26-acre property near COSI and oversees the Peninsula project being developed by the Daimler Group and Flaherty & Collins.
The first phase of the Peninsula development was completed in 2023 and included The Junto hotel, more than 300 apartments and more than 230,000 square feet of office space.
Downtown residents have long wanted a grocery store
Downtown residents have been asking for a grocery store they can walk to, according to the 2022 Downtown Strategic Plan. This store will be strategically located along a future LinkUS rapid bus line and the planned two-mile looping path called the Capital Line, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said.
“The addition of Giant Eagle to The Peninsula marks a transformational moment for Downtown Columbus, bringing access to fresh food for the residents of Downtown and Franklinton,” Ginther said in the announcement.
Ginther said he is hopeful this grocery store will lead to more housing development in Franklinton and address a lack of fresh groceries in Franklinton and the west side, which Ginther said is a food desert.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said this new grocery store is a promise kept to the residents and workers of Downtown who have long asked for one.
“Connecting the central business district, the emerging Peninsula, and historic Franklinton, Giant Eagle will anchor Downtown in its next chapter as a dense, walkable, and vibrant neighborhood.”
Giant Eagle President and CEO Bill Artman said this store is an important milestone for how Giant Eagle plans to elevate its commitment to the region in the years to come.
“We can’t wait to serve our neighbors in and around The Peninsula through our newest Columbus Market District. It’s an honor to be the grocery destination for the downtown and Franklinton communities,” Artman said.
Fischer said Giant Eagle’s commitment demonstrates the confidences businesses have in Columbus’ growth.
“Having access to everyday essentials where people live and work strengthens Downtown as everyone’s neighborhood,” Fischer said.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Giant Eagle Market District headed to Franklinton’s Peninsula development near Downtown
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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