Ohio State University’s latest luxury student housing complex is readying to debut on campus.
Blume on 16th, located at 82 E. 16th Ave. near Ohio State University Hillel and fraternity row, is a five-story student apartment and townhouse building with 74 units and 325 beds. Chicago developer Up Campus Student Living bought the 1.3-acre site for $5.1 million in October 2024 and demolished the closed Summit on 16th United Methodist Church that sat on the property.
The complex is expected to open ahead of the fall 2026 semester, according to its website, and an automated voicemail message indicated it’s already fully leased for the upcoming academic year. Neither Blume on 16th’s management team nor Up Campus responded to The Dispatch’s requests for comment in time for publication.
Floor plans range from two beds to six, with options for duplexes and townhomes in addition to traditional apartment layouts. Rents are not disclosed online.
Amenities include an indoor jacuzzi, yoga studio, wellness sauna, fitness center and study spaces. Units also come fully furnished, according to Blume on 16th’s website.
Up Campus’ original proposal, which called for seven stories and 229 units, drew opposition from neighbors over its size, and from preservationists seeking to save the church, built in 1954 by prominent architect Edward A. Sovik. Columbus Landmarks included the church on its 2023 list of “most endangered” Columbus properties.
Blume on 16th joins Ohio State’s growing list of luxury student housing complexes. Construction is ongoing at 9th and High, the 13-story, 242,000-square-foot apartment complex that replaced the Bier Stube and is slated to open next summer.
Meanwhile, work is underway at the former site of The Little Bar, another campus-area watering hole, where Austin-based developer American Campus Communities will build two connected housing towers at nine and 12 stories, respectively.
Rambler, a luxury, seven-story high-rise with 889 beds on West Lane Avenue, opened to students for the 2025-26 school year.
Most recently, plans were filed by the Dublin-based Stavroff Land and Development Inc. for a six-story, ’boutique’ luxury complex on the site of the former Tommy’s Pizza location at the corner of Neil and Lane avenues.
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New OSU luxury student housing complex Blume on 16th nears completion
Reporting by Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
