Creekside Gahanna Mixed-Use Development Celebrates Grand Opening

GAHANNA, Ohio (May 1, 2008)

When MONEY magazine ranked the City of Gahanna as one of its top 100 “Best Places to Live” in America last year, editors cited the downtown revitalization as a notable component in its ranking. Today, this “best place” became even better with the official opening of Creekside Gahanna (Creekside).

Gahanna’s vision turned into a big reality as city officials, developer and builder The Stonehenge Company, and numerous representatives from other Central Ohio communities and businesses celebrated the new downtown, mixed-use development.

Gahanna Mayor Becky Stinchcomb said, “We’ve been looking forward to this event since we first began talking about revitalizing our downtown more than a decade ago. The City of Gahanna and The Stonehenge Company have succeeded in making Creekside Gahanna into everything we had hoped and dreamed it would become. I’m excited for Gahanna citizens, the central Ohio community and all of our future visitors to experience this comfortable and scenic new heart for our city.”

During today’s ceremony, key project stakeholders unveiled two plaques that will be placed at the development. The plaques recognize those closely involved in the project.

Multiple public events are scheduled throughout the weekend, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The ribbon will extend 150 feet across the entire front of the park. Activities for families, adults, teenagers and children will be held during the four days, such as musical performances, paddle boat rides, garden tours and face painting. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.creeksidegahanna.com.

Creekside, which was a public-private partnership between the City of Gahanna and The Stonehenge Company, is one of the most significant developments in Gahanna’s more than 150-year history. Creekside features 100,000 square feet of office and retail space, along with 140,000 square feet of residential loft condos. A new 540-space parking garage, public plazas and water features round out this unique urban redevelopment.

Mo Dioun, president, The Stonehenge Company, said, “We knew from the beginning that we had a special opportunity to make a lasting impact on the City of Gahanna. Each feature of Creekside was developed with this opportunity in mind. We sought to create an environment reflective of the city’s unique attributes. Our company is grateful for the high-level of collaboration we’ve enjoyed with everyone representing the City of Gahanna.”

The development features a diverse mix of restaurants and retailers including Bread Basket Family Bakery, Buck Mulligan’s Irish Pub, Candle Lab, Cold Stone Creamery, Golden Nails and Salon, Koulian Jewelers, Mezzo Italian Kitchen and Wine, Seekers Coffee House & Café Gahanna, The Shoppes of Portobello Row, and The Wine Guy Wine Shop, Wine Bar and Bistro.

More than 30 events have already been held at the new Creekside Conference and Event Center, which is a 9,000-square-foot facility featuring two executive board rooms, a Plaza Ballroom, break out rooms, and accommodations for up to 450 people. More than 75 events are booked for the remainder of 2008. Businesses Bird Houk Collaborative, K. Petroleum Inc., C-Suites Executive Office Space, and the Emergency Communications Consortium Dispatching Center occupy 80 percent of the commercial space at Creekside.

Condo residents, which have reserved parking spaces on the same floor as their residence, will begin moving into their homes throughout the summer and fall seasons. A model unit is expected to open soon.

In 2007, Creekside was recognized by the Council of Development Finance Agencies as the nation's finest and most successful tax-increment financing project. Other finalists for the award represented projects in Kansas City, San Antonio and Washington, D.C.

The Stonehenge Company has additional mixed-use developments in progress throughout the central Ohio region including Columbus, Dublin and Grove City.