Members and tenants have begun using portions of The Loom, Columbus Fashion Alliance’s fashion-focused facility at 161 North Grant Avenue, although the building has not held an official grand opening. The first group entered as the alliance postponed an open house that had been scheduled for September 19, according to Columbus Underground.
Who The Loom Is Intended To Serve
The alliance is looking for occupants connected either directly or indirectly to fashion, including marketing, graphic-design and photography businesses. Its plan calls for space for as many as 19 tenants at below-market rents, with most expected to be BIPOC-led businesses. Once fully equipped, the facility is expected to contain more than $400,000 worth of professional fashion equipment, according to IFF and Columbus Underground.
What Is Ready—and What Is Not
The 43,000-square-foot property now has communal work areas, private offices, a classroom, an art gallery and an event space, while its production area has commercial sewing and stitching equipment, direct-to-garment printers and heat presses for member and tenant use. The remaining buildout is incomplete: parts of the building are reserved for photography rentals and larger spaces intended for longer-term leases, according to Columbus Underground.
The building was constructed in 1925 as a linen factory and later served as a Columbus College of Art and Design classroom building. The alliance is converting it into a center for fashion design, manufacturing and related creative work; the facility is more than twice the size of the group’s former space at Columbus’ Idea Foundry, according to IFF.
The Next Public Event
The postponed open house has been replaced on the calendar by Dressed to Kill, a Halloween party scheduled for October 31. Proceeds are intended to support the alliance’s Access Granted program, which helps reduce the financial barrier to Loom memberships, Columbus Underground reported.
The acquisition was financed in part by a $2.9 million IFF loan that closed in August 2025. Columbus Fashion Alliance, founded in 2019, says its work is intended to create pathways for emerging designers, students, retail leaders and entrepreneurs; it has reinvested nearly half a million dollars in Columbus through paid internships and community programs since 2020, according to IFF.
