The Estrella tower proposed for 175-199 E. Rich St. in downtown Columbus has grown again, this time to 25 stories with 296 residential units, as its design heads back before city reviewers this month. The project has climbed steadily from its original 19-story pitch, and its latest iteration will get a conceptual look from the Columbus Downtown Commission on October 27.
According to Columbus Underground, the tower was last reviewed by the commission at 24 stories, and before that, it was pitched in 2023 at 19 stories. A second iteration swelled to 23 stories and 290 units with an expanded footprint that would have required demolishing existing buildings on South Fourth Street, but that version was abandoned after the Downtown Commission gave it negative feedback, the outlet reports. The residential unit count has also crept up from 252 as recently as January to the current 296, per the same report.
Developer Bluestone Brothers is behind the project, with Berardi+Partners serving as architect. Per city permitting records, Berardi+Partners filed Certificate of Appropriateness application COA2601058 on September 30 on behalf of Bluestone Brothers, giving the public an official case number to track as the review moves forward.
What the Revised Design Looks Like
Updated plans filed in September describe a six-story dark masonry podium holding retail and structured parking, topped by a lighter residential tower that steps back above a landscaped amenity terrace with private balconies, according to Pique Media. The site plan also calls for demolishing an existing three-story commercial building at 232 S. Fourth St. to make way for a two-story glass-and-steel dining pavilion with a sheltered patio, branded as Market & Mohawk, the outlet reports.
Columbus Underground notes the project now includes a 327-space parking garage and nearly 30,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space intended to give residents and the surrounding neighborhood access to essential goods and services. State development records from January 2025 confirm that space is meant to include a fresh-food grocery store aimed at improving food access downtown, addressing a gap the Ohio Department of Development has flagged as a civic priority for the area.
State Credits and Site Cleanup
Estrella was awarded state Transformational Mixed-Use Development tax credits in early 2025, according to Columbus Underground. State records show that award totaled $4.5 million, putting the project's total capital investment at $122.6 million, per Pique Media's reporting on state development filings. Those same state projections estimate the construction will generate 1,239 temporary building trades jobs and 808 permanent downtown positions once complete.
Getting the site ready for vertical construction will also require environmental remediation of brownfield conditions along the Fourth Street corridor, state development program summaries from January 2025 show. That cleanup work sits alongside the demolition planned for the Market & Mohawk pavilion as part of the broader site preparation.
Speculation Tied to a Stalled Megaproject
Columbus Underground reports that speculation had circulated suggesting the development was stalled or not moving forward, attributed in the article to current economic headwinds and the cancellation of another megaproject. That other project, Capitol Square Renaissance, had also been awarded Transformational Mixed-Use Development tax credits before it was canceled, according to the outlet. Developer Edwards Companies paused that $600 million, 10-acre project in April, citing challenging economic and market conditions, despite having secured $33 million in state TMUD credits, as ConstructConnect reported at the time.
The upcoming Downtown Commission meeting is a conceptual review only, not a vote, since city design review guidelines require major downtown proposals to undergo non-binding evaluation of massing, materials, and pedestrian integration before any formal permit applications move forward. Estrella arrives for its latest look amid a stretch of South Fourth Street that Hoodline previously reported has long leaned on restaurants and nightlife but is shifting toward higher-density mixed-use residential towers, a trend also visible nearby at Madison North, which opened downtown this past August.
