Dec 6, 2023

Gravity Named Top Columbus Urban Development Project

Community
Gravity Named Top Columbus Urban Development Project

We (Columbus Underground) asked our readers to vote on their favorite urban development project of 2023, and for the first time, a project has returned to the number one slot for a second time. Gravity, which one first place back in 2019, made major headways this year on the second phase, known to many as Gravity 2.0.

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Jun 20, 2023

Gravity project, part 2, opens in Franklinton, complete with adult dorms, cold-plunge pool

Community
Gravity project, part 2, opens in Franklinton, complete with adult dorms, cold-plunge pool

Gravity, the unconventional development on West Broad Street in Franklinton, is opening its second phase, complete with meditation studios and a cold-plunge pool.

Opening four years after the first Gravity phase on the north side of Broad Street, Gravity II includes more than 1 million square feet of space in seven buildings — about twice the size of phase one.

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Apr 24, 2023

Gravity provides selected artists rent-free space for six months to foster creativity

Community
Gravity provides selected artists rent-free space for six months to foster creativity

Four local artists will pilot a six-month rent-free residency program at one of Columbus’ buzziest mixed-use developments.

The artists are part of Kaufman Development’s Gravity Artist Residency Pilot Program, which will provide them with a furnished four-bedroom shared living space beginning in June in exchange for creating one public engagement piece a month.

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Dec 21, 2022

Gravity bringing more homes, offices, restaurants to Franklinton

Community Live Office Retail
Gravity bringing more homes, offices, restaurants to Franklinton

The second phase of the innovative Gravity development on West Broad Street is preparing to open this spring, bringing more offices, apartments, restaurants, street life and a bit of novelty to east Franklinton.

Sitting on the south side of Broad Street opposite Gravity’s first phase, the second part of Gravity vastly expands the scope of the development, and further connects Gravity to other Franklinton developments.

Construction of Gravity’s second phase started in early 2020, about a year after the first phase opened. Designed in a more conventional way than the first phase, the second is larger and continues the programming and experiential focus of the first.

“We’ve been very pleased with how it’s come along,” said Frank Sasso, president of Kaufman Development, which created the Gravity brand. “We will start delivering our first units in the first quarter. Throughout the spring and early summer, we will have artists painting murals all over the project, with some really exciting announcements including international artists and sculptors adding place-making and activation to the site.”

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Oct 28, 2022

Building on a Vibe: Developer Brett Kaufman is helping lead the transformation of Franklinton from an unpolished gem into an artful destination

Community Live Office Retail
Building on a Vibe: Developer Brett Kaufman is helping lead the transformation of Franklinton from an unpolished gem into an artful destination

Brenda St. Clair was 5 years old when her family moved to Franklinton in 1955.

Both of her parents – like many in the blue collar neighborhood – worked at the bustling North American Aviation plant on the city’s west side, which employed thousands and promised a solid, middle-class life.

St. Clair was there when the plant closed, the floods came and Franklinton’s residents fled for the suburbs. For decades, Franklinton was frozen in time, neglected and unpolished.

Now, St. Clair is there to see its latest transformation, one that again is promising a solid, middle-class life.

“The neighborhood started changing very quickly,” she said. “Once the ball got rolling, it rolled fast.”

Today, Franklinton hosts crowded breweries, bars and art galleries. Homes are being flipped, short-term rentals are popping up, and thousands of apartment units are being added in new developments that are replacing vacant homes, rundown warehouses and empty lots that once dotted the neighborhood.

Marty Johnson was the first tenant in 400 W. Rich, a building filled with art studios. She moved to Columbus in 1980 from Hartford, Connecticut, where she was a photographer.

Now she makes prints and lithographs from her Franklinton studio.

“I saw Columbus as a town of opportunity,” she said.

Ripe for development

So far, the eastern edge of Franklinton has been the focus of most redevelopment and building activity.

And it continues to see the most activity today.

Columbus developer Brett Kaufman has invested heavily in the neighborhood with his Gravity development, now encompassing two huge, mixed-use complexes along both sides of West Broad Street in east Franklinton, with a third mixed-use project in the pipeline.

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Jun 9, 2022

Gravity to feature local vendors, dinner series in new retail marketplace

Community
Gravity to feature local vendors, dinner series in new retail marketplace

Gravity is launching a new retail concept and pop-up marketplace this weekend.

The Franklinton development’s new concept, simply called Marketplace at Gravity, will feature shopping, dining, music, art installations and more each weekend. The grand opening will also feature DJs, food trucks, a curated Matchmakers Market and Marketplace’s inaugural vendors, June 10 through June 12.

Marketplace sits across from the Gravity development’s first phase at 501 W. Broad St.

The market’s first few months will feature vendors selling vintage clothing, vegan fruit bowls and home goods. Among the inaugural vendors are Dust Punks, Fruit Szn, Life of Leisure, Sistain and Quill Concrete + Home Décor. The Columbus Fashion Alliance will also be featured as a vendor, rotating clothing from emerging designers throughout the year.

“We’ve created an incredible, immersive space where retail and lifestyle intersect in a meaningful way,” said Gravity and Kaufman Development founder Brett Kaufman. “Franklinton has long embraced and nurtured people’s unique creativity, and Gravity is doing the same. Marketplace is a dedicated space where artists, business owners and innovators can gather in an unconventional way to be seen, to be inspired and to inspire others.”

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