Downtown Columbus hasn’t had a national grocer in decades. This fall, that starts to change, and ms consultants is proud to be part of the team behind it.
In the coming months, we’ll begin design drawings for a new ALDI store planned for the northwest corner of Cleveland Avenue and Spring Street, right next to Columbus State Community College’s downtown campus. The project is a partnership between ALDI US and Columbus State Community Partners, the college’s real estate affiliate. Construction is set to begin in spring 2027.
A Real Grocery Gap
It’s easy to assume a growing, vibrant downtown area already has grocery access covered. It doesn’t. Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady put it plainly at the project’s announcement: “Downtown Columbus has been a food desert for decades.“
That’s not an exaggeration. It’s the reality for downtown Columbus residents, students, and employees who’ve had to leave the core of the city to buy groceries. A 20,000-square-foot, full-service store within walking distance changes that for a lot of people.
Why We're Glad to Be Involved
This is our hometown. Our team lives here and drives past this corner regularly, and there’s a different kind of enthusiasm for a project when you know exactly who it’s going to serve.
Columbus State identifies this area along Cleveland Avenue as the “Opportunity Corridor,” a key redevelopment zone linking the campus with transit and nearby health sciences facilities. For us, the name fits. This project is just as much an opportunity for our team as it is for the community it will serve. Our role centers on designing and engineering the ALDI grocery store itself, staying true to ALDI’s brand while responding to the unique context of a growing urban campus. The result will be a modern, functional grocery store designed to serve students, employees, and neighborhood residents alike.
We’re glad to be part of building the places our community needs. Projects like this one are exactly why we do this work.
Have questions about grocery store design or adapting your prototype to unique sites? Connect with our team to start the conversation.
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