A 63-year-old office building on West Fifth Avenue will be replaced by a six-story building containing apartments and retail under a plan from the Columbus firm Effler Commercial.

Effler is planning to break ground in the fall on the development, called Fifth x Northwest.

The project would include about 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space topped by 164 apartments on the top five floors. A 190-space parking garage would serve the apartments and retail tenants.

A pool, club room, co-working space, fitness center and lounge will sit above the retail and parking podium level. The complex will include about 60% one-bedroom apartments and 20% each studios and two-bedroom units, said Effler President Erwin Effler III.

The development will replace a 41,000-square-foot three-story office building erected in 1960 that houses a variety of small tenants, Effler said.

Effler said his firm was drawn by the location, between Northwest Boulevard and Grandview Avenue.

“Being centrally located between Bridge Park, The Ohio State University, Grandview, Upper Arlington, the Short North, and Downtown Columbus, is very compelling,” he said. “We spent a lot of energy ensuring the architecture would serve as a proud anchor to the neighborhood and hope it will serve as a catalyst for more great development at this important node in Columbus.”

Effler plans to complete the project in the spring of 2025.

Effler's plan was approved in September by the Fifth by Northwest Area Commission.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Grandview-area office building to be replaced by apartment complex.