About

Campus Partners was formed in 1995 as a 501(c) 3, private, non-profit corporation working in the urban neighborhoods surrounding the Ohio State University.  The hallmark of Campus Partners’ work has been a market-based strategy which relies on community planning, a comprehensive approach to neighborhood renewal, partnerships among the major stakeholders and strategic projects that leverage private investment and change underlying conditions in the neighborhoods.

Mission

Campus Partners’ mission is to revitalize neighborhoods of the University District in Columbus, Ohio. The projects implemented by Campus Partners strive to improve the quality of life for students, faculty, staff, residents and business owners throughout the university community and reinforce the stature of The Ohio State University as one of the world's great public research and teaching universities.

Board of Directors

Jay Kasey, Chair
The Ohio State University Senior Vice President, Administration and Planning

David Frantz
Faculty Emeritus

Mike Papadakis
The Ohio State University Senior Vice President and CFO

Melissa Shivers, PhD
The Ohio State University Senior Vice President for Student Life

Christie Angel
Owner & Managing Director of Halo Advisors

Tom Katzenmeyer
Greater Columbus Arts Council President and CEO

Amy Taylor
Columbus Downtown Development Corporation President

History

Campus Partners was created by The Ohio State University for Community Urban Redevelopment in 1995 to spearhead the revitalization of the urban neighborhoods around its Columbus campus. Representatives of university faculty, staff and students, university community organizations and the City of Columbus, established the the University Area Improvement Task Force in January 1994 to address the decline in the University District. Two months later, a student was abducted near her off-campus residence and murdered, underscoring the importance of the task force’s work. Campus Partners, a non-profit redevelopment corporation, was created to advance their efforts and prepare a comprehensive revitalization plan for the University District.

That plan was approved in May 1997 by Ohio State’s Board of Trustees, in consultation with the university, the city and neighborhood leaders. The trustees also authorized Campus Partners to proceed with a proposed mixed-use project to redevelop the area. They also allocated funding for an employer-based homeownership incentive program for faculty and staff to purchase homes in the area. At the recommendation of the city's Planning Division, Columbus City Council adopted the revitalization plan in June 1997 as the official policy for guiding city action in the University District.