The northwest part of downtown Columbus is known as the Arena District – a development 20 years in the making. Once the site of the former Ohio Penitentiary, the Arena District is now home to 3 world class sports venues, dozens of bars and restaurants, three hotels, 2.5-3M square feet of office, retail and entertainment space, as well as apartment, loft and condominium residences.

The Arena District was developed through a partnership between Nationwide Realty Investors, the City of Columbus and a number of private investors with MKSK providing master planning and urban design. Trans Associates provided traffic and transportation consulting to Nationwide Realty Investors and has been involved with all of the development projects since its inception 20 years ago.

The very first project for the Arena District was Nationwide Arena and our fun fact for this project is that several Trans Associates staff are honored by name on a plaque located inside the arena. We are proud of our staff and in our contribution to this wonderful model for successful urban mixed use entertainment development.