COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Key Bank tower in downtown Columbus is emptying out. Tenants at 88 East Broad St. have complained about unreliable services in the tower and other issues since it changed hands in 2022 and now several are moving to other locations.
KeyBank, which has had its name adorning the top of the building for decades, is moving its corporate offices from the second and seventh floors.
KeyBank sent a statement to 10TV that reads, “KeyBank leases office space at 88 E. Broad Street on floors 2 and 7, as well as branch space on the first floor. Currently, we are in discussion with the owners of 88 E. Broad Street to renew the lease for our branch located on the first floor. However, we have secured a new lease at the 175 on the Park Building for our corporate office space and we will be vacating floors 2 and 7.”
The Ohio State Auditor’s Office is the largest tenant in the building and is also in the process of vacating its space. The office is moving to East State Street to a much smaller office space, citing the cost savings to the state. An explanation for the move to the Controlling Board also outlines continued issues with the HVAC systems, water leaks and other maintenance issues.
“The Auditor’s office has sought more economical solutions for our offices across the state. The move to 65 East State allows us to keep our Central Region employees downtown and makes good economic sense while providing staff with a more reliable working space,” said Matt Eiselstein, communications specialist for the Auditor’s office.
A Facebook post from the restaurant on the lower level of the tower, OH Pizza and Brew, gives a better insight as to some of the problems tenants in the building face.
With the building quickly emptying, it’s causing some concerns among nearby restaurants that have catered to the lunch crowd from the KeyBank building and other surrounding skyscrapers.
“I can see the impact of it slowing down my breakfast business for sure. It’s been almost two weeks now,” said Nirali Sheth, owner of Broad Street Bagels and Deli. “When the weather isn’t nice, people don’t like to walk a couple blocks. I rely on the Rhodes Tower, Key Bank and Chase. Now everybody is moving out and it’s definitely going to hurt the business.”
Sheth took over the business in the fall of 2019. She said the business was finally coming back from the COVID-19 lockdowns. But with the KeyBank building quickly becoming vacant, she doesn’t know what is coming next.
“They need to bring more people back to keep downtown alive or downtown is going to be dead,” she said. “I don’t know what the future is of the small businesses like us.”
Lexi’s on Third occupies the bottom of the Chase Bank tower. For the past couple of weeks, employees have watched moving trucks haul off the offices of their frequent lunch clients.
“We’ve had a lot of tenants over there who use us for catering and everything. If they’re leaving, it leaves a big hole for us to fill,” said David Rieder.
Rieder said the Auditor’s office was a regular catering customer but doesn’t know if that will be the case for much longer with them moving to a new location.
“Being across the street with them, the rain isn’t a big deal, they just run across the street. With them moving down a block, block and half away, we see them less and there are other options that are closer for them,” he said.
Both restaurants are looking at ways that they can help fill the hole of an increasingly empty KeyBank building.
“We’re just looking at the changing downtown. Maybe a lunch crowd who works downtown and wants to get out or working from home and want to get out for lunch. That’s what we’re working on building right now,” he said.
The KeyBank building is owned by Baruch Broad Street, LCC, a company that traces back to Zamir Equities of New York. The building was sold in 2022 by the previous owners Schottenstein Property Group. 10TV reached out to Zamir Equities for a comment and has not heard back.