COLUMBUS, Ohio — The KeyBank Building in downtown Columbus has sold for $5.1 million after a two-day online auction, a sharp drop in value for the 21-story office tower and a sign of ongoing challenges in the city’s commercial real estate market.
The auction opened April 14 with a $1 million starting bid and closed April 16. Multiple bidders participated. The buyer’s identity has not been disclosed. Steven Silverman, senior vice president at Friedman Real Estate, which handled the receivership sale, told the press that his team will not name the buyer.
The sale price is less than half the $12 million paid in 2022, when Baruch Broad Street LLC bought the property. That owner later defaulted on a loan tied to the purchase. A foreclosure case filed earlier this year led to the court-ordered sale.
The building at 88 E. Broad St. has more than 256,000 square feet of office space. Occupancy has dropped to about 30%. Court records show several tenants have reported maintenance problems in recent years, including heating and cooling failures, water leaks and deferred repairs.
The sale comes as questions continue about development in the Capitol Square area. Earlier this month, Jeff Edwards of Edwards Companies announced a pause on the Capitol Square Renaissance project, a proposed $600 million redevelopment near the Statehouse. The plan called for new residential, office, retail and public spaces. Some work, such as the Preston Centre and Pembroke projects, has already been finished.
Edwards said the decision to put the project on hold was due to current economic and market conditions, though he remains confident in downtown Columbus’ future.