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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Combined records from county agencies reveal the owners of the tallest buildings in Columbus, as well as the history of sales that led to who holds them in 2024.
Some of the city's skyline exists in part thanks to the Ohio Building Authority. During James Rhodes' tenure as governor in the 1960s and early 1970s, newspapers reported that he planned for the agency to provide "long-range financing and orderly growth." One of those projects commissioned was a $45 million building later named after him. The Ohio Building Authority later held ownership of a number of properties that became skyscrapers in Columbus, before releasing them to other branches of government that moved in.
For some of Columbus' skyscrapers, the ownership is clear-cut, such as when they were purpose-built for government agencies. But the true owners of others, oftentimes in private or company hands, can be buried under limited liability corporations and other filings that mask them.
One of Columbus' skyscrapers in particular is engulfed in a legal battle over its ownership. The KeyBank Building at 88 E. Broad St. -- previously owned by a New York real estate mogul through a local shell company -- went into receivership in May after a creditor claimed it failed to make payments on a multimillion-dollar mortgage.
View a list below showcasing the ownership of the tallest buildings in Columbus, in order by height.
The Rhodes State Officer Tower is located at 30 E. Broad St. Originally named the State Office Tower when construction finished in 1974, it was renamed in 1979 after Rhodes.
It stands 624 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, and is tallest mid-block building in Ohio. Only four buildings in the state surpass it in height: SkyscraperPage lists these as the Great American Tower in Cincinnati, and 200 Public Square, Terminal Tower and Key Tower in Cleveland.
The Rhodes has needed some repairs over the decades, as in 2017 when a fragment of granite fell from the building. The American Lung Association also hosts an annual fundraising event in the tower, where people race 40 floors up Rhodes' stairs.
Ownership moved to the Ohio Department of Administrative Services in 2012 for $0. Before construction even started, auditor records tie the property's ownership to the Ohio Building Authority dating to 1969.
The LeVeque Tower is located at 50 W. Broad St. and stands 555 feet tall, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. It holds the record as the seventh-tallest building in Ohio, and for decades was the tallest building in Columbus.
The skyscraper is owned by Tower 10 LLC, who has held it since at least 2014 and acquired it for $0. Stephen M. Griffith signed as the agent for the LLC, on behalf of Taft Stettinius & Hollister, a law firm in Cincinnati, according to business records from the Ohio Secretary of State. But Franklin County Recorder documents relating to renovations also point to Bob Meyers, a local real estate investor, as the designee for the company.
Joseph Korom Jr. wrote about LeVeque's origins in his book, "The American Skyscraper 1850-1940 - A Celebration of Height." The building was commissioned for construction by the American Insurance Union, a "secret society and social club" formed in 1894 by U.S. Rep. John Lentz. The building was originally called the American Insurance Union Citadel and finished construction in 1927.
When the AIU collapsed during the Great Depression, the tower changed hands until it was ultimately sold to Leslie LeVeque and John Lincoln in 1945. The pair rebranded it as the LeVeque-Lincoln Tower. When Leslie's daughter-in-law took control of the building through a trust in 1977, it was rebranded again to the LeVeque Tower. As the Rhodes went up in 1974, it seized LeVeque's title as the tallest building in Columbus.
NBC4 has had a connection with LeVeque for decades as well. In 1987, the tower hosted an inflatable gorilla before an airing of the 1954 movie “Gorilla at Large,” a promotion that came from the people at Rax restaurants. And LeVeque is a staple in the Columbus skyline during fireworks season, as attendees gather in the Scioto Peninsula yearly for the station-sponsored event, Red, White & BOOM!
The William Green Building is located at 30 W. Spring St. and stands 530 feet tall, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation acquired the tower from the Ohio Building Authority at no cost in 2015. The Ohio Building Authority held ownership starting in 1993, three years after construction finished. An unlisted owner presided over the grounds in 1986 as the skyscraper was being built, Franklin County Auditor records show.
The Huntington Center is located at 41 S. High St., directly across the street from the Ohio Statehouse. It stands at 512 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The headquarters of Huntington National Bank, it dodged going up for sale at the beginning of 2024. Three of the bank's other towers, including the Wyandotte Building, were listed as part of a revitalization effort Downtown, according to the company's president.
The original owner from 1985 -- when construction finished -- was Huntington Center Associates, before being acquired by Huntington Center Owner, LLC in 2012.
Jody V. Crowley signed for Pacific Registered Agents, Inc., the agent listed for the LLC in Ohio Secretary of State business records. But Kevin Shannahan, former CEO of Hines Consolidated Investments in the Midwest, claimed through a string of shell companies that his corporation was the sole member of Huntington Center Owner in a 2012 deed filed with the Franklin County Recorder.
The Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts is located at 77 S. High St. It stands at 504 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The building is named after Democratic Rep. Vernal Riffe Jr., the longest-serving Speaker of the House in the history of the Ohio Statehouse.
In June 2023, Republican lawmakers in the House introduced a bill that would have removed Riffe's name from the building. In his place, they would change the title to the Tawnya Salyer Memorial Center for Government and the Arts. Salyer was an apprentice pipefitter who worked on the construction of the building but died from a fall, Richard Schneirov wrote in a historical book on Columbus' plumbing and pipe industry. Legislative records showed it was sent to a House committee in September and never left.
The Ohio Department of Administrative Services has owned the building since 2012, acquiring it at no cost from the Ohio Building Authority, which first held the property in 1982, according to auditor records. Construction finished on the building in 1988.
One Nationwide Plaza is located -- as the name suggests -- at 1 Nationwide Plaza. It stands 485 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The headquarters of its namesake insurance company, it actually lost a tax incentive -- $1.7 million in 2021 -- from Columbus as around half of its employees began working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Auditor records show Nationwide Mutual has owned the property since 1973, and construction on the building itself finished in 1976.
The Franklin County Courthouse is located at 373 S. High St. and stands 464 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The Franklin County Commission has owned the property since 1980, acquiring it for $0. Construction on the courthouse finished in 1991.
The headquarters for American Electric Power is located at 1 Riverside Plaza and stands 456 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
AEP bought the property for $4 million in 1980, before construction on the tower finished in 1983. In an apparent internal shuffle, it transferred ownership to American Electric Power Service Corp. for $0 in 2023.
The Borden Building is located at 180 E. Broad St. and stands 438 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The tower is owned by Terra Funding - Continental Plaza LLC, which acquired it for $0 in 2013. Before that, it had a lengthy sale history, which also showcases the property's declining value. In 2004, 180 E. Broad Partners LLC bought the building from Trizec Realty Inc. for $28,950,000. Trizec, going under multiple iterations, received the building for $0 from University Town Center, which bought it for $47,852,836 in 1998. That company took it from Equitable Life Assurance, who owned it since 1989. Construction finished in 1974.
Kimberly Aquino signed as vice president for Terra Funding in a lease agreement for the Borden Building, according to the Franklin County Recorder. She's also listed online as a managing partner for the Shidler Group, a Hawaii-based investing firm and parent company to Terra.
Three Nationwide Plaza is located, as the name suggests, at 3 E. Nationwide Blvd. It stands 408 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The property has been owned by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. since 1975, even before construction on its towers finished in 1988.
One Columbus Center, a next-door neighbor to LeVeque, is located at 10 W. Broad St. It stands 366 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
Auditor records show a lengthy ownership history. The building is owned by One Columbus Property LLC, who acquired it in 2019. Before that, it was owned by 10 W. Broad Owner LLC. TNHYIF Reiv Echo LLC bought the building in 2011 for $27,000,000 from VV USA City LP, who previously bought it in 1999 for $51,000,000. An unlisted buyer acquired the building for $50 million in 1993, from another unlisted buyer who bought the space in 1985 for $2.1 million. Construction finished on the tower in 1987.
While auditor records listed One Columbus Property as getting the building at no cost, the company actually acquired it by taking out a mortgage with Accordia Life And Annuity. Franklin County Recorder listed a total loan agreement of up to $43 million available to One Columbus Property. That document also revealed the LLC as a shell company for Square Deal Investment Management, Inc., a corporation based in Oklahoma. Grant Soderberg, then-president for Square, signed for the agreement.
The Hilton Columbus Downtown Tower is located at 402 N. High St. and stands 361 feet, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
One of the more recent additions to Columbus' skyline, the Hilton Columbus Downtown Tower was completed in 2022. While Hilton has name branding on it, the hotel company isn't the owner of the building. Instead, the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority holds that title. It acquired the tower in 2021 for $0 from the City of Columbus, which previously acquired the space in 2019 from Anthony Roseboro, a senior attorney with the city and a trustee over certain properties.
