ALDI Plans a Downtown Columbus Grocery Store to Open in 2028

ALDI plans a 20,000-square-foot grocery store on 1.7 acres at the northwest corner of Cleveland Avenue and Spring Street, next to Columbus State Community College's downtown campus. Construction is set to start in spring 2027 and the store is expected to open in 2028.

A Vacant Corner Gets a Grocery Anchor

Columbus State announced the deal on August 18, 2026. Its real estate affiliate, Columbus State Community Partners, will prepare the site and lease it to ALDI, which will build and own the finished store. The college describes the 1.7-acre parcel as largely vacant, and the structures still standing on it come down first.

Why a Community College Is the Landlord

Columbus State treats groceries as a student-retention question, not only a real estate deal. The college says affordable, fresh groceries have been a priority because food insecurity is one of the key non-academic barriers that can affect student success. President David T. Harrison said the college focuses on making resources easy to access because "our students lead complicated lives," and that a grocer next door "will expand food options for Columbus State students while strengthening the broader community," 614NOW reported. That is why the college's own real estate arm, rather than a private developer, is assembling and leasing the ground.

What the County Calls a Food Desert

Franklin County Board of Commissioners President John O'Grady was blunt in the announcement: "Downtown Columbus has been a food desert for decades. Today, we're changing that." The college says the store will be the first new grocery store by a national retailer in this part of the city in decades. CREN could not check that against a retail-history record, so treat it as the college's characterization.

ALDI framed the news around price. Laura Bauer, a regional vice president for the chain, said shoppers "can look forward to a convenient, affordable way to stock up on everyday essentials." Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said the added access "will benefit all downtown residents, and especially help Columbus State students to thrive." None of those statements mentions opening dates, hiring, or prices at this store.

What Public Money Is Paying For

Franklin County is committing $900,000 for predevelopment, utility, and infrastructure work, and the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation is adding $100,000 toward demolition, as WSYX reported. Those commitments cover getting the ground ready. The building itself is ALDI's expense, because ALDI owns it when it is finished.

What Nobody Has Announced Yet

The announcement covers a site, a size, and two years. It does not cover store hours, staffing, or whether any other retail will share the parcel. The build window is wide as well: a spring 2027 start and a 2028 opening span anywhere from roughly nine months to nearly two years, and neither the college nor the company has named a month.

The Rest of the Block

Columbus State's downtown campus sits inside the Discovery District, where a separate venture between Pizzuti Companies and Encova Insurance holds a city economic development agreement for a phased $96 million redevelopment of surface parking lots, with roughly 518 apartments and up to 15,000 square feet of retail, NBC4 reported. The two projects are unrelated. Together they point at a downtown core adding housing and everyday retail at the same time. For more on the area, see our Downtown Columbus guide.