CRH plans evolve for former hotel property near I-65

Columbus Regional Health is reevaluating its plans for the former Holiday Inn and Clarion hotel property on Jonathan Moore Pike.

The hospital bought the hotel property with the intention of developing medical facilities on the west side of Columbus, but now that it is purchasing a large tract of farm land on the same side of the city, the entire hotel property is not seen as a necessity for the hospital’s future operations, says Kelsey DeClue, spokeswoman for CRH.

The hospital is buying farmland stretching from Garden City almost to the Interstate, DeClue said. Hospital officials expect to use 90 to 150 acres for medical uses and to make the rest open for development.

DeClue said there is no timeline yet on what might happen with the former hotel property. All of the hospital’s plans on the west side of Columbus are looking five to 15 years into the future, she said.

The hotel property is now piled high with concrete rubble. DeClue explains that the rubble came from the Interstate 65 project and will be used to lift the property out of the flood plain, making it usable for future development.

The former hotel property floods easily with any significant rainfall in the area.