Columbus officials held a groundbreaking on October 19 for a new $18 million police substation at Easton Town Center. The substation is being built at 3395 Easton Way, according to the city, and Mayor Andrew Ginther joined other city officials for the ceremony marking the start of the project.
The new building will replace Columbus police substation 6 at 5030 Elry Road. Ginther said the police division has outgrown the old substation, and Police Chief Elaine Bryant said the old station was built about 50 years ago and does not reflect current policing practices. Bryant said the new substation is designed so people can meet comfortably with officers, making it easier for police to work closely with the community.
Ginther said Easton Town Center offered the city almost four acres of land on Easton Way for free several years ago if the city agreed to build a substation there. He called it an extraordinary offer in his prepared remarks at the groundbreaking, and he thanked the private partner for recognizing a community need and offering valuable land to help meet it.
The mayor said the project is needed even as the city faces a tight budget, because Easton is a crucial economic hub for Columbus. He said it is one of the largest job centers outside of Downtown and continues to grow, and that the income tax, property tax and sales tax generated there are crucial to the area. The city must protect its collective investment, he said, and keep creating jobs and drawing visitors who spend money there.
Bryant said vehicle break-ins and thefts have frequently been a problem at Easton, as they have at many retail areas, but have been on the decline because of the work of Columbus police and Easton’s private security. She said placing the substation right on Easton Way may also help deter disturbances at the center.
The new location is also more central for the Zone 1 officers who will work out of it, Ginther said. Zone 1 covers the northeast portions of Columbus, and city officials said the substation will serve that part of the city from Easton.
Ginther first announced plans for the substation as part of his 2025 capital budget proposal, which set aside $14 million for it at the time. A City of Columbus fact sheet lists the project simply as constructing a new police substation at 3395 Easton Way, Columbus, Ohio 43219. Construction will now proceed at the site, and a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said the substation will open sometime in 2028.
Photo: DrBob317, CC BY-SA