Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law will be moving Downtown, into the historic Huntington National Bank Building at 17 S. High St.
Downtown Columbus, Inc. (DCI) will head up the renovation of the 13-story building, and will lease the space to OSU under a 30‑year lease, with an option to purchase the property in the future.
The law school expects to open its Downtown location in fall of 2029, at which time approximately 500 students and 100 employees will be learning and working in the building.
The announcement was made this morning at an event in the building’s ornate first-floor lobby. OSU President Ravi Bellamkonda, Dean of Moritz College of Law Kent Barnett, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, Central Ohio Region President at Huntington Bank Sue Zazon, and Alex Fischer, representing DCI, all spoke at the event.
“This marks the beginning of the best town-gown relationship in America,” said Fischer, echoing points made by the other speakers about the vibrancy the law school will bring to the heart of the city, as well as the opportunities the new location will open up for law students, with its close proximity to the Statehouse and to the offices of many of the large law firms that hire them.
Fischer said that Belllamkonda has been an advocate for strengthening the ties between the university and the city for years, and that a trip – organized by Mayor Ginther and DCI – to Phoenix, where Arizona State University had recently moved four colleges into the central city, helped all of the partners to see the potential of the idea.
The Huntington Bank building, also known as the Capitol Square Building, was one of three buildings sold in 2024 by Huntington Bank to DCI, the nonprofit organization formerly known as the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation.
In June, OSU’s Board of Trustees voted on a resolution that cleared the way for the university to lease about 200,000 square feet of space in the building. At today’s event, a spokesperson told Columbus Underground that Moritz College would utilize nearly the entire building – Huntington Bank will maintain a street-level bank branch in the building, and one floor is set aside for possible use by the Wexner Medical Center.
This won’t be the first time OSU’s law school has had a presence Downtown. In 1891 the school opened to 33 students in the basement of the Franklin County Courthouse, moving to Page Hall on OSU’s campus in 1903, and later transitioning to its current home in Drinko Hall. An OSU spokesperson said that no decisions have been made about the future of Drinko Hall.
Stay tuned to Columbus Underground for more updates as this story develops. All photos by Brent Warren.
L to R: Alex Fischer, Sue Zazon of Huntington, Dean Kent Barnett, OSU President Ravi Bellamkonda, and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther.
A rendering of a renovated room in the building that was on display at the event.