Columbus College of Art and Design plans $15 million renovation of Battelle Hall

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus College of Art and Design is mapping out a $15 million renovation of one of its learning falls.

The Center for Creative Collaboration, which will be presented Wednesday as a conceptual application to the Downtown Commission, is planned as a 30,000-square-foot center to house CCAD's digital fabrication and design innovation labs. Battelle Hall, at 101 N. Washington Ave. -- a former Chrysler dealership that was converted into an art and design studio spaces in the 1970s -- will be renovated to accommodate the center.

"Creatively solving today’s complex challenges requires best-in-class equipment and modern facilities," CCAD President Melanie Corn said. "The Center for Creative Collaboration will be a new interdisciplinary makerspace and collaboration hub with flexible classrooms and project-based learning labs."

The project would include interior renovations to Battelle Hall and an addition being built on an adjacent parking lot.

"To continue attracting the best creative minds -- many of whom stay in central Ohio to drive the region’s creative economy -- we need best-in-class facilities,” Corn said.

The center will have fabrication labs and makerspaces for CCAD students of any major, including its wood and metal shops, and digital fabrication and design innovation labs.

To raise funds for the project, CCAD has launched a $20 million fundraising campaign. Additional money from the campaign going to student scholarships, faculty excellence, and student success.

CCAD offers 11 undergraduate majors, with three graduate projects, on a campus spread out over 14 buildings Downtown. About 1,000 students attend classes there.

CCAD anticipates the building renovation to be completed by 2026.