Gravity Experience Park to open in Columbus with outdoor bar, pickleball and ice rink

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A community space is opening in Columbus, complete with a rotating pickleball court and ice rink, art installations and an outdoor bar.

Gravity Experience Park is opening in October on what is now an empty half-acre parking lot at the corner of McDowell and West State streets in Franklinton, next to The Idea Foundry and across the street from Land-Grant Brewing Company. The developer of the Gravity apartment complex is teaming with Land-Grant to operate the park.

"This is an incredible opportunity to join together with another team that loves Franklinton and work together to create something really unique," Land-Grant President Adam Benner said. "We envision this park being like a town square -- a place that brings people from Franklinton
and all over Columbus together in all these fun and amazing ways."

Plans call for the park to include an outdoor bar, a small stage for concerts, fire pits, picnic tables and multiple pickleball courts that will be converted into an ice rink during the winter. In addition, three pieces of commissioned artwork will adorn the space: a stacked cargo sculpture, a multi-media sculpture of a wooden and steel tree that will house a dozen LED-illuminated stained-glass birds, and a sculpture fabricated out of weldable steel pipe.

"Gravity Experience Park is an awesome addition to our community -- a rare outdoor urban retreat," Gravity founder and Kaufman Development CEO Brett Kaufman said. "Land-Grant is a natural partner for the park, and Adam and his team are bringing incredible energy to the project."

Launched in 2017, the Gravity complex features apartments, restaurants, offices, retailers and various indoor and outdoor spaces. The nearly 15-acre site includes almost 2 million square feet of mixed-use space. Learn more about Gravity here.