Columbus Zoo seeks developer for hotel with animal-themed rooms, waterslide

POWELL, Ohio — A night at the zoo could soon mean something entirely new for Columbus-area visitors, as the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium moves forward with plans to bring an upscale hotel to its grounds.

Zoo officials are actively seeking a development partner to construct a 130-room property on a corner of the zoo's existing parking lot, situated near Zoombezi Bay Water Park. The vision is ambitious: animal-themed rooms, balconies with views overlooking zoo habitats, and an indoor pool complete with a waterslide. If all goes according to plan, guests could be checking in within four years.

"The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is looking to identify the right development partner to build a signature hotel experience on the zoo's property," a zoo spokesperson said, describing the project as part of the institution's long-term vision for its future.

The hotel would carry an estimated price tag of $32 million to $45 million — entirely privately funded by whichever developer wins the bid. Submissions in response to the zoo's public request for qualifications were due Friday, after which the zoo will select a partner and begin what officials expect to be a three-to-three-and-a-half-year design and construction process.

For businesses already operating in the Powell area, the news has sparked quiet excitement. Laura Coleman opened Dolce Vita Baby Boutique in Shawnee Hills three years ago and said a hotel drawing zoo visitors into the surrounding plaza could be transformative for local retailers.

"That would be larger than life for us," Coleman said. "To have people coming to the zoo and then coming to this plaza, coming to this store — that's huge."

Her boutique has been growing steadily, but Coleman is candid about the upside still on the table. "We could always be bigger," she said.

Just two doors down, Gabrielle Avesian, director of marketing at Hydrate Me IV hydration med spa, said the hotel would do something the area currently lacks: keep people close.

"The closest thing right now is Bridge Park," Avesian said. "This really just brings you back a little bit."

That pull — or lack thereof — is something Powell's economic development team knows all too well. Sean Hughes, the city's economic development administrator, said Powell is currently hemorrhaging overnight visitors to neighboring communities.

"We have about 95,000 overnight stays happening in the market, and we're losing all of them to Dublin, Polaris and other areas that have hotels," Hughes said. "Having those additional people staying here — people who are already possibly visiting the zoo — spending more money is going to be good for our businesses."

Coleman put it more plainly. "Are we going to go under without it? I don't think so," she said. "But I would love it if people had a reason to come here, stay here, and come see our little village."