City approves improvements to downtown coffee shop

The Columbus Redevelopment Commission is agreeing to make improvements to the rental space occupied by Lucabe Coffee on Fourth Street.

The city agency operates as the landlord for the space, which is part of the city owned Fourth and Jackson Street parking garage. Commission attorney Stan Gamso said that the coffee shop owners, Tyler and Alissa Hodge want to renew the lease they have held since 2017, but would also like some improvements to the property.

Among the changes requested of the city agency is the relocation of an interior HVAC unit to the ceiling, replacing an awning, demolishing an interior closet wall, installing an energy efficient water heater, applying window glazing and updating the exterior wall sign to include energy efficient LED lights. The total cost of the improvements is estimated at about $42,000.

The city improvements would be the property of the city and would benefit the rental space, the commission concluded.

The owners also plan to perform about $19,500 in renovations themselves, including new cabinets, countertops, refurbishing the kids area, updating and adding equipment and expanding retail offerings.

The money for the project would come from the city’s Jackson Street Parking Garage accounts.