The projects, news, and small businesses we’re proud of!
The Projects
The Luxury Townhomes on Detroit Avenue
This year, we completed four incredible townhomes in the Italian Village. These masterpieces feature gorgeous kitchens and jaw-dropping details. With massive amounts of space, these 2-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom buildings include their own garage space and are some of the Italian Village’s most spacious homes.
What we love most? Besides the kitchen, we can’t get enough of how the windows wrap around the townhome and fill it with natural light. To learn more about this project, read all the information here and see some early construction photos.
- Big Dog, Small Apartment: How to Make It Work
- Woodhouse Vegan Dishes on Their New Location in Italian Village
- The Short North Arts District With Kids – Where to Eat, Where to Go
- We Planned Out Your Entire Day Near Your Italian Village Apartment
- The Most Unique 2020 Valentine’s Day Date Night Ideas in Columbus
The 180 Detroit Avenue Lofts
We’re famous for our Wonder Bread Lofts. This 2018 project echoes that iconic space so much for us. Built inside the former EJ Thomas Warehouse, these 20 unique lofts have reawakened a once forgotten Italian Village building.
Now, each 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom loft offers a once in a lifetime living opportunity to its residents. While preserving the warehouse’s historical touches, we’ve enhanced each unique loft with highest-quality granite, custom-fitted wood cabinetry, and luxurious bathrooms, among other things.
Interested in learning more about these spaces? Take a look inside and learn more.
Fourth Crossing
Fourth Crossing was always going to be amazing. As it continues to rally toward completion, this 36-unit apartment building promises to live up to its hype. We’re thrilled about the luxurious apartments that will sit inside this brand new Italian Village building. Each apartment offers a unique view of the city. Better yet, residents are going to enjoy its covered parking.
We really hope that you’ll step inside Fourth Crossing with us and learn more about what’s going into this exciting development. We’re proud of the progress we made in 2018 and can’t wait to see it completed in 2019!
Be the first to hear Lykens Companies and Short North news!
The Small Businesses
Tastings Columbus
When we walked inside Tastings, we knew that this wine bar wasn’t like anything else in the city. As our most read business feature of 2018, our talk with Tastings Columbus explored what it means to experience wine, how Tastings came to be, and what to expect from this awesome small business.
STORE 5a
The Short North has a way of taking the ordinary and expected and giving it a one-of-a-kind twist. STORE 5a does just that with jewelry stores. Instead of creating an atmosphere with high prices, STORE 5a resells gently used (sometimes never used) and restored jewelry and luxury items.
When we spoke with STORE 5a, we were thrilled to learn that each employee is trained in gemology and has a passion for jewelry. Be sure to read this interesting conversation with a great local business.
Laughlin’s Bakery
At Laughlin’s Bakery, everything that’s edible is incredible. Handcrafted pastries are baked with precision, skill, and taste amazing. But behind the hundreds of pastries that Laughlin’s creates, there’s an inspiring story of how heartbreak transformed into one of the Short North’s most beloved small businesses.
Hai Poké
Hai Poké didn’t just bring a Hawaiian dish to the Short North: it brought the passion and energy of its owners with it. In 2018, Hai Poké celebrated its first anniversary. When we sat down with the owners to talk about the restaurant’s first year in business, we learned about the fun and happenstance way that Hai Poké came to be.
The News

The Short North’s Parking Change
In 2019, the Short North is going to completely transform the way it does parking. We’re proud of the efforts we made to inform Short North and Columbus residents about this change. Make sure you check out our guide, Everything You Need To Know About The Short North’s New Parking Rules.
Finally, a little bit about Lykens Companies…
With 20 years (and counting) of experience, we believe that Lykens Companies is just getting started on its mission to offer Columbus hundreds of premier apartments, rentals, and renovations. Each day, we are driving toward constantly expanding and improving our business and bettering Columbus, the city we love. For our renters, that means that they are connected to a proven business that is always striving to be the best. Our success isn’t an accident. We are constantly striving to improve our quality, both in the buildings that we renovate, reimagine, and rent out; moreover, we are striving to improve in the way that our business operates. For you, that means the best units and the best service in the best locations.
As we invest our time, money, and energy into the Short North, Victorian Village, Italian Village, and other parts of Columbus’s urban core, it’s nothing short of amazing to step back and see how much we’re able to impact our city, whether that looks like renovating apartments, houses, or even factories like the Wonder Bread Lofts and the forthcoming Budd Dairy project: a full scale reimagining of an old dairy factory into a Cameron Mitchell food hall and state-of-the-art coworking space.
If you’re looking to rent in Columbus, Ohio’s urban core, you’ve come to the right place. We’re confident that it doesn’t get better than us when it comes to finding the absolute best apartments and rentals in Columbus.
See every availability!
Whether you’re looking for an apartment in the Short North, a rental in Victorian Village, a studio in Italian Village, or a loft in Wonder Bread, our Available Rentals page will feature all that (and more). We’re constantly adding our newest properties and highlighting that month’s leasing specials. Bookmark it and check often! What if you took two minutes to browse it right now? And don’t forget about our awesome Instagram for updates, new leases, and beautiful photos.
Already a resident? Refer a friend!
At Lykens Companies, we offer a simple and easy referral program to our tenants (and even non-tenants). For each referral of yours who signs a lease, we’ll pay you $200! Be sure to learn everything about this awesome plan and even check out our three methods to actually get your friends to sign a lease.