A Facility Setback Sparks Growth for Columbus’ Riverview International Center February 26, 2025

One of the fastest growing cities in the United States is Columbus, Ohio. Home to one of the nation’s largest universities, a vibrant downtown, distinct neighborhoods, a thriving job market, ample recreational opportunities, affordable cost of living, and more, it’s understandable why the Midwest city has become a magnet for those in pursuit of better lives for themselves and their families. It also helps to explain Columbus’ sizable immigrant community, with roughly half of the city’s new residents in recent years moving to Columbus from outside of the United States.

Among the first stops for many of these new Ohioans has been Riverview International Center (RIC), a nonprofit that provides wraparound support to Columbus’ immigrants to help them acclimate to their new home. This includes help learning English, finding sustainable employment, and navigating the complexities of becoming U.S. citizens, among many other forms of assistance.

These supports are essential, as roughly 80 percent of those served by RIC have entered the United States through the federal government’s Diversity Visa Program—a lottery system that awards “green cards” to citizens of foreign countries. Though those selected through the lottery gain permanent residency status in the United States—putting them on a path to U.S. Citizenship through naturalization— they aren’t eligible to receive benefits like subsidized health care, food assistance, and other services offered by the public sector. RIC was founded in 2015 to bridge this gap in Columbus and ensure that those emigrating to the city had more opportunities to become self-sufficient members of the community equipped to contribute to Columbus’ continued growth.

“When I ask the people we work with why they decided to immigrate and move to America, their answer is that they did it for their kids’ education; for their kids’ futures,” says RIC Executive Director Emelia Sheeley. “And so, we really love to see people growing as families with the support of our services, with every member participating in programming. They’re here for a little while and then they don’t need us anymore, which is exactly what we want.”

For RIC’s first eight years, its work revolved around an apartment complex in Columbus’ Riverview neighborhood—one of the most culturally diverse in the city and a haven for immigrants settling in the city. Established as a walk-in center open several hours each week, RIC leased a 550-square-foot apartment that was converted to office space, as well as a 650-square-foot laundry room designed to provide additional space for programming. Helping only a few clients initially, word soon spread that the new organization was offering valuable support to those acclimating to new lives in the United States. Adding staff in the ensuing years to meet growing demand for its programs, RIC was serving roughly 1,500 immigrants annually by the start of 2024. And while it had long since outgrown its space, the organization remained rooted in the apartment complex because of the proximity to those it served in the neighborhood.

“The Riverview area is special because of its diversity and because of the social safety net that’s been built up in the neighborhood to support the more than 60 percent of families who don’t speak English at home,” explains Sheeley. “RIC’s work has always been community-based, and we really didn’t want to leave the community to find a larger office and sacrifice the closeness we had to our clients in terms of distance and relationships.”

Given the organization’s commitment to Riverview and a vision to one day purchase the apartment complex and ensure continued access to affordable housing for Columbus’ immigrant community, it was particularly distressing when RIC received notice last February that the property had been sold. Even more distressing was the news that the new owner was evicting all existing tenants in preparation for a redevelopment of the complex. Operating with a month-to-month lease, and unsure of the exact date when the organization would need to vacate the property, RIC had little recourse but to immediately begin searching for a new, temporary location to minimize the disruption to programming.

Jumping into action, RIC’s leadership toured a variety of spaces offered free of charge by local churches and other nonprofits but struggled to find an option well suited to support the organization’s work. Pivoting, RIC began working with a commercial real estate agent who identified an opportunity to sublet two suites in another local nonprofit’s offices. Though located 2.5 miles from the Riverview community, the location offered 3,200 square feet of high-quality space to support the organization’s programming, improved accessibility for clients with mobility challenges, and had a supportive landlord aligned with RIC’s mission. Importantly, a portion of the new space was also available immediately, enabling RIC to close for just one week to facilitate the move.

“The timing worked out really well with the temporary space we found, which had just been renovated after a fire in the building,” says Sheeley. “The space felt right in every way and, while we had some anxiety that people wouldn’t come to the new office because it was outside of Riverview, it was the kind of space that our neighbors and clients deserve. A place that’s welcoming, that’s clean, that’s cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And a place for people to spread out, access services, and socialize with their neighbors.”

With the stability provided by its new location, RIC immediately began planning for the future. Having engaged IFF’s Real Estate Solutions team at the recommendation of one of its funders, The Columbus Foundation, while searching for a temporary location, RIC embarked on a facility feasibility analysis designed to assess the organization’s needs and capacity to lease or purchase a permanent facility equipped to support the organization’s continued growth. As part of this process, IFF reviewed RIC’s financials and determined the organization’s space needs based on current and projected programs, clients, and staff, as well as the organization’s building requirements and amenities desired.

Based on the findings, IFF then compiled three potential development scenarios for RIC to pursue, including leasing a new facility and completing tenant improvements, acquiring and renovating an existing building, and remaining in the organization’s current leased space and renting a second satellite location to provide the optimal square footage for RIC’s operations. Cost estimates for each scenario were developed through a “market scan” that assessed likely purchase prices and lease rates based on comparable facilities in Columbus. Financial feasibility modeling was also completed that estimated the cost of operating the facility in each development scenario, along with an analysis of financing options that could help RIC achieve its facility goals.

“It was helpful to get validation that the terms were reasonable before signing our lease for the temporary location and to have support navigating issues with our move,” says Sheeley. “But we also needed to think about our future, and the feasibility analysis has given us the data we need to make an informed decision about the direction we want to go. We have a good understanding now of how much space we need and how much it will cost to buy or lease a new facility, and that’s now shaping all of our strategic planning and fundraising.”

As RIC pursues its long-term goals, the nonprofit is thriving in its current location and plans to renew its lease this spring to ensure the continued stability of its programs. Despite all of the challenges the organization faced in 2024, it served more people last year than it had in any previous year.

“With the space we’re in now, we have a couple years ahead of us to finalize our plans for a permanent facility and how we’re going to pay for it,” concludes Sheeley. “To have not just survived the past year, but to be growing and serving more members of Columbus’ immigrant and refugee community is really special. What we navigated was really challenging but, based on where we’ve ended up, I think it was the best thing that could have happened to us.”

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