On-site Report

THE TOWN CENTER AT EASTON

a Mecca in making in Columbus, Ohio

 

By Ann O’Neal

 

 

It became clear to me that Columbus is a Mecca in the making for unique retailers.  Shoppers are screaming for attention and the time is right for the market to explode.  These ain’t no farmers; their day jobs cover the gamut of high-tech, financial, and professional services... for the most part the local economy is driven by brain power rather than the tractor plow.  As the area has matured, so has the customers’ level of sophistication and expectations, but the existing forms of entertainment and retail had yet to catch up.  However, a new breed of developer saw the opening and is seizing the day, with Steiner+Associates scoring the first home 

 

First, a glance at the market. Strategically located, Columbus lies in the heart of Ohio, midpoint between Cincinnati and Cleveland, and serves as the state capital. The market is underserved in places to have fun, unique fashion stores, and specialty home furnishing shops. Currently, the shopping alternatives in Columbus entail traditional regional malls predominately tenanted by the same old players you find at any mall anywhere across the country.  A specialty project, Worthington Mall, offers an array of small shops in a quaint environment, but the center is subdued and appears to draw a more conservative crowd.  The city is home to The Ohio State University.  The area around the university is slowly changing to meet the needs of the student population.  Across from the university, the Gateway Center is planned, and Urban Outfitters recently opened a freestanding storefront near Avalon, a clothing store for the university crowd. Another attraction to downtown Columbus is a convention center directly across from several large hotels. Columbus’ downtown district is stable, with shopping for mainstay items and dining establishments found in storefront settings.  Most downtown fashion shopping takes place in the City Center, an enclosed mall anchored by Marshall Field’s, Jacobson’s and Lazarus department stores. The downtown entertainment zone is the Brewery District, which hosts several nightclubs and breweries.  The North Market, an indoor/outdoor farmers’ market, offers a unique shopping experience and is located near the convention center.  Also within blocks of  the convention center are Jillian’s, which has been open for a while, and Nationwide’s new NHL arena project, which is under construction. A heyday of fun two decades ago, The Continent, is today a dismal, depressing collection of vacant shops with struggling nightclubs remaining and an old Loews Theatre. 

 

The Town Center At Easton is the newest shining star in Columbus, fulfilling a pent-up need for a leisure shopping and entertainment destination that caters to every walk of life in every age group.  Further fortifying Easton’s position in the market is interstate highway access that envelops Columbus and a large portion of its suburbs to create a wide-reaching trade area in a drive time of ten to twenty minutes. 

 

Here’s a narrative of a walk through of The Town Center At Easton.  The center has a two-level enclosed area with two main entrances and an open-air, town square retail setting.   At one end of the enclosed area is AMC Planet Movies and at the other entrance, the customer walks through an open air town square featuring a large clock marking the entrance to the enclosed retail shops.  Lights lavishly festoon the exterior entrance to AMC Planet Movies.  As you walk through the doors, your eyes move up to take in the sights of full-scale models of transportation vehicles used in the movies.  Then you see a grand staircase, and to your right or left you can bowl or shoot pool at the Shark Club or dance the night away at Dominica, take the little ones to Jeepers!, pick an outfit for your favorite schoolgirl at Limited Too, or buy a special home decor item at the White Barn Candles. The Shadowbox Cabaret offers the perfect place for  edgy, live adult humor, music and skits performed by a local group of artisans.  Next, you move to the entrance of Planet Hollywood and the Official All-Star Cafe with a swing to the right for some fun at GameWorks or to the left to outfit the athlete at World Footlocker.  Now you’re at center court, which offers you a choice to go forward or take an escalator ride upstairs.  Moving past center court on the lower level, you’ll come across Eddie Bauer, Harry London Candies, The Buckle and the Funnybone Comedy Club, a venue for live fun.  Funnybone Comedy Club offers a new line of comedy every night. Next comes Origins, Aunt Anne’s, Steve Madden Shoes, Contempo Casuals, The Icing, Perfumania, Pacific Sunwear and Victoria’s Secret.  Centered in the common area are Mozart’s, Sees Optical, Lids, and Bath & Body Works.  Flanking the entrance under the clock are Aldo Shoes, Gap Kids, Baby Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch and the Kids Abercrombie & Fitch. If you enter from the parking lot near the open town square, you’ll first encounter a two-level Barnes & Noble, The Cheesecake Factory, and a two-level Virgin Megastore.  As you walk along brick streets adorned with fountains and an ice rink, you can shop for fashion at J.Crew, Ann Taylor, Talbots, Chico’s or Banana Republic.   Or you can accessorize the place where you live at Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Smith & Hawken and Restoration Hardware.  More live entertainment can be found at the “speakeasy” called Around Midnight at a spot under J.Crew.  The entrance to Around Midnight is off the sidewalk just as if you’re on an urban street, rather than looking for a good time in the suburbs. The centerpiece of the town square is Brio Tuscan Grille, offering a place for a relaxing dining experience with open-fire ovens in a warm and inviting atmosphere.  Lining the walkways on the perimeter of the town square are Johnny Rockets, Starbucks, Hama Sushi, Panera Bread, Maggie Moos, The Baggerie, Fado (an Irish pub), and P.F. Changs.  You can also put on a healthy glow at the Marco Triccoci Day Spa or Life Time Fitness.  Life Time Fitness harnesses 100,000 sq.ft. on two levels of muscle power, drawing from a large trade area. It’s entrance feeds off the adjacent parking structure, so that the fitness customers don’t use up the surface lots that are in close proximity to the stores.  However, its entrance also makes it easy for Life Time’s patrons to pop into Starbucks or grab sushi for lunch.

 

If you think the tenant mix covers the full spectrum... there’s even more to experience.  On the second level, you’re  almost eye-to-eye with famous Hollywood movie props while entering the theater, and as you look to your side the second level of Abercrombie & Fitch beckons, with aromas enticing you to Cheryl’s Cookies.  Then comes C.V. Wrappers and a collection of specialty shops including The Modern Object, Broken Arrow Accents, the Buckeye Corner, Color Your World, Gallery of the Stars, Relax The Back, and more fun at The Ocean Club. 

 

Attention to detail, convenience and safety are evident at every angle of the center.  I walked from one end of the project to the other and it was an easy stroll from the parking lot and through the center from any starting point.  Parking is laid out so that access to any area of the project is a breeze.  Easton, unlike many large projects, doesn’t look like it’s surrounded by a sea of parking; at every angle the parking is in close proximity to the building.  The curbs along the perimeter of the building offer metered parking, further enhancing convenience.  The layout of the center allows for an easy walk, whether you’re rushing through your lunch hour or strolling at an easy gait.  Architectural elements in both exterior and interior store designs, as well as focal points in the common area, offer a welcoming surprise at each step.  Storefronts appear open and inviting.  A skylight from the center court to the grand clock gives the feeling that you’re outdoors on a perfect, sunny day.  The color schemes used on the interior of the town center and on the exteriors of the stores along the town square give the impression that you’re walking through a village. The entertainment wing jumps with excitement. Furthermore, security will not be an issue, since surveillance cameras are concealed and continuous images flow into a central security office.  In essence, Easton is as comfortable for mom as it is thrilling for the youth market... it’s a place where everybody can come together.

 

Still, there’s even more happening on the 1,200-acre, $1.5-billion planned community. Hilton is opening a hotel on-site, residential units are to be constructed, and the existing office space will be further expanded to five million square feet.  A traditional strip center, with some architectural flair, can be found at the Easton Market anchored by Target, Lowe’s, Galyan’s, Designer Shoe Warehouse, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, Staples, PetsMart and Bed, Bath & Beyond.  

 

The next new wave of shopping and leisure-time destinations is phase two of The Town Center At Easton, to be called  the Fashion District.  Anchoring the second phase will be a 180,000-sq.ft. Nordstrom slated for a spring 2001 opening, and Galyan’s will relocate from Easton Market with a 100,000-sq.ft. store.  The remaining 200,000 sq.ft. will be utilized by tenants in the 500-sq.ft. to 10,000-sq.ft. size range.  Fashion District’s merchandise mix will have a two-tier focus: leisure shopping in the categories of children, family and active wear; and better lines of fashion with distinctions  between and a comprehensive representation of  traditional high-end fashion to fashion-forward stores.  The layout of Fashion District will be open-air and the town square element will be placed just outside of Nordstrom’s entrance.  Architectural elements are designed with the drama of the 1940s and ‘50s.  Preleasing of the Fashion District is well underway.

 

Steiner+Associates planned its massive complex to reach shoppers at a human scale, to bring them to a gathering place, to offer an experience that suits our emotional and real needs, to feel the atmosphere, to touch things, to see people, to encounter adventures, and to shop.  With an ebb and flow of high energy to a leisurely pace... Easton scored an enchanting waltz put to the tune of a unique shopping experience.  

 

Contact information: Jeff Zeigler, Steiner +Associates, 4016 Townsfair Way, Suite 201, Columbus, Ohio 43219; 614-414-7300, Fax: 414-7311; e-mail: jeffz@steiner.com ; website: www.steinerassociates.com.