Columbus City Center
Encyclopedia
Columbus City Center was a 1200000 square feet (111,483.6 m²), three-level shopping center in Columbus, Ohio
, United States. It was located in the city's downtown, near the Ohio State Capitol, next to the Ohio Theatre, and connected to a Hyatt
hotel. The mall had a large parking structure attached that, despite the mall's closure in 2009, is still used extensively by downtown workers.
At the time of its opening, City Center was Central Ohio's largest and most upscale shopping mall. However, a combination of factors would soon strip it of this status.
, already open since 1851, was made one of the original anchor stores by connecting it with the mall via an enclosed bridge across High Street. The Lazarus store by City Center was the first Lazarus store ever opened. The other original anchor stores were Marshall Field's
and Jacobson's. Taubman
Company leased and managed the building until control was later taken over by Mills Corporation
, discussed later on. Early leasing efforts were substantially enhanced when Limited Brands
, a locally-based dominant specialty retailer, announced that all of its brands would have a presence at the center.
In 2003, the Marshall Field's store became a Kaufmann's
. It was later rebranded as Macy's
following the Federated-May
merger of 2005.
opened on the northwest side of Columbus. It is interesting to note that the developers of City Center built Tuttle. Though its opening had a much more devastating effect on the nearby Westland Mall, Tuttle presented an attractive alternative for upscale shoppers in the surrounding area who would have otherwise shopped at City Center. However, Tuttle alone did not have the capacity to decimate City Center, as City Center was still a convenient destination for wealthy residents in eastside suburbs such as Bexley, Pickerington, New Albany
, and others.
The opening of Easton Town Center
in June 1999 dramatically changed the outlook on shopping centers in Columbus. Located near the intersection of I-270
, I-670
, and SR-161 on the northeast side of Columbus, Easton presented a unique mixed-use format that was instantly successful. The combination of Easton and Tuttle gave nearly all wealthy suburban shoppers throughout Columbus more convenient shopping options. In conjunction to driving significant retail traffic away from downtown, Easton also hastened the downfall of nearby Northland Mall
.
To make matters worse for City Center, Glimcher Realty Trust opened Polaris Fashion Place
in October 2001. The mall was built on the far northern end of Columbus to capture the corridor of suburban development in the Columbus suburbs of Powell
and Worthington
, as well as the rapid population growth in nearby Delaware
and Union
counties. With this trifecta of new shopping centers across the wealthy northern end of Columbus, tenants fled City Center and Northland Mall (closed 2003).
In the face of competition from new shopping centers, City Center lost two key anchor tenants over the next few years. Jacobson’s went bankrupt in 2002 and closed all of its stores, creating the first hole in City Center’s anchor lineup. Lazarus, after 153 years of tenancy in downtown Columbus,closed in mid 2004. This left City Center with just one anchor, Kaufmann's, which was about to be rebranded as Macy's. Declining sales at the City Center location prompted its closure in late November 2007.
, through a 50/50 partnership with General Motors
, purchased a large portion of Taubman’s holdings, including Tuttle and City Center. Mills, with extensive experience in converting aged malls into revitalized structures emphasizing fresh entertainment and dining options, was seen by many to be the new hope for City Center’s future. However, excitement quickly faded as Mills announced significant financial difficulties in 2006, including accounting irregularities and earnings restatements going back several years. Many of its new and redevelopment projects were either put on hold or discontinued. By February 2007, a bidding war developed between Brookfield Asset Management
and Simon Property Group
, in conjunction with Farallon Capital Management, for control of Mills' assets. Simon won and assumed ownership of Mills' assets in Columbus, including City Center.
Around this time, the development arm of Nationwide Insurance (parent company of Nationwide Realty Investors, both based in Columbus, and responsible for much of the Arena District
development) stepped up on behalf of the City of Columbus to put together a plan for the mall's future if Simon were to abandon the center.
On July 31, 2007 the City of Columbus
filed a lawsuit to evict the management company, Simon Property Group
, which held the lease on the underlying land, to gain control of the mall. The city alleges that mall management grossly neglected the property, allowed it to fall into disrepair, did not pay real estate taxes for some time, and failed to make a rent payment for the land in excess of $200,000. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman
said of possible redevelopment for the property, "I have many, many ideas, I want to see some retail back in it, offices as well. We have thousands of people moving downtown and there's a great need for retail activity. Our downtown is on the move. This is the only thing holding us back.". In the last minutes before eviction was to take place, the city was able to negotiate a purchase agreement to buy the property from Simon and take over full control.
Two recent developments have set the stage for what could potentially revitalize the area surrounding City Center. First is the pronounced downtown housing boom, which has brought many young professionals back to the city. Several vacant buildings have been converted into condos, and the nearby German Village
continues to show strong growth. Second, and more immediate, is the substantial redevelopment of the vacant Lazarus building. The redevelopment, now mostly complete, converted the building to a format suitable for office space, academic research, arts, and dining.
On February 3, 2009, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman announced that Columbus City Center would close on March 5, 2009, and be torn down by the summer of 2009. The parking garage that was constructed for City Center will remain, as will its underground parking area, but the mall itself will be demolished. A public sale of City Center's store fixtures and associated paraphernalia ran from February 10th through 28th, 2009.
The last retail business to operate in the mall, and also an original tenant from when the mall opened in 1989, was a franchise of Mark Pi's Express, which closed on February 27, 2009.
The mall was officially closed to all pedestrian traffic on Thursday March 5, 2009. Demolition of the mall began on approximately October 1, 2009, and was completed in March 2010.
is a 9 acre park and green space
located on the site of the former Columbus City Center mall. The park features gardens, a performance stage, carousel, reading room and a cafe. The $20 million project was developed by CDDC and Capitol South, private, non-profit development organizations.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, United States. It was located in the city's downtown, near the Ohio State Capitol, next to the Ohio Theatre, and connected to a Hyatt
Hyatt
Hyatt Hotels Corporation , is an international operator of hotels.Hyatt Center is the headquarters for Hyatt corporation...
hotel. The mall had a large parking structure attached that, despite the mall's closure in 2009, is still used extensively by downtown workers.
At the time of its opening, City Center was Central Ohio's largest and most upscale shopping mall. However, a combination of factors would soon strip it of this status.
History
Columbus City Center was developed by the city as part of the Capitol South development, opening on August 18, 1989. LazarusLazarus (department store)
F&R Lazarus & Company — commonly known as Lazarus — was a regional department store retail chain operating primarily in the U.S. Midwest, and based in Columbus, Ohio...
, already open since 1851, was made one of the original anchor stores by connecting it with the mall via an enclosed bridge across High Street. The Lazarus store by City Center was the first Lazarus store ever opened. The other original anchor stores were Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
and Jacobson's. Taubman
Taubman Centers
Taubman Centers is an owner of United States upscale regional malls and has headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The Taubman Asia subsidiary is headquartered in Hong Kong. It has the highest selling portfolio of malls in any mall company in the United States.Taubman was founded in 1950 by...
Company leased and managed the building until control was later taken over by Mills Corporation
Mills Corporation
The Mills Corporation was a publicly traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States, acquired on April 3, 2007 by an investment group composed of Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management. The company developed, owned, and operated major...
, discussed later on. Early leasing efforts were substantially enhanced when Limited Brands
Limited Brands
Limited Brands is an American apparel company based in Columbus, Ohio. In 2009 it reported 9.04 billion dollars in revenue for the last fiscal year.-History:...
, a locally-based dominant specialty retailer, announced that all of its brands would have a presence at the center.
In 2003, the Marshall Field's store became a Kaufmann's
Kaufmann's
Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of 'Fallingwater' and the Kaufmann's Desert House. In the post-war years the store became a regional chain in the eastern United States, and was last...
. It was later rebranded as Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
following the Federated-May
May Department Stores
The May Department Stores Company was a national department store chain in the United States, founded in 1877 by David May. The company ceased to exist in 2005 when it was merged with Federated Department Stores, Inc . Prior to the merger it was headquartered in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri...
merger of 2005.
Decline
During its last decade of operation, City Center’s positioning as the premier shopping destination in Columbus was eliminated, due primarily to the opening of the three shopping centers across the northern end of Columbus, and the closing of its key anchor tenants. At the mall's peak in 1992, it had 144 tenants occupying 1250000 square feet (116,128.8 m²) of retail space; just seventeen years later, in 2009, there were only eight small stores open for business, occupying 5000 square feet (464.5 m²).Competition from new shopping centers
In July 1997, The Mall at Tuttle CrossingThe Mall at Tuttle Crossing
The Mall at Tuttle Crossing is a shopping center located in Columbus, Ohio, USA near the suburb of Dublin. It was developed by a joint venture of Taubman Centers and The Georgetown Company and opened on July 11, 1997. The original anchor stores were Sears, Lazarus, Marshall Field's, and JCPenney...
opened on the northwest side of Columbus. It is interesting to note that the developers of City Center built Tuttle. Though its opening had a much more devastating effect on the nearby Westland Mall, Tuttle presented an attractive alternative for upscale shoppers in the surrounding area who would have otherwise shopped at City Center. However, Tuttle alone did not have the capacity to decimate City Center, as City Center was still a convenient destination for wealthy residents in eastside suburbs such as Bexley, Pickerington, New Albany
New Albany, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,711 people, 1,263 households, and 1,030 families residing in the village. The population density was 415.7 people per square mile . There were 1,424 housing units at an average density of 159.5 per square mile...
, and others.
The opening of Easton Town Center
Easton Town Center
Easton Town Center is a large mixed-use town center in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It is designed to look like a classic American main street, with public spaces, fountains, a street grid, and metered storefront parking....
in June 1999 dramatically changed the outlook on shopping centers in Columbus. Located near the intersection of I-270
Interstate 270 (Ohio)
Interstate 270 is the beltway loop freeway in the Columbus metropolitan area, commonly known locally as "The Outerbelt," or the "Jack Nicklaus Freeway." The "western" terminus of I-270, at least in terms of the zero-milepost, is at the junction with I-71 east of Grove City, Ohio...
, I-670
Interstate 670 (Ohio)
Interstate 670 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Ohio that passes through downtown Columbus, connecting I-70 west of downtown with I-270 and US 62 near the eastern suburb of Gahanna. I-670 provides access to Port Columbus International Airport, and intersects SR 315 and I-71 downtown...
, and SR-161 on the northeast side of Columbus, Easton presented a unique mixed-use format that was instantly successful. The combination of Easton and Tuttle gave nearly all wealthy suburban shoppers throughout Columbus more convenient shopping options. In conjunction to driving significant retail traffic away from downtown, Easton also hastened the downfall of nearby Northland Mall
Northland Mall
Northland Mall was a shopping mall located on the north side of Columbus, Ohio, at the intersection of Morse Road and Karl Road. It opened in 1964 as an open-air shopping center and the first shopping mall in Columbus...
.
To make matters worse for City Center, Glimcher Realty Trust opened Polaris Fashion Place
Polaris Fashion Place
Polaris Fashion Place is a two level shopping mall and surrounding retail plaza serving Columbus, Ohio, United States. The mall, owned locally by Glimcher Realty Trust, is located off Interstate 71 on Polaris Parkway in Delaware County just to the north of the boundary between Delaware and Franklin...
in October 2001. The mall was built on the far northern end of Columbus to capture the corridor of suburban development in the Columbus suburbs of Powell
Powell, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,247 people, 1,975 households, and 1,789 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,057.3 people per square mile . There were 2,032 housing units at an average density of 669.2 per square mile...
and Worthington
Worthington, Ohio
-Dissolution of the Company:By August 11, 1804 the plat maps were completed, payments or notes promising payments collected and deeds prepared for all sixteen thousand acres of the Scioto Company's purchase...
, as well as the rapid population growth in nearby Delaware
Delaware County, Ohio
Delaware County is a fast-growing suburban county in the state of Ohio, United States, within the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the United States Census Bureau's 2004 population estimates, Delaware County's population of 142,503 made it the fastest growing county in...
and Union
Union County, Ohio
Union County is a county located in the US state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 52,300. Increasingly becoming more of a suburban county, the population was estimated at 47,234 in 2007 by the U.S. Census Bureau...
counties. With this trifecta of new shopping centers across the wealthy northern end of Columbus, tenants fled City Center and Northland Mall (closed 2003).
Loss of anchor tenants
Final days
Shortly after the Lazarus closing, Mills CorporationMills Corporation
The Mills Corporation was a publicly traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States, acquired on April 3, 2007 by an investment group composed of Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management. The company developed, owned, and operated major...
, through a 50/50 partnership with General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, purchased a large portion of Taubman’s holdings, including Tuttle and City Center. Mills, with extensive experience in converting aged malls into revitalized structures emphasizing fresh entertainment and dining options, was seen by many to be the new hope for City Center’s future. However, excitement quickly faded as Mills announced significant financial difficulties in 2006, including accounting irregularities and earnings restatements going back several years. Many of its new and redevelopment projects were either put on hold or discontinued. By February 2007, a bidding war developed between Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Toronto, Ontario-based asset management company that manages a global portfolio of assets valued at over $150 billion...
and Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate company, ranked #1 in the United States as the largest real estate investment trust. Simon is a fully integrated real estate company which operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers, The...
, in conjunction with Farallon Capital Management, for control of Mills' assets. Simon won and assumed ownership of Mills' assets in Columbus, including City Center.
Around this time, the development arm of Nationwide Insurance (parent company of Nationwide Realty Investors, both based in Columbus, and responsible for much of the Arena District
Arena District
The Arena District is a , mixed-use urban infill, master planned development located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. It is characterized by its New Urbanism layout, mixed-use, and neo-classical American design. The architecture is of the Chicago School style, being influenced by Daniel Burnham in...
development) stepped up on behalf of the City of Columbus to put together a plan for the mall's future if Simon were to abandon the center.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
filed a lawsuit to evict the management company, Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate company, ranked #1 in the United States as the largest real estate investment trust. Simon is a fully integrated real estate company which operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers, The...
, which held the lease on the underlying land, to gain control of the mall. The city alleges that mall management grossly neglected the property, allowed it to fall into disrepair, did not pay real estate taxes for some time, and failed to make a rent payment for the land in excess of $200,000. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman
Michael B. Coleman
Michael B. Coleman is an American politician of the Democratic Party, the 52nd and current mayor of Columbus, Ohio. He is the first African-American mayor of Ohio's capital....
said of possible redevelopment for the property, "I have many, many ideas, I want to see some retail back in it, offices as well. We have thousands of people moving downtown and there's a great need for retail activity. Our downtown is on the move. This is the only thing holding us back.". In the last minutes before eviction was to take place, the city was able to negotiate a purchase agreement to buy the property from Simon and take over full control.
Two recent developments have set the stage for what could potentially revitalize the area surrounding City Center. First is the pronounced downtown housing boom, which has brought many young professionals back to the city. Several vacant buildings have been converted into condos, and the nearby German Village
German Village
German Village is a historic neighborhood just south of downtown Columbus. It was settled by a large number of German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century, who at one time comprised as much as a third of the population of the entire city...
continues to show strong growth. Second, and more immediate, is the substantial redevelopment of the vacant Lazarus building. The redevelopment, now mostly complete, converted the building to a format suitable for office space, academic research, arts, and dining.
On February 3, 2009, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman announced that Columbus City Center would close on March 5, 2009, and be torn down by the summer of 2009. The parking garage that was constructed for City Center will remain, as will its underground parking area, but the mall itself will be demolished. A public sale of City Center's store fixtures and associated paraphernalia ran from February 10th through 28th, 2009.
The last retail business to operate in the mall, and also an original tenant from when the mall opened in 1989, was a franchise of Mark Pi's Express, which closed on February 27, 2009.
The mall was officially closed to all pedestrian traffic on Thursday March 5, 2009. Demolition of the mall began on approximately October 1, 2009, and was completed in March 2010.
Columbus Commons
Columbus CommonsColumbus Commons
Columbus Commons is a park and green space in downtown Columbus, Ohio located on the site of the former Columbus City Center mall. The park features gardens, a performance stage, carousel, reading room and a cafe...
is a 9 acre park and green space
Green infrastructure
Green Infrastructure is a concept originating in the United States in the mid-1990s that highlights the importance of the natural environment in decisions about land use planning. In particular there is an emphasis on the "life support" functions provided by a network of natural ecosystems, with an...
located on the site of the former Columbus City Center mall. The park features gardens, a performance stage, carousel, reading room and a cafe. The $20 million project was developed by CDDC and Capitol South, private, non-profit development organizations.