^Whatever. I went to that place for a tune-up and they replaced my transmission fluid with au jus.

tsk tsk

^You BETTER not be talkin' 'bout QUAKER STEAK N LUBE like that, Michilander!

I drove by that place just tonight on my way back from Loveland. They had alot of bikers at that joint today. It looks like in interesting place right off of Rt 50 in Milford.

From the 9/28/06 Dispatch:

 

 

I-71 AND POLARIS PARKWAY

Developers start work on $54 million Hilton hotel

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Mike Pramik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Nearly two decades after developer Robert Weiler shared his vision for the Polaris development with Columbus and Delaware County officials, the last major piece of the 1,200-acre puzzle has snapped into place.  Weiler’s NP Limited and Platinum Ridge Properties, a central Ohio hotel developer, have begun work on the $54 million Polaris Hilton and Conference Center at I-71 and Polaris Parkway.  The Hilton, downsized a bit from original drawings, promises 253 rooms, 14,000 square feet of meeting space and an overdue dash of lodging luxury to the Polaris area.

 

Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/09/28/20060928-E1-04.html

 

From the 11/30/06 Dispatch:

 

Costco draws a crowd

Warehouse club opens at Polaris to throngs of eager shoppers

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Jeffrey Sheban

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Welcome to the club.  Thousands of people descended on the city’s first Costco warehouse yesterday, a members-only store offering, well, pretty much everything.

 

There were babies in strollers, women in tights, men in wheelchairs and competitors incognito, all in awe of the eclectic mix of products ranging from bulk goods and food items to designer handbags and jewelry.

 

It’s the first serious competition to Wal-Mart-owned Sam’s Club, which has four stores in central Ohio, since BJ’s Wholesale Club pulled out of town in 2002.  "If nothing else, this should improve Sam’s," said Sam’s Club shopper Sue Wellman of Delaware, who was at Costco on Tuesday night snagging a $50 annual membership to beat the crowds.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/30/20061130-E1-01.html

 

"This is my first time in a Costco, and I’m so excited," she said.

 

I was there Friday night. So many Costco newbies, all of them so very, very excited, the aisles were slick with virtual urine.

 

LOVE Costco.

"The Polaris store is the third Costco in Ohio after Cleveland and Cincinnati."

 

Um, good research! Cincinnati and Cleveland each have two stores. I can't believe Columbus is just getting a Costco, best store anywhere. High quality at a good price.

Proposed sale may mean demise of Germain Amphitheater

Property may be too valuable for use as concert venue

By Mike Pramik and Aaron Beck

The Columbus Dispatch

Thursday, December 21, 2006 1:11 AM

 

The owner of Germain Amphitheater said yesterday that it will try to sell the music venue after the 2007 season.  A sale could mean the end of the 12-year-old amphitheater, which has struggled in recent years to attract performers and crowds.  Real-estate and music-industry officials said Polaris-area development has made the property too valuable to use as a concert spot.

 

Live Nation, the Los Angeles entertainment company that owns Germain, issued a statement yesterday saying that it has hired the real-estate firm CB Richard Ellis to find a buyer for Germain.  The company said the decision to sell was "based on a number of factors," but it did not elaborate. Michael Rapino, Live Nation's chief executive, told investors in November that the company was looking to shed some of its amphitheaters in smaller markets, especially those in which the "value of real estate is greater than the value to us as a music venue."

 

Read more at http://dispatch.com/business/business.php?story=234706

 

Mixed emotions here.

 

On one hand, as a worker at a company out off of Polaris, I won't miss the concert traffic. On the other hand, it's nice to have something vaguely cultural going on out there. On one hand, the closure of Germain might mean a boost for downtown, on the other, the squares out in Westerville and Lewis Center won't have any noise to complain about. On one hand, it's absurd that an area with plenty of undeveloped land and empty office buildings would be so over-valued, but on the other hand, tomorrow's Northlands, Westlands, and The Continents have to come from somewhere.

 

That's like, six hands.

one good memory there -- the beastie boys at lollapalooza was the craziest show i ever saw. off the charts. duh!

 

Its not that great of a place. Blossom has set the bar very high for Ohio amphitheaters.

 

I was there for the lollapalooza just a few months after the place had opened. People were ripping up the sod squares and throwing them up high into the air. It was so surreal--hundreds of sod squares floating, twisting and turning in the air.

I'm excited about this.  Should be a nice boost for downtown.  It always sucked trying to navigate traffic up there anyway.

As a complete music nut, I'll be glad to see Germain go. Columbus needed Germain in 1993. The largest music venue we had at that time was Batelle, which didn't seat enough people to bring larger acts or package shows. Of course, if a band was super-gigantic, they could play the 'Shoe if the stars and moon were in perfect alignment. In 2006, we have the Schott, Nationwide, Crew Stadium and Lifestyles. Between them and preexisting venues such as the Newport, Little Brother's, Alrosa Villa etc. Columbus has the perfect size venue for just about any act.

 

I hate watching shows at "sheds" (amphitheaters). Here's a few reasons:

 

Weather - The weather can fuck so many shows in the summer. It's always 900000 degrees at Ozzfest (and that's only in the years when it's actually worth going), or it rains. $4 water on top of $8 booze just sucks.

 

Daytime - OK, daytime shows work for Woodstock, the California Jam and huge European and South American music festivals with 350,000 people. When there's 9,500 people at a show it's hard to take on a true rock 'n roll mood when the sun is still blazing at 8:30pm. Dio... DURING THE DAY? IRON MAIDEN... DURING THE DAY? Has Alice Cooper ever played at Polaris? Please tell me the answer is no.

 

Distance from the band - Sheds always put you 12 miles away from the band if you aren't in the first few rows.

 

Crap sound - It's not that the sound system can't handle the dimensions of the area. It can. To me, at larger sheds the drums, and to a lesser extent, the bass guitar sound like shit. It's because of the reverb effect of the way sound bounces off the hill and back wall. There is nothing that the sound guy can do about it. It's mainly a vibe killer to me.

 

Suburbs - I don't want to see a band in the suburbs. Plus, people around were always bitching about the noise. Hey dipshit, if you don't like the noise, don't move close to the venue.

 

No place to party before or after the show - Since there were only strip malls around with almost no walkability, it's difficult to meet up with fellow fans at a bar for a few beers before or after the show. Polaris also frowned upon tailgating so that they could whack you for more $8 drinks. In the U.S.'s much more laid-back older days, a "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" situation happened before every show and people had lots of fun. Of course, we're in the "Square Era" today.

 

Even though it's partially outdoors, Lifestyles doesn't have most of the problems listed above due to its location, smaller size and indoor half. Does anyone know if, when it rains, the band equipment is turned around to face the indoor side and the crowd sent inside the building? A quick soundcheck would be all that is needed. I don't think Columbus will lose many shows, if any, when Germain closes. The other venues can pick up the slack.

 

Ironically, Polaris Amphitheater...the jumpstart of POLARIS: THE DEMON STAR OF FASHION TERROR.

 

Closed.

The beginning of the beginning of the end for sure.

Polaris area to get new Cambria Suites hotel concept

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

A new hotel concept is being developed at Polaris Centers of Commerce, promising more room for business travelers.

Cambria Suites, a brand recently developed by Choice Hotels Inc., will offer 125 upscale suites on the scale and caliber of those offered by Hilton Garden Inn and Courtyard by Marriott. Wilcare Corp. of Akron is seeking final permitting to develop the $12 million Cambria Suites property. Wilcare also is building a Cambria Suites in Akron.

 

"It seemed like the north end of Columbus has some real opportunity there," Wilcare vice president Sean Leatherman said. "The Polaris area is sort of cutting edge and new. That’s the type of style, look and feel of the Cambria Suites hotel."

 

Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/02/03/20070203-C1-02.html

 

Open-air element breathes new lifestyle into Polaris

 

http://dayton.bizjournals.com/dayton/othercities/columbus/stories/2007/07/09/focus3.html?b=1183953600^1487352

 

When Federated Department Stores Inc. announced in early 2005 that it would close two Kaufmann's department stores in Columbus after its purchase of Kaufmann's May Co. parent, the owner of the Polaris Fashion Place mall suddenly had a 200,000-square-foot hole to fill in the 1.5 million-square-foot mall.  But landlord Glimcher Realty Trust quickly decided to redevelop the 14-acre site into an open-air retail center filled with small specialty shops and restaurants rather than find a new tenant.

 

"We just felt adding restaurants and lifestyle retailers would be a better idea than replacing Kaufmann's with another anchor," said George Schmidt, executive vice president and chief investment officer for Glimcher.  Among the likely lifestyle tenants Glimcher has targeted in the $45 million redevelopment project are bookstores, fashion retailers and other specialty retailers often found in open-air centers, he said.

 

Come down and savor the ground-level ozone. Seriously: from where I work, you can the sickly yellow haze hanging over Polaris from I-71 to 23. Nazdy.

Look's like Polaris is beating City Center to the punch... 

Typical of Glimcher to be trying to copy-cat an Easton-style "lifestyle center" in the location of a suburban "sprawl mall". 

Germain Amphitheater for sale

Tonight's concert could be venue's swan song

Sunday,  September 16, 2007 4:01 AM

By Aaron Beck and Mike Pramik, The Columbus Dispatch

 

When Toby Keith plays his boisterous country-rock on the Germain Amphitheater stage tonight, it could be the last time anyone performs anything on it.  After the singer's concert, the 20,000-seat venue's 14-season run could come to a close.  The property is for sale and local music-industry sources say privately that they do not expect it to reopen in the spring.

 

Germain's owner, the Los Angeles entertainment company Live Nation, said last year it planned to sell several amphitheaters including Germain. Live Nation spokesman John Vlautin said the company would not comment on the prospect of a sale.  The amphitheater has hosted more than 400 shows since opening in 1994. Performers have included the Who, the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, the Spice Girls, Metallica and KISS.

 

Read more at

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/09/16/1_GERMAIN_KEITH.ART_ART_09-16-07_A1_0P7TPJ2.html?print=yes&sid=101

 

Germain Amphitheater timeline

Sept. 15, 1993 -- Belkin Productions of Cleveland, Sunshine Promotions of Indianapolis and PromoWest Productions of Columbus announce a plan to build Polaris Amphitheater on 80 acres in southern Delaware County; the land is purchased for $50,000 per acre.

 

June 18, 1994 -- Achy Breaky Heart singer Billy Ray Cyrus performs the first concert.

 

September 1994 -- Westerville officials say nine concerts during the amphitheater's first year could be heard from 2 miles away, exceeding the city's noise-ordinance limits.

 

1994 to 1997 -- Polaris hosts 38 to 40 concerts each year, including the Eagles, Metallica, Lollapalooza, Janet Jackson, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett, AC/DC and Tina Turner.

 

June 17, 1997 -- Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo announces from the stage that Ozzfest namesake Ozzy Osbourne will not perform; some of the 18,000 fans hurl bottles and sod at the stage, smash ticket-office windows, overturn cars and set brush fires.

 

Sept. 16, 2002 -- Aerosmith and Run-DMC play the final show in Polaris Amphitheater.

 

Feb. 18, 2003 -- Germain Motor Co. announces it has bought naming rights to Polaris Amphitheater.

 

May 14, 2003 -- ZZ Top and Ted Nugent play the first show in newly named Germain Amphitheater.

 

June 15, 2005 -- After years of disputes, Westerville and Polaris Concerts Inc. agree that the city will monitor noise levels during concerts.

 

Dec. 21, 2006 -- Live Nation, the Los Angeles entertainment company that owns Germain Amphitheater, announces the venue is for sale; real-estate brokers estimate the land is worth $500,000 per acre.

 

May 19, 2007 -- Brooks & Dunn play the first show of what could be Germain's final season.

 

Tonight -- Toby Keith, who has played the venue every year since 2002, is to play the final concert of the year. It would be the ninth concert at Germain this year, a record low for the venue.

Retailers, restaurants line up to join roster at Polaris outdoor center

 

The roster of retailers and restaurants is rounding out for Glimcher Realty Trust's $45 million outdoor lifestyle center addition at Polaris Fashion Place. Most of the merchants are expected to arrive by fall.  The center will offer a mix of stores and dining places both familiar and new to the city.

 

Angela Krumpelman, Polaris' marketing director, said the 160,000-square-foot lifestyle center, under construction where a Kaufmann's department store once sat, gives Fashion Place some shopping and restaurant tenants that would not consider locating in a traditional enclosed mall, including: Destination Maternity, a superstore that combines Philadelphia-based Mothers Work Inc.'s A Pea in the Pod, Mimi Maternity and Motherhood Maternity stores in one space. The Pub, a British-style bar owned by Cincinnati-based Tavern Restaurant Group Inc.  Benihana, an upscale Japanese cuisine and sushi restaurant.

 

Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/07/14/story8.html?b=1216008000^1667527

Retailers, restaurants line up to join roster at Polaris outdoor center

 

The Pub, a British-style bar owned by Cincinnati-based Tavern Restaurant Group Inc.

 

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/07/14/story8.html?b=1216008000^1667527

 

I like The Pub here in Cincinnati at Rookwood. However, something in me gets disturbed when I see a bar open in an area where 99% of patrons will leave by automobile. I must be getting old.

Wonder what the walk score is at this place?

^ maybe, but that bothers me too!

 

so that's the same one going into (or that went into by now?) the greene in dayton too, right? it was under construction when i saw it last summer, but from the renderings it looked like a nice pub/tavern joint.

Wonder what the walk score is at this place?

 

For what it's worth, a 69, or "Somewhat Walkable." Proof that Walkscore ignores little details like "sidewalks."

 

http://www.walkscore.com/get-score.php?street=1550+polaris+parkway%2C+columbus+ohio+43240&go=Go

that's crazy, i swear you get like 10pts just for having a movie theater.

so that's the same one going into (or that went into by now?) the greene in dayton too, right? it was under construction when i saw it last summer, but from the renderings it looked like a nice pub/tavern joint

 

Yep, its open now.  I still like the original concept "Nicholsons" in Cincy better. 

 

So Glimcher is doing a Dayton Mall lifestyle tack-on to Polaris.  The one here is pretty sad (and not fully leased).

 

 

Polaris with the top down

Outdoor addition, opening this fall, lures big retailers

Sunday,  August 10, 2008 - 3:46 AM

By Marla Matzer Rose

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Polaris Fashion Place will join the open-air trend in retailing this fall when the 8-year-old enclosed mall opens the first of two major sections of its "lifestyle center."  Several of the tenants, including the already-open Cheesecake Factory restaurant, also can be found at nearby rival Easton Town Center.

 

But don't tell Polaris developer Michael Glimcher that he's mimicking Easton.  "There were outdoor shopping centers even before the moniker existed," said Glimcher, chairman and chief executive of Glimcher Realty Trust.  "A shopping center like (the Shops on) Lane Avenue was a lifestyle center before the moniker existed. The Continent (on the North Side) was ahead of its time. It's not a new idea, and we're still happy to have the enclosed mall. I think we're just giving people more and more reasons to come to Polaris."

 

Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/08/10/polaris_lifestyle.ART_ART_08-10-08_D1_7JAVDIE.html?sid=101

With this new lifestyle center development, walkscore.com will have to completely recalibrate its ratings system.

 

Walkers Valhalla.

With this new lifestyle center development, walkscore.com will have to completely recalibrate its ratings system.

 

Walkers Valhalla.

 

Here's an aerial photo of the former Bank One (now JPMorgan Chase) McCoy Center near the Polaris Mall.  Posted from the Dispatch story "Chase thriving in region: Bank One merger wasn't doomsday for local jobs -- in fact, quite the opposite" at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/08/24/chase.ART_ART_08-24-08_D1_JTB3PNK.html?sid=101. 

 

Also posted in Columbus: Economy and Market News at http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,14096.msg319633.html#msg319633.

 

Chase Bank is great for the overall employment in the Central Ohio region.  And the McCoy Center is its employment hub.  But as for the building complex itself just read the caption for the below aerial photo:

 

"The $242 million McCoy Center is just west of Polaris Fashion Place.  It includes a gift shop, Starbucks, dry cleaners, nurse’s station, two cafeterias and a place to get a massage."

 

 

Walkers Valhalla indeed!  

And a Parker's Paradise to boot.

With this new lifestyle center development, walkscore.com will have to completely recalibrate its ratings system.

 

Walkers Valhalla.

 

I just compared the Polaris Walkscore to my Clintonville Walkscore (I live a couple blocks from the ravine -- Valkers Walhalla), and Polaris beat me by three points. What a joke. A major bug in the system, fly in the ointment, monkey wrench in the works.

^And the gold standard for any newspaper and magazine article about the walking craze.

I would say the walking score only applies to areas that are already deemed walkable.  In other words, it doesn't determine how easy or safe it is to walk around, simply what variety of things there are to walk in a short distance assuming those distances are feasible (in other words, you don't have to walk a half mile out opf the way and wait to cross a 9-lane highway without using sidewalks the entire route).  Thus, if the walks are not feasible, the whole assumption goes out the window and the walk score is invalid.

On one hand, Walkscore's Website gives a definition of "walkability" that is the antithesis of Polaris. On the other hand, the site also offers a few caveats that you could not only walk through, but drive a truck through:

 

How It Doesn't Work: Known Issues with Walk Score

 

We'll be the first to admit that Walk Score is just an approximation of walkability. There are a number of factors that contribute to walkability that are not part of our algorithm:

 

    * Public transit: Good public transit is important for walkable neighborhoods.

    * Street width and block length: Narrow streets slow down traffic. Short blocks provide more routes to the same destination and make it easier to take a direct route.

    * Street design: Sidewalks and safe crossings are essential to walkability. Appropriate automobile speeds, trees, and other features also help.

    * Safety from crime and crashes: How much crime is in the neighborhood? How many traffic accidents are there? Are streets well-lit?

    * Pedestrian-friendly community design: Are buildings close to the sidewalk with parking in back? Are destinations clustered together?

    * Topography: Hills can make walking difficult, especially if you're carrying groceries.

    * Freeways and bodies of water: Freeways can divide neighborhoods. Swimming is harder than walking.

    * Weather: In some places it's just too hot or cold to walk regularly.

 

My apologies for helping to steer this into yet another Walkscore stitch and bitch session. Please continue the conversation here: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,13526.0.html and let this thread get back to the awful, awful topic of Polaris Developments.

One by one, pieces of Polaris mall's outdoor area opening

Barnes & Noble this week will join a number of stores already open, with several more coming soon

By GARTH BISHOP, COLUMBUS LOCAL NEWS

Published: Thursday, October 30, 2008 - 9:07 AM EDT

 

With seven stores now open or set to open in the next few days, the new outdoor section of Polaris Fashion Place is moving forward at a rapid clip.  During the past few weeks, three additions to the mall's open-air experience have opened their doors to customers: clothing stores Destination Maternity, New Balance and Godfrys.

 

The next store to open in the mall's "lifestyle center" is Barnes & Noble, which was to make its debut today, Oct. 29.  With the opening of the larger new store, the Barnes & Noble across the street at 1285 Polaris Parkway will close.  Two other businesses also are expected to open this week: Schakolad Chocolate Factory, which moves outside from a location inside the mall's indoor section, and Ohio State University memorabilia store Buckeye Corner.

 

Read more at: http://www.columbuslocalnews.com/articles/2008/10/30/delaware_news/business/deallpolar_20081028_0226pm_1.txt

LIFESTYLE-CENTER PROJECT

More tenants on track to open at Polaris in '09

Sunday,  December 28, 2008 - 3:33 AM

 

Dave & Buster's plans to open its second central Ohio location in late spring at Polaris Fashion Place's new lifestyle-center addition, which is quickly filling up after making its debut this year.  Dave & Buster's has leased about 17,000 square feet for a prototype restaurant and arcade at the center, said Polaris Fashion Place spokeswoman Angela Krumpelman.  Its location at Mill Run in Hilliard, which opened a decade ago, is twice that size.

 

It will be one of about a dozen tenants at the 160,000-square-foot outdoor part of the Polaris mall.  Glimcher Realty Trust added the lifestyle center on the site of former mall anchor Kaufmann's, which closed in 2006.  By late December, Glimcher had commitments for 90 percent of the new center, Krumpelman said. Cheesecake Factory opened in June and has been joined by Barnes & Noble, Destination Maternity, Buckeye Corner, New Balance, Godfrys and Schakolad.

 

Read more at http://dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/12/28/Polaris_lifestyle.ART_ART_12-28-08_D1_JKCB4UQ.html?sid=101

Plans for 309 apartments might drive out golfers

Thursday, January 22, 2009 - 3:21 AM

By Mike Pramik, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

A Detroit apartment developer wants to turn a driving range at Polaris into a residential community by next summer. Edward Rose Properties is working with NP Limited, developer of the area known as the Polaris Centers of Commerce, to acquire 18 acres of land at the Golf Centers of Polaris, where it would build 309 apartments. Edward Rose is asking Columbus to rezone the land from commercial to residential use.

 

It would end a 20-year run for the location as a driving range, said Tom Brock, one of the owners of Golf Centers of Polaris.  If the deal works out, Edward Rose would begin construction in the fall, so the driving range would remain open through this summer.

 

 

Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/01/22/Polaris_apartments.ART_ART_01-22-09_C8_EJCKS1B.html?sid=101

 

That's BS! I hate golf but I LOVE driving ranges.

A little late on posting this.  The Apple store opened at Polaris on July 24.  But here it is.

 

Apple opening Polaris store

Business First of Columbus

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

 

Columbus is getting its second bite at an Apple Inc. retail store this weekend.  The Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant said Tuesday that a grand opening for its new Polaris Fashion Place location is set for Saturday at 10 a.m.  A representative with Polaris owner Glimcher Realty Trust said Apple is moving into space on the mall’s lower level, opened up as retailer Gap Inc. reconfigured and downsized its presence there.

 

The new Polaris store joins a location at Easton Town Center in Columbus, along with three others in the state.  More information on Apple’s retail stores is available by clicking here.

 

Full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/07/19/daily9.html

Germain Amphitheater site sold for redevelopment

By Brian R. Ball, Business First staff reporter

Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 4:07pm EST

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 6:49pm EST

 

It’s been more than four years since the music died at Germain Amphitheater, and now the final nail may be driven into the coffin of the dilapidated site.

 

Polaris Centers of Commerce developer NP Ltd. on Tuesday bought back the once-thriving venue from concert promoter Live Nation Inc. for $5.5 million, plus $1 million in taxes, consulting fees and other costs.  Live Nation put the property on the market in late 2006 for an estimated $17 million after announcing the amphitheater would close after the 2007 summer concert season.

 

Franz Geiger, managing director of NP, which originally sold the land in 1993 for $4.15 million, said the 91 acres can be used for a variety of redevelopment projects, including a corporate campus or a mixed-use development featuring offices, retail and other tenants.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2012/01/18/germain-amphitheater-getting-chance-at.html

Cabela's to open 1st Ohio store at Polaris

 

 

Cabela’s Inc. plans to open its first store in Ohio at Polaris.

 

The iconic hunting, fishing and camping equipment retailer said Feb. 16 it has picked a spot along Gemini Parkway west of Interstate 71 for a store expected to open in spring next year. At 80,000 square feet, the store would be a smaller version of the superstores on which Cabela’s (NYSE:CAB) launched its reputation. It will have about 175 full- and part-time employees.

 

“We have so many great customers in the Buckeye State who share our passion for the outdoors, who live the Cabela’s lifestyle, we wanted to build this store to better serve them,” Cabela’s CEO Tommy Millner said in a statement. “Generations of Ohioans have been loyal Cabela’s customers and now, with this store, they will be able to really share in the Cabela’s shopping experience.”

 

Full story below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2012/02/16/cabelas-to-open-1st-ohio-store-at.html

H&M’s pending arrival at Polaris prompting moves, renovations

By Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter- Business First

February 24, 2012, 6:00am EST

 

Glimcher Realty Trust has started preparing Polaris Fashion Place for retailer H&M’s third area store as a few tenants move to make room at the shopping mall.

 

H&M, a nameplate of Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz AB, will take 22,000 square feet spread across two levels where the mall opens to its open-air lifestyle section.  The store is expected to open in late July or early August.  About two-thirds of the store will be on the upper level, where the mall currently dead-ends at an escalator.

 

H&M opened a 12,000-square-foot store at the Mall at Tuttle Crossing in 2005 and a store in Easton Town Center in 2010.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/02/24/hms-pending-arrival-at-polaris.html

 

More news about Germain Amphitheater up at Polaris.  The closed amphitheater has been demolished.  Business First reported on the demolition.  A poster at Columbus Underground posted a link to a webcam that documented its demolition. 

 

Business First: Germain Amphitheater coming down

 

Webcam: Germain Amphitheater Demolition

 

---

And after the demolition, planning is underway for future uses on the Germain Amphitheater site:

 

This Week News: MORPC looks at future of old amphitheater site

Star Lanes bowling alley taking over closed Circuit City at Polaris

By Brian R. Ball, Staff reporter

Business First - Dec 21, 2012, 2:36pm EST

 

A boutique bowling alley and event center plans to open in the vacant Circuit City store at Polaris in north Columbus.  Brothers Doug and Jeff Mechling and their father, Mike, expect to open Star Lanes Polaris by April after they spend about $1.5 million renovating the 35,000-square-foot property.  The building was left empty four years ago after Circuit City, mired in financial troubles, closed it.

 

The complex will offer 20 lanes, including six that can be reserved for corporate gatherings or birthday parties.  Star Lanes will operate a restaurant, private lounges, pool room, a 35-foot-long bar and a game arcade.

 

California-based Lucky Strike Entertainment, which operates or manages 20 boutique bowling and entertainment centers in 12 states and Canada, will manage operations of Star Lanes as the Mechlings work the business side.  The Polaris location will be the company's first in Ohio, although a Star Lanes bowling center operates at Newport on the Levee, a retail and entertainment development in northern Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati.

 

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2012/12/21/star-lanes-bowling-alley-taking-over.html

Cabela’s announces March opening for Polaris store

Dan Eaton, Staff reporter

Business First - Jan 10, 2013, 12:11pm EST

 

Cabela’s Inc. will open March 7.  The Sidney, Neb.-based destination retailer of outdoor, hunting and fishing accoutrements Thursday disclosed the opening date for its Columbus store at 1650 Gemini Place in the Polaris area.

 

The 80,000-square-foot store will be Cabela’s first in Ohio and has been in the works for a year.  The chain has shops just over the state borders in Wheeling, W.Va., and Dundee, Mich.

 

READ MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/01/10/cabelas-announces-march-opening-for.html

MODERATOR NOTE:  More posting of news lost during the server crash.

 

First, Cabela's opened in March to huge crowds...

 

Columbus Dispatch: Cabela's store at Polaris packed for grand opening

 

Business First: Slideshow: Cabela’s offers ‘Disneyland’ for outdoors enthusiasts

 

Then, news of a decidedly urban looking apartment project being planned for the Polaris area.  The project, to be called 801 Polaris, would be a four-story building with 270 apartments in which all the parking would be housed in an attached garage.  This Polaris project is being developed by Kaufman Development, who is also building the similarly designed 600 Goodale project on the edge of downtown Columbus.  More from Columbus Underground at the below link:

 

Columbus Underground: 270-Unit Apartment Building Planned for Polaris