8 hours ago, wpcc88 said:

 

It was intended to be a mall and to complain about it now is kind of ignorant considering how much it means to Central Ohio’s economy. Chase could’ve easily packed up and shipped all those jobs to a southern state and not thought twice about it.

 

The McCoy Center was built to be a mall? Not a purpose built office? I'm referring to McCoy and not the Mall. 

 

 Yes, the jobs could have been shipped elsewhere and yes it is significant to the economy, I won't dispute that, but that doesn't mean the city shouldn't have done better at the time. In fact, that sentiment speaks to the nature of what is wrong with corporations using cities in a race to the bottom for benefits. Let them have what they want or they'll leave.  This was a big contention with CoverMyMeds. I believe BankOne got quite a bit of benefits from the city, among them, untold millions to build the infrastructure to accommodate the traffic and how many untold millions since by the city and state? How many times can we rebuild highway ramps and widen freeways in 25 years? 

 

Sure, it was a different time and better urban practices were not as prevelant, but the 90s is also when many of the financial centers that helped transform some urban centers were built, including references southern cities. Beyond Skyscrapers, what might the core of Columbus have looked like if Columbus had there been another 10,000 people working downtown or downtown adjacent. The McCoy center is coincidentally the same size as the target office space of the Peninsula. 

 

I think its equally as valid for us to be disappointed and re-evaluate past decisions that contribute to urban sprawl and over-reliance on cars such as this in the same way we complain about decisions to level neighborhoods for highways, allowing buildings to be torn down for parking lots, poor buildings with little street activation, too many curb cuts, etc etc. 

 

Things are changing and perhaps proper mass transit will help change my mind but I will always be frustrated with it having been built in the sticks (at the time) and wonder how the core would be different with these jobs... I'd hope that amounts to being more than 'ignorant'. 

 

Edit: also interesting that the McCoy center would be supported by the city which would lead to the overall success of Polaris, not mutually exclusive to the decline of City Center. That's not to say I wish City Center was still around, Polaris was the sole nail in City Center's coffin, or that it was also a great urban beauty, but that itself was a loss of a significant amount of jobs and revenue as well. 

Edited February 28, 20205 yr by DTCL11

32 minutes ago, 17thState said:

Wasn't it built as an office building by Bank One? 

 

Per an old dispatch article:

"Bank One, bought by Chase in 2004, completed the first phase of the building in 1996. The second phase, which more than doubled its size, was finished in 2001.

The bank, which had employees scattered in offices throughout the area, opened the building as part of a move to concentrate employees into a handful of locations in the city."

 

The building was a failed first attempt at Polaris. It was foreclosed on by Bank One which turned it into office space.

8 hours ago, DTCL11 said:

 

The McCoy Center was built to be a mall? Not a purpose built office? I'm referring to McCoy and not the Mall. 

 

 Yes, the jobs could have been shipped elsewhere and yes it is significant to the economy, I won't dispute that, but that doesn't mean the city shouldn't have done better at the time. In fact, that sentiment speaks to the nature of what is wrong with corporations using cities in a race to the bottom for benefits. Let them have what they want or they'll leave.  This was a big contention with CoverMyMeds. I believe BankOne got quite a bit of benefits from the city, among them, untold millions to build the infrastructure to accommodate the traffic and how many untold millions since by the city and state? How many times can we rebuild highway ramps and widen freeways in 25 years? 

 

Sure, it was a different time and better urban practices were not as prevelant, but the 90s is also when many of the financial centers that helped transform some urban centers were built, including references southern cities. Beyond Skyscrapers, what might the core of Columbus have looked like if Columbus had there been another 10,000 people working downtown or downtown adjacent. The McCoy center is coincidentally the same size as the target office space of the Peninsula. 

 

I think its equally as valid for us to be disappointed and re-evaluate past decisions that contribute to urban sprawl and over-reliance on cars such as this in the same way we complain about decisions to level neighborhoods for highways, allowing buildings to be torn down for parking lots, poor buildings with little street activation, too many curb cuts, etc etc. 

 

Things are changing and perhaps proper mass transit will help change my mind but I will always be frustrated with it having been built in the sticks (at the time) and wonder how the core would be different with these jobs... I'd hope that amounts to being more than 'ignorant'. 

 

Edit: also interesting that the McCoy center would be supported by the city which would lead to the overall success of Polaris, not mutually exclusive to the decline of City Center. That's not to say I wish City Center was still around, Polaris was the sole nail in City Center's coffin, or that it was also a great urban beauty, but that itself was a loss of a significant amount of jobs and revenue as well. 

 

I don’t disagree that an extra 10k people downtown would be nice but you could argue that for every company that has a suburban campus(Cardinal, L Brands, Wendy’s).

 

Also you obviously have every right to be disappointed. I was more suggesting an ignorance to the situation as whole. It was actually a pretty fiscally responsible move out of BankOne/Chase. The company had a large presence in the area already; unless it’s closed or moved they had a large facility further east off of Schrock. Along with the main BankOne building downtown.

 

I think you seem most upset about the city annexing that area from Delaware County as it was still a hot button issue when I moved to Columbus in 2006. And this is where we reach a gray area in our conversation. Yes, city incentives can get annoying and cause rifts(especially in this case when you’re talking about giving them to a bank). However the taxes brought in by the employees and the shot in the arm the Polaris area as we know it has brought in over past 20 years far supersedes those breaks given out in my opinion.  To me(despite not loving the idea of sprawl that much either) it turned out to be a good investment overall. 

Edited February 28, 20205 yr by wpcc88

8 hours ago, wpcc88 said:

 

The building was a failed first attempt at Polaris. It was foreclosed on by Bank One which turned it into office space.

Um, no.

8 hours ago, wpcc88 said:

 

The building was a failed first attempt at Polaris. It was foreclosed on by Bank One which turned it into office space.

 

I hate to be "that guy" but, do you have a source for this?

On 2/27/2020 at 9:20 PM, wpcc88 said:

 

The building was a failed first attempt at Polaris. It was foreclosed on by Bank One which turned it into office space.

This is incorrect. It was always built to be an office building with the first phase completed in 1996. 
 

https://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/04/24/chase-building-a-city-unto-itself.html

 

”The History

Bank One, bought by Chase in 2004, completed the first phase of the building in 1996. The second phase, which more than doubled its size, was finished in 2001.

 

The bank, which had employees scattered in offices throughout the area, opened the building as part of a move to concentrate employees into a handful of locations in the city.“

 

18 hours ago, jeremyck01 said:

This is incorrect. It was always built to be an office building with the first phase completed in 1996. 
 

https://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/04/24/chase-building-a-city-unto-itself.html

 

”The History

Bank One, bought by Chase in 2004, completed the first phase of the building in 1996. The second phase, which more than doubled its size, was finished in 2001.

 

The bank, which had employees scattered in offices throughout the area, opened the building as part of a move to concentrate employees into a handful of locations in the city.“

 

 

Apologies for the misinformation it was a rumor amongst people that work there I guess.

There were tons of rumors about what would be happening at Polaris years before anything got built. I remember one night my father taking us all the way up to some T-intersection (probably where County Line Rd. teed into Worthington Rd. from looking at a map... you could see I-71 in the background) with almost nothing around saying, "You're not going to believe what's going to happen here." He had been reading his Business First and this was before even the Amphitheater was open so early '90s probably. There had always been talk of a mall at Polaris (if I remember right) and without an easy way to look up things people might have initially saw a somewhat mall-shaped building going up and assumed that was going to be the mall.

Edited March 1, 20205 yr by GCrites80s

15 hours ago, wpcc88 said:

 

Apologies for the misinformation it was a rumor amongst people that work there I guess.

 

 

I used to work there and heard that rumor as well. I think it was the development site itself was meant to be a mall site, take a look at the set back and loop road around the facility and you can see how that might have been feasible.

While looking through Business First, I came across a $60 million development under construction at a prominent location between the Polaris Mall and I-71.  What makes this even more interesting is that this is Phase 2 of a development that was completed in 2018 - and I don't think we posted much about it here.  The development's name is The Pointe at Polaris and below is a location map from Business First's Crane Watch website:

 

Below is an aerial of The Pointe at Polaris development.  The first phase of the development, completed in 2018, is shown here.  The first phase included 70,000 square feet of office space anchored by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail which included Condado Tacos, Atlas Tavern and Sweetwater Coffee, plus 216 apartment units.  Phase 2 of The Pointe at Polaris is under construction immediately to the south of this completed Phase 1 development:

 

The Pointe at Polaris phase one consists of a three-story retail & office building, a four-story 216-unit apartment building with a central courtyard, and a four-level parking garage in between.  Below is an October 2019 google streetview from Gemini Place showing the phase one development.  The four-story apartment building is to the left and the three-story retail/office building is to the right in the below image:

 

Here are two images of the residential portion in Phase One from the developer's website at https://vantrustrealestate.com/staging/property/the-pointe-at-polaris-phase-i/.  Exterior view of the 216-unit apartment building:

 

View of the interior courtyard:

 

Here is an exterior view of the retail/office portion of Phase One from https://vantrustrealestate.com/staging/property/the-pointe-at-polaris-phase-i/

 

Here is an October 2019 google streetview from Lyra Drive showing the completed Phase One of The Pointe at Polaris to the left and construction beginning on Phase Two in the middle of the below image:

 

Below is a rendering of the office portion of the $60 million Phase Two at The Pointe at Polaris:

 

This second phase for The Pointe at Polaris project will include 145,000 square feet of office space and 260 apartment units.  According to the Sept. 2019 Business First article linked below, Bank of America will be taking 60,000 square feet in the top two floors of the office building:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/09/18/bank-of-america-taking-60-000-square-feet-in-new.html

 

Polaris Field & Stream store closing

Jim Weiker - Columbus Dispatch - Apr. 2, 2021

 

 

"d*ck's Sporting Goods next door, which shares the former Great Indoors space with Field & Stream, is not impacted, according to workers at that store. ... However, in a December call with analysts, former d*ck’s Sporting Goods CEO and chairman Edward Stack said d*ck's was transitioning out of the Field & Stream line and replacing some of those stores – starting with stores in Pittsburgh and Columbus – with a new concept called Public Lands, which focuses on outdoor activities without firearms."

30 minutes ago, NorthShore647 said:

d*ck's

 

Why is the name of the store censored? lol

^^^Lol. That is indeed very strange.

 

Admit it, though. Everyone is a little uncomfortable when they mention d*ck's. I always add "Sporting Goods" to it, lol.

 

Edit: Omg it's UO that censors it! Haha. I typed it out as D i c k ' s (without spaces) and it automatically changed it.

Edited April 6, 20214 yr by Zyrokai

59 minutes ago, Zyrokai said:

^^^Lol. That is indeed very strange.

 

Admit it, though. Everyone is a little uncomfortable when they mention d*ck's. I always add "Sporting Goods" to it, lol.

 

Edit: Omg it's UO that censors it! Haha. I typed it out as D i c k ' s (without spaces) and it automatically changed it.

Yea, UO automatically edits f*cking swear words

Edited April 6, 20214 yr by TH3BUDDHA

1 hour ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

Yea, UO automatically edits f*cking swear words

Why didn’t any of you bastards tell me about this sh*t until now? 

The forum used to censor the word Disney due to vacation deal spam.

On 4/6/2021 at 6:56 PM, Zyrokai said:

 I always add "Sporting Goods" to it, lol

This is especially important when googling it 

One time I Googled "bears" to get a picture of a bear and pic #6 or #7 was of a huge hairy guy with no shirt on marching in a parade. That has been fixed.

Screenshot from the video at the article link about Chase Bank installing a massive solar array at the McCoy Center at Polaris:

 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is nearly finished turning the parking lots at its McCoy Center at Polaris into a giant solar farm.  When up and running, the solar panels - coupled with the panels previously installed on the roof of the 2-million square foot building - will meet 75% of the electricity needs at the McCoy Center, which houses 10,000 workers.

 

The solar panels are about 20 to 25 feet off the ground and also provide a canopy over much of the parking lot. ... The project is the second largest commercial office solar installation in the world, according to Chase.  The only one bigger is at Apple’s corporate offices in Cupertino, California.

 

The bank - the Columbus region's largest private employer with about 20,000 workers here - will be adding solar arrays at three of its other commercial sites in the Columbus area (Vision Drive, Morse Crossing and in Westerville).  Like the Polaris project, the panels are being added to carports at the sites. ... Chase is also installing solar panels at other offices around the country, but Columbus is a standout because of its large presence here.

 

MORE: https://www.thisweeknews.com/story/business/2021/05/19/jpmorgan-chase-solar-investments-power-columbus-offices/5092424001/

 

 

On 6/6/2021 at 1:12 PM, Columbo said:

Screenshot from the video at the article link about Chase Bank installing a massive solar array at the McCoy Center at Polaris:

 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is nearly finished turning the parking lots at its McCoy Center at Polaris into a giant solar farm.  When up and running, the solar panels - coupled with the panels previously installed on the roof of the 2-million square foot building - will meet 75% of the electricity needs at the McCoy Center, which houses 10,000 workers.

 

The solar panels are about 20 to 25 feet off the ground and also provide a canopy over much of the parking lot. ... The project is the second largest commercial office solar installation in the world, according to Chase.  The only one bigger is at Apple’s corporate offices in Cupertino, California.

 

The bank - the Columbus region's largest private employer with about 20,000 workers here - will be adding solar arrays at three of its other commercial sites in the Columbus area (Vision Drive, Morse Crossing and in Westerville).  Like the Polaris project, the panels are being added to carports at the sites. ... Chase is also installing solar panels at other offices around the country, but Columbus is a standout because of its large presence here.

 

MORE: https://www.thisweeknews.com/story/business/2021/05/19/jpmorgan-chase-solar-investments-power-columbus-offices/5092424001/

 

 

If every suburban office park did this it would almost make up for the amount of extra resources they take up for being located in the suburbs 😆

Quote

At 2 million square feet, the building has the same square footage as the Empire State Building.

That's so depressing to read.

Anyone been back behind Budweiser on Sancus lately?  They just opened a small portion of the reconfigured intersection area that used to connect Huntley to Sancus at Worthington-Galena.  When you're on Huntley you no longer have to go to that intersection and make the hard right onto Sancus!! 

 

They still have quite a bit of work to finish the entire reconfiguration back there, but it's already sooo much better than it was!  Can't wait for this project to wrap up.  This is going to make a huge difference connecting Polaris to Schrock Rd.

 

Fieldhouse USA and Airhouse Adventure Park opened its new $25 million facility at Polaris Fashion Place on the site of the former Sears building:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2021/07/01/inside-fieldhouseusa.html

16 hours ago, Columbo said:

 

Fieldhouse USA and Airhouse Adventure Park opened its new $25 million facility at Polaris Fashion Place on the site of the former Sears building:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2021/07/01/inside-fieldhouseusa.html

 

This seems to be a common type of redevelopment for old Sears buildings--making them arcade/sports places. In Canton, the Belden Village Mall Sears is now a Dave & Buster's.

4 hours ago, Zyrokai said:

 

This seems to be a common type of redevelopment for old Sears buildings--making them arcade/sports places. In Canton, the Belden Village Mall Sears is now a Dave & Buster's.

The Sears at Southern Park Mall in Boardman OH was torn down and is being replaced with a park.

Columbus, Delaware County close to linking Gemini Place to Powell Road via Lyra Drive

Paul Comstock - ThisWeek News - Aug. 25, 2021

 

 

"The city of Columbus in fall 2022 is expected to complete Lyra Drive's new intersection with East Powell Road near Polaris Fashion Place, creating a third east-to-west access for traffic visiting businesses on Lyra Drive. ... Columbus public-relations specialist Debbie Briner said the Lyra Drive extension south of Powell Road has been constructed and the contractor is completing final striping and seeding."

It will be interesting to see how that roundabout turns out. The speed limit on East Powell is 45 and the curvature of the bridge creates a sort of blind turn.

20 minutes ago, Dev said:

It will be interesting to see how that roundabout turns out. The speed limit on East Powell is 45 and the curvature of the bridge creates a sort of blind turn.

Speed limit reduction should fix that…

20 minutes ago, wpcc88 said:

Speed limit reduction should fix that…

Yes, and it's desperately needed there. It just wasn't stated that the Township would be applying to lower the speed limit, and there's no guarantee that ODOT would approve it.

There are 3 roundabouts on Morse Rd on the edge of Gahanna, New Albany, and Blacklick and Morse Rd is 45 through there. You have to slow down on roundabouts regardless of the speed. Just my two cents

On 8/30/2021 at 7:01 PM, WagChase said:

There are 3 roundabouts on Morse Rd on the edge of Gahanna, New Albany, and Blacklick and Morse Rd is 45 through there. You have to slow down on roundabouts regardless of the speed. Just my two cents

Morse Road is a straight road. East Powell is not.

Anybody know what’s going in this space? Was thinking maybe the new Shake Shack. Haven’t heard where exactly in Polaris that is going to go.

9 minutes ago, 614love said:

Anybody know what’s going in this space? Was thinking maybe the new Shake Shack. Haven’t heard where exactly in Polaris that is going to go.

you are correct.  that is where Shake Shack is going.

Although not completely finished, the new Lazelle Rd railroad underpass is open!

 

 

 

Lyra Drive at Polaris Pkwy...

I believe this lot will be another new Sheetz location:

 

21 hours ago, CbusOrBust said:

Lyra Drive at Polaris Pkwy...

I believe this lot will be another new Sheetz location:

 

We really hit the ground running with Sheetz here in Central Ohio. Went from like 0 to 13 in a year or so!

1 hour ago, TIm said:

We really hit the ground running with Sheetz here in Central Ohio. Went from like 0 to 13 in a year or so!

The one that opened near Westland Mall recently, was the 9th in Central Ohio to open.                     

There's 9 more locations currently under various stages of construction.

Three more locations could start construction relatively soon. (920 Polaris, 1380 Bethel and in Grandview where Rancho Alegre was.)                   

 That'll put it up to 21.

It will be interesting to see if they can hit their goal of 50 new stores in the area by 2025.

Edited December 5, 20213 yr by CbusOrBust

1 minute ago, CbusOrBust said:

It will be interesting to see if they can hit their goal of 50 new stores in the area by 2025.

At this pace, it seems they will have no problem at all hitting that number.

3 minutes ago, CbusOrBust said:

The one that opened near Westland Mall recently, was the 9th in Central Ohio to open.                     

There's 9 more locations currently under various stages of construction.              

Three more locations could start construction relatively soon. (920 Polaris, 1380 Bethel and in Grandview where Rancho Alegre was.)                   

 That'll put it up to 21.

It will be interesting to see if they can hit their goal of 50 new stores in the area by 2025.

They build them so quick to, it's honestly impressive. I'm sure that contractor is raking on the dough.

On 12/4/2021 at 11:59 AM, CbusOrBust said:

Although not completely finished, the new Lazelle Rd railroad underpass is open!

 

 

 

Never thought I'd live to see the day

The Lyra Drive extension looks like it is about complete.

 

 

This new Turkey Hill location near Polaris and 23N isn't quite open yet but will include a Popeyes and a Cinnabon inside when complete...

 

 

 

 

CBF is reporting that Carvana plans to redevelop the former Magic Mountain Fun Center on Polaris.  

They plan on having a Carvana vending machine on site as well.

 

"The used-car sales company plans to allocate about 5.4 acres of the 7.77 acres at 8350 Lyra Dr., for its next vending machine fulfillment center, according to the agenda for Columbus City Council's Monday evening zoning committee meeting. The remaining portion of the land would be designated for unspecified future commercial development, according to the agenda."

 

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2021/12/13/magic-mountain-fun-center-becoming-carvana-site.html

 

 

There's something unsettling about seeing gas stations and car vending as the highlights of new development in Polaris.

23 hours ago, Luvcbus said:

CBF is reporting that Carvana plans to redevelop the former Magic Mountain Fun Center on Polaris.  

 

The former Magic Mountain? Darn, never knew it closed. Especially since I thought that was supposed to be the better and more successful of the two.

23 hours ago, NEOBuckeye said:

There's something unsettling about seeing gas stations and car vending as the highlights of new development in Polaris.

It’s not 100% facts though, that area is pretty much unrecognizable since IKEA opened. It just doesn’t get as much pub as the other areas of town but just drive around and you’ll notice.

24 minutes ago, PrestoKinetic said:

The former Magic Mountain? Darn, never knew it closed. Especially since I thought that was supposed to be the better and more successful of the two.

 

COVID might have been hard on the indoor part of the business.

On 12/13/2021 at 2:56 PM, Luvcbus said:

CBF is reporting that Carvana plans to redevelop the former Magic Mountain Fun Center on Polaris.  

They plan on having a Carvana vending machine on site as well.

 

"The used-car sales company plans to allocate about 5.4 acres of the 7.77 acres at 8350 Lyra Dr., for its next vending machine fulfillment center, according to the agenda for Columbus City Council's Monday evening zoning committee meeting. The remaining portion of the land would be designated for unspecified future commercial development, according to the agenda."

 

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2021/12/13/magic-mountain-fun-center-becoming-carvana-site.html

 

 

Looks like this plan was approved by City Council. And apparently Magic Mountain was still open until the plan was approved?

 

Magic Mountain's Polaris site to close to make way for Carvana
 

“Used cars are running the go-karts off Magic Mountain. 

 

Magic Mountain's Polaris location will close at 5 p.m. Thursday to make way for the used-car company Carvana's first Columbus dealership. 

 

The move ends the amusement center's 23-year run at the location, although Magic Mountain's other location, on Scarborough Road, will remain open, said a worker at the Polaris site who confirmed the closing.

 

The Columbus City Council approved Carvana's request to rezone Magic Mountain's 8-acre site at 8350 Lyra Drive, on the west side of Interstate 71 south of Polaris Parkway.

 

This would be Carvana's first Columbus facility and second in Ohio, following one in Warrensville Heights outside Cleveland. The used-car company is known for its car "vending machines," glass towers where customers can pick up their cars after buying them online. 

 

In its rezoning request to the city, Carvana proposed a 7,960-square-foot, seven-story vending machine-style building on the site, flanked by a parking lot to the south and a site to be further developed on the north.”

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2021/12/22/magic-mountain-polaris-could-become-carvanas-first-columbus-site/8980597002/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_columbus&stream=top

3 hours ago, amped91 said:

Looks like this plan was approved by City Council. And apparently Magic Mountain was still open until the plan was approved?

 

Magic Mountain's Polaris site to close to make way for Carvana
 

“Used cars are running the go-karts off Magic Mountain. 

 

Magic Mountain's Polaris location will close at 5 p.m. Thursday to make way for the used-car company Carvana's first Columbus dealership. 

 

The move ends the amusement center's 23-year run at the location, although Magic Mountain's other location, on Scarborough Road, will remain open, said a worker at the Polaris site who confirmed the closing.

 

The Columbus City Council approved Carvana's request to rezone Magic Mountain's 8-acre site at 8350 Lyra Drive, on the west side of Interstate 71 south of Polaris Parkway.

 

This would be Carvana's first Columbus facility and second in Ohio, following one in Warrensville Heights outside Cleveland. The used-car company is known for its car "vending machines," glass towers where customers can pick up their cars after buying them online. 

 

In its rezoning request to the city, Carvana proposed a 7,960-square-foot, seven-story vending machine-style building on the site, flanked by a parking lot to the south and a site to be further developed on the north.”

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2021/12/22/magic-mountain-polaris-could-become-carvanas-first-columbus-site/8980597002/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_columbus&stream=top

Carvana also has a large brand new facility in Heath as well. I don't think they sell cars out of here but rather inspect and/or repair them to get approval to be sold. Cool how they are making a fairly significant investment in central Ohio and Ohio as a whole.

9 minutes ago, TIm said:

Carvana also has a large brand new facility in Heath as well. I don't think they sell cars out of here but rather inspect and/or repair them to get approval to be sold. Cool how they are making a fairly significant investment in central Ohio and Ohio as a whole.

They’ve also formed a partnership with Root Insurance here as well.