14 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

Well, to be fair, North Hills is Raleigh's Easton AND Bridge Park.  Raleigh has no other equivalent lifestyle center.

 

Meanwhile, at Raleigh's "Polaris"...

 

Can you imagine Polaris building that next to the California Pizza Kitchen?

Yea but North Hills has zero anchors besides Harris Teeter. Also Raleigh is “tighter” and has a much different topography than Columbus which also is why we don’t have much height at any of these places. So they’re not apples to apples, the part you’re showing is primarily residential. 
 

Long and short I believe we’ll get something very unique at Tuttle and will get height at Polaris.

Raleigh really kicks our ass for its size doesn't it?

31 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

Raleigh really kicks our ass for its size doesn't it?

I wouldn’t say that, there are a ton of similarities and they benefitted from the Sunbelt boom in the 90’s. They have a ton of businesses that relocated there from all over the east coast and rust belt during that time. If you ask me Columbus feels more metropolitan like Charlotte than Raleigh does but you get the same amount of outside(of the region) influences in Raleigh as you get in Charlotte with slightly less congestion(for now). But Charlotte feels more like a “city” to me versus kind of a big suburb vibe I get from Raleigh.
 

If I’m picking between the 3 I go Columbus, Raleigh, Charlotte however the most hidden gem of the Carolinas is Greenville, SC. The core of Greenville is amazing.

13 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Oy, you *beeps* are picky!  Let's do another peer city's "Easton," this time in Raleigh:

 

 

HAPPY NOW?!!?!?

 

To be fair, wasn't Easton like one of the first major "lifestyle centers" of its kind in the country? I feel like everything that came after had the advantage of seeing what the early ones did right and, more importantly, what they did wrong. I'm not sure if Easton would've been built the same way had it come a decade later. 

8 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Fine.

 

Dubai's "Easton" (with the indoor/outdoor mall for @TIm):

 

 

The last place we should be praising as "urban". It's a largely unplanned, car-centric hellscape masquerading as a city. 

Edited March 29, 20232 yr by jonoh81

8 hours ago, jonoh81 said:

 

The last place we should be praising as "urban". It's a largely unplanned, car-centric hellscape masquerading as a city. 

 

I thought you were talking about Charlotte.

 

*shade thrown*

Site plans aren’t public for yet, but this one might actually be promising, with a unit count of 327 and the inclusion of a large parking garage. Hopefully that means little to no surface parking. At 4925 Sunbury Road, it’s right off Morse and only a mile from Easton. Looks like it would replace a church building. 
 

1 hour ago, amped91 said:

Site plans aren’t public for yet, but this one might actually be promising, with a unit count of 327 and the inclusion of a large parking garage. Hopefully that means little to no surface parking. At 4925 Sunbury Road, it’s right off Morse and only a mile from Easton. Looks like it would replace a church building. 
 

Now this sounds very promising. Why is this ok here, but not in Dublin -where I got called out? Is the area that different?

59 minutes ago, Toddguy said:

Now this sounds very promising. Why is this ok here, but not in Dublin -where I got called out? Is the area that different?

 

Nobody said it's not ok in Dublin. And this lot is very different from the one in Dublin. The developable area of this lot is a fraction of the size of the one in Dublin. With a smaller lot, a parking garage and building taller actually makes sense as it allows you to fit the number of units you need in order to turn a profit on the project. 

It depends on allowable DUs per acre. I don't think the Dublin developer is voluntarily holding the unit count down, they are limited to what Dublin allows. Developers generally want to jam as many units on site as possible that will still be profitable. (there's nothing wrong with being profitable). That said, maybe the allowable density is higher here on Sunbury.

I came here for residential tower news ☹️

32 minutes ago, 614love said:

I came here for residential tower news ☹️

 

Lol. You're about 10 years too early for that. Let's see them complete a residential midrise first. 

 

But also. It does get confusing sometimes when it's Easton Area in this thread and not an Easton Specific Project. 

2 hours ago, DTCL11 said:

But also. It does get confusing sometimes when it's Easton Area in this thread and not an Easton Specific Project. 

 

Your wish is my command!

On 5/23/2023 at 10:24 AM, amped91 said:

Site plans aren’t public for yet, but this one might actually be promising, with a unit count of 327 and the inclusion of a large parking garage. Hopefully that means little to no surface parking. At 4925 Sunbury Road, it’s right off Morse and only a mile from Easton. Looks like it would replace a church building. 
 

The preliminary site plan for this one is out now. Looks like it could be decent. 
 

On 6/1/2023 at 4:19 PM, amped91 said:

The preliminary site plan for this one is out now. Looks like it could be decent. 
 

 

Just saw this. Finally a project that is maximizing its site potential by using a garage instead of surface lots. Probably could've gone another floor or 2, but a minor quibble when they have the building fronting Sunbury and are filling the whole lot. 

If I'm reading that right, that's a massive building footprint. I don't think that's the answer either. It reminds me of this building on Dublin Rd. minus a parking garage:

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Pablo said:

If I'm reading that right, that's a massive building footprint. I don't think that's the answer either. It reminds me of this building on Dublin Rd. minus a parking garage:

 

 

 

 

I'm fine with a large footprint so long as it's architecturally interesting, which that example is definitely not. There's a way to do big.

15 hours ago, Pablo said:

If I'm reading that right, that's a massive building footprint. I don't think that's the answer either. It reminds me of this building on Dublin Rd. minus a parking garage:

 

 

 

I really don't mind this at all and think a parking garage is only going to make a large footprint building like this even better. It's being surrounded by surface parking that makes it seem like a mid tier hotel.

2 hours ago, TIm said:

I really don't mind this at all and think a parking garage is only going to make a large footprint building like this even better. It's being surrounded by surface parking that makes it seem like a mid tier hotel.

Not having the surface parking around it will help. Also it is mostly set back away from the road and extends back, while the example shown is just "out there" and very exposed. I think it is about design and materials at this point. We shall see.

Construction is ongoing for the new CMR restaurant. 
 

 

I came here for an update on the residential tower 😓

1 hour ago, 614love said:

I came here for an update on the residential tower 😓

I went back there to look…still no movement of course 😢 

37 minutes ago, amped91 said:

I went back there to look…still no movement of course 😢 

I won't be surprised if it's on hold for at least another 3-5 years. 

That's a huge restaurant. I wasn't aware they were adding a second floor, but happy to see it 

 

Edited July 21, 20231 yr by NW24HX

1 hour ago, KyleofColumbus said:

I won't be surprised if it's on hold for at least another 3-5 years. 

Do you guessing or do you have some intel? Haha

5 hours ago, amped91 said:

Do you guessing or do you have some intel? Haha

 

I think you mean...

 

On 7/21/2023 at 5:13 PM, amped91 said:

Do you guessing or do you have some intel? Haha

Take this with an absolute grain of salt, but I used to work at an office on Worth Avenue in Easton and when we were renewing our office lease somehow that building came up in conversation. Our lease agent who oversees a lot of Easton estimated that building wouldn't be completed anywhere between 2025-2027. This was told to me back in 2021.

14 minutes ago, KyleofColumbus said:

Take this with an absolute grain of salt, but I used to work at an office on Worth Avenue in Easton and when we were renewing our office lease somehow that building came up in conversation. Our lease agent who oversees a lot of Easton estimated that building wouldn't be completed anywhere between 2025-2027. This was told to me back in 2021.

 

Are we talking about the residential building that had a tower crane up right before Covid and then abruptly stopped construction?

30 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Are we talking about the residential building that had a tower crane up right before Covid and then abruptly stopped construction?

Yes, the one directly behind RH Rooftop. Now, if it's the rumored 200 ft one, I have no information about that. 

I don’t see how Easton doesn’t have the funding to get it back on course. Also it’s just such an eyesore because depending on which way you come in it might be the first thing you see.

My theory is that in the renegotiation of their tax benefits with the city, they promised to finally build housing and begrudgingly committed to that building and then the pandemic hit. That gave them an out and because they found another way to get around the cities frustration with lack of housing by donating a plot of land and getting other organizations to build the mixed income housing to the south, it makes me even more skeptical about their committment to the live part of live, work, play. I still contest that the powers that be at Easton never really cared about housing as clearly demonstrated in 20 years of development. Now, there are Easton apologists who will gladly reason why they haven't built any housing in 20 but the excuses are pretty thin at this point. And even if they announce some great development tomorrow, it really doesn't excuse 2 decades of ignoring housing and the promise of what they might build in 20 years with zoning variances to build taller isn't enough for me to forgive them for it. 

 

And let's be honest, any *potential* residential tower won't have street activity. It will be a dead zone for a vertical gated community and not integrated into a walkable neighborhood. 

Edited July 24, 20231 yr by DTCL11

36 minutes ago, 614love said:

I don’t see how Easton doesn’t have the funding to get it back on course. Also it’s just such an eyesore because depending on which way you come in it might be the first thing you see.

I doubt that's a consideration to them. The corner of Easton Way and Stelzer Rd (both west side and east side) has been an empty lot the entire time. you would think they would've built something in the past 25 years.

2 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

My theory is that in the renegotiation of their tax benefits with the city, they promised to finally build housing and begrudgingly committed to that building and then the pandemic hit. That gave them an out and because they found another way to get around the cities frustration with lack of housing by donating a plot of land and getting other organizations to build the mixed income housing to the south, it makes me even more skeptical about their committment to the live part of live, work, play. I still contest that the powers that be at Easton never really cared about housing as clearly demonstrated in 20 years of development. Now, there are Easton apologists who will gladly reason why they haven't built any housing in 20 but the excuses are pretty thin at this point. And even if they announce some great development tomorrow, it really doesn't excuse 2 decades of ignoring housing and the promise of what they might build in 20 years with zoning variances to build taller isn't enough for me to forgive them for it. 

 

And let's be honest, any *potential* residential tower won't have street activity. It will be a dead zone for a vertical gated community and not integrated into a walkable neighborhood. 

You're dead on. If they build a "tower", I can see it being centered in the middle of a large piece of land surround by a private lot or parking garage that adds zero to the walkability of the block. 

 

Les Wexner isn't one to build for walkability.

If a 20-story tower is built, it’ll probably be pretty similar in style and setup as the apartments attached to the Keystone Crossing mall in Indianapolis. Not a glowing example of good urban planning, sure, but honestly there are a lot worse ways the site could be used

https://www.zillow.com/apartments/indianapolis-in/vitra-apartments/5Xt8cG/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

18 minutes ago, SWOH said:

If a 20-story tower is built, it’ll probably be pretty similar in style and setup as the apartments attached to the Keystone Crossing mall in Indianapolis. Not a glowing example of good urban planning, sure, but honestly there are a lot worse ways the site could be used

https://www.zillow.com/apartments/indianapolis-in/vitra-apartments/5Xt8cG/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I feel like that would more likely happen at Polaris. Easton doesn’t really have a building to attach an apartment building to. It will most likely be completely separate, or in one of the parking lots and attached to a food location. 
 

If they built this at Polaris it would be a huge step up from what it is now. 

Countering my usual negative take, I would be surprised if, should a tower ever get built, that it wouldn't have fairly significant commercial space on the ground floor. 

5 hours ago, jonoh81 said:

Countering my usual negative take, I would be surprised if, should a tower ever get built, that it wouldn't have fairly significant commercial space on the ground floor. 

Agreed, I think for the most part when Easton isn't building Big Box stores on out parcels they do a good job of building mixed use, it's just the mix is only ever retail and office. 

2 hours ago, 17thState said:

Agreed, I think for the most part when Easton isn't building Big Box stores on out parcels they do a good job of building mixed use, it's just the mix is only ever retail and office. 

They have a good amount of restaurants/bars and entertainment as well. 

3 hours ago, 17thState said:

when Easton isn't building Big Box stores on out parcels

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 20231 yr by DTCL11

17 hours ago, VintageLife said:

I feel like that would more likely happen at Polaris. Easton doesn’t really have a building to attach an apartment building to. It will most likely be completely separate, or in one of the parking lots and attached to a food location. 
 

If they built this at Polaris it would be a huge step up from what it is now. 

I'm pretty sure it was said all the retail buildings at Easton Town Center were built to be able to be bases for bigger buildings. I don't see towers over these, but even a couple floors of apartments above would be nice. Save the towers for the giant lots all around.

 

(Not sure where Sunbury Rd area content goes?)

 

Looks like a couple hundred apartments will be built across from Valley Dale:

 

"Cleveland-based NRP Group received approval from Columbus City Council Monday on variances needed for planned construction of 200 apartments on 10.2 acres at 2618 Bethesda Ave. located on the west side of Sunbury Rd across from historic Valle Dale ballroom."

 

 

Easton Place Homes affordable housing project set for 100-unit second phase

 

Developers Homeport and Georgetown Co. are set to begin construction on the second phase of an affordable housing project near Easton Town Center.

 

The companies were approved for $1.35 million in funding from the Franklin County Magnet Fund Program, setting the stage for the next phase of the project to move forward. A resolution authorizing the funding was approved by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners late last month.

 

Homeport Real Estate Project Manager Nick Rozier said the magnet funds help close the financing gap for the development, called Easton Place Homes. The funding will go toward development and construction costs for the project, which is expected to break ground in December.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/11/06/easton-place-homes-phase-two.html

 

I know its not downtown but this is GREAT news for the city! Another employer (with office space)!

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/12/12/wells-fargo-technology-easton-office.html

 

Logistics company chooses Columbus for expansion project, 50 new jobs

 

"A Kentucky-based logistics company has chosen Central Ohio for an expansion project that will create dozens of new jobs.

 

Longship, also known as Quality Logistics LLC, is opening an Easton-area location in an effort to enter the local market. The company will renovate an existing office at 4449 Easton Way and lease 6,500 square feet of space.

 

The company, which specializes in the shipment of fresh, frozen and dry products including live plants, was awarded a seven-year, 1.4% Job Creation Tax Credit on Monday. The incentive, awarded by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority, has an estimated value of $325,000 and requires a 10-year commitment to the project location.

 

Longship will bring 50 full-time jobs to the Columbus office, including roles in sales, leadership, operations and administration. Those positions have an average salary of $71,400, which will generate more than $3.5 million in new annual payroll by the end of 2027. Hiring is expected to begin in the third quarter.

 

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Lexington, Longship's over-the-road truckloads are delivered across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The company has access to a fleet of more than 700,000 trucks, and moves more than 60,000 loads annually."

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/02/26/longship-quality-logistics-columbus-easton-office.html

 

 

I love Easton and what it brings to our city. As a nearby resident, I visit and spend money in the area regularly. I believe Easton’s potential continues to be phenomenal. But I am just totally embarrassed with the dirt mounds and concrete pillars that have dominated the Morse/Stelzer area for four years now. 
 

if I were a business in the new district, I’d be really upset at what was expected to be developed instead became an undeveloped eyesore. 
 

Can anything be done? Or is this just what we should expect from the developers now, an incomplete product? It’s like a beautiful million dollar home with no baseboards installed in the entryway. Guests will love the house, but never quite get over the incompleteness and ugliness of that entry. 

Easton hasn't been serious about residential since its inception. It was pushed that direction in its tax restructuring but the pandemic gave them the excuse to abandon those plans and with the partnership of Homeport, it allowed Easton to pawn the cost and liability of building residences off on other entities while not really dipping in to their own pockets to do so, keeping residences relegated to the non commercial area, and keeping their tax benefits. 

 

At this point, that has become even more clear. There aren't any viable excuses other than Easton is not willing to say they took a some huge financial hit, which I could see being the case. But then also lends itself to the idea that perhaps diversifying the portfolio to include alot more residential over the last 30 years may have been helpful. 

 

I don't buy any hope that they're changing direction and waiting to do a tower or something more spectacular. They have so much land that finishing the North quarter wouldn't impede any other potential development. If anything, it might push them to start reconsidering developing the western portions of the site that boast seas of empty parking lots. Especially with the potential impact of [shudders to say this] Intel, you'd think they'd be chomping at the bit to get a piece of that housing market being, potentially, the most dense and walkable environment nearby for folks that prefer that but maybe not the commute from further in town, but ...crickets.

 

I fully recognize Easton's significance on many levels, but I hate Easton with most of my being but I LOVE the North district they started. But then I get back to hating Easton again because they have clearly abandoned what was going to be a new model for how the rest of Easton should be built out. It's a model for how other small lifestyle centers should be built out too. It felt more organic with the inclusion of different scales, architectural styles, etc compared to most of the rest of Easton and similar projects that are often glorified strip malls. 

 

I've largely refrained from ranting about Easton since the earlier days of the pandemic because there's alot of Easton apologists but at this point, I'm pretty confident this holds up as much as it did 4 years ago and even before. Who knows, maybe this will finally be the time I say this and they announce a new massive residential project next week. 

Edited March 4, 20241 yr by DTCL11

6 hours ago, DTCL11 said:

If anything, it might push them to start reconsidering developing the western portions of the site that boast seas of empty parking lots.

6 hours ago, DTCL11 said:

Who knows, maybe this will finally be the time I say this and they announce a new massive residential project next week. 

 

If you're talking about Easton Market that's owned by SITE Centers Corp out of Beachwood. If you're talking about the lots just inside Easton Loop W I'd hardly call them empty.

 

From the end of this recent article with Yaromir Steiner aka Easton's developer:

 

"Moreover, Steiner wants to see Easton Town Center become a true village. “We cannot be solely a commercial project. There must be art galleries. There should be dry cleaners, a childcare center, and senior living homes. We need to think more holistically about how people live their lives – what they want and need.”

 

He concludes, 'We still have 150 unbuilt acres. I don’t know if I’ll be alive to see it, but 20 to 25 years from now, Easton could be transformed from a mall to a village. That’s my idea.'"

 

So I wouldn't expect anything tomorrow unfortunately.

55 minutes ago, aderwent said:

 

If you're talking about Easton Market that's owned by SITE Centers Corp out of Beachwood. If you're talking about the lots just inside Easton Loop W I'd hardly call them empty.

 

From the end of this recent article with Yaromir Steiner aka Easton's developer:

 

"Moreover, Steiner wants to see Easton Town Center become a true village. “We cannot be solely a commercial project. There must be art galleries. There should be dry cleaners, a childcare center, and senior living homes. We need to think more holistically about how people live their lives – what they want and need.”

 

He concludes, 'We still have 150 unbuilt acres. I don’t know if I’ll be alive to see it, but 20 to 25 years from now, Easton could be transformed from a mall to a village. That’s my idea.'"

 

So I wouldn't expect anything tomorrow unfortunately.

Thank you for the article, which also states:

”While Steiner can’t stop philosophizing about retail and urban development, he continues to work tirelessly to ensure the future of his own Easton development.”

 

What bothers me is that whatever was planned and started for that quadrant clearly isn’t going to come to fruition. So level it and return it to green space until you develop a new plan. 

Again, it's been 25 years of the same lofty goal to be a true Live, Work, Play district. At what time do we stop taking them seriously. That's my point, that's always my point. And there will always be recent quotes that Easton apologists will throw back but until we see action, I have zero faith they are truly serious. We can literally pull almost 30 years of articles talking plans for residential from its inception.   For all intents and purposes, Easton is just about as good with residential as Arshot. Promises promises. Even moved dirt. Then nothing. Then more promises. Then nothing. 

 

Time to stop making excuses and talking grand visions and get to work and the city needs to push them to do more in a housing crunch. What they're doing is no different than when we lament NRI and others sitting on acres and acres of land with no real plan for them. 

Edited March 4, 20241 yr by DTCL11

33 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

Again, it's been 25 years of the same lofty goal to be a true Live, Work, Play district. At what time do we stop taking them seriously. That's my point, that's always my point. And there will always be recent quotes that Easton apologists will throw back but until we see action, I have zero faith they are truly serious. We can literally pull almost 30 years of articles talking plans for residential from its inception.   For all intents and purposes, Easton is just about as good with residential as Arshot. Promises promises. Even moved dirt. Then nothing. Then more promises. Then nothing. 

 

Time to stop making excuses and talking grand visions and get to work and the city needs to push them to do more in a housing crunch. What they're doing is no different than when we lament NRI and others sitting on acres and acres of land with no real plan for them. 

 

The Covid shutdowns happened at the absolute worst time time in regard to Easton residential construction. Those concrete columns posted above were for a 7-story residential building. They had a tower crane up and everything, but then Easton got shutdown for Covid and everything changed. Had Covid not happened, I wouldn't be surprised if we had that 7-story residential building plus at least one more nearby by now.