35 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

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. 

 

 

 

Maybe, but things still got built during Covid elsewhere around Columbus, and construction has definitely picked up to more normal levels since 2020. I don't know what Easton's financial situation is, but it couldn't be that good if they weren't able to finish a single residential building already started. 

39 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

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. 

 

 

 

You say worst time. Easton developers say best time. How many other juggernaut developers let Covid stop and abandon an in progress building? While housing demand is still at an all time high nonetheless. I really am not convinced they were ever really committed with how fast they packed up and never restarted. Sure, they may have gotten them done but it would have stopped there. 

 

The idea that they would have definitely done one possibly two when they haven't even picked up the first is just as lofty as any quotes. Here we are 4 years later and development in the city is rapidly growing and Easton? Looking at 20-25 year plans while not bothering to finish the apartment building? 

 

The excuses are paper thin 4 years on. It's always the same excuses. And there's no results. I have no more patience for Easton. Let's go back to 1999. All they had to do, at the very least, was copy and paste their southern end apartments east, west, and south, at any point and it never happened. They can't restart the in progress housing 4 years on? Housing that wouldn't need to go through any additional engineering, approvals, etc?  

 

We can all talk about what could have been and yet there's nothing there for 25 years, now, or in the near future. So quotes and Covid and Yada Yada all amount to a big dud for housing goals. It's time to stop excusing Easton for a lapse due to covid. How much longer are we going to say, 'well, if it wasn't for covid, we'd have some apartments?'  Another year? Two? Five? The fact is, there aren't any, and they haven't mustered the energy to move forward as the rest of the region has largely rebounded and then some. 

 

I wonder how many other developers would be chomping at the bit to develop the north end on a similar time frame of Gravity or Jeffrey Park? 

 

 

 

Edited March 4, 20241 yr by DTCL11

2 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

 

Maybe, but things still got built during Covid elsewhere around Columbus, and construction has definitely picked up to more normal levels since 2020. I don't know what Easton's financial situation is, but it couldn't be that good if they weren't able to finish a single residential building already started. 

 

You are aware of the business Easton is in, correct? They build, maintian, and lease space for retailer stores and restaurants, all of which were forced to shutter their doors for months during Covid, and then had business severely depressed once they were allowed to reopen. This had a huge effect on Easton's bottom line and their ability to finance projects. Yes, other things were built around Columbus during that time, but those were completely different situations. 

 

5 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

You say worst time. Easton developers say best time. How many other juggernaut developers let Covid stop and abandon an in progress building? While housing demand is still at an all time high nonetheless. I really am not convinced they were ever really committed with how fast they packed up and never restarted. Sure, they may have gotten them done but it would have stopped there. 

 

You are being willfully ignorant to the impact Covid shutdowns had on Easton's bottom line. Their entire revenue stream took a massive hit. Other developers are simply developers. Easton is a massive landlord for retailers and restaurants. And they definitely seemed pretty committed to me. They put up a tower crane and had the foundation work well underway.

 

7 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

The idea that they would have definitely done one possibly two when they haven't even picked up the first is just as lofty as any quotes. Here we are 4 years later and development in the city is rapidly growing and Easton? Looking at 20-25 year plans while nothing bothering to finish the apartment building? 

 

They definitely would have done one. They were building it before Covid happened. 

 

8 minutes ago, DTCL11 said:

How much longer are we going to say, 'well, if it wasn't for covid, we'd have some apartments?'

 

I mean, it's literally true. 

 

Look, I'm not an "Easton defender" or anything. I definitely feel they could have done a much better job of creating an truly urban area if that's what they actually wanted to do. But we tend to have an inability around here to have a realistic view of things. "It's not that hard to just do it the way I want it to be done" is really not a reasonable or helpful way to discuss things. 

Steiner was really big on the residential component of Liberty Center out in West Chester. In fact it was the only part that met and exceeded expectations.

Steiner also developed the Green in Dayton with a residential component. They have since sold the property.

It make sense to me that Covid affected Easton differently and more drastically than other developers. But if Steiner could complete residential components in West Chester and Dayton, why not a project already started at Easton? I assume financing was in place. The housing need hasn’t changed, has it? Was there an opportunity lost to pivot to plans that worked at these other locations?

 

Structurally, can they pick up where they left off in the construction schedule? Or is all that infrastructure exposed to the elements for four years no longer viable?

 

 

The housing crisis in Columbus has only gotten worse in those four years.

 

Steiner makes money on rent. Their retail spaces were not decimated. They had a few tenants they had to go after but most paid up and vacancy did not significantly rise for them. So, even if things are shut down, they were making money on most rents. They were also able to recover, whether or not they did, financial hits through the government. I say early I can see where they were likely impacted by a lack of a diverse portfolio but I can't see where it hit them beyond the ability to build an in progress building or be recovered enough to restart it 4 years later. 

 

That's not ignoring the impacts of covid. Covid can't simply be used as an excuse without reasonable questioning this far away.  It's questioning whether the excuse of covid is valid for a company with over $2 billion in physical assets, significant retail growth, and 4 years of recovery. It also calls in to question what Financial footing they had going in to covid as well. 

 

Ultimately, I'll stand behind they are no better than Arshot in delivering residential and say the same thing we say about NRI, stop sitting on land and give it to folks who can get it done. 

Edited March 4, 20241 yr by DTCL11

10 minutes ago, Bryan2Cbus said:

 

Structurally, can they pick up where they left off in the construction schedule? Or is all that infrastructure exposed to the elements for four years no longer viable?

 

 

 

My guess would be they'd start fresh. It's not far enough along that they'd seem to save a ton by trying to salvage it. 

3 hours ago, cbussoccer said:

 

You are aware of the business Easton is in, correct? They build, maintian, and lease space for retailer stores and restaurants, all of which were forced to shutter their doors for months during Covid, and then had business severely depressed once they were allowed to reopen. This had a huge effect on Easton's bottom line and their ability to finance projects. Yes, other things were built around Columbus during that time, but those were completely different situations. 

 

 

So I'm curious why they wouldn't just partner with someone who had the ability to get it done. Sell that lot and get something built.

If they would have made it further along perhaps it would be more visible like the unfinished tower at P.TL. that has been there since 1988

17 hours ago, GCrites said:

If they would have made it further along perhaps it would be more visible like the unfinished tower at P.TL. that has been there since 1988

Where's that?

1 hour ago, columbus17 said:

Where's that?

 

https://www.wbtv.com/2022/03/17/york-county-claims-heritage-tower-should-have-come-down-2013/

On 7/24/2023 at 10:27 AM, 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.

For everyone asking about the 7 story office building that's on the corner of Stelzer and Easton Loop, just a reminder from what I was told in 2021 this building is on hold a minimum of 3-5 years. 

 

I have absolutely no data or intel besides a leasing agents words from 2021. I'm intrigued if there's any tax incentives they received prior to Covid to build this, and was able to use Covid as an excuse to stop the building and still receive the tax credit and/or wait and apply for another tax credit in the future. 

 

But I agree that I despise the dirt hills and fencing on the "outskirts" of Easton.  

On 7/21/2023 at 10:38 AM, amped91 said:

Construction is ongoing for the new CMR restaurant. 
 

 

 

Update on Del Mar, it looks about ready to open. I wonder if they're going to continue to renovate the rest of the building vs the rebuilt front portion, it's a bit odd as-is

 

 

 

Four years after work stopped, unfinished Easton apartment building remains a mystery

 

"Why did work abruptly stop on a seven-story apartment complex at Easton Town Center, leaving about 100 concrete columns standing for years with no hint of construction?

 

Easton announced the apartments in 2018 as part of a $500-million expansion on the north end of the shopping center. Early the following year, the city approved plans for the site...

 

Plans called for a seven-story building housing 342 apartments on floors three through seven, above two levels of parking. The project was to also include nine two-story townhomes on Brighton Rose Way, retail space on the corner of Brighton Rose Way and Brighton Rose Square, and a café.

 

Then something happened. Even before all the columns were erected, work stopped, leaving a Stonehenge-like park in place of the apartments. Meanwhile, construction continued all around the north end of Easton with stores, restaurants and offices.

 

Today, four years after construction stopped, no one's saying what happened...

 

...In response to a Dispatch query, Easton replied in an email that "Easton is always evolving. Our plans still call for the addition of multi-family residential in that area. We do not have an updated timeline to provide at this time."

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/real-estate/2024/11/13/why-did-construction-stop-on-an-easton-apartment-complex/75936883007/

 

 

11 minutes ago, Luvcbus said:

 

Four years after work stopped, unfinished Easton apartment building remains a mystery

You also have the unfinished hotel behind the CarMax. Then you have the muslim youth center that lays one brick per month on Sunbury. Three stalled/cancelled projects within a mile.

 

With the cancelled Michigan Ave project it's weird to see so many abandoned projects in a "boomtown".

Long Live Easthenge!

12 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Long Live Easthenge!

You know somebody's going to take up on the idea, and try to repackage it as an ancient-ruins-inspired Memorial park.

12 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Long Live Easthenge!

 

Dublin has Cornhenge, about time we got something on the east side.

Yes! And build a viewing platform atop the  nearby “mountain inspired” mounds of dirt. And by platform, I mean a “Platform inspired” piece of plywood (preferably MDF)

Someone also needs to make a miniature version 

I've mentioned a few times I talked with the property manager back in 2021 that indicated this project is on hold until at least 2025-2027. That's a long time to hold a project that can end up being cancelled or revised. 

21 hours ago, PrestoKinetic said:

You know somebody's going to take up on the idea, and try to repackage it as an ancient-ruins-inspired Memorial park.

You know how in school you probably did a project where you spilled coffee on a piece of paper and then put it in the oven to make it look like it was a few hundred years old? Can we do something similar with these pillars?

Apartments near Easton from Homeport, Georgetown Co. now leasing, next phase planned

 

New affordable housing is now available for lease near Easton Town Center.

 

Affordable housing developer Homeport and Georgetown Co., the developer of Easton, are leasing the second phase of Easton Place Homes.

 

Easton Place's 50-unit first phase wrapped up in 2023. The second phase spans 100 units at 3540 Easton Loop West. A third phase with 50 units also is planned and recently was awarded tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2025/02/12/homeport-easton-place-homes.html

 

9 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

Apartments near Easton from Homeport, Georgetown Co. now leasing, next phase planned

 

New affordable housing is now available for lease near Easton Town Center.

 

Affordable housing developer Homeport and Georgetown Co., the developer of Easton, are leasing the second phase of Easton Place Homes.

 

Easton Place's 50-unit first phase wrapped up in 2023. The second phase spans 100 units at 3540 Easton Loop West. A third phase with 50 units also is planned and recently was awarded tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2025/02/12/homeport-easton-place-homes.html

 

Was hoping this was news about the tower 😔

9 hours ago, 614love said:

Was hoping this was news about the tower 😔

Ain't no tower happening.

It's wild to me that Easton, with more financial capital than most other devs in the city during a housing crunch, has taken so long to get this residential moving again. 

7 hours ago, DevolsDance said:

It's wild to me that Easton, with more financial capital than most other devs in the city during a housing crunch, has taken so long to get this residential moving again. 

Steiner seems focused on residential in New Albany right now, and everyone's waiting for the next rate cut. I think I'm the only guy this year that's focused on pushing deals regardless of rates. But for me the rates aren't the issue its more so high construction costs and lower absorption rates in the hospitality sector.

19 hours ago, columbus17 said:

Steiner seems focused on residential in New Albany right now, and everyone's waiting for the next rate cut. I think I'm the only guy this year that's focused on pushing deals regardless of rates. But for me the rates aren't the issue its more so high construction costs and lower absorption rates in the hospitality sector.

Rates are realistically not going to come down much at all unless something significant happens in the market. 

5 hours ago, KyleofColumbus said:

Rates are realistically not going to come down much at all unless something significant happens in the market. 

Well watch the number of cranes that pop up. I can tell you it won't be many. I'm pushing my project just because it's all I've got, and with the conditions of the deal and how we're making a long-term play, we're pitching it with a lower up front return. Most deals right now are pencilling at 5-8%, a far cry from the 12-18% private capital demands.