Walker
The KLD / Downtown
Login to Send PM
Spotty success on Dublin strip
Sunday, August 29, 2010
BY MARLA MATZER ROSE
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Nestled between one of central Ohio's most affluent suburbs and one of its busiest shopping districts, the entire stretch of W. Dublin-Granville Road in Dublin might be thought of as a slam-dunk location for upscale retail.
Instead, the area has proved a disappointment.
Roland
Victorian Village
Login to Send PM
I went here a few months ago to try a new gelato place. It really is a sad monstrosity of a place. It has the strip mall within a strip mall thing going on. It's kinda like Polaris.
Don't ever bother going to that gelato joint either. It's a "made in factory #14" kinda place.
The location is such that you really need a reason to be there, there's no foot traffic coming from anywhere.
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
Login to Send PM
I've only been here once, to Montgomery Inn, and had a really hard time figuring out where it was because they had no sign at all and the street address numbers are all over the place. I went inside that Gelato place to ask for directions since they were the only thing nearby that was open late and obvious what it was from the outside.
dubdave00
Dublin
Login to Send PM
Is "spotty success" the spin for "mostly failure"? Sorry but there's nobody there, ever. Montgomery Inn gets some traffic but that's about it.
I think the reality is, had they built these up against 161 with parking behind the stores, they'd do better. You'd be able to see what's there. Plus, it would have continued the urban/new urban consistency that they've established in the historic area just a few hundred feet to the west.
Right now, it's a maze just to drive into the parking lot. They even built steps up what looks like an artificial hill just to keep people who do walk over there, out.
Basically, this strip fell victim to Dublin's late 90s/early 2000s suburban zoning codes because it's built like all of their strip malls over on Perimeter. The developer probably wouldn't have been allowed to built the strip in a new urbanist style anyway because the area falls just outside the historic district.
It's sad to say, but it will struggle for a decade or two before it's razed to put in what should have went there in the first place. Dublin is planning on redoing the Riverside / 161 interchange as part of the Bridge Street corridor and I imagine they'll eventually incorporate that strip(once the decision-makers behind this blunder are retired or gone). What a waste. I do feel bad for the business-owners over there. They're probably paying a premium too.
jeff_r
Login to Send PM
Walker wrote >>
I've only been here once, to Montgomery Inn, and had a really hard time figuring out where it was because they had no sign at all and the street address numbers are all over the place.
Signs are illegal in Dublin. It's one of the ways the community maintains its charm...
Seriously though, I understand that they're trying to maintain a certain aesthetic with the stone walls, landscaping, and minimal signage, but look no further than Sawmill road between 161 and 270 for a lesson in how those kinds of regulations can ravage businesses.
On the west side of Sawmill Road (that's Dublin) are acres and acres of empty retail space. On the east side (not Dublin) retail thrives. The only difference (as I see it) is that Dublin insisted on hiding their retail establishments well back from the road and behind layers of landscaping. To make matters worse, their zoning regs seem to frown on signage that people might actually be able to see.
Oh well, there's so much money up there they can probably afford a few missteps.
Jordans23000
space
Login to Send PM
Across the bridge where Brazenhead is is where its at, the old style feel of that strip fits Dublin, they should have never have built that thing, it wasnt a good idea, they gambled, and so far have lost. There were still empty spaces across the street where Mark Pi's is when they built it, and i would guess the rent for those was/is way cheaper than the new strip, and in a way easier to access, just not as pretty as the new strip.
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
Login to Send PM
I was going to mention the Dublin Village shopping center, but I hadn't thought of that east/west comparison along Sawmill.
DVC is depressingly dead when you roll through it, and it has been that way for years. Retail space goes wasted while farther up Sawmill Parkway they're bulldozing farms and woods to make more of the same. And, all those parking lots and roofs flush like one huge warm toilet when there's a downpour.
Then, to me it feels a little bit creepy to be in one of these faux-downtown shopping centers. It's like they suck the life out of small downtown business by building something like Easton, and they make it look like the quaint downtown that it killed, except now the parking meters and the "police" are privately owned. It's like being in a Twilight Zone episode where you're trapped in a model town.
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
Login to Send PM
Friday, September 10, 2010
River Ridge Shopping Center in Dublin pushed into receivership
BUSINESS FIRST OF COLUMBUS - BY Dan Eaton
The Shoppes at River Ridge is under water and up for sale.
The 3-year-old Dublin shopping center has been put into receivership and is facing the prospect of foreclosure, its owners owing $19.4 million on a $20.5 million loan. Fifth Third Bank filed the foreclosure lawsuit Aug. 23 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, and A.C. Strip of Strip Hoppers Leithart McGrath & Terlecky Co. LPA in Columbus was appointed receiver Sept. 1.
READ MORE: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/09/13/story1.html?b=1284350400%5E3926091
bababoohi
Login to Send PM
Even when they were building that I was thinking that it was a bad idea. It's mainly just a bad location for a strip mall in my opinion.
There's no foot traffic b/c there's nowhere for people to walk from. It's at the corner of two 4 lane roads with basically no residential areas to speak of.
GCrites80s
5xNW
Login to Send PM
As a retailer, moving into new developments near or outside 270 in the Columbus area can be really risky. The aforementioned zoning codes regarding setbacks and signage hurt your visibility greatly. The landlords charge high rents (in part due to the high valuation of the properties and the commiserate property taxes) even though foot traffic can be extremely low. It was something we dealt with when I worked at Hobbytown on N. Hamilton in the "Preseve" area north of Morse and we could see what it was doing to the other businesses in the area as well. You can wind up with a Brice Road on your hands quite easily around here.
dubdave00
Dublin
Login to Send PM
bababoohi wrote >>
There's no foot traffic b/c there's nowhere for people to walk from. It's at the corner of two 4 lane roads with basically no residential areas to speak of.
Actually, the fairly large Riverside Green neighborhood almost backs up into that. Problem is, that's "Columbus" and you don't see Dublin looking to integrate that area into their plan for the strip or the 161 corridor future plans (at least from what I've read).
It's such a shame too. Riverside Green has always been a very walkable subdivision as well as a very diverse neighborhood. It's part of Dublin's School district and is still under the Dublin post office. It's definitely a missed opportunity if they don't work with Columbus to build a pedestrian walk or bike path between that neighborhood and the corridor.
futureman
Grandview Heights
Login to Send PM
Ouch, cost 24 million to build in 2007 and sold for 6 million in 2011....
Buyer bags Shoppes at River Ridge over holidays
Premium content from Business First by Dan Eaton, Staff reporter
Date: Friday, January 13, 2012, 6:00am EST - Last Modified: Thursday, January 12, 2012, 1:26pm EST
The planned revitalization of the Shoppes at River Ridge in Dublin started last month with a Christmas tree.
The struggling shopping center has a new owner in a joint venture of two Miami firms, which purchased the nearly 15-acre property from Fifth Third Bank for $6.1 million Dec. 23.
(...)
River Ridge opened in summer 2007, just months before the recession hit.
Costing $24 million to build, the 103,000-square-foot center struggled from the start.
melikecheese
Merion Village
Login to Send PM
Maybe before people build a big huge retail strip mall / out door mall they will look in the surrounding area first, and if they see several empty strip malls, maybe it's a sign that they shouldn't build more. Not to mention build one at the top of a hill, that no one see's, has poor signage, no entrance from 3 sides, no stores, and no marketing or advertising.
Right across the street was half empty strip mall, up the street you will find several.
Good luck to the new owner, they are gonna need it.
Mister Shifter
The Kingdom of Zamunda
Login to Send PM
It didn't help that most of the stores were selling knick-knacks, pandora bracelets, etc. Not one interesting store in the whole thing as far as I can tell.
vestanpance
Harrison West/at work OSU
Login to Send PM
Great looking space.. just didn't work.
You must log in to post.
Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus. Click here to visit TheMetropreneur.com.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
