bucki12
wp
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It strikes me a little odd to have Walmart so close to downtown but that is a lot of vacant land and there sure are a lot of people fairly close by. I think many people would funnel up from the KLD, the Discovery District and the western section of Old Towne East. It would also make a nice destination for the Cleveland Ave BRT.
I wonder if it will be a Super Center with a grocery?
groundrules
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the fact that this news was paired with 'hope they tear down the coated fabrics site' makes me question the currency/accuracy of the poster's info. I will say though, that sounds as likely a scenario as any. it's probably going to take someone with walmart sized pockets to make it go. but that site is big enough to hold a walmart AND something else.
Graybeak
Hunky Town
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I heard it from my girlfriend. She lives in Canada, you probably don't know her. Her cousin works for a wal-mart, and he told her they were gonna build one there.
I think it would be great. If they can build one on Main St, and one in Westerville, I don't see why the heart of the city, just off freeway access, wouldn't be a good fit.
groundrules
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I hope the city makes them pay for a rehab of 5th avenue.
cbus11
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It makes a much better location for a Walmart than the Kaplin Landfill site on Dublin Rd. If they build it, it will probably have a grocery, though we have been getting more and more of those.
Regardless, Wagenbrenner has not even started site cleanup of the Timken property. It will take some time.
NEOBuckeye
Ohio At-Large
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Personally, I hope it's only a rumor. If you value a resurgent and flourishing local market in Columbus, then Wal-Mart is your enemy. This is the very last thing the heart of Columbus needs now.
buckette13
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NEOBuckeye said:
Personally, I hope it's only a rumor. If you value a resurgent and flourishing local market in Columbus, then Wal-Mart is your enemy. This is the very last thing the heart of Columbus needs now.
I am not sure at what point Walmart just starts taking customers from other Walmarts, but I think it is getting close.
If they build it, I would probably buy stuff from there that I would buy from Walmart anyway. It will just be closer. It wouldn't change my shopping habits at other local stores.
cbus11
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@buckette13
Walmart has gotten a black eye and retreated from expanding in emerging foreign markets. It wants to show its shareholders that it is still a growth company and has been focusing on building more domestic stores recently. Its a strategy coming out of the stock market.
NEOBuckeye
Ohio At-Large
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buckette13 said:
I am not sure at what point Walmart just starts taking customers from other Walmarts, but I think it is getting close.If they build it, I would probably buy stuff from there that I would buy from Walmart anyway. It will just be closer. It wouldn't change my shopping habits at other local stores.
I'm reasonably concerned that they would undercut many of those other local stores. It's their specialty. Destroy the competition and put them out of business by ruthlessly underpricing them. They do it in order to make inroads into a market and build their base. Not good at all for the Short North, University District or Downtown if this happens. There is a reason why they have generated such massive opposition in communities across the country over the past few decades.
News
Columbus Underground
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From here: http://www.columbusunderground.com/wagenbrenner-continues-urban-infill-development-in-2013
Wagenbrenner has said previously that the site could potentially be developed as a distribution center or a retail center. A previous owner of the site had plans for building a Walmart, and Wagenbrenner agrees that the site is ripe for potential big box development.
“That world is changing fast and I think we’re starting to see big retailers take note that people are moving back towards the core and it isn’t just a fad,” he explained. “It didn’t cost anything for those retailers to step out into the outskirts of the suburbs and get ahead of the growth and keep their land costs down in the right locations. But now we’re starting to see retailers looking at these few remaining larger urban sites because if they get developed now and they wait to try to get into the urban market five to ten years from now, the land costs will go up so fast that it will no longer work out as well for them.”
dru
IV
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the moving of the Idea Foundry move in the State of City report on the front page has revived the Walmart hypothesis. At this point I presume that is still conjecture? While the space is definitely there, it is not necessarily a very ideal spot. It will have zero highway visibility, the nearest exit ramps for 71 are Fifth, but they are not fully accessible from all directions (i.e. you cannot come off 670 to 71 N and exit at Fifth). Cleveland currently doesn't have exits off of 670 W and the exit off 670 E is all the way south of Fort Hayes. They could be aiming at a store that draws off proximate density, but Milo Grogan is currently the opposite of dense. It would be great if they were looking at building one of the new urban inlay Walmart concepts that was part of other mixed used development, this would ensure a local density to support the store. But right now it feels like a "what if they built a standard big box Walmart and nobody besides 8 shoppers and 3 protesters knew about it" scenario.
bucki12
wp
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Compare it to Lennox (which has one of the highest performing Targets in the area)...the density of South Campus, IV (growing fast), VV, WP (growing). Summit, 4th and Cleveland Ave all are within easy reach.
From what I have heard, Walmart's current growth strategy is to build more stores in the US.
I am not a Walmart shopper and I originally didn't think there was much to the talk, but the Timken site has a lot going for it, especially as urban population grows. I will add that Walmart will also be seen by some as helping a blighted area and probably not be protested or red taped as it has in other areas.
eta -
You don't see Walmart on Rome Hilliard from the highway (I rarely shop at Walmart and that is the only one I have been to, nor would I blindly look for one by driving on a highway looking for Walmart buildings).
Analogue Kid
Olentangy West
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bucki12 said:
eta -
You don't see Walmart on Rome Hilliard from the highway (I rarely shop at Walmart and that is the only one I have been to, nor would I blindly look for one by driving on a highway looking for Walmart buildings).
The Walmart in Whitehall is similarly not located near a highway.
leftovers
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There have been more rumors floating about. I am surprised that the Idea Foundry is moving as its location was pretty well suited for it and close to OSU. My guess is that something is a foot and maybe there was some writing on the wall. I have no insider info though.
http://weinlandpark.wordpress.com/
Goldmine # 1
Rumor has it that Walmart and Fifth Avenue Lumber are in negotiations about extending Fields Avenue to provide access for a new Walmart store on the Timken site.
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
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IMHO, having read the front page article it looks like CIF's move was instigated by Jim Sweeney (FAD) and the mayor and not by some landlord's dealings with Wallyworld.
columbusmike
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Does Columbus have language in their zoning to limit the size of retail? A WalMart would be a big blow to area small businesses.
GCrites80s
5xNW
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Hmm, I don't know. It could provide a boost to the small businesses in the area, actually. It's not like there's a bunch of other places to buy 30 pound tubs of laundry detergent close by. This site isn't really like Circleville or Portsmouth where the Wal-Mart dominates the local economy. What other retailers that sell similar items exist nearby?
dru
IV
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^ agreed. I don't think people will think about buying a sweater at Tigertree, a dress at Rowe, a couch from Grid or a growler at 7th Son but then opt for a sweater, dress, futon or 2-liter at Walmart. It could divert me from buying contact lens solution at the Neil Ave CVS though. And if they sell Fried Chicken, watch out 5th/Cleve retail!
As for my original thought on location. The Hilliard-Rome Walmart doesn't need highway visibility because its consumer base lives in the neighborhoods further down H-R road. There are dozens of subs back that way. MG, not so much. It would need to attract people. And perhaps it would, but it is not currently a highly accessible location for a large population.
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