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According to this article in today’s Dispatch, the first phase of the Grandview Yard development will include a 126-room Hyatt hotel, an Urban Active Fitness Center, a Jason’s Deli, a three-story office building, and a parking garage.
The plan will be formally presented to the Grandview Planning Commission next Wednesday and more details will follow then.
Update (July 16, 2009) – Renderings below (click to enlarge)
Yeah, this won’t be good for the Short North.
Hyatt Hotel?? Urban Active?? Maybe they can squeeze in a casino and a Wal Mart into Grandview too…
I think 315 will act as a divider and will prevent direct completion. Also I don’t think any of the retail that is being proposed at Grandview yard will compete directly with the short north. Does Lennox help or hurt the short north? I say neither. Its apples vs oranges comparison.
@coolbuckeye ….. totally agree. If they get the tenants they’re going for, the only place I see losing business from them is Easton. If Short North continues as a boutique spot it will be fine. That being said… any news on the downtown hotel? I COULD see visitors staying at the Hyatt then just shopping around there. Would be nice to have the downtown hotel up and running to get a new influx of visitors in the Short North.
BTW …. I’m actually really excited about the news. I see nothing but good things coming from this if done right.
What’s the latest on the infrastructure financing side? (e.g. any deals with the City of Columbus)
I will take a Jason’s next to Junctionview till it gets knocked down!!
@surber17 – Business First reported last week that the design architect and the architect of record (Moody Nolan) have been selected for the downtown hotel. They also reported that they’ve narrowed down the list of construction managers to 4 teams.
I’m not worried about the Short North, since it’s mostly all-local, unique businesses. I’d be more worried about what this means for Grandview Ave and mostly Downtown, which needs some chains mixed in, but now they’ll all be going here, further delaying and reducing the chances of a revitalized Downtown. This is basically another sprawling development that is being plopped between some solid urban areas. If you want to go to Grandview Ave, you’re going to have to wait through all the traffic going to GY.
The good is what surber17 said, since this mini-Easton could take away some business from Easton. Other than that I see no reason to be excited by another faux-urban “lifestyle” center.
And how could I forget this article which mentions the $78 million to pay for “road improvements” (read: transforming W 3rd Ave into car heaven and bike hell).
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/07/06/daily27.html
I see no direct competition with Easton. It’s too far away and there is more than enough demographic on that side of town to sustain it. Besides, Easton is a mammoth retail complex, Grandview Yard won’t be. It will not hurt the Short North either, which is a niche market in arguably the best location in the city with endless foot traffic. With 500 to 800 housing units, I would assume a good portion of retail will facilitate the residents. I too hope that GY does not turn into another faux-urban lifestyle center. It needs to be truly urban.
As for the convention center hotel, Moody Nolan has no renderings on their site. Neither does HOK Chicago. I e-mailed both for some info. and renderings a week ago but have not gotten a response. I’d really like to see them, just to give me an idea. I also do not see the proposed Hyatt competing with the downtown hotel either, especially if the passenger rail service starts.
One tenant I would love to see is a Best Buy. I would rather have it in the Arena District around Vine St. and those vacant lots but I don’t see that happening. Grandview Yard would be a good location. I mean seriously, where is the closest place to buy electronics around here.
I’m actually excited about it. I wish they would release some more detailed information about the greater scope of the project. The information on there website is rather vague. Also I don’t think this will have much affect on Short North. I think it’s completely different markets being served.
I’m curious how it will play out with Grandview Ave. The road already has several vacancies and a lot of retail has closed or burned down. On the plus side a did hear a rumor about a First Watch moving into the proposed 4 story rebuilt Kingswood building. So there is a chain for you …
How does a Hyatt = a Casino/Wal-Mart? That makes no sense.
The way I see it is Grandview Ave would continue to thrive as the local hangout. GY would mainly be for those looking for more from Lennox and visitors.
JP – when they started the project, they mentioned that they wanted retailers, but not a big box and specifically mentioned Best Buy. I, too, would love to have a Best Buy there. But then I think about how they don’t really live up to their name and I can get better products for cheaper online… I’d love to have a Lowe’s or a home improvement center – of course, I’m going to be buying everything I can from from Mr. Zettler first :)
I am somewhat worried about the impact of this development on downtown. However, I think this will have the biggest impact on the South Campus Gateway development. They are already having difficulty finding national retailers to fill some slots, and this may make it even more difficult.
Timberrrrrrr!!! A fool and his money soon part ways. More outlets for consumption in a world without production. This development will lead to more business bankruptcies and eventually neighborhood blight in the Columbus area economy. Until community leaders realize we need to redevelop our capital-producing economy, we’ll see more of these wrong-headed developments that will damage the local economy even further. Where are the capital-producing investments where people will get the money necessary to support these consumer-based businesses? If I could “short” this development or bet against it, I’d be the first in line.
I think grandview yard would be the perfect location for an amtrak station if the 3C comes through. Maybe NRI should consider it as part of one of their phases.
They told Grandview residents that there would not be big box stores and they would strive for local businesses, yet all they have announced so far is chain this and chain that. This place seems like it will be faux urban/Easton feel, which is very disappointing. Also, from the Olentangy bike trails all the way down 3rd/5th/King to Grandview Ave is already not very friendly for bikes, I am not sure how much worse it could get.
“They told Grandview residents that there would not be big box stores and they would strive for local businesses, yet all they have announced so far is chain this and chain that”
All they have announced so far is an office building, a gym, a hotel, and a deli, and the primary tenant of the office building appears to be a local architecture firm…
I still want to see a Best Buy somewhere down here. There are thousands of people within a couple of miles making pretty good money yet one has to drive out to the burbs to buy a flat screen or surround sound. I think the market is very underserved in this department.
BTW, the selection at Lennox Target sucks major ass. I don’t want to choose from 2 but 10 or 15.
My vocation offers a major discount for Urban Active, so this is a major bonus for me I hadn’t expected. On the other hand, I seriously doubt this will cut into Short North appeal. There is no reason both cannot peacefully coexist.
I don’t know if Phase One (Hotel, Office, Gym) is really going to put too much “hurt” on any other existing developments in the area. As the rest of the development fills in, I can see it potentially having an impact on the Lennox Center, The Shoppes at Lane Avenue, and the Kingsdale revamp. The Short North is too niche (do you think Tigertree or Milk Bar will relocate?), the South Campus Gateway has the dense adjacent neighborhood (do you see the student body walking/busing to a new GY Panera instead of going to the SCG Panera?) and while Easton is going to be somewhat similar, I don’t know if GY is going to have as large of a retail focus to really drain the crowds there too much.
When Grandview Yard was first announced, I was concerned about the impact it would have upon Downtown retail, but after talking with more and more Downtown civic leaders, I’m not too worried about it anymore. I think Downtown will be better off with a more independent/entreprenurial renaissance, rather than a big box chain revival. If we can convince existing building owners that there is a demand for smaller spaces, then I think we’ll see new entreprenuers filling in some of those empty storefronts Downtown.
I’m looking forward to this. I think it will compete with Easton. If it has the type of places that Easton/Lennox has, I’ll go there instead of Easton. I don’t really feel bad for downtown Columbus. How many unused surface parking lots/acreage do they have that are being used for absolutely nothing. If they really wanted to, they could have landed this project. Now they’re just jealous because Grandview will reap the benefits. It won’t compete with the SN because the SN is an entertaninment district, not a retail one – unless you are in to overpriced art and clothes.
Also, what is wrong with Easton? It seems so many on this site have have problems with business endevaours that are sucessful. One can drive there (yes drive), get everything they need, choose from a number of entertainment/food options while there, then go back home. I hope to be able to do the same thing at the Yard. My only worry is that they canabalize each other and as a result become weaker than either would alone.