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The Daily Reporter wrote
Main St. retailers attempt to establish themselves as a distinct downtown district
MELANIE MCINTYRE
05/08/2007
A diverse group of business owners in Columbus’ downtown have come together to establish themselves as a new district, and they are hoping a special event this weekend will help put them on the map.
“In the last three to five years, our area has enjoyed a nice revitalization. There have been several new condo buildings and units put in and new retail shops and businesses to go with them,” said Jeffrey Zettler, vice president of Zettler Hardware Co.
The district encompasses the area south of City Center mall, east of the RiverSouth neighborhood, and west of the Discovery Special Improvement District, generally falling into a “no-man’s-land” within the city proper, Zettler said.
He said the business owners in the neighborhood have begun calling their slice of town the “Red Brick District on Main” because they believe the area’s red brick buildings are its most “universal identifying characteristic.”
The decision to informally name their neighborhood stemmed from a desire to “brand” it, so locals become aware of the distinct products and services it offers, and to note that the area isn’t “just scenery you pass on your daily commute in and out of downtown,” he said.
Comments
- cheap: i highly recommend the Millersport sweet corn festival of course,the cor
- Jimmy Mak: Thanks for the write-up! Just to clarify - this is the third year we've do
- Briana Henry: Well, eventually they plan to add more bands from the region...gotta start
- bucki12: I like the business model, but the internet sales part seems like something
- racheltb: I don't see the Ohio Shrimp Fest on the list. It is truly a good time. h
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Main St. Retailers Establish Downtown District
By: Walker
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I had an office there for the past two years. Probably the most quiet area in all of downtown. There really is nothing there. And with Ray Johnson leaving there’s literally nothing left. The condos don’t seem to be selling well either.
Is this anything like a red light district I wonder?
I’m counting three clothing stores, maybe five other specialty stores, three restaurants, in addition to the condos there. It’s no Short North, but it’s certainly not “nothing”. As far as concetrated pockets of businesses downtown goes, this is one of the few areas with that much variety. Perhaps it’s just “quiet” because not enough people know about it. I think they probably have more stores right here than they do inside the City Center. :lol:
Also, I’ve not heard anything about the condos there not selling well. Can you point us to any information on that?
I know I personally had been pitched the same condos that have been on the market for well over two years and remain vacant. Thats where I was going regarding my views on condo development in the area. I guess with all the amount of time I had spent in the area I was kind of shocked at the marketing tactics of simply labeling a couple blocks a district. I believe you’d need much more development beyond a label to make it a destination. If one were to live there you’d have to travel for groceries and most essentials. While in the area on a daily basis for an extended amount of time I never found the urge to visit any of the area businesses more than one initial time with the exception of the Jacob Neil salon. The area is a ghost town on weekends.
What condos are you talking about? The Hartman is in the neighborhood, but is mostly sold (only two left). Aside from that…there really aren’t any completed condos in the area that I know of.
The Hartman has had vacancy since the project completed. There are several newer development projects also currently being pitched.
You can’t expect a large condo building to sell out before any units are delivered to the market. I just spoke with the developers when I was at the Yukon (same company). They told me that Phase I was almost sold out (two units left) and they were about to start work on Phase II. They must not be losing money.
I think your expectations are a little high. Two years between a building being proposed and being sold out is pretty brisk in my book. Many of these buildings are under construction for almost two years.
I think the whole point here is that these local businesses are trying to band together to do something to unite their spot on the map downtown and draw attention to it to promote futher growth and development. Perhaps it’s not the urban mecca you think it should be, but you’ve got to start somewhere, right?
You just described half the downtown neighborhoods and districts with that comment about groceries and essentials. :lol: And as for the ghost town comment, that’s all of downtown. These local shop owners are at least putting forth an attempt at a grassroots-level effort to do something to promote a sign of life downtown. Stop by their event this Saturday afternoon. It won’t be the next gallery hop immediately, but it shouldn’t be a ghost town either. :D
If I remember correctly, Miranova had several unsold units as late as 2005, and it opened in 2000 or 2001 (can’t even remember the year … memory’s the first thing to go).
The real issue is that Hartman and Renaissance are basically the only two developments in that general area. In the Short North, there are not only some big project, but a lot of smaller fish in the sea accompanying the whales. Those little 2- and 4-unit places add up when you see a few of them on every block. Hartman and Renaissance haven’t had that kind of external effect on southern Downtown. They’re there, but they haven’t managed to be market-movers. (Or, more likely, the market soil simply wasn’t as fertile there for anyone to be a market mover in that respect … no knock intended against either of those projects.)
Agreed. Think about how unique this really is – I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the businesses involved here haven’t considered a move out of downtown. These are the businesses that have more than a vested interest in their neighborhood.
On the other hand, there are several merchants in the arena district who don’t seem real interested in promoting the fabric of downtown, existing only as an offsite Nationwide cafeteria. :roll:
Wanting to have an identity through this type of branding strategy is an excellent way (in my opinion) to get the shops in this area known to the mass public. How many of us can actually say that we’ve visited the shops in this district? Zettler’s hardware, Brownstone, CJ Daniels, and Y Sadiq to name a few.
I have.
It is important that we focus our attention on these small businesses that take the risky plung into “making something” out of a dwindling center-city. With City Center out of the picture, no longer is there a commercial/retail link between the Short North and Germain Village. The Red Brick District is stepping up to the plate, filling in that gap, and should be supported.
For those who are already enjoying downtown living at the Hartman and (the soon to be available) Ohio Lofts, these retailers provide backyard shopping within 2 blocks of thier residence. For the rest of us, it seems they are providing another nook in the “retail walk” yet to be discovered.
I can soon see these smaller districts partnering with Experience Columbus and producing street maps of our fair city that outline a continuous flow of boutique shopping, restaurants, galleries, jewelers, chocolatiers, wine shops and so much more that starts as far north as Clintonville, snaking its way through Campus, Italian Village, Victorian Village, Short North, Arena District, North of Broad, Town/Franklin, South of Broad, Red Brick District, German Village, and ending in Marion Village.
Imagine the possibilities!
I encourage you to take a stroll on Main Street, visit these shops and talk with these pioneers. It might change some perceptions.
Walker, your link doesn’t go to the article.
That’s because sourcenews.com doesn’t archive their stories with a permanent link.
I updated it, but after 5 days you have to be a subscriber to log in to read older stories. Better read it quick!
:?
Ah damn….I guess I missed it earlier.
I was initially looking for a map or something, but I saw Grismer and Brownstone so I have a frame of reference…..
In my opinion, these merchants deserve a ton of credit for attempting to create an identity for their portion of the downtown, and those of us that live downtown should do our very best to support them. Let’s try to get the word out to our friends and neighbors who live in the area but may not of caught wind of this event yet. I may even try to rally some of my suburbanite contacts.
With City Center all but gone, it would be amazing if this turned out to be the seeds of an authentic urban shopping district right in the core of the city.
Very cool!
Hello All
My name is Jeffrey from Zettler Hardware, one of the participants in this little event.
First off I just wanted to thank all of you for your interest and thoughts about what we’re trying to get started here.
Secondly I wanted to let you all know besides the items we’ll be having on sale at our store that we’ll also be giving away a free flower on Saturday to the first 100 mothers who come in.
I hope to see you all soon !
From noon to four today!
The Queen Bee is going to be grilling out, and Brownstone will have a DJ playing!
Go check it out!
:D
So, how was it? I was really busy so I couldn’t fit it into my schedule. :(