RSS
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Let me start off by saying that here at Columbus Underground, we are all about supporting our wonderful local, independent businesses. We encourage people to dine locally, shop locally, and invest money in the local economy. With that being said, we’re fully aware that it’s unrealistic to buy everything from a local business. There is a time and a place for everything, and many specific types of larger chain stores and restaurants can be a vibrant and essential part of our diverse urban experience.
Last year, the “Mile on High” effort was established to combat the 80,000 square feet of vacant retail space along High Street, but it’s off to a slow start. A study from last June revealed that while we have 280 stores and restaurants downtown, there is an estimated spending power to currently support 450 establishments.
We would love to see the majority of that gap filled in with local businesses, but we feel that there is room for a handful of chains as well. Below is our top 10 list of potential chain stores and restaurants that we would like to see fill in some of this empty retail space on or near the High Street corridor.
#10 – Room & Board
Room & Board is a fashionable furniture store that focuses heavily on American-made craftsmanship and social responsibility. They sell all types of home furnishings from sofas to bedding to light fixtures. And with their nearest stores in Illinois, this would make a Downtown Columbus location one-of-a-kind in the state of Ohio.
#9 – Nordstrom Rack
Nordstrom Rack is the discounted counterpart to Nordstrom. Originally operating as a clearance department, it has grown into its own brand for bargain-seeking shoppers and has over 50 locations around the US. The only Nordstrom location in Columbus is out at Easton, and the only Nordstrom rack in Ohio is just east of Cleveland. Placing this shop downtown would be a regional draw, and could also make the surrounding retail units more attractive for independent boutique shops to set up.
#8 – Apple Store
The Apple Store is very obviously a place to purchase Apple products including computers, laptops, iPhones, iPods, software, and accessories. With Apple’s consumer products surging in popularity, the Easton location is constantly overcrowded, and a secondary location would be more than welcome downtown where there is currently no place to purchase computer or electronic accessories.
#7 – CB2
CB2 is an offshoot brand from Crate and Barrel that focuses more on modern and urban style with their product range. CB2 sells all types of home decor and accessories from couches and beds to forks and spoons. Currently, CB2 only has 5 locations, all of which are in urban centers, making downtown the obvious choice for a Columbus store.
#6 – H&M
H&M is an affordable yet fashionable men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing store with locaitons all over the world. A nearby store exists at the Tuttle Mall, but it only sells the women’s clothing line.
#5 – DSW / Filene’s Basement
DSW is actually a local company, with their first store having opened in Dublin in 1991. Their parent company Retail Ventures, owns the Filene’s Basement brand as well. DSW’s large stores feature thousands of name brand shoes available at a discounted price. Similarly, Filene’s offers thousands of name brand men’s and women’s clothing items at a discounted price. Several successful DSW stores operate near Easton, Polaris, and Dublin, with the Dublin location being a joint store with Filene’s Basement. Adding a new downtown location would serve not only the central city, but also would be a closer location for the entire south side of Columbus.
#4 – In-N-Out Burger
If it’s possible for a fast food chain to have a cult following, then In-N-Out Burger has achieved just that. Founded in California 60 years ago, no locations exist outside of the west and south-western states. In-N-Out has often been praised for their use of fresh, local ingredients as well as their employee-centric business practices. If a Downtown Columbus location were to open, we predict that they’d have a lunch line wrapping around the block every day for at least the first year.
#3 – Target
Somehow, Target has mostly managed to avoid the negative connotations that typically plague the big-box corporate concept. Perhaps it’s the fact that they aim to sell slightly more upscale merchandise than competitors like Wal-Mart or K-Mart. Perhaps it’s their brighter stores and hipper advertising image. Perhaps it’s their continuous philanthropic efforts. Whatever it is, it seems to be working, and the idea of bringing multi-story urban Target store (similar to their flagship store in downtown Minneapolis) into downtown Columbus has constantly made appearances on nearly everyone’s wishlist.
#2 – Trader Joe’s
Downtown has got a bit of a grocery problem, and Trader Joe’s is often cited as the solution to those woes. While the residential population Downtown has not quite reached the critical mass needed for a full-sized Kroger or Giant Eagle, Trader Joe’s offers the option of bringing a smaller store into our urban center. Trader Joe’s is often praised for their environmental-minded business practices, and their health-concious store-brand products.
#1 – IKEA
It’s not going to happen anytime soon, but it doesn’t mean that we still can’t hope that someday IKEA will need a second Ohio store, and that it might somehow wind up in Downtown Columbus. When the news broke nearly three years ago that IKEA was considering an Ohio store, many on CU who were tired of driving all the way to Pittsburgh for their fix were quick to cross their fingers that it would wind up in Columbus. In the end, West Chester (a Cincinnati suburb) was chosen as the site for the first Ohio IKEA, but every once in awhile you can still hear someone mentioning how much they would have loved to have it in our own back yard.
What other stores and restaurants would you like to see open up Downtown?
The likelihood of these stores coming downtown will be even lower when Grandview Yard opens. I want to like and support Grandview Yard, but I think it’ll really hurt downtown retail/office/residential in the longrun.
The intro notes that “many specific types of larger chain stores” could be a valuable part of downtown. That makes me wonder: Is there a common theme underlying these? Value seems to be one; upscale to a degree (some more than others) seems to be another.
I think there will be enough of a difference between GY, “City Center” and Short North to support all three. What that difference exactly is, I don’t know, but I would like to think it will probably be more of consumer’s taste on how they like to shop. Downtown Chain, Downtown Local Artsy, or open-air mall.
I’ll add one: Modell’s Sporting Goods. Primarily a northeastern business with no locations in Ohio. In addition to sports equipment and licensed team apparel (is this not the number one sports town in America?), it’s a good place to buy clothes and shoes at reasonable prices. I used to do all my clothes shopping there back home. And if we want to shed our image as being fat and lazy, having a major retail business in the downtown area that encourages an active lifestyle could help.
I 2nd the Zara and the fact that Grandview Yard as a possibility basically kills any of this from happening. I wouldn’t mind a little letter/email campaign for these stores to locate Downtown. Maybe we could nip GY in the bud. :)
I notice one major problem in all of the pictures above…WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE???????
I was thinking that too, but then I was too mesmerized by the photoshopping. Just does a great job of visualizing these stores Downtown instead of trying to magine what it’d look like, especially that plain IKEA building. I think Walker had called it a day at that point. But there are plenty of people Downtown during working hours, that is. At first glance I was fooled by the top two pics, but realized these buildings looked familiar because they were, well, ones I pass by regularly.
Columbusite, Walker is dead on with the Ikea building. That’s exactly what they look like. Huge blue buildings with no windows.
Urbanboi Says: I notice one major problem in all of the pictures above…WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE???????
I took the photos on Sunday afternoon. In retrospect I probably should have taken them on a Friday at noon. ;) Every business district in the country is pretty dead on Sunday afternoon, although there were quite a few people out around the Statehouse as well as the Arena District. I bumped into three different friends while out walking around for 45 minutes. So don’t let the photos completely fool you. ;)
somertimeoh Says: That’s exactly what they look like. Huge blue buildings with no windows.
Yeah, visually IKEA is a bit of a big-box eyesore. Did you notice where I placed it though? It’s covering up the Greyhound Station. ;) I thought about just taking a photo of Vets Memorial and painting it blue and slapping the logo on it. ;)
Trader Joes has a great downtown store in Philadelphia (market st)
http://www.traderjoes.com/locations.asp
FYI – The Mile on High incentives have yet to be finalized. The initiative is still being vetted within the City and by those in the district. There will be several tools to incentivize retail/mixed-use along the blocks that abut High Street.
I have to agree … excellent Photoshop. Now if only some of those stores get off their tuchases and open a store down here.
Okay, everything except the In-N-Out Burger. Their burgers are really not that special. Had one two blocks from my office in SF … always had indigestion after eating one. To tell you the truth, Wendy’s has better burgers. To bad Wendy’s is current managed by morons.
This Dispatch article made it sound like some incentives from the “Mile on High” currently exist.
I do have to wonder where all the customers are going to come from for some of these establishments people are suggesting–and why regional managers or whoever approves new locations would be more inclined to gamble on downtown instead of Easton or Polaris for some of them.
CB2 may well be an exception because of its expressly urban focus (not to mention that there’s already a C&B at Easton). I’ll also admit that Zara has something of an urban aesthetic. I’d be surprised to see Room & Board downtown, though, and of course even more surprised to see another Target or an Ikea coming into the downtown area, even at a rebuilt City Center.
The two projects mentioned in the article used Enterprise Zone Agreements. A tool that already exists for the area. The “Mile on High” initiative will have additional tools specifically for retail and mixed use.
BTW- I found this link while Googling Mile on High. Within the area they delineated as Mile on High the population is 611 … we need to work on that! The actual Mile on High will be bigger, and I’m sure they are using 2000 Census data which does not account for the new projects in the area (60 East Spring, etc.).
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Mile-on-High-Columbus-OH.html
Great Photoshop work!
I’ve always imagined a Target at the City Center location. The city could even give it to Target as an incentive. There’s already a nice parking garage nearby. A Walgreens would be nice also, anything is better than CVS with their dissapointing toy department. Oh, and finally as much as I hate all things Wal-Mart, their new Neighborhood Market mini grocery might be a good fit for downtown or an under served area like Franklinton.
gramarye Says: I do have to wonder where all the customers are going to come from for some of these establishments people are suggesting–and why regional managers or whoever approves new locations would be more inclined to gamble on downtown instead of Easton or Polaris for some of them.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s much more complicated than just picking a spot and setting up shop. The original post wasn’t meant to be anything more complex than an idea list. Incentivizing and feasible implementation is for someone else to worry about. ;)
That being said, I agree that some stores (CB2) are more likely than others (IKEA) to want to set up an a downtown environment in Columbus. But for many stores, I think existing residents and foottraffic aren’t quite as important if they are unique businesses that have a regional draw. People don’t live at Polaris… they live near it, and they still have to drive and park to get there to shop. Some people drive across the city to shop there.
If there is a specific destination store downtown like a CB2 or Room&Board, people are going to drive to it if they want to shop there. If a GAP or Old Navy opens downtown, that gives people in the suburbs with closer options little reason to make the trip.
Of course, none of that really matters unless someone is being paid to shop these ideas and spaces to potential retail ventures. And while the Mile on High incentives might assist, I think we’re not going to see a lot of major change on the High Street retail front unless we’re addressing the issue just as a developer at Easton or Grandview Yard or Polaris would.
So… how tough would it be to hire someone who’s job it is to push The Mile on High and actually work with desired companies on filling these retail slots?
Ooo imagining downtown having that true blue city feel, lively after work hours and a weekend destination gives me a hopeful tingly feeling all over! Being able to bike, bus or walk to Trader Joe’s, Room&Board, CB2, H&M, Filene’s Closet instead of wasting my life in suburb traffic/parking lot hopping hell would actually keep me (and I think many others in my segment) living in or moving to the city.
I was just talking to a couple people the other day about how we really need an outdoor store like REI downtown. I’d second Joseph-Beth Booksellers as well, very important. If you want a burger place that won’t give you indigestion, Burger Fuel used to rock my socks, and they have just begun branching out from NZ.
Trader Joe’s might make more sense in the blighted Brighton block of lower Cville. At least it would give the weekend protesters something to focus on rather than the Walgreen’s rumors.
love the ideas, agree with most, and really love the photo work–if only.