After 20 years, the Easton Town Center in Northeast Columbus, Ohio draws nearly 30 million visitors a year and sells more than $1 billion in food and merchandise.
An article by Jim Weiker credits Easton Town Center with changing the face of Ohio retail, 20 years after the project first opened in Columbus.
L Brands and development partner Georgetown Company opened the open-air shopping and "lifestyle center" 20 years ago, making the decision to leave some shops open to the elements and position the development away from the highway to create a town center. The project was modeled on projects like CocoWalk in Miami, and the Irvine Spectrum in Southern California.
Weiker provides a lot more history on the project before digging into the successes of Easton in 2019: "Easton proved far more than a local shopping destination. With its blend of entertainment, restaurants and hotels, it has served as a get-away spot for guests far outside Columbus."
Despite all of its success, some of the early anchor tenants, like Planet Movies Planet Hollywood, and a Virgin Megastore, failed. According to the article, the second phase of development raised the bar on an already revolutionary concept and solidified the development's position as a regional retail destination.
The big feature article includes several sections, historical images, a "slider" to compare Easton then and now, and a video, embedded above.
FULL STORY: Easton's success built on 'emotional connection' with patrons
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research